National Affairs: Mister Sam

Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, 76, has been a member of the House of Representatives for 45 years and Speaker for 13—longer than any other man in history. The years have made him waspish, crotchety and stubborn.

In the last few weeks, Mister Sam:

¶ Adamantly set himself against any constitutional amendment providing for succession in case of presidential disability and against any succession legislation that does not give Congress a veto over who succeeds and when (see The Presidency).

¶ Pointedly and sarcastically advised three Democratic members of the U.S. Senate that they need not appear before a House investigating committee that is trying to get at the question of political influence-peddling in Washington (see Investigations).

¶ Made himself the spearhead of a congressional committee that has ordered the rebuilding of the east front of the Capitol despite protests of architects, historians and antiquarians (TIME, March 3).

Pointing out that Mister Sam's Capitol renovation will be "pushed ahead irrespective of Senate protests, without House hearings and in utter disregard of public opinion and the judgment of some of the most prominent architects in America today," the long-suffering New York Times last week exclaimed: "Sam Rayburn doesn't own the Capitol."