Proceedings in the House

MONDAY, November 22, 1943. The Chaplain, Rev. James Shera Montgomery, D. D., offered the following prayer:

Eternal Father, strong to save, as we pause at Thy altar, do Thou hear our prayer. Bless us with minds calmed and fortified by moments of withdrawal and communion. Let our words come from fountains of personal rectitude folding away doubts and difference. Not one wise word ever loses its force, not one pure enthusiasm ever failed, nor one sacrifice ever came to nought.

Increase the power of our faith in orderly government and our trust in the events of Thy providence. Impress us that there is no satisfaction comparable to that of duty wisely performed and no regret like the consciousness of opportunities lost and wasted. Grant that all ills and evils which come from discord and misunderstanding may be subdued and the ways which lead to wisdom and harmony be kept open. Dear Lord, banish all narrowness of vision and every thought of expediency and strengthen us in our deliberations with the sense of proportion, ever guarding us against the consuming weakness of avarice and ambition.

Heavenly Father, how great are Thy mysteries, and Thy ways are past finding out. Thy voice is heard in inscrutable depths of human experience, in solemn warning, and we bless Thee that it is heard in the aspirations which lead to the paradise of the soul. We pause. A double alarm is at our door, and there is no response. Two of our most capable public servants have left us. They had the respect and the admiration and the love of all their colleagues.

"Should swift death this night o'ertake us,

And our couch become our tomb,

May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in light and deathless bloom."

Mr. STARNES of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my sad and painful duty to announce to the House the untimely end of one of the greatest and most gallant spirits who have ever served in this body, the Honorable HENRY B. STEAGALL, of the Third Alabama District. In my brief tenure here, I have learned to love and respect him profoundly for his qualities of heart and soul and for the qualities of leadership and service he has exhibited in this body during the past 30 years. I offer a resolution (H. Res. 361), and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read as follows:

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. HENRY B. STEAGALL, a Representative from the State of Alabama.

Resolved, That a committee of 10 Members of the House with such Members of the Senate as may be joined be appointed to attend the funeral;

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying out the provision of these resolutions and that the necessary expenses in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent fund of the House;

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased.

Mr. STARNES of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, Alabama is proud of HENRY B. STEAGALL and the stainless reputation he has made in this body. In his passing the State and the Nation have lost an invaluable public servant, one whose heartbeat was attuned to the needs of what he so often tenderly referred to as "the little men and women of America."

He was elected to the Sixty-fourth Congress and has served continuously since that date. He has served in the House of Representatives longer than any other Member of the House from the State of Alabama. He has been chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency of this great body longer than any other Member in the history of that committee. The type of his service can best be indicated by a mere recitation of some of the legislation of national import

which he has sponsored as a Member of this body and as chairman of that great committee. He was author or joint author of some of the most outstanding pieces of legislation enacted by the American Congress during the past decade, among which were the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, United States Housing Authority, Federal Housing Authority, Office of Price Administration, Commodity Credit Corporation and many

others.

A mere recitation of the legislation which he has sponsored indicates his love and his concern for what you and I call the average man. The home life of America, the system of government of America, and the way of life of America he believed in with all his heart and soul. He dedicated his life not only to their preservation, but also to their improvement. Brave in heart, eloquent in voice, and sweet in spirit he has gone forth from these Halls to meet his Maker unafraid. He carries with him a record meriting the approval of his colleagues and of his friends with whom he served so long and so devotedly. Of greater moment, however, he also merits the approval of that just and great Judge who must pass upon the lives and characters of all of us and mete out to us our reward.

Mr. Speaker, I hope at some other date to pay a more appropriate tribute to this great American, this great Alabaman whom all of us loved so dearly and so sincerely. To the members of his family we extend our love and our sympathy.

The Honorable SAM RAYBURN,

THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE,
Washington, November 22, 1943.

Speaker of the House of Representatives,

Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I have just been advised of the untimely passing of HENRY B. STEAGALL, chairman of the Banking and Currency Committee of the House of Representatives.

It has been my privilege to appear before Chairman STEAGALL'S committee for legislation affecting the Reconstruction Finance Cor

poration for the past 10 years, and for 6 years in connection with legislation for the Commodity Credit Corporation. During this time I have appeared before his committee a great many times, and invariably I have found him courteous, intelligent, considerate, understanding, and helpful.

In my view, no man in Congress has been more faithful to his constituents and to all the people of the United States than HENRY STEAGALL, and in his passing at this critical period in our history, the Congress suffers an irreparable loss.

Sincerely yours,

JESSE H. JONES, Secretary of Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Hobbs].

Mr. HOBBS. Mr. Speaker, all over the world today men are dying heroically. Of that number is HENRY B. STEAGALL. With head unbowed and the smile that we all knew and loved upon his lips, and in his eyes, he walked into the jaws of death here Thursday. None of us knew that the Grim Reaper had already seized the muscles of his heart the day before. None of us knew that he came here knowing what he was doing after taking the medicine his physician prescribed to keep the "old pump" going.

He came here and he spoke n this well, knowing what he was doing to himself, but like the man he was and is, it made no difference to him if that exertion in fealty to the cause he had espoused meant death. He felt the call of duty and he responded. Of such is the roll of heroes composed. This man in the midst of the fight to which duty called him, as he saw it, went down in the unequal struggle, erect and smiling with the consciousness of duty well done spurring him on to the last drop of the precious lifeblood that went through that vital organ.

So it is that on this black Monday for the House of Representatives two of its distinguished Members are being bemoaned. Two brilliant intellects, two choice spirits, two leaders of men, who followed the gleam, as they saw it, with honor and fidelity to the end. They kept the faith.