Ailing

At 79, and for the first time in his record-breaking 48 years as a member of the House of Representatives and his 17 years as its Speaker, Texan Sam Rayburn last week was obviously and admittedly ailing. Racked by lumbago, he was unable to sleep or eat, had lost 15 Ibs. and showed it.

Despite his pain, Mister Sam remained indomitable. After weeks of back twinges, he was finally prevailed upon to consult White House Physician Janet Travell, who administered Novocain to comfort him. When the treatment was over, Rayburn arose to put his trousers back on. Dr. Travell noticed that he was wobbling first on one foot, then on the other. She suggested that he sit down to finish dressing. Cried Sam Rayburn: "I am 79 years old, and no woman is going to tell me how to put on my pants."

Dr. Travell, who won her White House position by reason of her treatments for Back Patient Jack Kennedy, assured Mister Sam that his pain would disappear with heat packs and perhaps some rest back at his Texas ranch. But the House was not so sanguine; Rayburn's many friends were especially disturbed by the fact that he was recently unable to make an important floor speech on behalf of the Administration's foreign aid bill.

Inevitably, there was already some speculation about a successor if Rayburn were physically unable to carry on as Speaker. Among the most likely possibilities: Majority Leader John McCormack of Massachusetts; Missouri's Richard Boiling, a Rayburn protege and a key liberal member of the House Rules Committee; Alabama's Albert Rains, a progressive Southerner; and Pennsylvania's Francis ("Tad") Walter, chairman of the Un-American Activities Committee and a conservative Northerner who commands respect for his parliamentary abilities.

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