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Son of a Montgomery, Ala. cotton merchant who went to New York after the Civil War and founded a private banking house, Governor Lehman has spent most of his adult life in finance, as a partner in Lehman Bros. Politically he is not a misfit but an anomaly. Following two— such bright political lights as Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt at Albany he is wholly out of place, yet thoroughly successful. He has the whole hearted support not only of Messrs. Smith and Roosevelt but of a vast section of the New York Press. He is not the public idol Al Smith was, for in public appear ance he is a conservative little man. Not handshaking, not backslapping, not silver-tongued oratory, not radical promises, are his. He lacks nearly all the tools of the political trade but his State trusts him as a decent, well-behaved, hard-working executive who is doing his level best for some 12,000,000 citizens.
Texas' James V. Allred, who takes command of the biggest State in the Union, is only 35, youngest of the 34 Governors to be inaugurated next month — younger than 37-year-old Phil La Follette of Wisconsin, younger than 38-year-old Olin Johnston of South Carolina. Last week Governor-elect Allred was in Washington trying to find out how much money Texas would have to raise for relief on top of its expected $14,000,000 deficit.
Jim Allred began politics at 24 when Governor Neff made him District Attorney of Wichita Falls. He made his mark by convicting the Mayor of Wichita Falls and his wife of murdering their son-in-law. Two years later young Allred was clamoring for the job of Attorney General. Dan Moody, candidate for Governor, backed Claude Pollard and Allred lost. In 1929 Pollard resigned and Allred demanded that he be appointed. Governor Moody refused.
"All right. Go ahead and name some body else. I don't care who. But," said Allred shaking his finger under the Governor's nose, "I'll beat the man you ap point, whoever he is."
In 1930 Allred fulfilled his prophecy. In 1932 he was reelected. His career as Attorney General made news in Texas. For years Texas Gulf Sulphur Co. had succeeded in avoiding all efforts to raise its taxes because the county commissioners who assessed its property obligingly postponed hearings whenever the Attorney General came to protest, held the hearings when no protester was at hand. Night be fore a scheduled hearing, Allred drove to the neighborhood of the county seat, slept in his car, drove into town just as the hear ing opened in the morning, made himself heard.
With this record, the young Attorney General marched into last summer's Dem ocratic primaries for Governor. One of seven candidates, he ran first with Tom F. Hunter, a wealthy lawyer and oilman, second. In the runoff, three of the defeated candidates, including one backed by Pa & Ma Ferguson, promptly lined up behind Hunter. Jim Ferguson described Allred as "just a boy." Hunter described him as "a little boy with big breeches on." Allred retorted: "I'm old enough to run for Governor in my own name and that's something Jim Ferguson can't do. . . .* Old enough to go to War while Hunter stayed at home profiteering on $3.50 a barrel oil."