Proceedings in the Senate

MONDAY, September 8, 1969.

The Chaplain, the Reverend Edward L. R. Elson, D.D., offered the following prayer:

O Thou who are from everlasting to everlasting, come upon us this day with a vivid and intimate awareness of Thy presence, that we may know that neither life nor death, nor things present nor things to come shall ever separate us from Thy love, and that in Thee the temporal and the eternal have no distinction. Surround us with Thy love, impart to us Thy healing grace, and bring to us the ministry of hallowed memory and sacred recollection.

We thank Thee for Thy servant and our comrade, EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN, who has fought a good fight, kept the faith, finished his course, and is at rest with Thee. For the nobility of his manhood, the magnanimity of his spirit, the hospitality of his mind, and the inclusiveness of his friendship we give Thee thanks. For his massive mind, his matchless speech, his powers of persuasion, and his parliamentary skills we give thanks to Thee. For his elevated patriotism and his manly piety, for his grace and dignity in public service we give Thee thanks. For his prodigious energy spent in self-sacrificing public service, for his fortitude in suffering, and his witness to values which are everlasting we give Thee thanks. May the integrity of his manhood, the radiance of his character, his gentle but subtle humor, and his sense of the divine in all things human remain as an abiding legacy for all generations. May his golden voice now silenced on this side be lifted with the everlasting choirs invisible on the other side of the great divide. May the land he loved, the Nation he served, and the principles to which he was dedicated make this land more and more a foretaste of the kingdom whose builder and maker is God. In Thy holy name we pray. Amen.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, it is my sad duty to announce the death of Senator EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN at 4:52 p.m. on September 7. A great chair across the aisle stands empty.

At an appropriate time, the Senate will eulogize the late Senator. We shall set aside a day to dwell at length on the life and service of this decent man, this colleague of so many years.

In the first shock of his passing, the words do not come. It is too soon. The void has opened too suddenly. The emptiness is too complete. It is possible, now, only to sense the loss, to sense it in the profound sorrow which his death brings to us.

This is a time, then, not to eulogize, but to mourn. Nor is it a time to mourn for Everett McKinley Dirksen, who has no need of it. Rather, it is a time to mourn for the Nation. It has suffered the grievous loss of a citizen-patriot and a distinguished political leader.

It is a time, too, to mourn for the State of Illinois, whose cities, towns, and prairies he loved so deeply, and whose praises he sang so well. His State is bereft of a dedicated son, a skilled legislator, and a pure personification in the Congress of the United States.

It is a time, too, to mourn for the Senate, the Senate in which he delighted completely and to which he gave his complete affection. The Senate has lost a Senate man. No longer will it draw new strength from the well springs of his wisdom. Yet, his death does not diminish the Senate. His uniqueness is the stuff of legends, and he leaves here a permanent imprint and an enduring echo.

It is a time, finally, to mourn for those who were tied to Senator DIRKSEN in personal association, for his colleagues in the Senate and the Government of the United States, for his family and friends. Time after time, and time again, those of us who knew him turned to him. We turned to him to share a pleasure or a concern. We turned to him for the sureness of his warmth, his graciousness, and his devotion, and we never failed to find it. We turned to him for that elusive flicker of human understanding, that unique spark which was EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN. It is gone now. So it is a time for mourning, a time for mourning what we have lost.

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, it will not be possible ever to replace, except in fond memories, the position held by the great leader of the minority party, a man whose memory will enlighten the recollection of all here present and of so many throughout the country.

Each day, as he came to the opening of the Senate, he had a bright and friendly comment. He added a spirit of accommodation and yet a spirit of full recognition of his responsibility as a Senator, as a citizen, and as the leader of his party.

As the distinguished majority leader has said, today is not the day for eulogy, but for mourning. But today is the beginning of a period in which we may have the opportunity to pay inadequate—altogether too inadequate tribute to a great man, to a great leader, to a warm and compassionate man with a redeeming sense of humor who had perhaps one of the greatest of all qualities the ability to view himself in due proportion as one of the creatures of the Lord Most High, and yet to recognize in that picture of himself the aspects of humor, the aspects of the presentation of position, and the aspects of the reaction of those with whom he dealt so well, so long, and so successfully.

Our grief is great for his family, one of whom is a distinguished colleague of ours. It is great for the Nation, for the State of Illinois, and for all those who knew him and loved him and worked with him. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember him.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, for myself and Mr. Scott, I send to the desk a resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. The VICE PRESIDENT. The resolution (S. Res. 253) will be read.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

SENATE RESOLUTION 253

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Hon. Everett McKinley Dirksen, late a Senator from the State of Illinois.

Resolved, That the President of the Senate appoint a committee, of which he shall be a member, to attend the funeral of the deceased Senator.

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without objection, the resolution is considered and unanimously agreed to.

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, for myself and Mr. Mansfield, I submit a resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The resolution (S. Res. 254) will be read.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

SENATE RESOLUTION 254

Resolved, That the Secretary invite the Members of the House of Representatives to attend memorial services for the Honorable EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN in the rotunda of the Capitol on Tuesday, September 9, 1969, at 12 o'clock noon, and be it further

Resolved, That invitations be extended to the President of the United States and the members of the Cabinet, the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Diplomatic Corps (through the Secretary of State), the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations of the Navy, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard to attend the memorial services in the rotunda of the Capitol.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Without objection, the resolution is considered and unanimously agreed to.

The clerk will read the last resolving clause of the resolution (S. Res. 253) submitted by the Senator from Montana and agreed to by the Senate.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the Senate do now adjourn until 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Thereupon (at 11 o'clock and 12 minutes a.m.), the Senate adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, September 9, 1969, at 11 a.m.

TUESDAY, September 9, 1969.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair lays before the Senate two resolutions of the House of Representatives, which will be read. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

HOUSE RESOLUTION 531

Resolved, That the House of Representatives accepts the invitation of the Senate to attend memorial services for the Honorable EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN in the rotunda of the Capitol on Tuesday, September 9, 1969, at 12 o'clock noon.

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate.