PRAYER

The Chaplain, Rev. Frederick Brown Harris, D.D., offered the following prayer:

God of the living and of the living dead: as in this hour we bow in the shadow of a people's grief, Thou dost hear the sobbing of a stricken nation. But we come with the comfort that Thou knowest what is in the darkness, and that the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee. For the stewardship in the brief but epochal years of the young and gallant captain who has fallen at his post, we give thanks to Thee, the Master of all good workmen. In the profile of courage, of vision, and of faith which John F. Kennedy etched upon the darkened sky of these agitated times, in his exalted place of leadership, we behold the image of our America which alone will make sure the survival of our freedom.

And now that the valorous sword has fallen from his lifeless hands, he seems to be calling to us in the unfinished tasks which remain.

Others will sing the song

Finish what I began
What matters I or they

Mine or another's day
So the right word be said

And life the purer made.

In the Nation's poignant loss, may there come to those whose hands are at the helm of this dear land of our faith and love the vision which fortified Thy prophet of old as he bore witness:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord high and lifted up.

So in this year of a tragic death, may there be granted to us a vision of the preeminent spiritual verities which abide and undergird and outlast the life and death of any mortal servant of great causes who toils for a while in these fields of time in the sense of the eternal, and then falls on sleep.

We pray in the name of the risen Christ who hath brought life and immortality to light. Amen.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. Mike Mansfield

OF MONTANA

Mr. President, due to the sudden and tragic death of the President of the United States, a former colleague of ours in this body, it has been necessary to call this extraordinary meeting of the Members of the Senate before the hour formally appointed upon the adjournment of the Senate last Friday.

Mr. President, the Senate has assembled today to remark for the Record the death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States.

I shall be brief, for his life, too short, shut off too soon, speaks for him.

In these last hours, a profile in courage has emerged from the emulsion of his death. And the tears of those who knew him and those who did not know him will fix that profile forever in the experience of the Nation and the world.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy's courage was the human courage, the courage which all must have merely to live in this world, in the ever-present shadow of death. It was the special courage to defy the cold hand of death when it reaches out too eagerly, as twice it did-in the wounds of the war and in the grave illness of his Senate years. It was the quiet courage to accept death's finality when it would be denied no longer.

And his was an extraordinary courage. It was the courage to believe in, with all his heart, and to dedicate himself to, the attainment of the proposition that Americans-all Americans-are

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born with an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

His was a universal courage. It was the courage of one who had bled in war to seek, unashamed, a peace of decency among all nations. It was the courage to join, before all else, the family of man and, in the joining, to affirm, before all else, the integrity of human life in the face of the powers of violence to destroy and desecrate it.

This is the profile of the man who walked among us not long ago on the floor of the Senate. This is the profile of the man who emerged to reawaken the Nation to its finest meaning. This is the man who struck new sparks of hope in a world dark with unspeakable fears.

His death, Mr. President, has fused the many faces of courage into a single profile of courage set in the enduring frame of faith and reason. This is what we have of him now. It is so little to have, and yet so much.

In a moment, I shall send to the desk a resolution of regret on the death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. But that will not be the end. It will not be the end of our responsibility, of our debt to this decent man, this American who gave of himself until there was no more to give.

We will find, in his death, the strength to do what must be done to bridle the bigotry, the hatred, the arrogance, the iniquities, and the inequities which marched in the boots of a gathering tyranny to that moment of horror.

We will find, in his death, the strength to renew our faith in what is good in ourselves and in one another throughout this Nation.

We will find, in his death, the strength to follow the paths of reason on which he walked, until they lead us out of the morass of an allconsuming and cynical self-concern.

We will find, in his death, some of his love and reverence of life, some of his humility, some of his patience and forbearance, some of his wisdom, and some of his humor. And, so strengthened, we will join with the President in forging a new decency at home and a reasoned peace in

the world.

God willing, these things we shall find, or God help us all.

Mr. President, I send to the desk a resolution which I submit on behalf of the 100 Members of the Senate.

The resolution (S. Res. 228) was read, as follows:

Resolved, That the Senate has learned with profound sorrow and deep regret of the tragic death of Hon. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, late the President of the United States, and a former Representative and former Senator from the State of Massachusetts.

Resolved, That in recognition of his illustrious statesmanship, his leadership in national and world affairs, and his distinguished public service to his State and the Nation, the Presiding Officer of the Senate appoint a committee, to consist of all the Members of the Senate, to attend the funeral of the late President at noon today. Resolved, That the Senate hereby tenders its deep sympathy to the members of the family of the late President in their sad bereavement.

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resulutions to the House of Representatives, and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the late President.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. Everett McKinley Dirksen

OF ILLINOIS

Mr. President, the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy lingers in this forum of the people. Here we knew his vigorous tread, his flashing smile, his ready wit, his keen mind, his zest for adventure. Here with quiet grief we mourn his departure. Here we shall remember him best as a colleague whose star of public service is indelibly inscribed on the roll of the U.S. Senate.

And here the eternal question confronts and confounds us. Why must it be? Why must the life of an amiable, friendly, aggressive young man, moved only by high motives, lighted on his way by high hopes, guided by broad plans, impelled by understanding and vision, be brought to an untimely end with his labors unfinished? And why, in a free land, untouched by the heel of dictatorship and oppression, where the humblest citizen may freely utter his grievances, must that life be cut short by an evil instrument, moved by malice, frustration, and hate? This is the incredible thing which leaves us bewildered and perplexed.

One moment there is the ecstasy of living when one can hear the treble cries of scampering children over the White House lawn, the pleasure of receiving a Thanksgiving turkey which I presented to him but 3 days before the evil deed, the pleasure of conversation over many things,

including his hopes for the future, the exciting fact of sunshine and green grass in late November, the endless stream of citizens coming to the President's House, the strident voice of the city rising from the hum of traffic, the animation of saluting crowds, and then the sudden strangling death rattle of dissolution. Who shall say, save that there is a divinity which shapes our ends and marks our days?

As the tumult and grief subside, as the Nation. resumes and moves forward, and his own generation measures his works and achievements, what shall we say who knew him well-we in this forum, where he spent 8 years of his life-we who knew him best not as Mr. President but simply as Jack?

We saw him come to this body at age 35. We saw him grow. We saw him rise. We saw him elevated to become the Chief Magistrate of this Nation. And we saw him as the leader of both branches of this Republic assembled to deliberate over common problems.

In this moment when death has triumphed, when hearts are chastened, when the spirit reels in sheer bewilderment, what do we say now that the Book of Life has been closed?

Let me say what we have always said when he was alive, gay, happy, friendly, ambitious, and ready to listen.

He had vision that went beyond our own. His determination to effectuate a test ban treaty is a living example.

He was his own profile in courage. His unrelenting devotion to equality and civil rights attests that fact.

He was devoted to our system of constitutional government. His attitude toward the separation of church and state looms like a shining example.

He had the great virtue of spiritual grace. If at any moment he may have seemed frustrated over a proposition, it was so transitory. If he showed any sign of petulance, it was so fleeting. There were no souring acids in the spirit of John Kennedy.

If at any moment he may have seemed overeager, it was but the reflection of a zealous crusader and missioner who knew where he was going.

If at any moment, he seemed to depart from the covenant which he and his party made with the people, it was only because he believed that

accelerated events and circumstances did not always heed the clock and the calendar.

If his course sometimes seemed at variance with his own party leaders or with the opposition, it was only because a deep conviction dictated his

course.

On the tablets of memory, we who knew him well as a friend and colleague can well inscribe this sentiment:

"Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who became the 35th President of the United Statesyoung, vigorous, aggressive, and scholarly-one who estimated the need of his country and the world and sought to fulfill that need-one who was wedded to peace and vigorously sought this greatest of all goals of mankind-one who sensed how catastrophic nuclear conflict could be and sought a realistic course to avert it-one who sensed the danger that lurked in a continuing inequality in our land and sought a rational and durable solution-one to whom the phrase 'the national interest' was more than a string of words-one who could disagree without vindictiveness-one who believed that the expansion of the enjoyment of living by all people was an achievable goal-one who believed that each generation must contribute its best to the fulfillment of the American dream."

The universal expressions of anguish and agony which will well up in the hearts of people in all parts of the earth this day will linger on the evening breeze which caresses the last resting place of those who served the Republic, and here in this Chamber where he served and prepared for higher responsibility, the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy will long linger to nourish the faith of all who serve that same great land.

The President pro tempore. Is there objection to the present consideration of the resolution?

There being no objection, the resolution (S. Res. 228) was considered and unanimously agreed to.

The President pro tempore. The Chair appoints the entire membership of the Senate as a committee to proceed to the bier of our late President John F. Kennedy.

Mr. Mansfield. Mr. President, I ask Senators to join the leadership and proceed in a body to

PRAYER

The Chaplain of the Senate, Rev. Frederick Brown Harris, D.D., offered the following prayer:

Our Father, God, we turn to Thee with our drained lives filled with tension for the present, anxiety for the future, with deep concern about ourselves, our Nation, and our world; and yet with a radiant hope that sends a shining ray far down the future's broadening way.

In spite of all the diversities of gifts and thought, in a common unity help us to lay aside every weight of prejudice, of pride, or of covetousness, and with glad and eager feet to march with the army that goes to free, not to bind; to develop, not to rule; to cooperate, not to dominate, until the knowledge of the Lord, who is no respecter of persons, shall cover the earth as the waters now cover the sea.

May this be a hallowed session, as this day in this Chamber, where he served the Nation, there is honored one so suddenly snatched from his great task of world leadership. We will remember him always as

Now at noonday, in the bustle of man's worktime, he has greeted the unseen with a cheer.

Gird us all to work in sunny hours, knowing that the night is coming when man's work is done.

In the blessed name of the world's Redeemer, who accomplished so much in so short a span, we pray. Amen.

ADDRESS BY

Hon. Mike Mansfield

OF MONTANA

Mr. President, what I had to say on the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy has been said. It was said in the rotunda when his body was delivered into the trust of the Congress and the people of the Nation for a day and a night. It was said when it fell to me to give formal notification of his death to the Senate. I ask unanimous consent that both of those statements be included.

Mr. President, a flame kindled of human decency, courage and dedication does not die. The light which was John Fitzgerald Kennedy will not fail. We must not fail.

It rests with us to fashion in the glow of our grief a renewed sense of high national purpose. It rests with us to labor with humility and forbearance, with dignity and with hope to bring forth a new decency in this Nation and, in this world, a reasoned peace.

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