Talk:Huey Long/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Indy beetle (talk · contribs) 06:14, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

I'll give this a thorough review in time. Louisiana political history is not my usual realm, though I do have some experience on editing North Carolina politics articles and ones concerning Southern political corruption. To start, here are my initial comments:

• The case ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Long. Is there an article for this case?

I couldn't find an article which only covered this case. Is there some kind of Supreme Court database I could search in? ~ HAL333 20:47, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

• • • Not that I know of, just curious as to if the biographies mentioned its formal name. -Indy beetle (talk) 06:02, 2 September 2020 (UTC)
• Irritated by what he saw as immoral gambling in New Orleans, Long sent the National Guard to raid these establishments The type of establishments is implied, but not actually specified. The talk of prostitutes in the next sentence suggests the National Guard was raiding brothels, not merely gambling dens.

 Done

• Despite a majority of representatives opposing adjournment, the voting board showed 67 ayes and 13 nays. This sparked confusion until it was realized that one pro-Long congressman had rigged the electric voting-machine to turn a "yes" into a "no" and vice versa. This claim comes from a contemporary newspaper source. Most of the modern scholarship on Bloody Monday doesn't seem to stake an actual claim as to whether the machine was rigged or just malfunctioned, though the belief that it had is what caused the fight. Speaker Fournet's official explanation was that the voting board displayed the results of a previous vote due to electrical malfunction.

Do you have any sources I could use to make it more balance? Brinkley just refers to it as a "jammed machine" in a passing mention on p. 25. ~ HAL333 16:22, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

I've cleared this up with information from Hair. -Indy beetle (talk) 17:57, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

Thanks! ~ HAL333 19:06, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

• Impeached on 8 of the 19 charges, It would be helpful to know on what charges he was impeached.

The biographies I have don't mention which charges they were. Tried to find an online source, but no luck. ~ HAL333 00:07, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

• • • No matter, I found them and added them myself. -Indy beetle (talk) 08:05, 2 September 2020 (UTC)
• It would useful to note that the Long opposition bloc in the legislature was known as the "Dynamite Squad".

 Done

• Ransdell was anti-Long, aligned with the Constitutional League, whom Long mocked as the "Constipational League", and the New Orleans Ring. The Constitutional League and the New Orleans Ring have had no introduction (I'm presuming the former was a civic organization that thought Long was a strongman not keen on legal niceties and the latter was the Regular Democratic Organization).

I expanded the context given on the Old regulars in the 1924 campaign section. I'll get to the NOLA ring next. ~ HAL333 21:26, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

• Long critic Sam Irby, who was set to testify on Long's corruption Testify to who? The legislature, a federal court?

 Done The sources just say that he was going to testify to the "anti-Long camp", so local state authorities. I clarified that and also added a note further explaining his connections to Long. ~ HAL333 14:51, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

• He continued his intimidating practice of presiding over the legislature; when congressman voiced their concerns, Long would shout "Shut up!" or "Sit down!" Was he actually presiding in the manner of the Speaker? Or was he just charging in and delivering blustering speeches and bullying legislators?

Added a note. ~ HAL333 16:08, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

• He is also credited with establishing the first penitentiary-rehabilitation program in Louisiana history. Two things here. Firstly, unless this is a likely controversial or disputed claim, there is no reason to say "he is also credited"; just say he created it. Secondly, what is penitentiary-rehabilitation? Is this a program for helping convicts get socially adjusted to society, or is this for renovating prison buildings?

It is somewhat contested. I clarified the second bit. ~ HAL333 14:27, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

• In an upset win over a Robinson-endorsed candidate, Caraway became the first woman elected to the Senate Elected to a full term in the Senate, to be exact. Also, is it explained why Long supported her. Was it merely to snub Robinson?

I added a note and cleared up some of the language. ~ HAL333 19:39, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

• Having broken a second time after earlier reconciliation with the Old Regulars and Mayor Walmsley in the fall of 1933, Long inserted himself into the New Orleans mayoral election of 1934. Walmsey is not linked here, and this alludes again to the Regular Democratic Organization which has not been introduced. Also, in what manner did he "insert himself" into this election?

I just removed it. Unfortunately, I don't have White's book (Conincidentally, it was actually the first book I read on Long.) Brinkley doesn't even mention Walmsley. If I'm able to get another biography from the library, I'll try to add this back in the near future. ~ HAL333 16:13, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

• Long also passed what he called "a tax on lying" How did this tax work?

 Done

• They also stripped away the remaining lucrative powers of the mayor of New Orleans, Mayor should be capitalized, since in this context its referring to a specific office. What is lucrative referring to? I have a feeling the Mayor of New Orleans was, at least officially, only supplied a fixed salary, thus they would not have lucrative i.e. "great profit-creating" powers. Unless they received commissions on city transactions or something? Or is this an incorrect word?

I don't really know. That was written by someone before me. My library doesn't have that book either. Should I just remove it? ~ HAL333 14:55, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

If that is the case, just remove the word "lucrative", as that only makes this ambiguous. -Indy beetle (talk) 15:47, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

 Done

• On what day was Long buried?

 Done

-Indy beetle (talk) 06:14, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Images

• I'm on the edge as to whether this image depicts Caraway. Brinkley says that she sat right by him in the Senate, however, she looks slightly older in contemporary photos. What do you think? ~ HAL333 02:06, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

I'm personally not convinced that its her. -Indy beetle (talk) 16:15, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

Additional comments

• There are some whispers in this article about "the Long machine", but little context or elaboration. Political machines are usually informal organizations, but they can be embedded in formal ones, such as civil administration departments or a campaign committee. If the "Long machine" was a true thing in existence that helped engineer the election of his allies and successors in his wake, a cursory history of how it was established, who it involved, and how it worked (networks of courthouse cliques, perhaps?) would be helpful.

 Done The book's are never really clear. Williams just says it was a "one-man operation", which I added. ~ HAL333 17:42, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

I've found some more detail on this and added it in myself. -Indy beetle (talk) 05:56, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

• The Long machine was charged with election fraud and voter intimidation, but the inquiry came up empty, and Overton was seated. This was a Senate inquiry, not a criminal indictment, so "charged" should probably swapped with "accused". Also, what is the "Long machine" referring to in this instance? His gubernatorial administration and its successor allies? Or a formal campaign organization? Or was this more of a conspiracy allegation?

• I chased the "accused" bit, however, unfortunately I don't have Hair's book. ~ HAL333 16:41, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

• Brinkley desrcibed the "Long organization" as the one being investigated. ~ HAL333 02:24, 5 September 2020 (UTC)

• On January 25, 1935, armed Square Dealers took over the courthouse of East Baton Rouge Parish. Long had Governor Allen call out the National Guard, declare martial law, ban public gatherings of two or more persons, and forbid the publication of criticism of state officials. The Square Dealers left the courthouse, but there was a brief armed skirmish at the Baton Rouge Airport. Firstly, did these state orders apply across Louisiana, or just Baton Rouge? Second, were there arrests?

• I clarified that it was just Baton Rouge and gave more background. Kane says that most just went back to their Standard Oil jobs. ~ HAL333 16:13, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

• The Great Depression obviously had a large impact on the trajectory of Long's career, particularly what he did in national politics. He was governor before and after the stock crash of 1929. Is there any info on how he reacted to it as governor or how it impacted his administration?

• I couldn't find anything specific. ~ HAL333 00:22, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

-Indy beetle (talk) 22:38, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

• Why did Cyr break with Long? -Indy beetle (talk) 06:47, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

 Done

• Per Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 294, considerable doubt has been expressed about the reliability of History.com as a source. Thus, citation 177 for the following sentence, By 1934, Long began a reorganization of the state government that reduced the authority of local governments in anti-Long strongholds New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Alexandria. It further gave the governor the power to appoint all state employees should be replaced.

I couldn't find any other sources, so I just removed it. I'll add it back when I can get my hands on a decent book. ~ HAL333 17:13, 12 September 2020 (UTC)

• There are also four bridges named in honor of both Long and his successor and supporter, O.K. Allen: the Long-Allen Bridge over the Atchafalaya River between Morgan City and Berwick, one on US Route 84, one on Highway 4, and the Long-Allen Bridge/Texas Street Bridge over the Red River between Downtown Shreveport and Bossier City. The given source for this sentence only supports the claim that one Long-Allen Bridge was named in homage to Long. Additional sources are needed to support the claims about the other bridges.

 Done

• Long's policies regarding black people are only mentioned once, when he criticized the roll-out of Social Security as discriminatory. Considering the importance of race in Southern politics and considering that some historians that Long was something of an anomaly as a Southern demagogue for not resorting to racist appeals [1], some explanation of his beliefs on race or any other policies specifically involving the matter would be helpful. -Indy beetle (talk) 06:44, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

I used to have a 3 paragraph section on race before spliting it off into Political views of Huey Long. I'll try to add a section about how he didn't race-bait in one of the election sections. ~ HAL333 12:31, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

 Done

• Passing The article is sufficiently well written, well sourced, well structured, and broad enough for GA (might need more detail for FA). -Indy beetle (talk) 17:01, 13 September 2020 (UTC)