Leslie L Biffle

Background

Leslie Biffle was born on October 9, 1889, in Boydsville, Arkansas, United States, the son of Billie B. Biffle, a storekeeper and local public official, and Ella Turner. The letter "L" is his full middle name.

Education

Leslie attended high school in nearby Piggott and the Keys Business Institute in Little Rock.

Career

Leslie grew up talking local politics with his father, a Democrat, who was elected clerk and later sheriff of Clay County. The efficiency with which young Biffle distributed campaign literature for Senator James P. Clarke brought him to the attention of Congressman Bruce Macon, who in 1908 hired Biffle as his secretary in Washington, D. C. When Macon retired in 1912, Biffle became secretary to Senator Clarke. Upon Clarke's death in 1916, Biffle was appointed superintendent of the Senate folding room, where papers are prepared for mailing.

After serving as an army auditor in France during World War I, he returned to the folding room. In 1925 Biffle was appointed minority assistant secretary of the Senate and, with the Democratic takeover in 1933, became majority secretary under majority leader Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas. In this position Biffle earned a lasting reputation as a shrewd nose counter, skilled parliamentarian, and discreet confidant. He won respect from both parties and often interceded to smooth relations between competing personalities. He devoted most of his energy, however, to such mundane but crucial chores as pairing the votes of absent senators, monitoring the parliamentary maneuvers of the opposition, and anticipating Senate voting patterns.

Biffle also took freshmen Democratic senators under his wing, providing guidance in protocol and help in getting desired committee assignments. One such freshman Biffle befriended in 1935 was Harry Truman. Biffle and Truman had much in common and over the years developed a close personal relationship. It is said that Biffle helped arrange Truman's appointment as chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, a forum that brought Truman his first national exposure and led to his selection as vice-president in 1944.

In February 1945 Biffle was unanimously elected secretary of the Senate. It was a tribute to his bipartisan appeal that for the first time in history the minority party did not run an opposing candidate for this important housekeeping post. As Senate secretary Biffle assigned members their floor seats and took charge of more than 1, 000 employees, including pages, clerks, and the Capitol police, as well as the parliamentarian and sergeant-at-arms.

When Truman succeeded Franklin Roosevelt as president in April 1945 the first person he called was Biffle. In an unprecedented gesture the president conducted his first meeting with congressional leaders not in the White House, but over fried chicken in Biffle's office. Because of his close association with Truman, Biffle emerged as the Senate's chief liaison with the White House. He conferred with the president daily over a hot line and helped smooth passage of administration programs. His office, dubbed "Biff's diner, " quickly became a favorite watering hole for lobbyists, office seekers, and others after the president's ear. His behind-the-scenes direction earned him such nicknames as "the sage of Capitol Hill, " "the 97th senator, " and, less flattering, "prince of wire-pullers. "

With the Republican takeover of the Senate in 1947 Biffle became executive director of the Democratic Policy Committee. He resumed his duties as secretary of the Senate when a Democratic majority returned in 1949. Relations between Biffle and Truman were strained briefly during the 1948 Democratic National Convention. As sergeant-at-arms of the convention, Biffle angered the president by promoting Senator Alben Barkley for vice-president at a time when Truman was trying, unsuccessfully, to convince Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas to join the ticket.

During the campaign Biffle conducted an informal poll that contradicted the prevailing notion that Truman had little chance of defeating Thomas Dewey that year. Dressed in overalls and a straw hat, Biffle drove a pickup truck through several states in the East and Midwest, striking up conversations with people along the way and carefully recording their views each night. At the end of six weeks he returned to Washington, D. C. , to announce that, contrary to national public-opinion polls, Truman would win the election. He also advised the president that a majority approved of temporary assistance to war-torn Europe but opposed a long-term commitment.

In 1953 Biffle retired, a victim of the Republican sweep the previous year, but he remained in the capital as a consultant. Biffle died in Washington, D. C.

Achievements

• Leslie Biffle gained a reputation as a congenial and bipartisan political leader. He was the confidential aide to President Harry S. Truman and chief White House liaison man in the Senate during the Truman administration.

Politics

Biffle was a national Democratic Party official from Arkansas.

Personality

Unassuming in appearance, Biffle stood five feet, seven inches tall, weighed about 135 pounds, and had brown hair and blue eyes. He was modest, soft-spoken, and courteous to all. He moved swiftly though discreetly about the Senate, quietly signaling orders to pages and slipping reminders to senators. His ability on a crowded Senate floor to whisper out of earshot of everyone but his interlocutor was legend on Capitol Hill.

Interests

• An avid fisherman, Biffle adorned his office wall with a prize catch, a sixty-nine-pound sailfish he landed off Miami. He processed tomatoes grown in his own rooftop garden into "Biffle's Tomato Juice, " which became a popular hangover remedy on the Hill.

Connections

Biffle married Mary Glade Strickling in October 1921. They had no children.

Father:

Billie B. Biffle

Mother:

Ella (Turner) Biffle

Spouse:

Mary Glade (Strickling) Biffle