Evening star., 1961-11-16
Speaker Royburn

Sam Rayburn, dead now at 79, was
truly a product of the old frontier-a
man whose admirably rugged qualities
were forged and tempered in the harsh
school of privation and grinding poverty.
In his last days on the legislative scene,
however, he was the advocate, perhaps
the indispensable advocate, of the New
Frontier-of welfare programs which
surely never crossed the mind of young
Sam Rayburn as he began mis- long, hard
climb to the top.
The eighth of eleven children, Sam
Rayburn was born on a rocky East
Tennessee farm. While still a child, his
father, Confederate veteran seeking a
new start, moved westward and settled
in Texas on 4O-acre plot. There young
Sam toiled in the fields, dreamed his
dreams, and came to know Loneliness
that breaks the heart" When it was
time for college the young man had SIS
in his pocket. His father handed him
$25 more, and Sam Rayburn in later
years often wondered how he had
managed to Scrape it together, what
sacrifices it had meant for his father
and mother. .,
This, then was the background of
the Texan who came to Congress in 1912,
who was first chosen as Speaker in 1910,
and who fought with such tenacity and
effectiveness for so many programs of
the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and finally,
the New Frontier. Was this advocacy out
of character for Sam Rayburn, who had
known no abundance except that which
he had managed to wreSt from life for
himself? In the case of some people, it
might have been. But it was not true of
Mr.. Sam. Even with his personal struggle
behind him, he could not forget what
life was like, how hard it was for so
many people, and he was ever ready to
champion the causes which he believed
were needed to improve their lot. This
is not to say that he was just another
marcher in the Democratic ranks For
he often was at odds with Democratic
Presidents. He was a party man, how
ever, not bolter, and when he believed
in a program he was relentless in his
support of it.
This led, in the last session, to his
break with an old friend-Howard Smith
Of Virginia. AS Chairman of the Rules
Committee, Judge Smith was in posi-
ton to exercise great control over the
New Frontier legislative program, and
the Speaker feared that this power
would be used to block measures which
he thought should be voted upon. Con-
Sequently, he joined, even led, the fight
to enlarge the committee, and break it's
power. In the first round, at least, the
fight was won, PIT to 212. But deep
wounds were left, and it cannot yet be
said that Mr.. Sam won an enduring
victory in this last and regrettable
battle before his fatal illness struck him
down.
But Sam Rayburn'S political wars
are over and done with. He is gone, and
there will be no one to replace him in
the affection of those who were
privileged to know we'll this unaSSuming
and one might say lonely man. Nor will
it be easy to find anyone of comparable
stature to take over the SpeakerShip
There will be many to feel deeply the
loss of Sam Rayburn, and none more so,
we suspect, than the young President
who, with his host of other problems,
must now await the choice of a replace
ment for one who certainly comes close
to being an irreplaceable man.