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Show Veteran Democrat Draws Honor From U. S. House At the opening session of Congress Con-gress this month the House of Representatives paused to pay tribute to a prominent Democrat Speaker Sam Rayburn. In reporting the occasion Columnist Col-umnist Clinton Davidson noted: "Many great Americans have served in the Congress of the United States, but none with a greater loyalty, dedication and dictinction than Rep. Sam Ray-burn Ray-burn a man we are proud to have as a friend and fellow-American. "To millions of Americans in and outside his district in northeast north-east Texas, most of whom have never seen him, he is Mister Congress. Con-gress. To his fellow congressmen and newsmen he is affectionately Mr. Sam. "The House paid tribute from both sides of the aisle to a great American on his 78th birthday. The sincere admiration and affection af-fection expressed by. his fellow congressmen brought lumps to the throats of spectators. "Mr. Sam, without doubt, has more friends and admirers in Congress than any other man. If he has a single enemy we have not, in more than 25 years observing ob-serving and reporting Congress, seen a hint that such a man exists. ex-ists. "The Congressional Record, which reports the activities of Congress, included on Jan. 6 a statement of the remarkable record of achievement of Rep. Sam Rayburn from Bonham, Texas. "He has been a member of the House of Representatives for 47 years, longer than any other man since this democracy was born. He has been Speaker of the House in 17 of those years, longer long-er than any man in history, and almost twice as long as Henry Clay. "The record of his legislative achievements would, if assembled assem-bled in one volume, make a good sized book. The laws which he has personally sponsored affect the lives of every American each day. Because he was born and reared on a farm and has lived all his life in a small town, he has had a close interest in legislation helpful to farmers and residents of small towns. "Some of the most notable legislation leg-islation Rep. Rayburn has sponsored spon-sored include the REA, which has brought electricity to almost every farm in the nation; Farm-to-Market roads programs; the SEC Act to protect the savings of millions of people who invest in stocks and bonds; GI insurance insur-ance and veterans disability payments; pay-ments; soil conservation and flood control measures to preserve pre-serve our priceless national resources. re-sources. "Little is generally known about Sam Rayburn the man, because be-cause he has shunned personal publicity. He has never had a publicity man on his staff. He seldom makes a speech in Congress Con-gress and he has steadfastly refused re-fused to write the history of his eventful life. Well, what kind of a human being is Sam Rayburn? "First, he is a simple, even old fashioned man. He dresses conservatively, con-servatively, hates loud clothes, hats and ties. He is a bachelor, never having married. In Washington Wash-ington he has lived in the same small comfortable apartment for more than 30 years. "He has enjoyed an unusual robustness of health. He has never been in a hospital, except to have his tonsils removed. He has never had a headache. He likes to walk at least two miles a day. He eats very temporately. "Rep. Rayburn is a man of. unusual un-usual candor and straightforwardness, straightfor-wardness, a fact that helps explain ex-plain his reputation for being blunt. "Tell the truth and have the explanations for later," he says. Waste, whether it is time, words or money, pains him: "Be just be fair," he tells people over and over. I He has never travelled abroad. When Congress adjourns, there is only one place he wants to go and does go home. |