But if there are those who except the Byrd

But if there are those who except the Byrd Era to end in the broader sense—in the sense that Young Harry's role as a presiding political powerhouse in the state is about to terminate they would be well advised to forget it.

Indeed. Mr. Bvrd as an elder statesman may be fully as influential in the political affairs of the Commonwealth as was Mr. Bvrd, the U.S. Senator. Indeed, with time on his hands to involve himself more fully in state affairs, his velvet clout might be even greater.

This is true because Sen. Byrd's influence is not derived from the usual sources of political power.

It docs not spring from the genteel, and sometimes gent eely ruthless, application of machine politics. Unlike his father. Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Sr., the younger Bvrd was never in the position of holding the jobs and careers of numberless Virginia public officials hostage to his political objectives.

As a Senator he had veto power over federal appointments, but that was about all.

The younger Byrd’s political influence seems to have been derived from an entirely different set of political and social dynamics, but it is only one.

The rest are a complex of factors which are unique, and uniquely Virginian. They are probably also uniquely Byrdian, if there is such a term.

The first of these is that the Senator is. after all. a Bvrd. a scion of one of the oldest and most respected political families in the Commonwealth.

The second is that his personal demeanor is a prototype of how a courtly southern statesman should look and act.

Third, and most important, he is—and is perceived as being—totally and uncompromisingly honest.

Even when he was battling schix>l integration, most of his critics regarded him as an honorable opponent. He believed, without a shred of rancor against blacks, that in