George S. Long
Encyclopedia
George Shannon "Doc" Long (September 11, 1883 -- March 22, 1958) was a member of the powerful Long political dynasty
in Louisiana
and a Democratic
U.S. representative from the defunct Eighth Congressional District from 1953-1958. The late Speedy O. Long
of La Salle Parish, another member of the family, once jokingly compared George Long, the older brother of Huey P. Long, Jr., to the family's own "St. Peter".
George Long was the oldest of nine children born to Huey Pierce "Hugh" Long, Sr. (1852-1937), and the former Caledonia Palestine Tison (1860-1913). He was born and reared in a log cabin
in tiny Tunica in West Feliciana Parish near Baton Rouge. When the child was five years of age, the Longs moved to Winnfield
in Winn Parish some fifty miles north of Alexandria
. He attended the Winnfield public schools. Long attended what was then called "Mount Lebanon College," now the conservative
Baptist
-affiliated Louisiana College
in Pineville
in Rapides Parish. Long thereafter taught school for a time in Winn and Grant parishes.
, Louisville, Kentucky
, and New Orleans. He practiced dentistry
in Oklahoma
from 1904-1935.
In World War I
, he was in officer training school in Waco, Texas
(McLennan County), when the armistice
was signed.
Long was a Democratic member of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives from 1920-1922. He also studied law and was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1923. William J. "Bill" Dodd, in his memoirs entitled Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics, said that "Doc "got into some kind of shady deal while in the Oklahoma legislature and had to resign or face a trial."
In 1935, Long relocated to Monroe
and practiced dentistry there until 1940. In 1948, he was appointed by his brother, Governor Earl Kemp Long, as superintendent of the Louisiana Colony and Training School in Pineville, a facility for the mentally retarded. He also practiced dentistry in Pineville. In 1950, he was demoted from superintendent to institutional inspector at the training school.
ticket. The Alabama
and Mississippi
delegations walked out of the convention in protest of the civil rights
plank in the party platform
and supported then Governor Strom Thurmond
of South Carolina
for president. Thurmond was the official Democratic nominee in Louisiana and three other southern states.
In 1948 and again in 1950, he unsuccessfully contested his party's nomination for the Eighth District U.S. House seat. He lost to Asa Leonard Allen
(1891-1969), brother of former Governor O.K. Allen, a Long protege. Leonard Allen continued to have the support of Earl Long. The Long brothers frequently quarreled among themselves and would support the opponents of each other when they saw it in their interests to do so. Doc Long continued to work on Earl Long's teeth throughout their political estrangements. Long was the founder and director of the Dr. George S. Long Corporation.
In 1952, Doc Long just wore down Allen, as was the forte of the Longs whenever they encountered an obstacle to their ambitions, and convinced the congressman not to seek renomination but to yield to Long. George Long was hence elected in "Long country" in 1952, 1954, and 1956. In Congress, he was known for his work on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and he helped to organize the prayer room off the Capitol rotunda
.
Long was twice married. His first wife, the former Mary Katherine Shindel died in 1950. He married Jewell Marie Tyson (born 1914) of Pineville on May 11, 1953.
Doc Long served until his death in the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
, midway in his third term. He was a Baptist
, Mason
, Shriner, and member of the Kiwanis Club. He is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.
or Quintilian
proud. And he rolled his words like well-oiled wheels. Someone once said that a great speaker is a good man speaking well. George Shannon Long was as phony as a three-dollar bill, and most everyone but George knew he was a bag of wind. But on paper or before a group of strangers, his speeches were superimpressive. Earl once told me that 'Shan' [short for "Shannon"] was 'a ship without a rudder, he's like a child who doesn't know right from wrong. He's a congenital thief.' And I believe Earl was right. George Long was smart, and he could have, with his several gifts, been the greatest of the Longs. But he had a screw or two loose and couldn't pull it all together. I like[d] him, and he liked me. With all his faults and weaknesses, George was not purposefully mean, and he had a big heart. He held no grudges and on many occasions, for short spurts, showed marks of genius. In many ways he was the most human and likeable of the Long brothers.
"Dr. Long, both a lawyer and a dentist, had been run out of Louisiana by Huey, or so Earl told me. . . . Earl seemed to like Doc better than he liked his other brothers, but Earl did not respect his honesty or judgment."
Once the commissioner of administrator, J.H. Rester, showed Dodd, who was acting governor while Earl Long was out of state, that George Long "had purchased building materials and charged them to the state, yet had used the materials to construct a private dwelling for himself. He had a lot of other stuff that he said showed Dr. Long to be a crook and thief. I didn't look very carefully at the alleged evidence, but I asked Rester why he was bringing it to me. He said it was his responsbilitlity but he wanted me to advise him what to do. . . I could see the old rascal didn't like Dr. Long or me; he thought he would get me to throw Dr. Long to the wolves, and then Earl would get on me.
"I told Rester than I could not advise him on how to operate his office or handle the alleged wrongdoing of Dr. Long. I did say that he should remember that Dr. Long was Earl's brother and that a scandal would reflect discredit upon the governor. I told him to use his own judgement, but to get ready for a quick trip to the unemployed if he made a lot of charges, and they backfired."
Dodd said that he made his remarks in front of Albert A. Fredericks of Natchitoches
, Earl's executive assistant and a state senator
from Natchitoches and Red River parishes from 1932-1948. "Fredericks said that if he were in Rester's shoes and had all that crap Rester claimed was in the folder, he would find a nice deep dark, well-hidden trash barrel, and throw the file in the barrel, and accidentally drop in a match. So far as I know, Rester must have found the barrel, for after he left my office, I never heard any more about Dr. Long using state materials on his private home."
Dodd also noted that he agreed to support Doc Long in a race against Leonard Allen for Congress if George would back Dodd for governor. Dodd recalled that when he "grabbed the paper to see what nice things Dodd had said in endorsing me and read [instead] that he had endorsed [official Long choice Carlos] Spaht because I was too young and too wild to be trusted in the governor's office. Later, he laughed about it."
of Alexandria, who served from 1958-1963. Earl Long challenged McSween for renomination in 1960. Earl Long won the Democratic nomination for the position but died several days later. The Democratic State Central Committee certified McSween as the replacement candidate. Therefore, McSween, who was unopposed by Republicans
in November 1960, was reelected to Congress after having lost renomination three months earlier. Such a scenario was extremely rare. Then two years later, McSween was defeated by another Long candidate in the primary, Gillis William Long
(1923-1985).
Long family
The Long family is a family of politicians from the United States. Below is a list of members:*George S. Long , Oklahoma State Representative 1920, delegate to the Democratic National Convention 1948, U.S. Representative from Louisiana 1953–1958...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
U.S. representative from the defunct Eighth Congressional District from 1953-1958. The late Speedy O. Long
Speedy O. Long
Speedy Oteria Long was a Jena lawyer who was a Democratic U.S. Representative from central Louisiana between 1965 and 1973. Prior to his tenure in the since disbanded Eighth Congressional District, Speedy Long had been a member of the Louisiana state Senate...
of La Salle Parish, another member of the family, once jokingly compared George Long, the older brother of Huey P. Long, Jr., to the family's own "St. Peter".
George Long was the oldest of nine children born to Huey Pierce "Hugh" Long, Sr. (1852-1937), and the former Caledonia Palestine Tison (1860-1913). He was born and reared in a log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
in tiny Tunica in West Feliciana Parish near Baton Rouge. When the child was five years of age, the Longs moved to Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
in Winn Parish some fifty miles north of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
. He attended the Winnfield public schools. Long attended what was then called "Mount Lebanon College," now the conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
-affiliated Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
in Rapides Parish. Long thereafter taught school for a time in Winn and Grant parishes.
Studying dentistry and law
He thereafter studied dentistry in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and New Orleans. He practiced dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
from 1904-1935.
In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was in officer training school in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
(McLennan County), when the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
was signed.
Long was a Democratic member of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives from 1920-1922. He also studied law and was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1923. William J. "Bill" Dodd, in his memoirs entitled Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics, said that "Doc "got into some kind of shady deal while in the Oklahoma legislature and had to resign or face a trial."
In 1935, Long relocated to Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
and practiced dentistry there until 1940. In 1948, he was appointed by his brother, Governor Earl Kemp Long, as superintendent of the Louisiana Colony and Training School in Pineville, a facility for the mentally retarded. He also practiced dentistry in Pineville. In 1950, he was demoted from superintendent to institutional inspector at the training school.
George Long and Louisiana politics
George Long was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention that met in Philadelphia in 1948. He was part of the loyalists pledged to the Harry Truman-Alben W. BarkleyAlben W. Barkley
Alben William Barkley was an American politician in the Democratic Party who served as the 35th Vice President of the United States , under President Harry S. Truman....
ticket. The Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
delegations walked out of the convention in protest of the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
plank in the party platform
Party platform
A party platform, or platform sometimes also referred to as a manifesto, is a list of the actions which a political party, individual candidate, or other organization supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said peoples' candidates voted into political office or...
and supported then Governor Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
for president. Thurmond was the official Democratic nominee in Louisiana and three other southern states.
In 1948 and again in 1950, he unsuccessfully contested his party's nomination for the Eighth District U.S. House seat. He lost to Asa Leonard Allen
A. Leonard Allen
Asa Leonard Allen was an educator, attorney, and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana...
(1891-1969), brother of former Governor O.K. Allen, a Long protege. Leonard Allen continued to have the support of Earl Long. The Long brothers frequently quarreled among themselves and would support the opponents of each other when they saw it in their interests to do so. Doc Long continued to work on Earl Long's teeth throughout their political estrangements. Long was the founder and director of the Dr. George S. Long Corporation.
In 1952, Doc Long just wore down Allen, as was the forte of the Longs whenever they encountered an obstacle to their ambitions, and convinced the congressman not to seek renomination but to yield to Long. George Long was hence elected in "Long country" in 1952, 1954, and 1956. In Congress, he was known for his work on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and he helped to organize the prayer room off the Capitol rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
.
Long was twice married. His first wife, the former Mary Katherine Shindel died in 1950. He married Jewell Marie Tyson (born 1914) of Pineville on May 11, 1953.
Doc Long served until his death in the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, midway in his third term. He was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Mason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, Shriner, and member of the Kiwanis Club. He is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.
Bill Dodd questions "Doc" Long's integrity
Bill Dodd said (pp. 20-21) that George Long "was by far the best-looking of all the Longs. He was an artist's model for the typical southern statesman. His six-foot-two- or three-inch frame was ramroad straight and proportioned like that of a superb athlete. His face was full, and his well-shaped head was crowned with a red mane that reminded one of the king of beasts. His voice and diction would have made CiceroCicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
or Quintilian
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
proud. And he rolled his words like well-oiled wheels. Someone once said that a great speaker is a good man speaking well. George Shannon Long was as phony as a three-dollar bill, and most everyone but George knew he was a bag of wind. But on paper or before a group of strangers, his speeches were superimpressive. Earl once told me that 'Shan' [short for "Shannon"] was 'a ship without a rudder, he's like a child who doesn't know right from wrong. He's a congenital thief.' And I believe Earl was right. George Long was smart, and he could have, with his several gifts, been the greatest of the Longs. But he had a screw or two loose and couldn't pull it all together. I like[d] him, and he liked me. With all his faults and weaknesses, George was not purposefully mean, and he had a big heart. He held no grudges and on many occasions, for short spurts, showed marks of genius. In many ways he was the most human and likeable of the Long brothers.
"Dr. Long, both a lawyer and a dentist, had been run out of Louisiana by Huey, or so Earl told me. . . . Earl seemed to like Doc better than he liked his other brothers, but Earl did not respect his honesty or judgment."
Once the commissioner of administrator, J.H. Rester, showed Dodd, who was acting governor while Earl Long was out of state, that George Long "had purchased building materials and charged them to the state, yet had used the materials to construct a private dwelling for himself. He had a lot of other stuff that he said showed Dr. Long to be a crook and thief. I didn't look very carefully at the alleged evidence, but I asked Rester why he was bringing it to me. He said it was his responsbilitlity but he wanted me to advise him what to do. . . I could see the old rascal didn't like Dr. Long or me; he thought he would get me to throw Dr. Long to the wolves, and then Earl would get on me.
"I told Rester than I could not advise him on how to operate his office or handle the alleged wrongdoing of Dr. Long. I did say that he should remember that Dr. Long was Earl's brother and that a scandal would reflect discredit upon the governor. I told him to use his own judgement, but to get ready for a quick trip to the unemployed if he made a lot of charges, and they backfired."
Dodd said that he made his remarks in front of Albert A. Fredericks of Natchitoches
Natchitoches
Natchitoches may refer to:*Natchitoches , an American Indian people*Natchitoches, Louisiana, a city*Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana...
, Earl's executive assistant and a state senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from Natchitoches and Red River parishes from 1932-1948. "Fredericks said that if he were in Rester's shoes and had all that crap Rester claimed was in the folder, he would find a nice deep dark, well-hidden trash barrel, and throw the file in the barrel, and accidentally drop in a match. So far as I know, Rester must have found the barrel, for after he left my office, I never heard any more about Dr. Long using state materials on his private home."
Dodd also noted that he agreed to support Doc Long in a race against Leonard Allen for Congress if George would back Dodd for governor. Dodd recalled that when he "grabbed the paper to see what nice things Dodd had said in endorsing me and read [instead] that he had endorsed [official Long choice Carlos] Spaht because I was too young and too wild to be trusted in the governor's office. Later, he laughed about it."
McSween succeeds George Long
"Doc" Long was succeeded in Congress by his fellow Democrat, Harold B. McSweenHarold B. McSween
Harold Barnett McSween was a Louisiana businessman and politician who served in the now defunct 8th congressional district for two terms as a Democrat....
of Alexandria, who served from 1958-1963. Earl Long challenged McSween for renomination in 1960. Earl Long won the Democratic nomination for the position but died several days later. The Democratic State Central Committee certified McSween as the replacement candidate. Therefore, McSween, who was unopposed by Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in November 1960, was reelected to Congress after having lost renomination three months earlier. Such a scenario was extremely rare. Then two years later, McSween was defeated by another Long candidate in the primary, Gillis William Long
Gillis William Long
Gillis William Long was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Louisiana and member of the Long family. Long served seven non-consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives but placed third in two campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nominations in 1963 and 1971...
(1923-1985).