A Dynasty Ends

LOUISIANA A Dynasty Ends When Louisiana's Governor Earl Long got to thinking about the end of his term this year, he mulled over some ideas for carrying on the Long dynasty. Louisiana law bars a governor from succeeding himself, so why not have a constitutional convention and extend all officeholders' terms for two years? The citizens seemed to object to that, so Earl thought of another arrangement: he would run for lieutenant governor with a dummy candidate for governor; then the dummy would resign after a couple of days in office, and Earl would step back in. But he couldn't put that over, either, so he settled for a more commonplace plan. He picked the man he wanted for governor, and threw the Long machine into high gear behind him. His candidate: colorless Judge Carlos G. Spaht (rhymes with late) of Baton Rouge.

Bitter Victory. In the January Democratic primary, Earl's man ran first in a field of nine (TIME, Jan. 28). But it was a bitter victory. Spaht got 158,839 votes, only about one-third of the total. The second man, tall, homespun Judge Robert F. Kennon of Minden, had 154,812. That called for a runoff. The seven losing candidates promptly swung behind Kennon.

The opponents of the Long dynasty had some interesting points to raise. Earl had carried on for the family after Brother Huey ("Kingfish") was cut down by an assassin in 1935, seven years after he had founded the line. Earl lost control when the citizens revolted and turned him out of the governor's office in 1940, but he staged a comeback in 1948. In the governor's chair once again, he out-Hueyed Huey and his "make every man a king" program. Earl gave the state big old-age pensions, cheap school lunches, veterans' bonuses and highway projects. But he also gave it the highest per capita state tax in the U.S.; he had his subservient legislature double the sales tax, up the cigarette tax to 8 a package, push the gasoline tax to 9 a gallon. Even Huey's son, U.S. Senator Russell Long, turned against Uncle Earl's machine in the primary, and remained aloof in the runoff, thereby dividing the dynasty against itself.

"Mop Up the Deadheads." Judge Kennon promised to cut taxes but maintain adequate services by more efficient operation and by chasing out the cronies of "Longism." His campaigners chanted a song to the tune of Shrimp Boats. Sample line: "Kennon will win; he's gonna mop up the deadheads that are ruining our state."

Last week a record number of Louisiana Democratic voters went to the polls and handed the Long dynasty a crushing defeat: Kennon, 477,913; Spaht, 299,032. The general election on April 22 will be a mere formality; Democrats win in Louisiana. Kennon will become governor on May 13.

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