Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-05-01
BECKLEY
Senator Byrd's Influence
Could Be Major Factor
Continued From First Page

Continued From First Page
present in exaggerated form in
Raleigh County.
His appeal has been directed
to the unemployed and low
income families, and in Raleigh
County last month, 20,248 peo-
ple-more than one-flfth Of the
population drew Government
food parcels.
He has the backing of Sen
ator Robert c. Byrd, and this
is the Senator's home county.
Labor Support
He is credited with the sup
port Of labor leaders, including
the district head Of the United
Mine Workers.
He is thought to have the
support Of the local party or
ganization in this as we'll as
other coal counties of Southern
West Virginia.
Finally. he is being aided by
the fact that he is a Protestant
in q State that is just 5 per
cent Catholic. Raleigh County
has only one Catholic among
every 100 residents. 1t also has
fewer city people and more
Negroes than the State as a
whole, and all these factors
are thought to aid Senator
Humphrey.
Kennedy's Hope
Where. then, can Senator
Kennedy rest his hopes?
He is strongest, State polit-
zeal observers say, among
Catholics. among the more
prosperous, more sophisticated
voters and among the more re-
cent arrivals in the State.
Raleigh County's few Cath
olics provide much of the push
Of the Kennedy drive. There is
some wealth here. Though itS
economy rests on coal, the city
has begun to diversity. It is a
hospital center and a baking
center. More than Sc million
OF non-residential construction
Is planned or under way. Two
Of the banks have built new
buildings and the third is rem
ovating. There are many new
corners in town.
The Kennedy campaign has
tapped these sources. The key
figures in the local organization
are a lawyer new to the COM
munity, another who works for
the firm with q large industrial
clientele and the manager of
one of the local bakery dis
tributing firms.
Organization is Better
The Kennedy people are
better organized in Raleigh
County than are the Humphrey
people-and that is reported to
be the case all around the
State.
Senator Kennedy stands to
gain in the State If there is
popular resentment against the
instrusion Of religious bias or
Senator Byrd's Intervention on
behalf Of Senator Humphrey.
There are signs of such a |
"kickback" in Raleigh County. !
Finally, he is we'll financed, |
and money is important in |
areas where many voters are
poor and some politicians in
different as to whom they
support.
A Big Slate
In Raleigh County, as in the
State, the Humphrey-Kennedy
battle is not going on in a |
vacuum. There are 176 Dem
ocrats seeking votes in the
county. The distance between
the pair seeking the preSi-
dency, at the top of the ballot, |
and the % running for con-
stable, at the bottom, is great, |
but connections exist.
No candidate i'm the county is
running on Senator Humphreys
or Senator Kennedy's coattails,
but none is disinterested in
them as sources of campaign
funds, or as sources of strength
or weakness for the ticket in
November or even as sources
of wisdom and leadership for
the Nation.
Senator Byrd, a candidate
for delegate at-large to the
National Convention, has a |
very great interest in the two
men. He has announced he is
for Lyndon johnson for Presi-
dent. His second choice is
Stuart Symington. His third
choice is Hubert Humphrey. He
is against Jack Kennedy, he
says, because of his youth and
inexperience. He was active in
the Ku Klux Khan and many
of his fellow-townSmen think
that is a factor in his feeling
toward Senator Kennedy.
The Byrd intervention in the
primary is a two-edged sword.
Senator Humphrey has let
Senator Byrd introduce him at
meetings, but has publicly
urged him to write-in Lyndon
Johnson's name, rather than
vote for his third choice.
Opinions Differ
In his home county, people
differ about the wisdom of Sem
ator Byrd's activity. Ray De-
Paulo, the manager Of the Pur-
ity Bakery who is backing Sen
ator Kennedy, says, Bob Byrd
has great power. He just has
to tell people what he wants"
c. ]. McQuade, editor of the
Raleigh Register, a Democratic
paper which has strongly criti-
cized Senator Byrd's role in the
primary, agrees that his in