Labor Governor

(See front cover)

A small group of newshawks, most of them local and familiar but some of them from out-of-town, stood around the desk of the Governor of Pennsylvania one day last week eying a prosaic-looking man with drooping eyelids. Said Governor George Howard Earle III: "Gentlemen, I have something here that may or may not be important to you but I feel very strongly about it at this time."

Then he picked up two sheets of paper covered with his own writing, in pencil, and began to read:

"I've got a lot of work to do here in Pennsylvania and I'm getting weary of these questions about my candidacy in 1940.

"Nearly everything I do is falsely attributed to personal ambition. This cannot but result in hurting the reforms I am fighting for. Therefore, I want my position definitely understood.

"There are many leaders of intelligence and honesty in the Democratic Party. There are, however, no men in the Democratic Party or any other party who reach knee-high in stature, mentally and morally, to Franklin Roosevelt.

"Between the third term precedent and the welfare of the country, can any patriotic citizen hesitate as to which course he will take?

"I am for Franklin Roosevelt for President in 1940, unqualifiedly and finally.

"I have never discussed this matter with the President, and this statement is made without his permission."

The newshawks gulped. George Earle put down his paper and began to patrol the carpet while questions were fired at him. Might he be a candidate for President in 1944? Would he be a candidate for Senator next year against Republican James J. Davis? He had only one answer for all queries: "I'm not running for anything."

Soon the newshawks were at their telephones and soon the country broke out with the first real flurry of 1940 Presidential headlines. It was all extremely premature and footless, but fairly funny and in some ways significant.

The Sawdust Trail. Only one other prominent New Deal politician has a record that in one respect can compare with that of Governor Earle: he and Franklin Roosevelt were born with silver spoons in their mouths and brought up in the stodgiest of rich, conservative societies, Roosevelt among the squires of Dutchess County, Earle on Philadelphia's "Main Line,"* among Pews, Biddies, Cadwaladers, Morrises and other families found in the Social Register and the upper brackets of the income tax.

Franklin Roosevelt was, however, always a Democrat and a professional politician. George Earle for the first 41 years of his life was a Republican among Republicans, a young socialite who loved polo ponies and show dogs, dinner parties and fine wines. He had inherited a sugar fortune and married Huberta Potter, a Kentucky belle. Like Saint Paul crossing the plain of Damascus, George Earle in 1932, crossing the valley of Depression, suddenly saw a great light. He promptly hit the sawdust trail to political redemption.

He first began to spoil starched dinner parties by discoursing on the inadequacies of Herbert Hoover, then fell under the spell of an errant Philadelphia socialite, William Christian ("Bill") Bullitt. Thereafter his march down the sawdust trail broke into a run. With his Main Line friends he was in disgrace, but soon he was making other friends, Oilman Joseph F. Guffey, boss of Pennsylvania's Demo-cratic machine; David Leo Lawrence, a practical politician born in Pittsburgh's Old Point section down near the conflux of the Monongahela and the Allegheny; Julius David Stern, radical Jewish publisher of Philadelphia's Record. These gentlemen could hardly help noticing Convert Earle since he plunked down $35,000 to help them try, and almost succeed, in carrying rock-ribbed Republican Pennsylvania for the Democrats in 1932. Nor could Franklin Roosevelt fail to take notice of him. He was made Minister to Austria. Two years later Mr. Guffey & friends called back Minister Earle, still without any political savoir-faire and even without the ability to make a decent speech, to nominate him for Governor of Pennsylvania.

Such is virtually the entire political background of the man who rates today with Governor Murphy of Michigan as one of the two most famed pro-Labor Governors of the U. S. That distinction does not rest on the fact that he has Tom Kennedy, secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America, as his Lieutenant Governor. It rests on George Earle's own popularity with the miners and steelworkers of Pennsylvania, on the fact that he was able to go out and effectively stump his State last autumn, helping to bring Pennsylvania into the Democratic column for Franklin Roosevelt. Not only as an ardent but as a potent New Dealer, Governor Earle's announcement that he favored a third term for Roosevelt was significant.

Candidate. It is a matter of opinion whether Franklin D. Roosevelt or John L. Lewis wants to run for President in 1940. Many people believe they do and some of their close friends think they don't. But there is no difference of opinion among observers about Governor Earle. They agree he would dearly love the Democratic nomination in 1940. Senator Wheeler remarked ironically: "Governor Earle reminds me of John Alden. Why don't you speak for yourself, Governor?" In the largest sense Governor Earle was doing nothing else and he had four good reasons for his announcement in addition to getting off an immediate political hot spot: i) It is a rule of politics that any man who wants to be President must deny that he does. 2) As matters now stand, if any candidate has to take the nomination away from Franklin Roosevelt in 1940, he would be a fool to do so--if he could--for he would not have a chance of election with Roosevelt nursing a grudge against him. 3) Since Franklin Roosevelt has already made sounds intended to indicate that he will not be a candidate there is no one safer for another candidate to plump for. 4) By speaking up, Governor Earle got himself what every candidate needs most, early publicity. Finally, though a third-term campaign might wreck Franklin Roosevelt if he pressed it, acting as its first sponsor could not harm George Earle and bringing it into the open early might be the best way of heading it off.

Put-Out. Three weeks ago when the steel strike spread to Pennsylvania, there were clear signs that the public was growing weary of labor strife. Citizens throughout the strike area were beginning to show a decided preference, if not for "law & order" in the vigilante sense, at least for civil peace.-In Michigan, Governor Murphy, who with consummate patience sat out the General Motors strike early this year, had not been able to give his State peace. Instead Michigan had a Chrysler strike, an uproarious labor holiday in Lansing, a battle at the Ford plant, another at the opening of a steel plant in Monroe. In Illinois, Governor Horner had not prevented a pitched battle at the Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. last February, a more deadly battle at Republic Steel's mill in South Chicago on Memorial Day. In Ohio, Governor Davey unsuccessfully tried mediation, but for three weeks the steel towns of the Mahoning Valley were armed camps, with steel mills under siege and casual fracases occurring at frequent intervals. In short, when serious labor trouble was batted out to them, each in turn had muffed the chance to achieve a settlement without civil commotion.

Governor Earle stepped in promptly when the steel strike spread to Bethlehem Steel's Cambria plant at Johnstown, Pa. First he sent in State police who with a firm hand arrested strikers as well as non-strikers to suppress violence. Since the mill continued to operate and the State police prevented the strikers from closing the mill by force, he was in the peculiar position for a Labor Governor, of "breaking the strike." Then the United Mine Workers called 40,000 miners to march on Johnstown. Declaring martial law, he sent in troops and shut the mill (TIME, June 28). So there was no violence of consequence in Johnstown. Where three others had fumbled, Governor Earle had made a putout. Last week he justified the Cambria shut-down by saying: "In this crisis the choice to be made was lives or dollars. I chose lives. . . ." Last week, the immediate danger to lives having disappeared, he was able without inconsistency to lift martial law and allow the mill to reopen (see p. 9). This indicated that his original step was an emergency measure for public safety and rebutted the charge that he had exceeded the powers of his office. This week's dynamiting of the Cambria mill's water supply proved that his precautions had not been excessive.

Boom. The smart board of political strategy which has advised Governor Earle consists of Senator Guffey and of David L. Lawrence, who is the Governor's Secretary of the Commonwealth and patronage dispenser. Although Mr. Guffey bosses the machine, Governor Earle does not always obey him. This year, for example, he backed a bill for adding an extra brakeman to freight and passenger train crews. Labor wanted it but Senator Guffey, who is campaigning for lower freight rates on coal, opposed it. With the aid of David Lawrence, the Governor got the Legislature to pass it.

The Governor's boom for 1940 was well started year ago at the Democratic National Convention where he and Mrs. Earle. who remains popular even with the starched Republican friends who have forsworn the Governor, acted as genial hosts at Philadelphia. It started rolling in earnest at Roosevelt's Inaugural parade, in a downpour when he alone among 30 governors, rode like the President in an open car. nodding and beaming at the crowd among whom groups from Pennsylvania shouted "Our Next President!" He pushed it further when he addressed the Southern Society in Washington as one who dwelt close to the Mason-Dixon line in geography as in politics.

In other ways George Earle has stayed in the limelight: by piloting his own autogiro, by driving his Duesenberg into the ditch to avoid an accident, by jumping into the river to save one of his Manchester terriers. Mrs. Earle--"Hebbie" to her husband--now 40 and the mother of four sons, the eldest of whom, George IV, is a sophomore in Harvard, is not the least of his assets. Not only is she an attractive figure wherever she appears with her inseparable French poodle, Gentleman Harpindale Swank ("Swanky"), but she combines an interest in his work that brings her frequently to his office, with a social charm which has political effect. The Governor recently remarked to newshawks: "Boys, I love my wife like nobody's business!" Last week one J. W. Lindan Jr. wired him: "I am raising a fund of $2,000,000 in the Southern States not only to prevent your possible nomination in 1940 but to bury you as deeply in political oblivion as possible. . . . You are as un-American as any Russian Communist. If this be libel sue me. . . ." The Governor with prompt sagacity made the wire public.

Having succeeded in passing a "Little Wagner Act" for Pennsylvania, consolidating the administration of local relief in boards of his appointment, creating a new public utility commission, thereby getting rid of an old one which was still Republican-controlled, establishing by law a 44-hour week for industrial workers, and imposing a chain store tax to balance the State budget, Governor Earle has entrenched himself really deeply with Labor. Last week when Publisher Stern gave a little dinner in the penthouse of his New York Post building--with such guests as John L. Lewis, Charles P. Howard of the Typographical Union. Senators Wagner and Guffey--Governor Earle well knew that they would not be too severe with him for feeling that he must allow the Bethlehem plant at Johnstown to reopen.

Hard Lines. George Earle is not just a politician with an eye on the main chance, nor is he just a puppet of either the Democratic machine or Labor. To swing to the liberal wing of politics, a son of wealth has to be endowed with a considerable fund of convictions. George Earle's convictions on civil liberty, against tyranny of any kind, were demonstrated during his two years as Minister to Austria. There he was so little able to conceal his dislike of Hitlerism that Nazis made threats to blow up the U. S. legation. A dictatorship of the proletariat is equally abhorrent to him and his sympathies were with the late Chancellor Dollfuss, an idol of his even when Dollfuss spilled buckets of blood in putting down the Socialist revolution in Austria. His enemies may question how well balanced George Earle's convictions are, but as a man with strong will to peace and to a fair deal for Labor he was destined to have a hard time when strike trouble spread to Pennsylvania.

The fact that he is also ambitious merely adds to his difficulties. He has yet to face the question of whether he can preserve order in his State without 1) putting Labor in a position where it will inevitably lose its strike or 2) using the power of the State to shut the steel mills at other times than when it can be excused by the necessity of preventing bloodshed.

Last Sunday the Governor traveled to Philadelphia to see a fete on the Schuylkill River in which comic divers and aqua-pianists performed. He watched and grinned, then soberly declared: "Those clowns gave me my first laugh in two weeks."

*The main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, whose four tracks lie between embankments of "entrenched greed," the estates of "economic royalists."

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