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Remarks by Representative Lemke
Of North Dakota

Mr. SPEAKER: We are met here today to honor the memory of our departed colleagues and friends-to listen to the roll call of those who have been taken from our midst. It has been the good fortune of each of us to know some of these Members intimately-our misfortune to know others not so intimately. We all know that they all strove to make their State and Nation a better place to live in; to make this a better world for their having been.

We know that they were but human-part of us. They did not claim to be infallible. They knew that human wisdom was limited. They strove with the light they had in a warmad world. They, too, hoped for a just and permanent peace. They strove for perfection knowing that that goal could not be reached-but approached.

In honoring these dead we honor ourselves. We honor them not as partisans but as colleagues and fellow citizens of a great Nation. Partisanship ends at the grave. All earthly strife and difference of opinion comes to an end at the tomb. When the line that divides life and death has been passed, strife ends and there is perfect and permanent peace.

Let us hope that the spirits of our departed friends are present with us here today. Let us hope that they will guide us to ever higher ideals not only here on the floor of this House, but throughout the Nation and throughout the civilized world.

Remarks by Representative Johnson

Of Texas

Mr. SPEAKER: I cannot let this occasion pass without paying a brief tribute to my beloved colleague and friend the late HENRY B. STEAGALL, of Alabama.

When I first came to the House he was then a Member and had been for a number of years, and during his continuous service until he passed away last November, I knew him intimately and well. He was one of the outstanding Members of the House and was always one of the leaders, and his high position as chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency gave him the privilege of shaping and molding much legislation during his service here.

I heard the last speech which he made in the House only a day or so before he passed away, and it was one of the ablest and most forceful speeches that he made in the House during his entire career. He was a sick man at the time and was violating his physician's orders in participating in debate, but call to duty was so strong with him that he ignored his own health and safety, and in spite of his illness made one of the greatest speeches of his career. Little did those of us think at the time that he was speaking that this would be his last, but the quality and effectiveness of his speech made it most appropriate that he should end his career in such a manner.

We speak of casualties of the war, and HENRY STEAGALL was one of these casualties, for he gave his life in service to his country. I prize very highly my friendship with him and shall miss him, as will his district and the Nation.

Remarks by Representative Barry

Of New York

Mr. SPEAKER: The recent and unexpected death of Representative HENRY B. STEAGALL, of Alabama, was a great shock to many of his friends, including myself.

I became acquainted with him while serving during the last six years as a member of the Banking and Currency Committee, of which he was chairman. His never-failing good humor, his sense of justice, and his keen intellect endeared him to all of the committee's members. We shall miss him greatly. The Congress lost one of its outstanding members. The State of Alabama has lost one of its ablest and best loved sons; the Nation one of its finest statesmen, and I have lost a good friend.

Remarks by Representative Sikes

Of Florida

Mr. SPEAKER: The kind and simple heart of HENRY B. STEAGALL is stilled. A statesman has passed away. One of the greatest of Alabama's long list of distinguished sons has gone to his reward.

Some men wear their greatness externally, like a cloak, for all the world to see. Others carry it deep within them, like the strong rhythm of a beating heart or the steadying assurance of an eternal soul. They are the workers, not the showmen. Theirs is a living greatness which endures far down the years. HENRY STEAGALL wore his greatness deep.

The record of his work lives on. Strong in wisdom, patient in understanding, firm in virtue, he championed the cause of the little people and his courage never failed their trust.

We who knew him loved him. The example of his life is a legacy that each of us shall cherish.

in the

House of Representatives

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