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Papers of D. Lathan Mims, 1960-1982, Accession # 10767, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
These papers were given to the Library by the estate of D. Latham Mims, through William C. Mims of Leesburg, Virginia, on June 24, 1988.
Mims was the former editor of the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record , owned by the Byrd family, and a political adviser and confidant of United States Senator Byrd. He helped Byrd in his first Senate campaign in 1966, when he ran on the Democratic ticket, and managed Byrd's successful re-election bids in 1970 and 1976, which Byrd won as an independent. An obituary for Mims can be found in the control folder.
The papers of D. Lathan Mims (1917-1987) of Harrisonburg, Virginia, consist of ca. six hundred items (2 Hollinger boxes, ca. 1 linear foot), 1960-1982, chiefly political material pertaining to Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
Material pertaining to Harry F. Byrd, Jr., in the three general Byrd folders (1976-1979) includes copies of proposed amendments, copies of the Congressional Record , printed reports issued by Byrd concerning issues such as more efficient legislation (1972), the energy crisis (1977), inflation (1978), reform (1978), Panama Canal treaties (1977), the balanced federal budget amendment (1979), and Byrd's retirement (1982), press releases, copies of his testimony about the balanced federal budget amendment and the role of the Senate in treaty termination (both 1979).
Other material in the general folders includes printed speeches by Byrd with the following titles: "The Canal Treaties: Reason or Risk" (1972), "The Panama Canal Treaties" (1978), "The Risks of Rhodesian Policy" (1978), "The Virginia National Guard Association" (1978), "The Middle East Arms Sale" (1978), "The Rhodesian Elections" (1979), and "The Grim Facts About the Budget" (1980).
Other folders contain material about Byrd's positions about major issues, biographical sketches, information about his re-election campaigns, Byrd's "military friends," anti-Byrd material, a plan of organization for future campaigns, a general plan for campaigning, and a record of Virginia voting statistics.
Files present in the collection concerning other individuals include Ray L. Garland, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Elmo (Bud) Zumwalt, 1976 Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, J. Philip Reberger, the State Director who organized Byrd's 1976 campaign, D. Lathan Mims, and George Rawlings.
Other topics include the Gulf Oil Corporation, a report by John F. Kraft entitled Attitudes of Virginia Voters, A Study of the Political Climate in Virginia prepared by Penetration Research, Ltd., and A Survey of the Political Climate in Virginia prepared by Oliver Quayle and Company.
The original alphabetical arrangement of these files has been preserved.