Sunday Gazette-Mail from Charleston, West Virginia • Page 40

West Virginian of the Year Conspiracy indictments pave roadforMoore Continued from page 3m An egocentric style of government, with almost everything revolving around the Governor, characterized the first Moore' administration. This method of running state affairs, featuring the strong ego as the hub, fits neatly into the modern expert concept of government, with executive power concentrated in the Governor, During peak periods of Moore a i the stories about his governmental feats grew from the remarkable to the legendary and--with the help of satirists--to the supernatural. A cartoonist regularly pictured him as "King Arch," complete ith crown and various subjects sitting around. And there were those among the multitudes who said in jest that Moore could walk on water. Early Years and Congress Arch Alfred Moore the 28th Governor of West Virginia, was born April 16, 1923.

at Moundsville. From the beginning his Republican credentials were impeccable. His grandfather, F. T. Moore, was the Republican mayor of Moundsville in 1910.

His uncle, Everett F. Moore, was 10-term member and a minority leader in the West Virginia House, of Delegates. His mother's a i a attachments. He is a son of Arch A. and Genevieye (Jones) Moore.

His father studiedat.West Virginia University during the World War I period, but finished at Bethany College. His brother, Harry "Moo" Moore was an outstanding basketball player at WVU during 1950-52. As a youngster, the future Governor had a paper route and sold magazines. He was an usher and ticket taker in a local theater. During his senior year in high school, he worked an eight-hour night shift in a factory.

He attended Lafayette College at Easton, and later West Virginia University. During his undergraduate days at WVU, he was "nearly everyting "twice" in various fraternities and organizations. He was president of the Council of Fraternity Presidents. He served as a U. S.

Army infantryman from 1943 to 1946 and attained the rank of combat sergeant. He was severely wounded and left for dead on a battlefield in Europe. A bullet struck the right side of his face, cut deeply into his tongue and passed out the left side, breaking his Ipwer jaw. During a long recovery period in a hospital, he learned to talk again. He received a bachelor's degree in political science at the university in 1948 and a law degree in 1951.

At WVU, he met Shelley Riley, born in Miami, and reared at Uniontown, Pa. Her father ran a tailorshop at Uniontown. Arch and Shelley were married Aug. 11, 1949. There are three children--Arch III, Shelley Wellons and Lucy St.

Clair. After graduation from law school, Moore joined his Uncle Everett in the firm of Moore and Moore at Moundsville. From that relationship, many ideas about law and politics probably flourished. Uncle Everett, ponderous and prolific in his role as minority leader was well known as a man who could exercise the art and science of political strategy, The future Governor was elected to the est Virginia House of Delegates from Marshall County in 1952. He served only one term, and then he began to think of higher things.

In ,1954, he made his first run at the First 4m CHARLESTON, W. District seat in Congress, And he tasted defeat. Pep. Robert H. Mollohan, a Democrat, beat him by 5,410 votes in the general election.

After -that, he just kept swimming upstream, winning each time by a larger majority for six consecutive times. Here are his majorities for the six victories: 1956: 762 votes; 1958: 9,351 votes; 'I860: 27,700 votes; 1962: 32.228 votes; i964: 43,085 votes, and 1966: 52,122 votes. The big win came in 1962, when, due to redistricting and loss of one West Virginia congressman, Moore was compelled to run against an incumbent. He faced the venerable Cleveland M. Bailey, an aging but still valuable Democratic warhorse.

A formidable congregation of Democrats came to West Virginia to help Bailey win. Among them were President Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, former President Harry S. Truman and other notables. But Moore won by more than 32,000 votes.

"Whether you like him or not--and there are powerful people in his own party who don't--Rep. Arch 'A. Moore Jr. has become one of the most valuable properties in the Republican Party," one astute columnist wrote after the 1962 election. Moore began considering the possibility of running for governor at least 13 years ago.

A news story, dated Sept. 21. 1959, said in quoting the Sunday Wheeling News Register: "Moore reportedly will decide before Dec. 1, if he is to be a candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary next year." Then Moore is quoted as saying: the present time, I am not prepared to my plans will be. I must give ibe matter of my possible candidacy much was quoted as saying on Feb.

that he was "strongly considering "running for governor in 1964. In June of 1963, some sparks flew between him and the incumbent Governor, W. W. Barren. Moore was moved to say at that time: "The crisis for West Virginia began the day he raised his hand and was sworn in as Governor." Moore enjoyed success as a.

congressman and gained a reputation as one. of the nation's hardest'working congressmen. He served as a member of the judiciary committee, ranking minority member on the select committee on small business, and member of the joint committee on immigration and naturalization policy. Moore made known his decision to run for governor the first time on Nov. 11, 1967.

He made this comment: "Believing as I do, that I have a special personal commitment to the State of West Virginia and to its citizens: to exert my best efforts to see that it moves and progresses; and that opportunity does present itself for our young people in the form of jobs and a future; and that I have an even stronger belief that we must get on with the job of meeting the problem which we have in education and the lack of roads and transportation; and that someone must do something to reshape the image of our state in such a way that industry would be desirous of coming in and locating within our boundaries. For these reasons, my decision has not been at all difficult." i The 1968 Canipaign "What West Virginia needs is a shirtsleeve governor, not the bestdressed governor of the 50 states," Moore said early in 1968. "I will take off my coat and go to work for West Virginia." His declaration was a direct slam at the incumbent Democratic Governor, Hulett C. Smith, named among the "Best Dressed Men of 1965" by the Fashion Foundation of America. Moore expressed outrage at the slowness of the state highway construction program.

He pledged that he wouldn't retain the incumbent highway commissioner, Burl A. Sawyers. VA. He asserted that the fall of the Silver Bridge-on Dec. 15, 1967, into the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, with a loss of 46 lives, should be an issue in the campaign.

"There is a loss of confidence and an atmosphere of despair" in West Virginia, brought on by poorly operating road, education, welfare and health programs, he said. Then came the Valentine's Day Indictment--a devastating blow to the Democratic Party and a blot on the West Virginia escutcheon that was to spread and spread and spread. But, politically speaking, this black day in history was an almost heavenly day for Moore campaign. It produced the political climate for him to move forth under the banner of "The Leader That West Virginia Needs." Feb. 14,1968, was the day that the West Virginia world of government and politics was shaken with the announcement that former Democratic Gov.

W. W. Barren and five other men were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bribery and conspiracy involving state contracts. After a 15-day trial in August, Barron was acquitted. But a federal jury returned verdicts of guilty against Sawyers and his assistant, Vincent J.

Johnkoski; Barren's close associate, Bonn Brown; and Alfred W. Schroath, Clarksburg automobile dealer. A mistrial was declared for' a i state finance commissioner. The acquittal of Barron seemingly lightened but didn't remove the stain on his reputation. The four convictions and the lingering indictment of Gore, all for crimes committed 'during the Barron term of 1961-65, cast a long shadow over the Smith administration.

Other federal court developments darkened the year for -Democrats and nourished the Republican-cause. In at Elkins, a former state road equipment supervisor, Woodrow Yokum, was found guilty of transportation and sale of large quantities of stolen U. S. Government surplus property. In October, at Bluefield, a formed alcohol beverage control commissioner, Clarence C.

Elmore, was convicted of income tax evasion. "I make no comment on the core of this issue, because I don't traffic in -other people's troubles," Moore said a few days after Valentine's Day. "But regardless of the guilt or innocence of those involved, great damage has been done to the image of West Virginia: We must once again apologize'to the nation." He urged full" reorganization of the highway department to "remove the stain and stigma from its staff." He suggested a special legislative session to authorize an audit of the department's records. He said he was running for governor to clean up the tainted image of state leadership and to restore public- confidence. On March 1, the campaigning congressman was described by a Washington correspondent as "a man very nearly in perpetual motion." Moore said he had been in 52 of 55 counties since the first of the year.

He spoke guardedly about his prospects of victory. "I don't feel confident about being the favorite. I always want a campaign to be going uphill." As the campaign progressed, Moore talked increasingly about times of crisis in West Virginia and yearnings of the people for change. the tide has run against the growth, strength and vitality of West Virginia and left it in a state of crisis "I know from my own travels throughout the state that the people yarn for a change--for a chance to be optimistic, but all they get is one uncomfortable jolt after another." He put it all together by saying the stale is undergoing a "crisis in confidence," and, now is the time for "challenge and change." Negative factors thwarted Moore's progress in the tightening primary race with Underwood for the Republican nomination. Questions were raised about his law practice, his role in the reduction of a client's tax assessment, a big land deal and his own income tax returns.

In a 1967 trial at Moundsville, Moore was quoted as saying under oath that his law practice had diminished to "zero." Nevertheless, he was listed as the Moundsville area counsel for seven major corporations in a 1968 edition of a lawyers' directory. When confronted with that information, he at first declined comment on what "may appear to be an apparent conflict in statements." He added later: "My listing only indicates the caliber of clients that I have represented from time to time. In no case do I have a contract with a client for excessive representation." From Underwood came a charge that Moore played politics with the Smith administration to bring about a $400,000 tax reduction for a corporate client. Underwood further charged conflict of interest. While Moore was "trumpeting himself to be a full-time congressman, he maintained a secret law practice and played power politics with the now- exposed sta.tehouse machine," Underwood said.

But the state tax commissioner, Thomas Battle, saw no evidence of wrongdoing. He said the corporation was entitled to the tax reduction and also to a refund of almost A news story, quoting courthouse records, reported that in 1967 Moore bought'property in Marshall and Wetzel counties and sold it to Mobay Chemical Co. at a gross profit of about $12,000. Records further showed that three heirs originally held 'equal interests in the property. But one'of them, a mentally incompetent person, received about $7,000 less than each of the other two when the property was sold to Moore.

In response, Moore said the news story was a political smear. He said the money paid for the land was divided among the three family members in accordance with the approval' of the court and that he had nothing to with this procedure. But Don A. Barr, the court-appointed guardian of the incompetent person's interests, started an examination of the records. He said that, if the facts were as they seemed to be, the- court and the guardian "were led down the garden path." There the matter stood as the May 14 primary election neared.

It was a rough primary campaign for Moore, who was embroiled in other disputes and also.had an identity problem. Although he had served 12 years in Congress and was very well known, in the First District, he remained a virtual stranger in other parts of the state, particularly the south. Underwood, the governor from 1957 to 1961, was an established statewide figure. But Underwood had to. fight the image of a "loser." He easily won the Republican nomination in his second try for the governor's office in 1964, but was badly beaten by Smith in the general election.

In the Underwood-Moore battle of 1968, bitterness surfaced early and grew late. In answer to charges, Moore called his rival a "cheap," "dishonest" and "losing" candidate. Moore said tactics used by his opponent were evidence that he was "getting desperate." A telegram, sent by Moore to Underwood, said: "It won't work, Cecil." Three days before the primary election, Moore accused Underwood of running a cruel and calculated type of campaign, designed to destroy the congressman's reputation as an honest public official. At a press conference, Moore produced records and checks in support of his denial of conflict of interest charges. He issued of a personal income statement, certified by an accounting firm for the" 1957-67 period.

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