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"Huey Long - and Honesty" - by Rev. Weldon Bares


LSU professor and historian T. Harry Williams wrote an interesting biography about Governor Huey Long that I read several years ago. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this book.

When Huey Long was running for governor and campaigning in south Louisiana, someone advised him to make an appeal to the Roman Catholic voters in the state.

Following the advice, he began his first speech with the following words: "When I was a boy, I would get up at six o'clock in the morning on Sunday, and I would hitch our old horse up to the buggy and I would take my Catholic grandparents to mass. I would bring them home, and at ten o'clock I would hitch the old horse up again, and I would take my Baptist grandparents to church."

After hearing his speech, Long's political adviser said to him, "Huey, you've been holding out on us. I didn't know that you had any Catholic grandparents." Long responded, "Don't be a fool. We didn't even have a horse!"

Honesty is such an important virtue. Mother Teresa once said, “Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.”

The scripture says it like this, “Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich.” (Proverbs 28:6)


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