Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
HEADLINE PERSONALITY
Perow's Skill Seen
In Knotty Problems

A deceptive appearance OF
boredom - bordering on leth-
argy-hides q steel-trap mind
of State Senator Mosby Gar
land Perrow. jr.
He is the man selected by
Gov. Almond to head a group
of 40 legislators who hold the
key to Virginia's school int
grafton problem.
OF ponderous frame Che
weighs about 240 .,ounds), the
Senator from Lynchburg gives
gallery visitors the impression
that he. is completely weary OF
all that goes on around him
But the 49-year-old lawyer
has a reputation for being able
to grasp the full meaning Of
complicated legislation. digest
It into a simple summary and
present the issue squarely to
the Senate.
During debates he Is observed
frequently fitting his swivel
chair back at his front-row
desk, gazing dreamily at the
ceiling with a half-smoked.
half -chewed cifiar poised in /.
mid-air.
DispOses Of Issues
When he spots a flaw in OPP
position arguments, he pulls his
big frame together and rises to
dispose of the issue.
This characteristic may well
have been in Gov. Almonds
mind when he named Senator
Perrow to handle the compli-
Gated series of new laws to be
submitted to a special session
Of the Legislature on March 81.
He's skilled in a smoke-filled
room, whether at work compro-
missing a knotty legislative
problem or making the best OF i
a losing poker hand. At the
recent special session, when he
was fighting off Southside Vir-
ginia's drive to pass legislation
more extreme than was recon-
mended by Gov. Almond, Sem
ator Perrow warned.
II might not look fresh be-
cause / was up most Of the
night, but I'll stay here as long
as anybody wants to talk"
Supported Almond
For many years he has BEEN
identified with the Byrd Demo-
cratic organization but at the
recent special session aligned
himself with the more mod
crate faction that stood behind
the Governors program.
The faction succeeded in
passing only those school laws
recommended by Gov. Almond
repeal of the compulsory at
tendance laws; provide for
tuition grants for children re-
fusing to attend integrated
schools, and strengthen the
laws against violence.
A strong believer in the pub
lie school system, he served as
chairman of the Virginia Ad-
visory Legislative Council
(VALC), the interim arm of the
Legislature between sessions, in
1868.
"As chairman (of the school
study commission) it shall be
my solemn and sincere pur-
pose to give the best that's in
me toward providing adequate
education for all of Virginia's
children" he says.
Sees Tough Job
ut Is one of the toughest
jobs that / can conceive of. But
/ have confidence in the Ca
pacity of the individual mem
bers of the commission, as well
as in their determination to
solve the problem they face.
1.-THE Governor has selected
a most excellent commission
composed of dedicated and
serious-minded men. There are,
of course. no doubt, some diff
ferences of opinion, but the
commission has balance and
all sections, as well as all
opinions, are represented"
Senator Perrow made his first
bid for public Office when he
was elected to the State Senate
in 1913 and has been reelected
each four years since.
Prior to that, he served on
the Lynchburg School Board,
of which his wife now is a
member.
He was appointed to the old