Editing Huey Long (section)

===Senator-elect===
Now governor and senator-elect, Long returned to completing his legislative agenda with renewed strength. He continued his intimidating practice of presiding over the legislature,{{efn|group=note|Long would stand directly below the Speaker's podium while strong-arming the legislators into passing his agenda.<ref name="brinkley28"/>}} shouting "Shut up!" or "Sit down!" when legislators voiced their concerns. In a single night, Long passed 44 bills in just two hours: one every three minutes. He later explained his tactics: "[[Consequentialism|The end justifies the means]]."<ref name="brinkley28">[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 28.</ref> Long endorsed pro-Long candidates and wooed others with favors; he often joked his legislature was the "finest collection of lawmakers money can buy".<ref name="FDR"/> He organized and concentrated his power into a [[political machine]]: "a one-man" operation, according to Williams.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 255.</ref> He placed his brother Earl in charge of allotting patronage appointments to local politicians and signing state contracts with businessmen in exchange for loyalty. Long appointed allies to key government positions, such as giving [[Robert Maestri]] the office of Conservation Commissioner and making [[Oscar K. Allen]] head of the [[Louisiana Highway Commission]]. Maestri would deliberately neglect the regulation of energy companies in exchange for industry donations to Long's campaign fund, while Allen took direction from Earl on which construction and supply companies to contract for road work.<ref>[[#Kurtz|Kurtz & Peoples (1991)]], Chapter 2: Political Baptism.</ref> Concerned by these tactics, Long's opponents charged he had become the virtual dictator of the state.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Latson|first=Jennifer|date=September 8, 2015|title=The Strange Career of Assassinated Louisiana Politician Huey Long|url=https://time.com/4020709/huey-long-anniversary/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location=New York|access-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120033237/https://time.com/4020709/huey-long-anniversary/|archive-date=November 20, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

To address record low cotton prices amid a [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] surplus, Long proposed the major cotton-producing states mandate a 1932 "[[Cotton-Holiday|cotton holiday]]", which would ban cotton production for the entire year.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], p. 138.</ref> He further proposed that the holiday be imposed internationally, which some nations, such as [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], supported.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], pp. 144–45.</ref> In 1931, Long convened the New Orleans Cotton Conference, attended by delegates from every major cotton-producing state.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], pp. 139–40, 147.</ref> The delegates agreed to codify Long's proposal into law on the caveat that it would not come into effect until states producing three-quarters of U.S. cotton passed such laws.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], pp. 147–49.</ref> As the proposer, Louisiana unanimously passed the legislation.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], p. 152.</ref> When conservative politicians in Texas—the largest cotton producer in the U.S.—rejected the measure, the holiday movement collapsed.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], pp. 154–58.</ref> Although traditional politicians would have been ruined by such a defeat, Long became a national figure and cemented his image as a champion of the poor.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], pp. 158–60.</ref> Senator [[Carter Glass]], although a fervid critic of Long, credited him with first suggesting [[artificial scarcity]] as a solution to the depression.<ref>[[#Cotton|Snyder (1977)]], p. 160.</ref>