The Horner Pie

Henry Horner was known to one-&-all in Illinois as an honest, jovial old baldicoot who loved movies, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and his job as Governor. In November 1938, good Mr. Horner fell ill, straightway became a man of mystery. In the last 17 months probably no more than a dozen people have seen him. His illness has been variously reported: a stroke, a second stroke, a third, a blood clot, a heart spasm, cancer of the throat, pneumonia, diabetes, paralysis.

From his bedside has come only the report: "He's getting along fine." Mouthpiece of the Bedside Cabinet was young (38) Samuel L. Nudelman, an unsuccessful Belleville haberdasher who became State Finance Director in 1937 after only a three-year apprenticeship.

No bedside manners had Lieutenant Governor John Henry Stelle (rhymes with bell), 48, lean and tough, who had not unreasonably assumed he should be at least Acting Governor. Disillusioned by Mr. Nudelman many months ago, thrown overboard by his Chicago political sponsors, Messrs. Kelly & Nash, Mr. Stelle had nowhere to go but out. Thinking it over, he decided that his way out would be dramatic. Mr. Stelle announced his candidacy for the Governorship.

Alarmed were Chicago's bellicose Mayor Ed Kelly and Democratic National Committeeman Pat Nash. Mr. Kelly is 63, interested mainly in his work; older and wiser is Contractor, Horseowner Nash, whose interests, in order, are: 1) sewers, 2) stables, 3) politics. Sniffing Republican resurgence in the air, Messrs.

Kelly & Nash quickly agreed with Mr. Horner on a Horner henchman as the gubernatorial candidate: Harry B. Hershey, 54, a genial party hack. Mr. Kelly, inveterate Third Termite, struck off a heart-rending slogan for last week's primary: "For Roosevelt and Humanity." On primary day Mr. Roosevelt ran fairly well (see p. 14), but Humanity had rough going. While Mr. Stelle was properly crushed by the machine--voters seemed to resent his "seizure" of the Governorship the day before--the Republican vote showed the Kelly-Nash-Horner machine parlous times ahead.

Stubborn Mr. Stelle announced he was still Acting Governor; quiet Mr. Nudelman still went on running things; Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Dwight Green shook happy hands with Republican Senatorial Candidate C. Wayland ("Curly") Brooks. Hastily Mayor Kelly struck off a statement praising Roosevelt and Humanity and set out for a Florida vacation with horsy Mr. Nash.

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