Drought, Dust, Depression, and War No. 005
In the 1934 mayoral election in New Orleans, Senator Huey P. Long1, the Democratic political leader of Louisiana convinced John Klorer, Sr., a respected engineer and father of the editor of Long’s American Progress newspaper, to oppose the incumbent mayor, T. Semmes Walmsley.
In the final days of the campaign, Long supporters were caught removing names of Old Regular supporters from the voter rolls, so the registration books were seized by the civil sheriff and placed in the Orleans Parish Prison for safekeeping. Long’s ally Governor Oscar K. Allen ordered the Louisiana National Guard to mobilize for New Orleans to defend the registrar’s office, while Walmsley threatened to deputize ten thousand “special police.” With potential armed clashes between the National Guard and Walmsley’s police looming, a last-minute agreement to submit to an arbitration committee averted a crisis.2
The following article appeared in the New York Times on September 8, 1934.3 The image above is a composite from public domain photos.
2,000 Troops Move Into New Orleans; Long Is ‘Dictator’
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But His Faction Loses Two Important Court Rulings Covering Primary.
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Senator Is Threatened
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Father Says if His Soldier Son Is Hurt He Will Kill Long as He Would Any ‘Mad Dog.’
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By F. Raymond Daniell.
Special to The New York Times.
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 7.—By virtue of the twenty-seven laws passed by the Legislature in special session last month, Senator Huey P. Long became the de facto dictator of this State at noon today and immediately began acting the part.
Between 2,000 and 2,500 militia-men—the entire strength of the Louisiana National Guard—were quartered within the city tonight, awaiting the next move of the Senator in his effort to crush the political faction of Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley and win the primary election next Tuesday.
The troops came from eighteen towns and cities and moved here by train and motor bus to take part in a political feud as bizarre as any that has enlivened the American scene in many a year.
The troops came from eighteen towns and cities and moved here by train and motor bus to take part in a political feud as bizarre as any that has enlivened the American scene in many a year.
The troops were bivouacked at Jackson Barracks and in the State-owned docks along the Mississippi. They arrived quietly and the average citizen would have been un-aware of their advent had it not been for newspaper headlines. No attempt was made to take over any of the civil functions.
The Senator’s program for reforming the city and guaranteeing it a pure election according to his lights struck a snag today when Federal Judge Wayne G. Borah issued a temporary injunction to restrain R. J. Gregory of the registry of voters from scratching any name from the list of voters between this time and next Tuesday, primary day.
Senator Long has charged that the rolls have been padded by his opponents.
Protest Calling of Troops.
Meanwhile, a movement was stared in Monroe to enlist the fathers and mothers of the “schoolboy soldiers” in a protest to President Roosevelt against Governor O. K. Allen’s action in mobilizing the National Guard, including many youthful members who, in a short time, should be back in high school.
A committee headed by Harvey W. Truesdale and Judge S. L. Digby of Monroe has telegraphed al-ready to Governor Allen and Senator Long that they will be held r-sponsible “if a single boy is injured as a result of the call to the Louisiana National Guard for the armed service in New Orleans.”
Alfred D. Meant, a Baton Rouge business man, also sent a telegram to Senator Long promising to kill the Senator “as I would any other mad dog,” if his son, Thomas, one of the soldiers, were harmed in any way.
“My son, Thomas Harris St. Amant, is a member of Company A 156th Infantry, now mobilizing at Baton Rouge,” he wired. “This is to notify you that should any harm or injury come to him as a result of this mad effort of yours, either by accident or otherwise, I will personally kill you as I would any other mad dog.”
Meanwhile around the Vieux Carre in the French quarter the streets were full of strolling soldiers from the country parishes, sampling the beer in the bistros and seeking adventure in the city which Senator Long’s legislative investigating committee is picturing as a trifle naughtier than Paris.
Long Broadcasts Warning.
While Senator Long and Mayor Walmsley both were making preparations for war today, both were professing a desire for peace. Mr. Long said there must be no armed men at the polls on primary day. Mayor Walmsley said the same thing. Both sides, however, went about the business of getting their armies ready.
Senator Long caused a statement to be broadcast over the radio at intervals during the day.
“The legislative committee and its witnesses are not going to be further molested,” it said in part; “the open vice dens are going to close and New Orleans is going to have a peaceful election. That is all I know about anything.”
The new laws say that no armed men of any kind shall be at the election polls on the day of election. Except where trouble is threatened, policemen may be ordered out by the arbitration committee.
“We have proposed and we still propose to have neither police nor militiamen, or anybody else like that at the polls on election day.
“The ring thinks it can only win an election by stealing. This time it will not be allowed to do that.
“They might as well agree to a peaceful election anyway, because this time they cannot help themselves.
“We still propose no one armed at the polls on election day.”
Mayor Points to Own Power.
Mayor Walmsley replied in a statement. “The Commission Council, at a meeting last Friday, introduced an ordinance prohibiting any armed men from being at or near the polling places on election day,” he said. “Today it passed that ordinance and it becomes effective this afternoon upon its promulgation.
“There will therefore be no police at the polls on election day, and no other armed men, unless the Arbitration Committee requests me to send them to any particular place.
“However, Arbitration Committee or no Arbitration Committee, the Constitution and the laws make the Mayor the chief law enforcement officer of the city of New Orleans, and if it becomes necessary in order to maintain peace and quiet on election day at any or all the polls I shall not shirk my duty.
“Law and order will be maintained, and no citizen need fear molestation on his way to or from the polling places.”
The Mayor asserted that there was “no authority for militiamen at the polls.” He added:
“The extent of martial law might nullify the whole election. It has been done before in other places.”
The Mayor did not refer to the fact that one of the laws enacted at the special session of the Legislature empowered the Governor to declare martial law wherever and whenever he sees fit and placed the officers of the National Guard beyond the restraint of the civil courts.
Martial Law Predicted.
There was considerable speculation here regarding the purpose behind the mobilization of the National Guard in New Orleans.
Some thought it was just an attempt by Senator Long to overawe the municipal authorities with a show of potential strength. Others were just as sure that a proclamation of general martial law would usher in primary day.
Mayor Walmsley, who has declared he will not surrender his authority without a fight, has recruited his police force up to more than 1,400 men and armed several squads of them with machine guns.
No small amount of perturbation was caused in Senator Long’s camp by the return of Guy Moloney, former Chief of Police of this city and a soldier of fortune with quite a reputation for daring, from Central America, where he has engaged in several revolutions since leaving office. For some reason, Senator Long thinks he was called back to command Mayor Walmsley’s forces.
Yesterday Moloney was a witness before the Long investigating committee which, while barring newspaper men has given exclusive rights to the testimony to a local broadcasting company. When Moloney was told by the Senator, in his capacity of counsel to the committee, that he had better not try any strong-arm stuff at this election, the former police chief smiled and said: “Just watch us.”
The testimony at today’s hearing came over the radio in every case as a monologue, interrupted only occasionally by Senator Long to present a caustic characterization of the evidence. The evidence consisted of opinion, guess-work, hear-say and gossip with no restrictions whatever.
Stephen H. Allison, former newspaper man, a witness, said his sensibilities had suffered at the degradation of the “old quarter which has become a veritable Sodom and Gomorrah so far as vice conditions go.”
“The lottery shops,” he said, “are so numerous that the street sweepers have a hard job in the morning cleaning up the numbered slips.”
Senator Noe, the chairman of the committee, felt called upon to caution him that ladies were listening to their radios in countless homes. Mr. Allison said he had only use’ words that were sanctioned by standard dictionaries and added: “I have already bowdlerized my language considerably.”
The police, he said, had been merely a “graft collection agency.”
Senator Long interrupted to ask:
“In other words, if we’d license Al Capone to do business here, he’d be on a par with Walmsley?”
“Exactly,” replied the witness, “and I’d shake hands with Capone, but I wouldn’t shake hands with Walmsley.”
There were other witnesses, but the testimony they gave was all along the same line—concerning graft by the police.
Citizens of New Orleans, however, found the broadcast the most enertaining show in town and there were little clusters of listeners at every bar, cafe and shoe shine parlor in the downtown section.
This part of the show was free for the time being, although it was estimated here that the investigation and the mobilization of the National Guard will cost the tax-payers approximately $150,000.
- “Huey Long.” Wikipedia. last edit August 13, 2021. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long.
- “1934 New Orleans Mayoral Election.” Wikipedia. last edited June 25, 2020.Accessed August 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_New_Orleans_mayoral_election.
- Daniell, F. Raymond. “2,000 Troops Move into New ORLEANS; Long IS ‘Dictator’; but His Faction Loses Two Important Court Rulings COVERING PRIMARY.” The New York Times. September 8, 1934. https://www.nytimes.com/1934/09/08/archives/2000-troops-move-into-new-orleans-long-is-dictator-but-his-faction.html.
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Fascinating part of your country’s past. I had read about Chicago but not about New Orleans.
With the way I am doing random article type posts, I am learning about a lot of different things. It’s been interesting doing all of the research. I’ve got more coming up on https://exit78.com and most of them I will repost here at a later day. I’m doing that to keep this site alive as I intend to devote more time to it after I’ve ramp down with the Civil War blog some time in the future.