LOUISIANA: Heirs

For nearly five months Huey Long has lain under the grass of the State Capitol lawn at Baton Rouge. Yet so deeply did he stamp his policies and personality on Louisiana that last week when half-a-million Democratic primary voters went to the polls to choose one man to be Governor and two to fill Long’s Senate seat, the fabulous “Kingfish” seemed to walk abroad once more. Both factions of the State’s Democracy still called themselves “Long” and “anti-Long.”

The most valuable political heritage Huey Long left behind was a set of election laws which gave absolute control to the party in power of every ballot box and polling place in Louisiana. While nobody had ever tested it, it looked as if all the “ins” had to do was pull the trigger and hang on forever. Long before last week’s primary it had been decided who among the Long survivors were going to get the benefit of this election device. In view of faithful stooge service, Governor Oscar Kelly Allen was to go to Washington until January 1937 to serve out Long’s unexpired Senate term. The full six-year term was to be given State Speaker of the House Allen J. Ellender. Best job of all, that of Governor, was parceled out to plump young Judge Richard Leche of the State Court of Appeals.

More in the nature of spectators than opponents were the ragged anti-Long array: old-line New Orleans Democrats; New Dealers, politically anemic in spite of spoonfeeding by Postmaster General Farley; reform zealots; lady Long-haters.

On primary day the Longsters happily touched off the “Kingfish’s” electoral cannon. Hours before the polls were scheduled to close, election officials quit counting the votes. Since radio reports had assured them that the primary was in the bag, they merely bundled up the ballots and sent them off to Baton Rouge for the official count due by law eight days after the voting. With accurate returns lacking, at least a 2-to-1 victory was certain. In life, Huey Long had never done so well for himself.

This week, however, Death once more accomplished what anti-Longsters had been unable to. Of cerebral hemorrhage died Senate-nominee Allen, 54, who had announced his main object in Washington would be to demand an investigation of the assassination of the man on whose political coattails he had ridden for 20 yrs.