Nation: The Ev & Barry Show

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His tangled white curls were damp with perspiration; his face was pale. The pouches beneath his eyes were dark; his voice was hoarse but strong. "Too long have we ridden the grey ghost of me-tooism," he said. "When the roll is called, I shall cast my vote for Barry Goldwater!"

So spoke Ev Dirksen at suburban Chicago's O'Hare Inn, where the 58-member Illinois delegation to the Republican National Convention met in caucus. Goldwater backers burst into wild applause, followed quickly with a roll call that produced 48 diamond-hard convention votes for Barry; the other ten delegates remained publicly committed to no one, but there was every possibility that Goldwater would wind up with at least 51.

Being Consistent. That vote all but crushed Bill Scranton's chances for the G.O.P. nomination. He had gambled heavily on the possibility that he might steal some of Goldwater's delegate strength in Illinois, thereby giving his campaign a psychological lift that would have impact elsewhere. He had known for several days that Dirksen would probably vote for Barry. But, if only because of Goldwater's vote against the civil rights bill, of which Dirksen was the major architect, Scranton had hoped that Dirksen would be somewhat less than enthusiastic about Barry. As it turned out, Ev's strong and lengthy endorsement of Barry not only stunned the Scranton people but surprised the Goldwater forces.

Actually, Dirksen was being perfectly consistent. He is a Midwestern Republican—and one not notable for his admiration of the G.O.P.'s Northeastern "kingmakers." Moreover, Ev and Barry have long been warm Senate friends. Dirksen was instrumental in 1955 in making Goldwater chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, a job that put Barry into constant contact with Republicans all over the U.S. and gave him hundreds of far-flung pulpits from which to preach his views. Finally, Dirksen had said for months that he would back whichever candidate he thought would help the most Republican Senate nominees. He realized that Goldwater might hurt the chances of such Northeast Republican incumbents as New York's Ken Keating and Pennsylvania's Hugh Scott. But he also felt that the G.O.P.'s best chance this year for increasing its Senate membership was in the Midwest and Far West—where Barry is relatively strong. Still, there were days of cautious

Goldwater dickering to assure Dirksen's support. After his vote against the civil rights bill, Goldwater assiduously worked on Dirksen, visited the minority leader's office often, had drinks and dinner with him. Said one top Goldwater aide of Dirksen: "You never quite know what the old rascal is going to do, and it doesn't do to press him. But we were pretty sure he'd be with us when it came time to vote."