Secretary of the Interior

DOUGLAS McKAY, 59, governor of Oregon.

Family & Early Years: Born in Portland, Ore. of Western pioneer stock (his grandfather came to Oregon for the Hudson's Bay Co. in the 1840s). He was christened James Douglas, but dropped James when he was a youth. Father was a carpenter and young McKay quit high school to help with the family income. He delivered papers, drove a butcher wagon, worked as an office boy for the Union Pacific, ran a small laundry. Worked his way through Oregon State, where he concentrated on agriculture. In 1920 went to work as auto salesman, within two years was sales manager of his firm, then borrowed money to set up his own Chevrolet and Cadillac agency in Salem. (It is now one of the largest Chevrolet agencies in the state.)

War Record: An infantry lieutenant in the Far West's 91st Division in World War I, severely wounded in the Meuse-Argonne sector; in World War II, which surprised him on holiday in Honolulu, he served as major in various stateside jobs.

Public Career: Elected mayor of Salem in 1932. Elected state senator from Marion County, 1934. In 1947, when Oregon's Governor Earl Snell was killed in a plane crash, McKay announced in a characteristic way that he would run for the unexpired term: "I'm not mad at anybody. If the people want me, O.K. If they don't, O.K. I'm a rugged individualist exercising my American rights." He won. Re-elected in 1950 by 162,410 votes, he is now considered the strongest political figure in Oregon. As governor, he won a reputation as an excellent administrator, though not as an innovator. McKay is a veteran worker in conservation (he sponsored the nation's biggest forest reclamation project) and power development. Long an advocate of collaboration between states and Washington, D.C. on conservation and power, he favors regional projects, opposes the super, Fair-Deal--proposed Columbia Valley Administration because, unlike Tennessee, "the Columbia Basin is not a wornout valley where emergency measures must be invoked . . ." Eisenhower's campaign speeches echo McKay's demand for "orderly development watched over by people who live in and love the region."

Personality: Cagey before committing himself on anything, no backslapper, but easy and humorous when with friends. Has an intuitive knack for picking good subordinates, but has been called thin-skinned to criticism. A Presbyterian, and a great joiner (American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Shriners, Knights Templar, Elks, Eagles, Kiwanis, the Capital Card Club, etc.). Loves riding and campaigning on horseback; in parades, he exchanges his conservative suits for a white, gaily embroidered cowboy costume and ten-gallon hat. Married to Mabel Hill, whom he met in his college days; two daughters, both married, five grandchildren. His wife, who dislikes cocktail parties, is matronly, charming, and renowned throughout the state for her angel cake.

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