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SEPTEMBER 1955      25

his state. He was re-elected at the general election on November 4. The U.S. News & World Report (August 14, 1953) commented that the Democratic party, headed in Virginia by Byrd "is one that politicians marvel at. . . . Fundamentally, the strength of the Byrd organization . . . rests on the poll tax. . . . The total vote, consequently, is usually very light by comparison with the state's voting potential . . . a situation on which organizations grow strong."

During the Presidential campaign of 1952, Time (October 27, 1952) reported that while Byrd "did not, in so many words, ask anyone to vote for Eisenhower," he did declare that he would not "endorse the national Democratic platform or the [Adlai E.] Stevenson-[John J.] Sparkman ticket."  Virginia's twelve electoral votes went to General Eisenhower.

Significant votes cast by the Senator in the first session of the Eighty-third Congress (1953) were against pressuring France to free Indo-china (July) and against admitting 209,000 more refugees from Iron Curtain countries (July). In the second session (1954) Byrd was opposed to the St. Lawrence seaway bill (January), the Alaska-Hawaii statehood bill (April), and additional funds for the Tennessee Valley Authority (May). He favored the Bricker amendment restricting the President's treaty-making powers (February) and permitting the Atomic Energy Commission to engage in commercial power production (July). He cast his vote for the resolution censuring Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin for his conduct toward the Senate and the (Arthur V.) Watkins committee (December).

The 1955 roll call indicates that Byrd opposed increasing the salaries of Congressmen (February), a $20 tax cut to families with incomes not more than $5,000, plus a $10 tax cut for each dependent other than husband or wife (March), the Administration's highway bill (May) and the Administration's foreign aid program (June). Byrd favored confirming the appointment of John Marshall Harlan to the U.S. Supreme Court (March) and extending the reciprocal trade program for three years (May). Presently he is serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee as well as on the Finance Committee.

The New York Herald Tribune (January 17, 1955) reported that Byrd stated on January 16 that he would fight to end economic aid except for a "reasonable amount" of Point IV assistance (then distributed by the Foreign Operations Administration). In regard to the bill continuing the national debt limit at $281,000,000,000 for another year (which was passed by Congress and signed by the President in June 1953), Byrd stated that the bill was "necessary to maintain the fiscal integrity of the United States Government." He said that without the extra borrowing authority, the Government would not have enough cash to pay its bills (New York Times, July 1, 1955).

Addressing the Chamber of the United States on May 4, 1955, Senator Byrd stated: "It can be said for . . . the first 124 years in the life of our republic we were on a pay-as-you-go basis. I think it can be accurately said that we laid the foundation for our strength today as the greatest nation in the world. . . . Today the direct debt of the Federal Government is 280 billion dollars. Our debt is equivalent to . . . everything of tangible value in the United States. . . . If we add to this Federal debt the debts of the states and localities, we have an amount in excess of $300 billion in direct public obligations. . . ." (U.S. News & World Report, May 13, 1955).

Harry F. Byrd and Anne Douglas Beverley were married on October 7, 1913. Their sons are Harry Flood, Jr. (a Virginia state senator), Beverley, and Richard Evelyn Byrd. Their daughter, Westwood, died in 1952.

He keep his stocky figure in trim through regular exercise such as hunting, swimming, and long walks. He is a Mason, Elk, and Moose, and his religious affiliation is with the Protestant Episcopal church. On February 23, 1953 Byrd received, with Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, the American Good Government Society's citation for "independence of mind, courage of conviction, and fidelity to public duty." He was awarded an honorary LL.D. degree by the College of William and Mary in 1926, and he is an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa.

In the New York Times on April 10, 1953, Arthur Krock commented on the "rare combination of integrity, ability, courage" and "specialized knowledge of complex subjects" which have "given Senator Byrd a unique place in the Senate and made him its strongest force on many great and controversial occasions."

References (see also magazine and newspaper indexes)
U.S. News 39:56+ J1 '55 por
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949 (1950)
Congressional Directory (1955)
International Who's Who, 1954
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Current Volume E (1937-38)
Who's Who in America, 1954-55
Who's Who in United States Politics (1952)
World Biography (1954)

CALLENDER, JOHN HANCOCK Jan. 18, 1908 - Architect
Address: b. 33 W. 42d St., New York 36; h. 242 W. 11th St., New York 14

A national authority on single family houses, John Hancock Callender is chairman of the committee on housing of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. For over twenty years he has been engaged in housing research, and since 1945 has been active as a designer of "custom-built" homes for individual clients and as a consultant to various private and federal housing agencies.

He is the author of Before You Buy a House (Crown, 1953), which is based on material prepared by him for the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Texas and the Architectural League of New York. The book contains