could commiserate with the bereaved family, share in their sorrow, miss the departed, and perhaps that might suffice.

But President John F. Kennedy was all these, and more.

All these attributes were combined with many others to make him a shrewd and capable leader of men.

We must all remember the vigorous, well planned campaign that led him through the nomination and election to the office of the Presidency.

We must marvel at the way he surrounded himself with capable and efficient aides and advisors and pushed this country forward. How he strived for improved conditions both at home and abroad and how he worked for world peace. We must remember that in almost all things he attempted he was a great success.

What made this man the great and able leader that he was?

I would like to remember his great friendliness, his capacity for work and for play. And I cannot forget the world of experience he gained while serving as a Member of the House, and of the Senate. Experience and knowledge that he put to good use in the office of the Presidency; remembering the trials and tribulations of Members of both Houses, and trying to make their jobs perhaps a little easier.

The dastardly deed that took from us our beloved President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, will not soon be forgotten. It was an almost unbelievable shock to the entire country, yea to the whole world.

The tribute paid to President Kennedy by the leaders of the world was indeed heartwarming. It showed not only the respect with which they held for this man but also the respect they hold for this Nation, which President Kennedy worked so hard to strengthen.

Although John Fitzgerald Kennedy is gone, his influence and spirit live on. And I am sure that we shall all hold dear the memory of our departed colleague and try to live up to the standards of devotion to our country which he set.

Many times he said he would willingly give up his life for his country.

Let us now vow that although he was called upon to make this supreme sacrifice he did not die in vain. Let us always remember those words from his inaugural address and to heed them in

our daily deliberations on the problems of this country. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

ADDRESS BY

Hon. John J. Rhodes

OF ARIZONA

Mr. Speaker, with the passing of President John F. Kennedy this Nation loses not only its first citizen, but one of its most able sons. The intellect given by the Almighty to President Kennedy impressed itself upon the records of this House, the other body, and on the Presidency. Seldom in the history of the world has one so young been placed by his fellow men in positions of such high influence. Seldom has one so placed made such a profound impact upon his country, his fellow citizens, and the world.

The Creator also endowed President Kennedy with all of the charm usually attributed to the Irish. His personality endeared him to his countrymen and to his friends.

His passing is not only a great loss to the United States of America and to Americans, but to the entire world. Most especially, it is a blow of the first magnitude to his wife, to his young family, to his mother and father, and to his sisters and brothers. To all of them, and to all of the Americans who felt that in a great sense this man was theirs, Mrs. Rhodes and I extend our deepest sympathy.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. Joel T. Broyhill

OF VIRGINIA

Mr. Speaker, the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy will forever rank among the most infamous crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. Regardless of political persuasion or personal philosophy, we all recognize that this deed took from us a great intellect who, without doubt, would have written boldly across the pages of history. And history will be the final judge

of the magnitude of these times and the impact

this man had upon them.

I am personally convinced the tragic loss of President Kennedy will be profound and that the shape of things to come will bear the indelible imprint of his personality.

I join with the people of Virginia and of the Nation in mourning his death and our hearts go out to his widow and children.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. Walter Norblad

OF OREGON

Mr. Speaker, I wish to join with my colleagues in paying tribute to the late President John F. Kennedy.

In 1947, Mr. Kennedy and I were freshmen Congressmen. Although we were on opposite sides politically this never affected my personal friendship with him, nor my high respect for him as a Member of Congress and later as our President.

Our Nation, and indeed the entire world, have lost a great man who labored so much for the betterment of all mankind.

Mrs. Norblad and I extend to Mrs. Kennedy our deep heartfelt sympathy in her courageous bereavement.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. Ben Reifel

OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, November 22, South Dakota joined the world in mourning the tragic loss of President Kennedy.

The citizens of South Dakota felt they knew this man, even though few of them had met him. On some issues their views differed from his, but throughout his nearly 3 years in the White House they respected John F. Kennedy as their President. He was the leader of the Nation and the free world. Like all Americans, South Dakotans felt they knew him as a person and now they feel a deep personal loss.

John Kennedy visited South Dakota on three separate occasions—once as a U.S. Senator, once as a candidate for the Presidency, and once as the President of the United States.

On June 19, 1960, Senator Kennedy addressed a State convention of the American Legion at the Sioux Falls Coliseum.

Three months later, Candidate Kennedy addressed an estimated audience of 75,000 persons at the national plowing contest near Brandon. Rain poured down the day before Senator Kennedy's appearance and the field had become a sea of mud. As he began to speak, the rain resumed. Anticipating the address the following day by Vice President Richard Nixon, Senator Kennedy reminded his audience with characteristic wit that the rain falls on Democrats and Republicans alike.

President Kennedy's last visit to South Dakota was on August 17, 1962, when he dedicated power facilities at Oahe Dam near Pierre. It was a bright and radiant day, typical of the Dakota prairie country, as the President delivered his "power on the line" talk.

Senator Kennedy was adopted by the Sioux Nation on his first visit to the State. He received a colorful headdress and the name "Chief Eagle."

Indeed, South Dakotans felt they knew this man. They respected and honored him as the elected President of the United States.

Born to wealth, John Kennedy strived to serve those not so generously endowed. With sensitive consciousness, he vigorously sought to advance those ideas which he so fluently expounded and in which he believed.

The tragic death of the President has given pause for Americans to think twice about the future. As so ably put in one South Dakota newspaper, the episode in Dallas "does not cast a shadow on the whole of America." The shadow lies on the fringe on the edge of extreme of both the left and the right. It is here that the violence and hate and bigotry lie.

If, by his passing, we are reminded of our duty to the truths of our heritage, our devotion to God and country, our obligation to a free society in order to keep it free, our rededication to "the great task remaining before us," then John F. Kennedy did not die in vain.

May God bless his memory.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. William T. Cahill

OF NEW JERSEY

Mr. Speaker, the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, in Dallas, Tex., on November 22, 1963, shocked the entire world. The death of any President is a crushing blow to any nation but the demise of President Kennedy at age 46, at the very height of his physical and intellectual capabilities had the impact of a hydrogen bomb on all of the people of the United States. I suppose every Member of this House will forever remember exactly where he was and what he was doing on November 22, when the awful news of the fatal shot was broadcast in sad and ofttimes tearful words throughout the Nation. All Americans were stunned. Our minds were seared as if by a hot iron by the news. None of us will ever forget that moment. Most of us likewise will never forget the man. For John F. Kennedy was indeed a man to remember. For those of us in the Congress who came to know him, it was a tremendous personal loss. President Kennedy was many things to many people. He was at one and the same time a devoted husband, an obedient son, a loving father, a courageous President and an inspiring world leader. Few men in the history of the country and indeed the world accomplished what he did in 46 short years. A war hero, a Pulitzer Prize winner, an author and intellectual, a Member of the House of Representatives for 6 years and of the U.S. Senate for 8 years, he was elected by his fellow citizens at the age of 43 to lead the greatest Nation in the world at the most dangerous and difficult period in the world's history. In spite of every accomplishment, however, President Kennedy still possessed the virtue of humanity and the love of fellowmen that made him accessible and loved by all the peoples throughout the world. Possessing all material things, he spent most of his life fighting for those who had little of the world's possessions. He was truly a champion of the underdog, the needy and the oppressed. He truly "walked with kings yet had the common touch." President Kennedy had already earned his place in American history. His martyr's death, however, will forever enshrine him in the hearts of

all present and future Americans. Many of us must ask: "Why was this young, able, personable and dynamic leader taken from us in our day of greatest need?" Only God of course knows the answer to that question. Most Americans, however, will find some comfort and solace in the thoughtful words of Bishop Fulton Sheen who wrote concerning President Kennedy's death, "Nothing is as democratic as death for all of a sudden there is no distinction between Jew or Greek, male or female, Socialist or totalitarian, Republican or Democrat. All suddenly realize the wickedness of the world in which we live. Not until we see what is done to the humanity loving do we grasp the frenzied hate which will not be stilled by the tears of a little John or the whimpering sadness of a Caroline. Everyone now says: "The world has lost a great leader.' True, but in the greater tomorrow we may speak of 'Our second emancipator.' It takes a sacrificial death to break down the walls of division. When some men refuse to acknowledge others as their equals under God words will not unite them. It takes blood. It took a Lincoln's blood to unite a nation; it has taken a Kennedy's blood to prepare for the equality of men in that same nation. This is the mystery of his death, the price men destined for greatness have to pay to prove that love is stronger than hate."

The death of President Kennedy must serve as a warning to all peoples everywhere. Life indeed is short and eternity is forever. Hopefully, President Kennedy's sacrificial death will be the inspiration needed to encourage all of us to live together in brotherly love and to devote ourselves to more useful and unselfish lives so that we in our own way may carry on the work commenced by President Kennedy. I join all Americans in expressing sincere sympathy to Mrs. Kennedy and the entire Kennedy family.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. W. Pat Jennings

OF VIRGINIA

Mr. Speaker, the late President John F. Kennedy was a friend of the people in the Ninth

District of Virginia, which I have the privilege of representing.

We, the people of the Ninth, gave a majority of our votes to the Democratic nominees of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in the election of 1960.

We in the Ninth shared the deep shock and sorrow that came to the Nation and the world with the assassination of President Kennedy. It is impossible to find adequate words to convey our grief-to adequately summarize our respect for the Office of the Presidency and the man who occupied it so ably for almost 3 years.

Perhaps the most fitting tribute I can make to the late President is to record his concern for the problems that face the people of districts like mine and to express our gratitude for this concern. That John F. Kennedy, son of a wealthy family, an Irish Catholic, and New England Yankee, would understand the needs of southwest Virginia's coal miners, family farmers, and small businessmen was in itself remarkable. But he did more: First, he conveyed his sense of caring to these people; he won, as I said, a majority of their votes for his Presidential candidacy. Second, he translated his care into economic action programs that have benefited and will continue to benefit my people and their counterparts across the country for generations to come. Thirdly, and most important, he included us not only in his practical programs to improve our economic lot, but also in his dream of moving America forward educationally, spiritually, and culturally.

Last month, in tribute to his friend, Poet Robert Frost, our late President said:

I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens .. which commands respect not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And, I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.

The President was speaking to an audience at Amherst College in Massachusetts, but we in Virginia's Ninth District knew he was speaking to us as well.

While still a Senator, John F. Kennedy went to my district and addressed a dinner meeting there. In his comments he said that it is "better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

The Bristol Herald-Courier, in editorializing on the President's death, mentions this dinner

I herewith in

and the President's comments. clude this editorial in these brief remarks: [From the Bristol (Va.) Herald-Courier, Nov. 24, 1963] JOHN F. KENNEDY: TOUCHED BY FATE

"I do not pretend to say that the future will always be easy," President Kennedy said in an address here in 1958 while still a Senator. "There will be crises, there will be problems."

But, he continued, "we can go forward to a new and better America, never satisfied with things as they are, daring always to try the new, daring nobly and doing greatly."

In the face of a "somber and uncertain future," he implored, "we ask you to bring candles to illuminate our way."

That future was not easy; it was filled with crises and with problems; it was more somber and uncertain than any believed possible on that blustery Friday evening in March little more than 5 years ago.

There have been candles along the way, sometimes burning brightly, sometimes flickering in those ebbtides which grace, at intervals, the lives of all men.

But now the candles are multiplied a thousandfold. Unbelievably, shockingly, tragically, malevolently, the future of which Mr. Kennedy spoke has ended for him. He is dead, and there remains only the heartbreak of mourning and the beginning of an assessment which will not end in our lifetime.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was touched by fate and possessed of those qualities which, in fine blend, lift men up and make them great.

He could inspire a nation and a world with his words. He could restate the cause of freedom, the purpose of these United States of America. And he I could draw visions of the best that men can become if they but bend themselves to the task. "Let us begin," he said.

John Kennedy did not succeed in his every effort. No one can, for there are some problems which men cannot solve, and only the courageous choose to try. He chose to try, and in the trying to brave the slings and arrowsand finally the bullets-which came his way.

But while he did not succeed, at least he began. And though he cannot finish, at least he has made men more mindful of their own agonies and of the agonies of their fellows at home and abroad. And men so mindful are men more willing to wrestle with those seemingly insoluble problems which grind conscience and spirit.

He was a leader without contemporary peer, a man loved and hated with equal passion, a man who challenged men to meet him at the water's edge and fight against the tides which wash humanity with tyranny and grief.

Some fought with him. Others fought against him. But all now mourn, forgetful of political passions, unified as Americans are always unified in time of tragedy. This is such a time.

We in the mountains of southwest Virginia are not given to excesses of emotion. But, in the tragic loss of our President our sorrow has no bounds.

As President Kennedy's casket was lifted from the caisson and carried to its final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery, an Air Force bagpipe band played the doleful hymn, "The Mist Covered the Mountain." In southwest Virginia, where we loved Jack Kennedy, and where we needed his understanding, his faith, and his courage, mist does indeed cover our mountains as we grieve our loss.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. John D. Dingell

OF MICHIGAN

Mr. Speaker, I join hundreds of millions of people around the world in sorrow at the brutal and untimely death of our beloved President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

History will recall as a part of his epitaph that he was among the greatest of our Presidents. His good works for equality of all men, his drive for adequate social legislation, and a decent standard of living for all Americans, and his efforts to secure a meaningful and lasting world peace with freedom for all, speak louder than any words that can be said by his friends and admirers.

The shot that snuffed out his life robbed the United States of an effective and well-beloved leader, who had successfully recast, for the better, the image of the United States around the world, and denied Americans, and the world, the leadership of a man who had only begun to make his contribution to mankind.

God be merciful to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was a great President, and a good man. Americans everywhere pray for the repose of his soul and for strength and peace for his grieving wife and family.

would somehow survive, then a feeling of deep emptiness and sorrow. We who served under him, we who loved him, we who shared him with free men and women everywhere, can hardly yet believe that he is dead.

We are yet numb at this, one of the greatest tragedies in the history of mankind. And, in the solemn words of Adlai Stevenson, we "will bear the grief of his death to the end of our days."

By a twist of fate, I was in Texas with the Presidential party the day before the terrible tragedy. There was President Kennedy and his beautiful and courageous wife, in top form. Oh, the brilliance of the man. Oh, the wit. Oh, the style. Fortunate the Nation which had such a leader. So much of our optimism for the future, I thought, was wrapped up in this man who was so young, so much a man of action, with so much greatness yet before him. Then, in a split second, all of it was snuffed out. Up to that split second, any one of dozens of conceivable circumstances of fate could have intervened to make that fatal second impossible-but, to our grief, none did. Thus it was that, still stunned, still hoping it was all a bad dream, we came to the gravesite on the cold slopes of Arlington. Here, where he had just 2 weeks before honored our war dead, we gathered to pay our last respects— the humblest of men and the greatest of men, heads of state and anonymous citizens, merged in silent and grieving tribute.

An old proverb says: "A tree is best measured when it's down." The enormity of this disaster, the dimensions of its consequences, is hour by hour growing on us. The greatness of John F. Kennedy, mankind's love for him, the miracle of his great personal qualities, our compassion for his dear wife and children, has no bounds. The work of our Nation will go on because it must go on. But the world will never be quite the same for any of us.