Coliseum Fracas

In 1930, the late Huey Long took over Louisiana State University, started a $10,000,000 building program. Last month Louisiana's Governor Richard Leche invited Italian Ambassador Fulvio Suvich, Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and Managing Editor Walter Harrison of the wealthy Oklahoman & Times to help dedicate the college's $1,200,000 Agricultural Center Coliseum. Last week, these oddly assorted dignitaries succeeded in turning the ceremonies into an interesting verbal fracas.

Fracas began when Ambassador Suvich was quoted in an interview as saying that modern Italy is a "high speed democracy." As first speaker on the Coliseum program, Editor Harrison impolitely undertook to correct him. Said he: "For the past 16 years Mussolini has operated a supreme dictatorship with a cabinet of stooges and a puppet king. If that is Democracy, we want none of it."

To this Ambassador Suvich's haughty reply was, "I came here merely to participate in the dedication ceremonies . . . not to discuss politics," but as the successor to the closest thing to a dictator the U. S. has yet produced, Governor Leche felt called on to make apologies for Mr. Harrison. Said he: "There is an old saying that the pen is mightier than the sword. I think our friend resents any advantage on the part of the sword. . . ."

Unfortunately for the effect of Governor Leche's soothing words, last speaker on the card was Secretary Wallace. His theme: Pan-Americanism is the best safeguard against dictatorships and "we now know there are nations which despise Democracy and which look with longing eyes toward this hemisphere." His blunt conclusion: "This challenge from the dictatorships of Europe caught us unawares. We lost for a time our common purpose, but now it has been restored. Europe, we thank you."

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