William E. Carson

William E. Carson, chairman of the Commission on Conservation and Development, was a Virginia businessman whose friendship with Harry F. Byrd elevated him to political prominence in Virginia in the 1920s. Disagreements with the more-powerful Byrd over commission matters and his own political ambitions, however, led to a falling out. Though Byrd declined to renew Carson's commission appointment in 1934, Carson remained chairman of the Democratic committee in the Seventh District until 1940.