Evening star., 1961-11-09
By ALEX r. PRESTON
Star staff Wr..er

Virtual assurance of a more
harmonious relationship be-
tween the Governors office and
both branches of the General
Assembly during the next four
years is. perhaps. the main ef-
feet of Virginia'S general elec-
tion.
The significance of Tuesdays
balloting is that the Byrd Dem
ocratic organization was never
in firmer control of State af-
fairs.
This situation bleSSeS the or
ganization with unity but at
the same time places it On the
spot to find the correct answers
to problems.
The latest tally of votes cast
shows that former Attorney
General Albertis S. Harrison,
jr, carried the election by 246,-
ia votes to 136,7O9 for his Re-
publican opponent, H. Clyde
Pearson, with all but 81 of the
1868 presinctS counted.
Young Turks Out
The defeat of four incumbent
Democratic members of the
House of Delegates--with a net
loss of two seats to the Demo-
cratic Party-has removed the
last two of the vocal Young
Turks who, in 1854 staged
rebellion against the Byrd or
ganiZation in the Legislature.
All four of the defeated can
didates we're classified as mod
crates to liberal in their out
look as opposed to the firm
conservatism of the Byrd or
ganization.
Delegates E. Clair Compton
of Albemarle and Green Count
ties and Julian H. Rutherford
of Roanoke were the last awo
most vocal survivors of the
1854 rebellion who were de-
feated.
Death has removed a Young
Turk leader, Delegate Robert
Whitehead, from the scene,
while the influence of the other
leader, State Senator Armi-
stead L. Boothe of Alexandria,
was whitfield down by his re-
sounding defeat by Byrd organ
ization forces wnen he sought
the lieutenant governorShip ear
lier this year in the primary.
Other defeated Democrats,
Delegates Dorothy McDiarmid
of Fairfax-Falls Church and
Vernon c. Smith of Grundy,
generally sided with the liberal
to-moderate elements in the
Legislature.
Frequently at Odds
During the last four years
of the administration of retir-
ing Gov. Almond. the Byrd
forces were frequently at odds
with him, sometimes success
fully and sometimes not.
The presiding officer Of the
State Senate, 1t. Gov. A. E. S.
Stephens, also a moderate on
the side of Gov. Almond, was
a victim of the gubernatorial
primary earlier this year, losing
his bid for the States top office
to Mr.. Harrison. He will be re-
placed by an organization
stalwart, State Senator Mills
E. Goodwin, jr., of Suffolk.
With the reelection, by the
House of Delegates, of Speaker
E. Blackburn Moore of Berry
vile, a confidante Of, Senator
Byrd, and with Mr.. Harrison
sitting in the Chief Executives
chair, the organization has
things going its way better
than they have for many a
year.
Mr. Compton, who was de-
feated by Republican r. H.
Middleton, 2,285 to 1,700, COM
mented:
Don't ever underestimate the
potent arm of the Byrd organ
ization. I was bucking both the
Republicans and the ultra con-
servative portion of the Demo-
cratic organization. I think it
was a combination of under
estimating Mr.. Middleton's po-
tency, plus the fact that the
ultra-conServativeS in my area
didn't agree with my record"
Mr. Middleton looked upon
his win as "a victory of con-
servative government and a
testament of the people that
machine politics no longer rule
their vote"
Domination Charged
Mr.. Compton, however, said
"the Democratic Party has been
dominated by the Byrd machine
e.. and they want new people
to stand in the corner and take
orders.
"We had a lot of things that
needed doing for Albemarle and
Greene, and when I tried to get
them done I was told that I
would receive no support unless
I voted with the machine. I
went to Richmond and voted
my own convictions. If I had
gone along with the Byrd ma
chine, I would have been re-
elected"
While some take Tuesdays
results as a weakness in the