Little Flower on Exhibit

The mayor of New York City, better paid ($22,500) than any public executive except the President of the U. S. ($75,000) and the Governor of New York ($25,000), actively governs 7,000,000 people, has the third toughest elective job in the nation. Above it in difficulty, short of the Presidency, only the Governorship of New York is supposed to rank. But other jobs, such as Vice President, Senator or Cabinet member, bring greater kudos. He would be a dull New York mayor indeed who did not tour the U. S. to give voters outside of New York a chance to look him over. No dullard is the incumbent, stumpy, staccato, hard-working New Deal Republican Fiorello ("Little Flower") Henry LaGuardia. He is also a good friend of Franklin Roosevelt who has announced that there is a place for Liberal Republicans in his future plans for the nation. Last week Mayor LaGuardia was in the midst of a transcontinental tour after which thousands of voters in the deep South, Southwest and California will know him better.

In Shreveport, La., he praised the "vision and courage" of Franklin Roosevelt, called for a united nation to fight Depression II.

In Fort Worth, Tex., he accepted a sombrero and said: "This is the nearest thing to Jimmy Walker [his playboy predecessor] that I've ever had."

In Prescott, Ariz., where he lived at Fort Whipple for eleven years (5 to 16) while his father, an army bandmaster, was stationed there before the Spanish War, he jollied the home folks. Said he: "I got my vitality here in Arizona."

In San Francisco, he surprised Mayor Angelo Rossi by having 200 New York policemen, 250 New York firemen meet him as an escort, but Mayor Rossi's police insisted on leading the parade. The two Italo-Americans joshed each other about their 1939 world's fairs. Mayor LaGuardia said: "I always feel at home in San Francisco and now I'll feel like I am in San Francisco when I get home. . . . The teamsters have gone on strike in New York."

To the American Legion Convention in Los Angeles proceeded the "Little Flower," veteran of a War-time bombing squadron, retired as a Major. Superpatriots protested against his attending because he has a confessed Communist in his administration (Simon Gerson) and is a member of the American Labor Party.

He ignored the superpatriots, held court for the press. Excerpts:

"Cordell Hull and I have an agreement. I clean the streets of New York and he tends to foreign affairs."

"Speaking of purges, I've been thoroughly purged. In Congress in 1924 I was taken off all my committees, but I didn't whine about it. I told Nick Longworth that if he wouldn't let me attend his caucuses I wouldn't let him attend mine, and I'd hold mine in a telephone booth. " His standard crack whenever Presidential 1940 was mentioned: "I couldn't even rate a gallery seat in either party convention."

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