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Sixty-Sixth Congress, Third Session .... House Document No. 1021 
 
 .3, (,(,- 
 
 JOHN L. BURNETT 
 
 ( Late a Representative from Alabama) 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE 
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 SIXTY-SrXTH CONGRESS 
 
 Proceedings in the House Proceedings in the Senate 
 
 January 25, 1920 March 2, 1921 
 
 PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
 THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 
 
 2Z--2.4> Z^^ 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 1922 
 

 LIBRARY OF C0NGISE3S 
 
 MAR a 31922 
 
^ 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Proceedings in the House 5 
 
 Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D.D 7 
 
 Memorial addresses by — 
 
 Mr. J. Thomas Heflin, of Alabama 9 
 
 Mr. Champ Clark, of Missouri 14 
 
 Mr. S. Hubert Dent, jr., of Alabama 17 
 
 Mr. Frank Clark, of Florida 19 
 
 Mr. William B. Oliver, of Alabama 21 
 
 Mr. Samuel M. Taylor, of Arkansas 24 
 
 Mr. William A. Ashbrook, of Ohio 27 
 
 Mr. Hubert D. Stephens, of Mississippi 29 
 
 Mr. John N. Tillman, of Arkansas 32 
 
 Mr. Riley J. Wilson, of Louisiana 35 
 
 Mr. William B. Bankhead, of Alabama 37 
 
 Mr. George Huddleston, of Alabama 40 
 
 Mr. Simeon D. Fess, of Ohio 43 
 
 Mr. Henry B. Steagall, of Alabama 45 
 
 Mr. Halvor Steenerson, of Minnesota 51 
 
 Mr. John McDuffie, of Alabama : 54 
 
 Mr. Lilius B. Rainey, of Alabama 56 
 
 Mr. Edward B. Almon, of Alabama 59 
 
 Mr. Fred L. Blackmon, of Alabama 61 
 
 Mr. Leonidas C. Dyer, of Missouri 63 
 
 Proceedings in the Senate 67 
 
 Memorial addresses by — 
 
 Mr. Oscar W. Underwood, of Alabama 71 
 
 Mr. Joseph T. Robinson, of Arkansas 73 
 
 Mr. Kenneth McKellar, of Tennessee 74 
 
 [3] 
 
HON. JOHN LA3;VSON BUENETT 
 
DEATH OF HON. JOHN L. BURNETT 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 
 
 Monday, May 19, 1919. 
 The Chaplain of the House of Representatives of the 
 Sixty-fifth Congress, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered 
 the following prayer: 
 
 Father in Heaven, once more in the swift flight of time 
 Thou hast brought us to a new Congress, now convened 
 in extraordinary session by the President of the United 
 States of America. 
 
 Under the changed conditions in human events the call 
 is imperative and will tax the ingenuity and statesman- 
 ship of its Members. Great ai'e the problems confront- 
 ing it. Questions of moment wait upon it for solution. 
 Hence we pray for Thy wisdom to guide it, Thy strength 
 to sustain it, Thy courage to inspire it to deliberate yet 
 speedy action. 
 
 Let Thy blessing descend upon the Speaker of this 
 House and the Representatives of the people that he 
 may guide with a firm and strong hand its Members 
 to the highest and best solution of the great questions at 
 home and abroad; that its acts may be to the best interests 
 of all concerned and redound to the glory of the living 
 God, our Heavenly Father. 
 
 Since the Sixty-fifth Congress passed into history two 
 of its Members who had been elected to serve in this 
 Congress have been called to the larger life. Their work 
 well done, strong friendships formed, their going brings 
 sadness to many hearts. We pray for those who knew 
 and loved them, especially their respective families, that 
 
 [5] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 they may be comforted by the eternal hope of the immor- 
 tality of the soul. This we ask in the name of Him who 
 died and rose again. Amen. 
 
 Mr. Heflin. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following reso- 
 lution. 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
 the death of Hon. John Lawson Burnett, a Representative from 
 the State of Alabama. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate a copy of these resolu- 
 tions to the Senate. 
 
 The resolution was agreed to. 
 
 A message from the Senate, by Mr. Waldorf, its enroll- 
 ing clerk, announced that the Senate had passed the 
 following resolution: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the 
 announcement of the death of Hon. John Lawson Burnett, late 
 a Representative from the State of Alabama. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
 the deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 
 
 Mr. MoNDELL. Mr. Speaker, as a further mark of re- 
 spect to the memory of the deceased Representatives, I 
 move that the House do now adjourn. 
 
 The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 2 o'clock 
 and 18 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned until to- 
 morrow, Tuesday, May 20, 1919, at 12 o'clock noon. 
 
 Saturday, December 20, 1919. 
 Mr. Rainey of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
 consent that the House hold a session on Sunday, January 
 25, 1920, for the purpose of enabling the Members to pay 
 
 [6] 
 
Proceedings in the House 
 
 tribute to the memory of the late John L. Burnett, of the 
 seventh district of Alabama. 
 
 The Speaker. The gentleman from Alabama asks unani- 
 mtous consent that a session of the House be held on Sun- 
 day, January 25, 1920, to pay tribute of respect to the 
 memory of the late Representative Burnett. Is there 
 objection? 
 
 There was no objection. 
 
 Sunday, January 25, 1920. 
 The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
 following prayer : 
 
 Father in heaven, look down from Thy throne of grace 
 with kindly eyes and an approving heart, upon us, as we 
 thus assemble within this historic Chamber, to pay a trib- 
 ute of love and respect to two men who by dint of their 
 own eif oris, inspired of Thee, left a deep impression upon 
 the hearts of their countrymen and writ in characters of 
 gold a history upon their State and Nation. Long may 
 their memories live in our hearts and on the pages of 
 history, that they may be an example to us and to those 
 who shall come after us; and we will ascribe all praise to 
 Thee. 
 
 Comfort us, their colleagues and friends, their stricken 
 families, with the truth that life is immortal and some 
 day, somewhere, we and they shall meet again in a realm 
 where love ties shall never again be severed. 
 
 When the mists have rolled in splendor 
 
 From the beauty of the hills. 
 And the sunshine warm and tender 
 
 Falls m kisses on the rills; 
 
 [7] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 We may read love's shining letter 
 
 In the rainbow of the spray; 
 We shall know each other better 
 
 When the mists have cleared away. 
 We shall know as we are known, 
 
 Never more to walk alone 
 In the dawning of the morning, 
 
 When the mists have cleared away. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 Mr. Heflin. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolu- 
 tions which I send to the desk and ask to have read. 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, 
 that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. 
 John L. Burnett, late a Member of this House from the State of 
 Alabama. 
 
 Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
 of the deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public 
 career, the House, at the conclusion of the exercises of this day, 
 shall stand adjourned. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
 Senate. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the 
 family of the deceased. 
 
 The Speaker pro tempore. The question is on agreeing 
 to the resolutions. 
 
 The resolutions were agreed to. 
 
 Mr. Blackmon assumed the chair as Speaker pro 
 tempore. 
 
 Mr. Heflin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
 all who speak or desire to print their remarks on the life, 
 character, and public services of the late Representative 
 Burnett may have permission to extend their remarks in 
 the Record. 
 
 The Speaker pro tempore. Is there objection? 
 
 There was no objection. 
 
 [8] 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker : Here in this Chamber where the States of 
 the Union speak through their Representatives in the 
 National Congress, John L. Burnett was, for more than 
 20 years, an able and faithful Representative of the people 
 of the seventh congressional district of Alabama, and, 
 long before his splendid career here ended, he had be- 
 come greatly appreciated and highly esteemed by the 
 people throughout the State. Not only the people of his 
 own district but the people all over Alabama were deeply 
 shocked and grieved by the sad news of his death. 
 
 His was a very noteworthy and unique career. He was 
 truly a self-made man. When the war between the States 
 ended he was only 11 years old — a poor boy — the eldest 
 son of a widowed mother. It fell mainly to his lot to sup- 
 port his mother and the younger children. In spite of the 
 hardships and privations that the fortunes of war had 
 placed in his way this brave and determined youth suc- 
 ceeded. In the daytime he worked in the field and in coal 
 mines in order to provide for those dependent upon him 
 and at night he studied that he might obtain an education. 
 Mr. Speaker, he told me that it was a happy day in his 
 young life when by his industry and enterprise he was 
 enabled to attend the common schools of Cherokee 
 County. He was educated in the common schools of his 
 native county and in the Wesleyan Institute at Cave 
 Springs, Ga. He studied law at Vanderbilt University, and 
 when 22 years of age was admitted to the practice of 
 the law by the circuit court of his home county in Ala- 
 bama. It was not long from that day until he was re- 
 garded as one of the very best young lawyers in his sec- 
 tion, and at the time he was elected to Congress he had 
 
 [9] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 achieved the distinction of being one of the ablest and 
 most successful lawyers in the State. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, the boy surrounded by hardships and pri- 
 vations can find inspiration and encouragement in the 
 brilliant achievements told in the story of the life of John 
 Burnett. The poor boy battling with the handicaps and 
 hindrances of poverty will find help in the story of his 
 successful and useful life. 
 
 When a very young lawyer he had developed into an 
 attractive speaker, an able and convincing advocate. 
 Through his open, frank, and friendly manner he soon 
 became exceedingly popular with the people. When 30 
 years old he was elected a member of the lower house of 
 the Alabama Legislature and two years later was elected 
 to the State senate. He made a splendid record in both 
 branches of the legislature. 
 
 He was remarkably well equipped with the attributes of 
 mind and heart necessary to make him an eifective and 
 useful public servant. He was able and earnest in every 
 cause that he espoused. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, he came here as a Representative in the 
 Fifty-sixth Congress, and for a little more than 20 years he 
 was the able and honored Representative of the people of 
 the seventh Alabama district. The good people of that 
 district have in the past honored other distinguished sons 
 with a seat in this body, but never in all its history has the 
 district sent here a man more esteemed and loved by the 
 rank and file of its people. He was democratic in his 
 habits and manner. He believed in the doctrine of the 
 Democratic Party and sincerely believed that the affairs 
 of the Government could be more wisely administered by 
 the great party to which he gave allegiance. He was an 
 ardent Democrat, a strict and faithful party man. All 
 during his life, in season and out, he championed the 
 cause of the Democratic Party. He was a man of deep 
 
 [10] 
 
Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 
 
 convictions and of strong personality, and he was truly 
 a statesman in a high and useful sense. At times he was 
 an aggressive, intense antagonist, but always as generous 
 and forgiving in the aftermath of bitter debate as he was 
 brave and fearless in the conflict. He was a man of studi- 
 ous habits and of tremendous enei'gy. 
 
 Throughout his long service here, he was known as an 
 active, hard-working Member. He believed in the gospel 
 of work as did Gen. Pettus, of Alabama. On one occasion 
 some one asked Gen. Pettus, then 80 years of age, when 
 he was going to quit work, and the grand old man replied, 
 "A man should never quit work. A few years of idleness 
 and he loses his health, A few years of idleness and his 
 mind is gone. It takes activity to keep the mind alert 
 and the body strong." John Burnett was an indefati- 
 gable worker. He was an enthusiastic disciple of the 
 doctrine announced by Gen. Pettus. He ate no idle bread. 
 From the time he entered Congress to his death, he was 
 truly a studious and hard-working Congressman. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, ours is a representative form of govern- 
 ment, the wisest and best form of government ever de- 
 vised by the genius of man, and when a man is elected to 
 represent his people in this great law-making body, it is 
 his duty to study the questions that concern his district 
 and the country and to strive to do that which will re- 
 dound to the benefit of his people and the good of his 
 country. And no higher expression of confidence and 
 affectionate regard can come to a Member in his service 
 here than that which the people themselves give through 
 their votes of approval in each succeeding election. For 
 20 years the people of the seventh district of Alabama 
 commissioned John Burnett to represent them in the 
 Congress of the United States. They delighted to honor 
 him. In 11 congressional elections, they expressed with 
 their votes their appreciation and love for him, and at the 
 
 [11] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 time of his death he was strong in the esteem and affec- 
 tions of his people. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, it can be truly said of him that he loved 
 and served his fellow man. He sprung from the ranks of 
 a great common people and was himself a man of the 
 people. He was the friend of the common man in the 
 common walks of life. In his long service here, he ren- 
 dered distinct and signal service to his State and Nation. 
 
 He was one of the very first men in Congress to call 
 attention to the evil and danger of allowing indiscriminate 
 and unfit foreigners to be landed upon the shores of 
 America, and as chairman of the Committee on Immigra- 
 tion, he aroused the people of the Nation to the impor- 
 tance of keeping undesirable and dangerous foreigners 
 out of our country. Year in and year out he stood here 
 guarding, to the day of his death, American ideals and in- 
 stitutions against the influx of criminal hordes from 
 foreign countries. 
 
 He was a man of superb intellect and fluent speech, and 
 whether in debate in this forum or out on the hustings, he 
 was a foeman worthy of any man's steel. 
 
 He had the courage of his convictions and was abso- 
 lutely fearless in the advocacy of any cause that he 
 espoused. He was a painstaking and conscientious pub- 
 lic servant, and all who knew him know that he performed 
 his duty as God gave him the light to see it. isij;-.!^: 
 
 John Burnett was blessed with a bright and cheerful 
 disposition, pleasing and amiable to a remarkable degree. 
 All in all, he was rich in the attributes of a noble character. 
 
 "When 32 years of age he was married to Miss Bessie 
 Reeder, of Cleveland, Tenn. 
 
 His home life was beautiful. He was fortunate in 
 marrying one of the noblest and best women of his day. 
 She was indeed his inspiration and helpful companion. 
 
 [12] 
 
Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 
 
 She sympathized with him and assisted him in his great 
 life's work. He was devoted to her and their married 
 life was a beautiful and happy life. He had only one son, 
 a splendid and manly young man, and he was the idol of 
 his good father's heart. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, just a few months ago the distinguished 
 man, whose death we mourn to-day, was an active and in- 
 fluential Member of this body. Just a little while ago he 
 was participating in the debates, answering the roll calls, 
 and serving as we are now in the great Congress of the 
 United States. But he has made his last speech, answered 
 his last roll call, and ended his career of useful service 
 here. He has gone the way that we must all one day go, 
 but he is not dead. He has but entered into the joys of the 
 higher life, the life that awaits the faithful at the end of 
 the earthly road. 1 believe that all is well with his soul. 
 He was a good citizen — an able and faithful public serv- 
 ant. He loved his State and contributed to its marvelous 
 growth and development, and he served his country faith- 
 fully and well. His death was a sad blow to his loving 
 wife and son and to his friends and people, and in his 
 taking off the State and country have sustained a great 
 loss. 
 
 Mr. McDuffie assumed the chair as Speaker pro 
 tempore. 
 
 [13] 
 
Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 
 
 Mr. Speaker: John L. Burnett was my personal and 
 political friend. As such I will cherish his memory so 
 long as life lasts. He was a capable, clear-headed, indus- 
 trious Member. He was a great chairman of two impor- 
 tant committees. He wrought honestly, successfully, and 
 patriotically for his country and his countrymen. He was 
 one of the crack debaters in the House. He was exceed- 
 ingly tenacious of his opinions. Above all, he was un- 
 afraid. His style of speaking was terse, luminous, nerv- 
 ous. His voice had a clarion quality and reached every 
 nook and cranny of this great Hall. He injected just 
 enough of wit, humor, and sarcasm into his speeches to 
 render them pleasant to the ear. 
 
 He studied his subjects thoroughly and was master of 
 the facts on any theme which he chose to discuss. He 
 never had a sleepy audience. 
 
 Those who have practiced public speaking to any 
 considerable extent know that it is more difficult to make 
 an effective short speech than a long one. The corre- 
 spondent of the London Times who wrote a note to that 
 ancient paper that he was sending a long letter because he 
 had not the time to write a short one was a great philoso- 
 pher. Mr. Burnett was particularly happy in short 
 speeches, snappy, pointed, powerful. After listening for 
 25 years in this Hall to every sort of speech known among 
 men I give it as my critical and solemn opinion that 
 Brother Burnett delivered the best short speech I ever 
 heard at any time or place. Most people — ^including many 
 Members — do not realize that the best debating in the 
 House is under the five-minute rule, the study of which 
 rule and practice under it I cheerfully and earnestly com- 
 
 [14] 
 
Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 
 
 mend to the newer Members if they aspire to rank with 
 the powerful debaters in the House. It is well worth their 
 profoundest consideration. Burnett was a master of this 
 most difficult species of speech making. 
 
 In a five-minute speech you can not have an exordium 
 and a peroration. You must grab the idea in the middle 
 and ram into it as much language and thought as possible. 
 I want now to relate a little experience which I had. The 
 other night I concluded to hunt up John C. Calhoun's 
 proposition to have two Presidents of the United States, 
 one North and one South, nothing to be final as a law 
 unless both of them signed it. So I got down Col. Ben- 
 ton's Thirty Years' View, one of the most valuable books 
 ever published in America, and without which no gentle- 
 man's library is complete, to hunt up this Calhoun busi- 
 ness. Benton talks about everything on the face of the 
 earth in that book. I got to nibbling at it, and kept on 
 until I ran into a chapter that I had forgotten he ever 
 wrote — about the hour rule in the House. He denounced 
 that as one of the most outrageous things ever committed 
 in a free country. The majority of the Senate took the 
 same view of it. 
 
 There is not a man in the House who would vote to 
 repeal the hour rule. If we did we would never accom- 
 plish anything. Yet there was that great statesman, the 
 greatest statesman the western country ever had, in con- 
 junction with a majority of the Senate, denouncing it as a 
 positive curb on free speech and free thought in this coun- 
 try. The history of that hour rule is very brief. When 
 Henry Clay broke up with John Tyler he was not a politi- 
 cal boss, he was a political czar. He would get a Whig 
 bill through the Senate, and they would send it here to the 
 House, and Henry A. Wise, who had the most astounding 
 vocabulary of all the children of men, with two or three 
 others to help him, would kill Clay's bill — talk it to death. 
 
 [15] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 Clay was one of the most imperious of mortals, and he got 
 very tired of that. He came over here to the House, where 
 he did not belong at all, and got the House to adopt the 
 hour rule, simply to put a bit in the mouth of Henry A. 
 Wise, but when he went over to the Senate, where he did 
 belong, and tried to get them to adopt the rule, they turned 
 up their noses at him, and they have been turning up 
 their noses at such a thing ever since. 
 
 A few years ago there was a great uproar about cloture 
 in the Senate. Finally they got a cloture rule in the Sen- 
 ate, and it is the most remarkable thing which was ever 
 put into print. When two-thirds of the Senate petition 
 the Vice President to put the question of cloture, he puts it, 
 and then if they adopt it, it is put in force, but each Sena- 
 tor, 96 of them, has an hour in which to discuss that same 
 rule, and that amounts to 18 legislative days. I think the 
 five-minute rule is the best rule on the subject of speech 
 making that was ever devised by the wit of man, and there 
 never was a man in this House in my time who knew bet- 
 ter how to use it than Mr. Burnett. 
 
 He rendered most valuable service as chairman of two 
 great committees — Immigration and Public Buildings and 
 Grounds — and was one of the most valuable Members of 
 the House. 
 
 In private intercourse he was a delightful, cheerful, 
 genial, entertaining companion. He is greatiy missed 
 and sincerely mourned by all who knew him. 
 
 [16] 
 
Address of Mr. Dent, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker : It is always more or less painful to reflect 
 upon the life of a departed friend. Yet there is some satis- 
 faction in recalling the memory of past associates when 
 death, which is beyond our control, has taken that friend 
 away. When I speak of John L. Burnett as a friend, I 
 speak with a candor that emanates direct from the heart. 
 Though somewhat separated in years, our association was 
 always cordial, congenial, and companionable. I have 
 missed his hearty and his whole-souled greeting, and to- 
 day it is difficult for me to realize that John Burnett is 
 not still one of and among us. 
 
 John L. Burnett was small of stature, but big of heart 
 and brain. He had a fondness for children that was genu- 
 ine and spontaneous. For his fellow man he had the ut- 
 most, the kindest, consideration. It was these qualities of 
 the heart that drew men to Mr. Burnett, as he came in 
 contact with them in the affairs of life. He had a clear, 
 clean, and conscientious intellect. He was courageous, 
 physically, mentally, and in politics. 
 
 He honorably served the State in which he was born as 
 a legislator in both houses of that Commonwealth and in 
 the halls of Congress. In the labors which he gave to his 
 State and to the country he was always affable — a quality 
 not to be scorned; he was always industrious — a quality 
 never to be overlooked; and he was above all efficient — a 
 quality always to be admired and respected. For 20 years 
 he served the people of Alabama and the country in the 
 halls of Congress with honor and distinction, gaining and 
 retaining the respect and confidence of those with whom 
 he was associated. 
 
 48755—22 2 [17] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 We mourn his loss, Mr. Speaker, but console ourselves 
 with the reflection that his labors have not been in vain. I 
 could say more — I could say much more. I could go into 
 the details of his long and honorable career, but what is 
 the use? His history is made, and he leaves behind him a 
 record, of which his family and his friends may well be 
 proud. 
 
 [18] 
 
Address of Mr. Clark, of Florida 
 
 Mr. Speaker: When I came here as a Member of this 
 House for the first time at the beginning of the Fifty- 
 ninth Congress, among the men I found here who had 
 already demonstrated exceptional ability stood John L. 
 Burnett, of Alabama, whose passing we mourn to-day. 
 I soon formed his acquaintance, and I had not served 
 long in this great body before it was my good fortune 
 to be placed on the same committee with him, where we 
 served together for eight years. This threw me into very 
 close contact and association with Mr. Burnett, and I 
 learned to know him intimately and well. A goodly 
 portion of the time of our service here together we lived 
 in the same hotel, and I was thus permitted to know him 
 well both as legislator and as man. We became close 
 friends, and when the sad news of his departure reached 
 me, my heart was saddened to the depths and I felt that 
 I had lost more than a friend. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, John Burnett was as careful and as con- 
 scientious a legislator as it has ever been my pleasure to 
 be associated with. He was constant in his attendance on 
 committee meetings, and no question was too great for 
 his alert and active mind to grapple with, nor was any 
 question too small or insignificant for him to give it 
 attention. He was as true and loyal a Democrat as ever 
 graced this Hall, but in legislative matters he was first, 
 last, and all the time an American patriot who never 
 allowed partisanship to swerve his sound judgment. He 
 loved his country as a loyal son loves his mother, and 
 probably his greatest work upon this floor was his mag- 
 nificent effort to protect his beloved country from the 
 
 [19] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 flood of anarchistic aliens which threatened to engulf us. 
 The greatest tribute we can pay to his memory will be 
 to carry on the great work which he began and partly 
 accomplished, until we shall reach the stage where no 
 anarchist, bolshevist, I. W. W., or other cattle of that 
 stripe, by whatever name known, will feel at home in 
 America. Burnett was 100 per cent American in his 
 every thought, word, and deed, and had no patience with 
 hyphenated Americanism, no matter from what quarter 
 of the globe it hailed, 
 
 Mr. Burnett was not only a hard-working, conscien- 
 tious legislator, but he was a safe counselor and a con- 
 vincing advocate. He was not known in the House for 
 his much speaking. In fact, he rarely addressed the 
 House, and never did he do so unless he had something of 
 importance to say. But, Mr. Speaker, I remember occa- 
 sions when this House has been raised to its feet in 
 approval by the convincing power of his logic. Great by 
 virtue of his brain; great by virtue of his industry; great 
 by virtue of his conscience; great by virtue of his patri- 
 otism; great by virtue of his honesty; great by virtue of 
 his humanity, Alabama, rich in her numberless great sons, 
 has sent to Congress no nobler soul than John L. Burnett. 
 
 A devoted, loving husband, a tender, affectionate father, 
 an upright citizen, a faithful friend, a loyal patriot, an 
 able legislator, an honest public servant, and " the noblest 
 work of God " — an honest man — with his head pillowed 
 upon the bosom of his beloved Alabama " he sleeps well." 
 
 [20] 
 
Address of Mr. Oliver, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: In the short time allotted to Members on 
 these occasions it is not possible to attempt even a brief 
 review of the useful life of our beloved colleague, the 
 Hon. John Lawson Burnett. 
 
 In Congress and elsewhere he filled many positions of 
 great trust and responsibility, and his conspicuous serv- 
 ice has embalmed his memory in the hearts of a grateful 
 people, not only in his district and native State, but in the 
 Nation at large. His memory is linked for all time with 
 legislation of highest import and Nation-wide in scope. 
 
 He was essentially a leader, one who accomplished re- 
 sults, and in the attainment of his objectives his record 
 will disclose that he had no standard but honor, no watch- 
 word but duty, no purpose but the uplift and betterment 
 of mankind. As citizen, lawyer, representative in both 
 houses of the Alabama Legislature, in the halls of the 
 National Congress, in the home, in the church, in the circle 
 of friendships, he measured up to the ideal standard, and 
 when he fell asleep just before the convening of this Con- 
 gress in extraordinary session, there ended a physical life 
 well spent and crowned with good works and noble deeds. 
 
 If you ask what phase of his life most impressed his 
 friends, I answer — his great love, his keen interest, his 
 warm sympathy for the poor and those in distress. He 
 was proud of his humble birth among the hills of the good 
 old county of Cherokee, and some time, let me ask, that 
 you read again two remarkable speeches that he made 
 early after he entered Congress. One of them will unfold 
 to you his high devotion to his people — his broad hu- 
 manity — qualities always present and so noticeable in his 
 
 [21] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 public and private life; the other will unfold his remark- 
 able ability as a lawyer and his broad vision as a states- 
 man. I quote the introductory of his first speech, made 
 on December 14, 1899, just 10 days after he took the oath 
 of office : 
 
 I come fresh from the hands of the mountaineers of north Ala- 
 bama, among whom I first saw God's sunlight, among whom I first 
 breathed the pure mountain air, and with it inhaled the very in- 
 spiration of liberty itself. Among these people I first learned to 
 hate tyranny and to despise the tyrant, whether it came in the 
 form of some despot himself or that of despotic influence and 
 interests, which step by step sap the lifeblood of freedom and 
 bind her votaries hand and foot. 
 
 *••*♦•* 
 
 In the cabins and in the cottages upon the mountain tops and 
 in the valleys of my native heath lives the yeoman, surrounded 
 by his toil-worn wife and his little flock. God grant that no act 
 or vote of mine may ever add to the burdens which they now 
 bear, and that in every word I utter and every vote I cast, while 
 I stand as their Representative upon this floor, I may have no 
 higher motive and no loftier aim than to promote their best in- 
 terest and alleviate their condition. Then, when I return to my 
 home, I can look them in the face and say of a truth " Thy people 
 are my people, thy country is my country, thy God is my God." 
 
 He passed away with the blessed consciousness that he 
 had lived up to this high concept of duty to his constitu- 
 ency. The loss of a friend like this can but serve to 
 deepen the views of life of those of us who remain, and 
 make us feel that we would not always be here. It is the 
 great argument for immortality. For we can not believe 
 that the living, loving soul of John Burnett has ceased to 
 be. We can not believe that all those treasures of mind 
 and heart are squandered in emptj' air. We will not 
 believe it, and when once we understand the meaning of 
 the spiritual, we see the absolute certainty of eternal life. 
 We need no argument for the persistence of being. To 
 appear for a little time and then vanish away is the out- 
 
 [22] 
 
Address of Mr. Oliver, of Alabama 
 
 ward biography of all men — a circle of smoke that breaks, 
 a bubble on the stream that bursts, a spark put out by a 
 breath. But there is another biography, a deeper and a 
 permanent one, the biography of a soul. Everything that 
 appears vanishes away — that is its fate — the fate of the 
 everlasting hills — as well as of the vapor that caps them. 
 
 But that which does not appear is the only reality, it is 
 eternal and passeth not away. So beneath the life of 
 John Burnett, which has vanished away, there is a vital 
 thing, the spirit. We can not locate it and put our finger 
 on it, and that is why it is permanent. So friendship 
 does not lose by a death like this. It lays up treasures 
 in Heaven, and leaves the very earth a sacred place, made 
 happy by holy memories. " The ruins of time build man- 
 sions in eternity." 
 
 We do not ask to forget, we do not want the so-called 
 consolation which Time brings; we would rather that the 
 wound should ever be fresh than that the image of a friend 
 like him should fade. He has simply joined the choir 
 invisible. 
 
 Of those immortal dead who live again 
 
 In minds made better by their presence; live 
 
 In pulses stirred to generosity, 
 
 In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn 
 
 For miserable aims that end with self, 
 
 In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, 
 
 And with their mild persistence urge man's search 
 
 To vaster issues. 
 
 [23] 
 
Address of Mr. Taylor, of Arkansas 
 
 Mr. Speaker: The honorable gentlemen from Alabama 
 who have just spoken have told us of the life and career of 
 Judge Burnett in his State and here. I only knew him as 
 a Member of this House. I first met Mr. Burnett early in 
 the year 1913. From the very beginning of our acquaint- 
 ance a warm friendship seemed to spring up between us. 
 He had learned that my mother was born and reared in 
 north Alabama, and this fact seemed to draw him closer to 
 me. He was a devoted son of his State, loved her people, 
 and was proud of her history. Judge Burnett was a man 
 of splendid ability, and without the trappings of wealth or 
 aid of a great family name he plunged into the vortex of 
 popular rights and made for himself a name which 
 reached beyond the borders of his State. Among the great 
 and learned he did not claim to be supreme, but among 
 his people, I am told, he was a conquering power and was 
 loved and admired. He rose, so to speak, from obscurity 
 to the heights of renown and died on the crest of popular 
 esteem. His rise was not meteoric, but steady and sure. 
 He reached the sun-clad heights of his ambition and passed 
 away with the illumination undimmed and left his coun- 
 trymen the record of his splendid life work. He was de- 
 voted to his family, his countrj', his political party, and his 
 district which had so often honored him. He loved his 
 fellow man. For poise of mind, eloquence, and concen- 
 tration of thought he had few equals in the House. He 
 was always manly and kind in debate and spoke directly 
 to the question at issue. 
 
 For two or three sessions Mr. Burnett and myself 
 boarded at the same hotel in Washington, and with him 
 there I learned much of his inner soul. He was a great 
 
 [24] 
 
Address of Mr. Taylor, of Arkansas 
 
 lover of children. When you find one, Mr. Speaker, who 
 takes notice of and loves children you can mark him every 
 time as being worthy of your friendship and admiration. 
 One of the joys of Judge Burnett on winter nights was to 
 congregate the children at the hotel and tell them Ala- 
 bama and other southern stories of the " Uncle Remus " 
 sort, and teach them to sing old-time songs with him. At 
 these gatherings I often looked on with delight at the glad- 
 some and wondering eyes and faces of these little people 
 as they stood encircled around the knee of Judge Burnett, 
 who to them was a big man, and they were right. I often 
 thought while looking on how beautiful and loving it was 
 to see a statesman in Congress forget for the time matters 
 of national concern and legislation that he might con- 
 tribute with his whole soul toward cheering and making 
 happy children assembled about him from many sections 
 of this country. He may be forgotten by some, but these 
 little ones will lovingly remember him through life. 
 
 I never saw Judge Burnett manifest gloominess or 
 become morose, but, on the contrary, in greeting his 
 friends and fellow Members he was always cheerful and 
 buoyant. Oh, Mr. Speaker, if the world was filled with 
 John Burnetts it would be a happier and grander world 
 within which to live. "When a giant carrying easily the 
 loads of life in the fullness of his strength falls dumb and 
 prostrate on the earth, heart stricken by the darts of 
 death, we, his surviving friends, gather in confused agony 
 around his unbreathing form and unavailing tears spring 
 unbidden to the surface and baptize with sorrow's sacred 
 streams the pale countenances of those who loved him 
 while he lived. How utterly powerless, Mr. Speaker, do 
 we feel in death's mysterious presence. 
 
 While acting on the stage of life down in Alabama the 
 grim messenger with the inverted torch appeared and 
 beckoned Mr. Burnett to depart, and when he passed 
 
 [25] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 from this life into the door of " forever — forever " — 
 those who knew and loved him turned with heavy hearts 
 to one another, and with weeping eyes hoped for him 
 that— 
 
 Somewhere the sun is shining, 
 Somewhere the angels wait, 
 Somewhere the clouds are rifted 
 Close to an open gate. 
 
 [26] 
 
Address of Mr. Ashbrook, of Ohio 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I received no special invitation to speak 
 to-day, but I would like to add just a word of tribute to the 
 memory of my good friend, for whom these services are 
 held to-day. When I first came to Congress, 13 years ago, 
 I felt in as great need of friends and a kindly word of 
 advice and encouragement as anyone who ever sat in this 
 Chamber. There were a few of the older Members who 
 manifested some interest in me, and I shall never cease to 
 feel indebted to them. Among this limited number who 
 won my lasting gratitude was our dead friend whose life 
 and character we to-day eulogize. And may I say that 1 
 have since endeavored, as best I could, to pass on their 
 good deeds by lending a helping hand to the new Member. 
 
 I recall that Congressman Burnett was a member of the 
 Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and on the 
 subcommittee which included my State in the Sixtieth 
 Congress, my advent here. I was quite anxious to have 
 an item in the omnibus bill for that Congress. Mr. Bur- 
 nett heard me patiently and sympathetically and reported 
 favorably on my proposition to the full committee and it 
 was accepted. "When the bill was reported to the House, 
 however, my item was not in it. I learned a political 
 adversary from my district came down to Washington 
 and overnight put the skids under my bill. I informed 
 my friend. Then did the shortest man in stature in the 
 House rise in height in my eyes and estimation until he 
 seemed to tower above our old friend Cy SuUoway, of 
 New Hampshire, who was the tallest man in the House, 
 and who, too, has since passed on. He boldly called to 
 the attention of the chairman of the committee on this 
 
 [27] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 floor the mean trick served me and succeeded in getting 
 my item back in the bill. 
 
 From that day on I was a fast friend of John L. Burnett, 
 As our acquaintance aged my admiration for him greyi 
 until I looked upon him as one of my best friends here. 
 I lived at the same hotel with our departed friend for a 
 number of years. I knew him intimately and well. If he 
 had any enemies here I did not know it, nor do I know why 
 he should have, for he was one of the most lovable men I 
 ever knew. 
 
 Congressman Burnett's activities in immigration legis- 
 lation made his name almost a household word all over 
 our country and the world. The Burnett Immigration 
 Law is a lasting monument to his memory. He was a 
 ready, forceful debater. Few men could acquit them- 
 selves on their feet as well. He was honest, conscientious, 
 square, and fair, and commanded respect and admiration 
 alike on both sides of the aisle. For over 20 years he 
 served his district and country faithfully and well. Sud- 
 denly, and with little warning, in the midst of his useful- 
 ness, he fell like an autumn leaf, and I doubt not when 
 his soul appeared, naked and alone, before the Great 
 White Throne, that he heard the welcome words from the 
 Just Judge, " Well done, good and faithful servant, enter 
 thou into the joys of thy Lord." 
 
 [28] 
 
Address of Mr. Stephens, of Mississippi 
 
 Mr. Speaker: John Lawson Burnett and I were inti- 
 mate friends. We spent many pleasant hours together 
 and I desire to pay tribute to his memory. 
 
 He was a high type of American citizenship, believing 
 in the principles which the fathers handed down in insti- 
 tutions in which are centered our happiness, security, and 
 
 destiny. 
 
 His idea of good government was one moralized and 
 spiritualized with the principles of liberty, equality, jus- 
 tice, and opportunity, regulated by righteous law and in- 
 spired by a righteous people. 
 
 He believed that private virtue and public morality are 
 the essential foundations of good government; and that 
 the future of the Republic depends upon the personal and 
 political ideals of the people. He had faith in private 
 virtue, commercial honesty, the energy of law and politi- 
 cal honor— faith in their strength to give vitality and 
 length of days to the Nation. 
 
 He knew that history teaches that mental power and 
 moral principle must journey forward side by side; that 
 the glory of a nation's life is in its character and man- 
 hood; and that the only way to develop civilization on the 
 outside is to develop it on the inside. 
 
 He traveled the highway of life a friend of education, an 
 advocate of the higher virtues, an ardent lover of the insti- 
 tutions of his country, never following after false pohtical 
 gods and never turning aside to the eccentric, the abnor- 
 mal, the low, the base. 
 
 [29] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 Believing in these principles, being inspired by the 
 highest patriotism, he was a leader in the fight to restrict 
 foreign immigration; and he left, as an everlasting legis- 
 lative and political monument to his memory, the Burnett 
 immigration bill. 
 
 Those who heard him can never forget with what in- 
 tensity and eloquence he pleaded for the passage of that 
 bill, for the protection of the institutions of the Republic 
 against the invasion of aliens whose presence would con- 
 stitute such a menace to all that we have been taught to 
 revere and hold sacred. 
 
 Courage is one of the lordly virtues. Great souls are 
 brave souls. That John Burnett possessed courage of the 
 highest order no one will deny. He never measured his 
 duty by the applause of the hour. No threatened un- 
 popularity of his views ever caused him to withhold their 
 expression when it was his duty to speak. No " word well 
 smoothen " ever fell from liis lips in order that he might 
 curry favor. 
 
 Some men can stand erect only when wedged in a 
 crowd. It was not true with him. He was willing to stand 
 alone, supported only by his own approving conscience. 
 
 His courage, his ability, his eloquence gave strength to 
 any cause he advocated; and these qualities made him a 
 dangerous antagonist. When he believed that chastise- 
 ment was merited by an opponent he did not hesitate to 
 administer it, and he knew how to use the lash and make 
 it cut deep. 
 
 He was acquainted with the common sorrows of man- 
 kind, and so, in joy and grief, he was prepared to enter 
 sympathetically into the conditions surrounding his fel- 
 low men. He had all the primary affections, the noble 
 passions, the sweet emotions that make the true man. ii 
 
 [30] 
 
Address of Mr. Stephens, of Mississippi 
 
 Knowing him as I did, I am confident that he had 
 learned the " Great Lessons " so beautifully phrased by 
 the poet: 
 
 So did I learn 
 
 The first great lessons: mark ye them, my sons, 
 
 Obedience is nobility; and meek 
 
 Humility is glory; self alone 
 
 Is base, and pride is pain; patience is power; 
 
 Beneficence is bliss. 
 
 [31] 
 
Address of Mr. Tillman, of Arkansas 
 
 Mr. Speaker: For a time the Burnett family and my 
 own lived at the same hotel in Washington, and during 
 this period I imjiroved the opportunity to acquire an inti- 
 mate knowledge of the softer side of the Congressman's 
 nature. His heart was as gentle as a woman's. His hand 
 was ever open and ready for generous deeds. He loved 
 children, and organized a club of little folks, and under 
 his guidance this club had weekly meetings, at which its 
 members sang songs, told stories, gave readings, and 
 rendered programs consisting of a wide variety of literary 
 exercises. These children loved Mr. Burnett and he 
 loved them. It is a delightful habit of a strong nature 
 like his to unbend now and then, to forget the affairs of 
 state, to revel unselfishly in the innocent pleasures of little 
 people, to teach them, and to train them, as he did, for a 
 useful future. Not one of these tots, now that this man is 
 gone, but will remember the kindly touch of his vanished 
 hand; not one will forget the cheerful sound of his pleasing 
 voice now stilled by death. 
 
 The dead statesman was dwarfish in stature, but he had 
 the soul of an eagle and the heart of a lion. He was active 
 on the floor of the House, and instead of avoiding debate 
 he rather courted controversy. In truth he was strong in 
 argument, was a tireless worker, and loved a fight. This 
 David with sling and pebbles never shirked an encounter 
 with any Goliath of Gath who challenged him to combat 
 in the forum or on the hustings, and usually the fight 
 terminated as did the one described in First Samuel XVII 
 between the handsome shepherd lad, David, the son of 
 
 [32] 
 
Address of Mr. Tillman, of Arkansas 
 
 Jesse, and the bulky Philistine measuring six cubits and a 
 span in height. 
 
 Our friend told me that when he was first elected to 
 Congress he expected to remain here but a short time, yet 
 he was elected 11 times, served for 20 years, and died in 
 harness. He stated also that he never failed to have oppo- 
 sition, and this fact accounted in a large m^easure for his 
 long service. His combative disposition asserted itself 
 here again. He often affirmed that if he could be elected 
 one time without opposition that he would retire from the 
 House to private life. He looked forward with keen pleas- 
 ure to the time when he could retire and spend the evening 
 of his days in peace and quietude. Like most of us he 
 was beginning to tire of the lure of political life with its 
 noisy phantoms, its paper crowns, and its tinsel gilt. 
 
 John Lawson Burnett was born at Cedar Bluff, Chero- 
 kee County, Ala., January 20, 1854. He lived, died, and 
 was buried in the great Commonwealth that gave him to 
 the country. And he so lived that Alabama, his mother, 
 thrilled with pride when sorrowing friends placed his 
 sturdy little body to sleep forever in her braye and gener- 
 ous soil. Alabama, glittering jewel of the old South; rich, 
 flashing, glorious gem of the new South ! Alabama is the 
 calla lily of the South, a land of orchard and grain, a land 
 of cotton and corn, a land of mines and factories, a land 
 of hazy Indian summers, a land of gorgeous sunsets — and 
 the moon sails through the blue seas of her glorious nights 
 like a ship of pearl. Alabama, a land of enchantment and 
 variety, here a stately country home, there a big plantation 
 with its broad fat acres laughing forth a harvest of good 
 things. The mocking bird sings until midnight among her 
 purple apple blossoms. Here the tall and fragrant pine, 
 there the cedar, dusk and dim; here the virile oak, there 
 the branching elm; here the stately mountain range, there 
 a lake of silver; here by the roadside a bubbling spring 
 
 48755—21 3 [33] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 ever holding up its pouting lips to be kissed by the thirsty 
 traveler, there the model farm where 
 
 We hear tinkling in the clover dells, 
 The twilight sound of cattle bells. 
 
 Alabama has given to the country a thousand patriots 
 and a thousand great men, and she gave to this generation 
 John Lawson Burnett, clean, brave, manly, possessed of 
 a chaste honor that felt a stain like a wound, possessed of 
 the unpurchasable graces of life and character, such as 
 sterling honesty, spotless purity of soul and conduct. We 
 need more of the fine audacity of honest deed, more of the 
 homely old integrity of soul such as he had and cultivated. 
 
 Mr. Burnett died suddenly and without warning, but he 
 was prepared for death and did not fear it. This was his 
 creed: 
 
 I do not fear to tread the path that those I love have long since 
 
 trod, 
 I do not fear to pass the gates and stand before the living God. 
 In this world's fight I've done my part and God is God, He knows 
 
 it well. 
 
 John Lawson Burnett wore the white flower of a blame- 
 less life. His conscience was his king. A long good night 
 to this rare spirit. 
 
 [34] 
 
Address of Mr. Wilson, of Louisiana 
 
 Mr. Speaker: When I first came to Congress I was 
 placed upon the Committee on Immigration, of which 
 the late Judge John L. Burnett was chairman, and dur- 
 ing my service on that committee became intimately 
 acquainted with his fine qualities as a man and his 
 marked abilities as a statesman. The passage of the 
 Burnett immigration bill was the crowning achievement 
 of his legislative career, and the most conspicuous accom- 
 plishment of his long public service. 
 
 The history of that legislation is somewhat unique in 
 the proceedings of Congress. Beginning with the veto 
 by President Cleveland, in 1896, for more than 20 years 
 one of the storm centers of congressional debate and ac- 
 tion, in party platforms, and in national campaigns was 
 the literacy test as applied to immigration, the principle 
 of which was to make our immigration selective and as 
 finally adopted in the Burnett bill. The final passage 
 over the veto of the President, in 1916, of this bill, which 
 had received the approval and indorsement of both 
 branches of Congress on six separate occasions in a 
 period of 20 years, and halted by the vetoes of three 
 Presidents of the United States, is a striking instance of 
 the triumph of public opinion in America as reflected in 
 the Congress. 
 
 The brilliant and eff"ective work of John L. Burnett in 
 connection with this measure won for him a fame that 
 was national and a reputation that was international. 
 During the consideration of this and other problems 
 assigned to us the committee was often astonished at 
 the complete grasp of every phase of the immigration 
 question shown by Chairman Burnett, and the scope 
 
 [35] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 and exactness of his information relating thereto. In 
 my opinion the final passage of this bill over the last 
 presidential veto was due largely to his fine leadership 
 and superb ability. 
 
 Judge Burnett was a man who attracted in close attach- 
 ment and esteem those who knew him intimately. He 
 was always frank, open, and abovehoard about every- 
 thing, courteous and kindly in speech and action. He was 
 a man of courage and independence, and had the for- 
 tunate quality of being able to bring all his fine intel- 
 lectual powers into action instantly upon every question 
 which he chose to champion. This made him a ready 
 and effective debater upon this floor. He enjoyed the 
 respect, esteem, and confidence of the Members on both 
 sides of this Chamber. In his death his State, the Con- 
 gress, and the country sustained an immeasurable loss. 
 
 Shortly before he returned to his home the members 
 of the Committee on Immigration, of which he had been 
 the honored chairman, and upon his retirement from that 
 position, presented him a token of their love and esteem, 
 and in his parting words, mingled with tears, he left an 
 impression which will never be forgotten by the members 
 of that committee, who admired and loved him. 
 
 As a friend who has been intimately associated with 
 him I deem it a great privilege to add my humble tribute 
 to his memory, which wo all honor and revere. 
 
 [36] 
 
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: It is a mournful but nevertheless a tender 
 privilege to speak a few words of eulogy in memory of 
 the admirable character and accomplishments of our 
 late colleague and comrade in service, John L. Burnett. 
 Knowing as I believe I did the absolute sincerity of the 
 man — his abomination of sham and pretense — any at- 
 tempt at fulsome praise of his talents or his services on 
 this occasion would be repugnant to my conception of the 
 words he would have us say. 
 
 Although Mr. Burnett had been a conspicuous public 
 man in Alabama for many years, it was not my good for- 
 tune to know him intimately until I began my service in 
 the Sixty-fifth Congress. Two of the counties of his old 
 district now are a part of mine, and being my geographi- 
 cal neighbor as well as the dean of the Alabama delega- 
 tion when I began my service here, I naturally sought 
 and always secured his counsel, advice, and unreserved 
 admonition. 
 
 It was not a formal, perfunctory, superior kind of in- 
 terest he took in me, but genuine, sincere, disinterested, 
 helpful. It was characteristic of the man — a helping hand 
 extended to another who needed it. 
 
 I shall not attempt any biographical reference to our de- 
 parted friend. That duty has been admirably and fully 
 accomplished by my colleagues who have already spoken. 
 
 If I should be asked to designate the outstanding char- 
 acteristic of this man's make-up, the immediate response 
 would be " Courage of conviction." He did not rush to a 
 conclusion upon grave public questions. He always 
 wanted to know the facts, he desired to hear the argu- 
 ment, he sought a just and logical conclusion, and when 
 
 [37] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 he reached a conclusion convincing to himself he de- 
 clared it, and fought for it to the end. 
 
 He was not only courageous in conviction, but he was 
 preeminently combative to sustain his conception of the 
 right position. He did not believe in the soft and vacillat- 
 ing methods of attack or defense. He despised ambush 
 warfare. For him the open field and the onslaught direct. 
 He believed in giving hard blows. He knew equally well 
 how to take them. 
 
 That was his method on the hustings, and his method 
 here. He seemed to glory in drawing the fire of an ad- 
 versary because he had the consciousness that he could 
 always return it " in full measure and running over." 
 
 I heard Speaker Champ Clark once say that he regarded 
 John L. Burnett as the best " rough and tumble " debater 
 on either side of the House of Representatives. 
 
 While the people of his district and State loved and ad- 
 mired our lamented colleague, he did not belong to them 
 alone. He was a servant of a larger constituency — the 
 whole American Republic! He was recognized as the 
 highest authority here on the great problems of immigra- 
 tion and naturalization in his lifetime, and now of para- 
 mount importance. He stood for the doctrine "America 
 for Americans," and his earnest and invaluable efforts for 
 a decent restriction of undesirable immigration not only 
 have been transcribed into our statutes but go marching 
 on in the quickened and awakened consciousness of mil- 
 lions of Americans of the menace of the unassimilated 
 mob. His death was not therefore a local or sectional loss 
 alone, for this Nation suffered a blow when John Burnett 
 died. 
 
 It is no small thing for any man to be elected once to 
 the House of Representatives. It is a position of honor 
 and high responsibility. But when a man comes here for 
 20 years in succession, despite the enemies he makes in 
 
 [Ml 
 
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama 
 
 politics, despite the disappointments of opposing ambi- 
 tions, despite the errors of judgment he may make, and 
 dies in harness still serving his people, that man has 
 achieved a great career. And when coupled to that long 
 tenure is the record of a high position with his colleagues, 
 the unstinted respect and confidence of his political ad- 
 versaries, and the knowledge of those who survive him 
 that he rendered conspicuous and outstanding service to 
 his country, and who passes away " surrounded by the 
 proud and affectionate solicitude of a great constituency," 
 has indeed left to his family and friends a career to be 
 admired and cherished forever. 
 Friend, neighbor, comrade, rest well. 
 
 [39] 
 
Address of Mr. Huddleston, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker : I can not refrain from adding my tribute 
 to the memory of our departed friend. 
 
 When I first entered Congress Mr. Burnett was the dean 
 of the Alabama delegation, the senior in point of service 
 among the Alabama members. As was proper, I showed 
 him the respect and confidence due a senior by conferring 
 with him frequently about matters touching our delega- 
 tion and the interests of our section and State. He gave 
 me his counsel patiently and kindly. I went into his office 
 one morning and playfully hailed him as " Daddy," be- 
 cause of his seniority in service, and he in the same spirit 
 replied by calling me " Son." After that he was always 
 to me " Daddy " and I was always to him " Son." 
 
 I saluted him in that way the last time we met, which 
 was only two days before his death. He had recently 
 come through a trying political campaign. He showed 
 the marks of it. Though apparently in good health there 
 was something about him upon second look that indicated 
 that the strenuous contest through which he had come 
 had left its impression upon him, had wearied him more 
 than the usual campaign. Two days later I heard of his 
 death. 
 
 I went to his funeral. It was attended by thousands. 
 People had gathered from all over his district, a large 
 and rugged district, to pay him their final respect. Many 
 of those present were not men who ordinarily attend such 
 occasions. They were chiefly of the people. Many of 
 them were common men, who did not have fine clothes, 
 men with hard hands and with the marks of toil upon 
 them. 
 
 [40] 
 
Address of Mr. Huddleston, of Alabama 
 
 The friend of poor and humble men had gone. They 
 stood about with tears in their eyes. It was a tribute such 
 as is rarely paid to the memory of any man. It is such as 
 I would like to have when my time comes to go. 
 
 John L. Burnett was born in Cherokee County, Ala., in 
 the seventh congressional district, which he had the honor 
 to represent in the House for over 20 years. He lived all 
 his life in that district and died there. His district at the 
 end was composed of the counties of Blount, Cherokee, 
 Cullman, Dekalb, Etowah, Marshall, and St. Clair. There 
 is a small citj' in the district, Gadsden, in which he lived 
 in his later years. In that city there are a few who do not 
 have their origin in that section, and there is occasionally 
 one who was born overseas. 
 
 In the county of Cullman there is a small old-time 
 colony of German settlers, of which there remains per- 
 haps three or four hundred who were born overseas. 
 Aside from these the seventh district is composed wholly 
 of what might be called " old-fashioned Americans," that 
 is, people of old British stock, whose ancestors came to 
 this country so long ago that they have lost track of when 
 they came, whose ancestors were the hardy pioneers who 
 carved this Republic out of its original virgin wilderness. 
 
 No finer people live in Amei-ica than those of the 
 seventh congressional district of Alabama. If there are 
 any real Americans, these are they. They are hospitable, 
 intelligent, alert, patriotic, brave, but above all, liberty- 
 loving. They are not strongly partisan in the political 
 sense. Politically, the district may be said to be inde- 
 pendent in a large respect. The elections are always close. 
 The opposition is not so much partisan as it is inde- 
 pendent. It is a division of opinion, a real opposition. 
 
 Representing this people, John L. Burnett came to Con- 
 gress for over 20 years— worthily representing them, truly 
 and accurately representing them — representing them at 
 
 [41] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 their best, at their noblest, at their highest. That they 
 loved him, that they honored him, was meet. He was one 
 of them, he loved them, he understood them, and no noble 
 impulse they felt but he responded to; his heart beat in 
 answer to their every aspiration. 
 
 We honor ourselves in honoring the memory of this 
 good man. 
 
 [42] 
 
Address of Mr. Fess, of Ohio 
 
 Mr. Speaker : I want to add my tribute to the memory of 
 Mr. Burnett. With the rest of you I do not believe that 
 any man can be more deeply stirred than by an apprecia- 
 tive sentiment in honor of a really good man. I have 
 listened to the encomiums that have been paid, and I know 
 that they are not formal — they are every one heartfelt and 
 spontaneous. They are tributes that are gladly paid, and 
 most certainly warranted by the type of life of the man to 
 whom they are paid. Mr. Burnett was one of the first 
 men who attracted my attention when I came to the House. 
 It was largely by his manner of presenting a case from the 
 floor of the House, his character in debate, that my atten- 
 tion was attracted to him. 
 
 Some men, when they arise, will drive you from their 
 position, but Mr. Burnett was a man who was convincing. 
 He compelled the reason, and although you might not 
 agree with him, you always respected him. However 
 much he was appreciated on the side of the aisle where he 
 always sat, I do not think he was more greatly appreciated 
 there than he was on this side of the aisle. I noticed him 
 in the manner of the presentation of the immigration bill. 
 I was in entire sympathy with his position. There were 
 others on both sides of the aisle very pronounced against 
 his position. At times in the running debate it would ap- 
 pear to me that the opposition was quite powerful and 
 sometimes was winning the debate, but that fear always 
 was allayed whenever Mr. Burnett took the floor to clean 
 up matters. He was more than an advocate. He was an 
 expositor, and when he spoke he always added informa- 
 tion. He was one of the men the House was always glad 
 to see arise to address it. 
 
 [43] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 I want to pay this brief tribute to him as a man who 
 never was found fault with by the RepubUcan side because 
 he was a Democrat. He was always more than a party 
 man. There are those who speak on political lines who 
 always command respect from those who differ with them, 
 because thej^ are beyond mere partisan advocates. Mr. 
 Burnett was from the sunny South, and yet his impulses 
 and passions were for the whole Nation. 
 
 I rise on the Republican side of the aisle to speak my 
 tribute to the memory of this beloved colleague. Atten- 
 tion has been called to that quality of his which was so 
 wonderfully displayed about the hotel where he resided 
 with respect to children. That was the feature about him 
 that seemed to impress me more than anything I have 
 known in the life of this good man. I lived at the hotel 
 with him for quite a while, and Saturday night was always 
 a gala night with the children of the hotel. They were to 
 be found in one room, and Mr. Burnett was the center of 
 attraction and was directing their activities. From Satur- 
 day night to the next Saturday night they were planning, 
 and would go through the dining room and speak to indi- 
 vidual members — " Come to our entertainment Saturday 
 night." I want to indorse what one gentleman has said, 
 that if a man, no matter how lofty his position, will always 
 hold himself ready to sympathize with the interests of 
 childhood, he will write upon his career the word " great." 
 I deem it a privilege to add this word of tribute to a man 
 who proved himself a real friend, a valuable citizen, and a 
 power for right ideals in public life. 
 
 [44] 
 
Address of Mr. Steagall, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: We have met to-day to acknowledge the 
 universal and inevitable sway of death. Since the time 
 sin entered the Garden the shadow of death has dark- 
 ened the pathway of man. It knows no class and favors 
 no clime. It is a penalty that must be paid alike by prince 
 and pauper. To-day the stern monarch invades the hut 
 of the humble and poor to put an end to misery and want 
 and woe; to-morrow he walks with dauntless tread up the 
 stony pathway to the gilded mansion and hushes forever 
 the revelry of the rich. By one stroke he removes the 
 derelict, whose departure disturbs not nor hurts the wel- 
 fare of humanity; by another he closes a great career at 
 the hour of its highest honor and opportunity. 
 
 When John Lawson Burnett passed away there came to 
 its end on this earth a life which all the way from child- 
 hood to its close was spent in useful toil and noble service. 
 We can not understand why he should be called from 
 among us in the hour of his greatest usefulness, when his 
 rare ability and ripe experience are most needed by his 
 fellows. Such a decree of Providence can not be fath- 
 omed by human wisdom. 
 
 When Mr. Burnett was a child 4 years old his father 
 died, leaving the widow and three small boys, poor and 
 unaided, to take up the battle of life. In early boyhood 
 Mr. Burnett began to contribute to the support of the 
 family. He worked on the farm and as a miner and 
 studied at night under the instruction of his mother. 
 She was a woman of education and culture, and began 
 early the cultivation and training of the son, which in 
 large part formed the foundation for his career. When 
 he entered the common schools he divided his time be- 
 tween his work and his educational pursuits. 
 
 [45] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 During this period of trial he was in constant contact 
 with the stern realities of life, developing a common- 
 sense understanding of affairs and an attachment to the 
 plain people. When he had made sufficient progress to 
 enable him to secure a position as teacher he taught and 
 attended school alternately. Finally, by his own efforts 
 and at his own expense he took a course of law at Van- 
 derbilt University. The habits of industry formed in 
 boyhood characterized his course as a student of law 
 both before and after his admission to the bar. In the 
 practice of his profession, as before, obstacles encoun- 
 tered were met with a determination and purpose that 
 only brought development and progress. As a lawyer 
 his growth was steady and continual. He achieved no 
 sudden nor unsubstantial successes. Every step forward 
 was reached by patient toil and earnest effort, to be 
 followed always by further progress. 
 
 The heights by great men reached and kept 
 Were not attained by single flight, 
 But they while their companions slept 
 Were toiling upward in the night. 
 
 From the time of his admission to the bar to his elec- 
 tion to Congress his growth was without interruption. He 
 was industi'ious, high-minded, conscientious, and held a 
 high place in the front ranks of the laAvyers of his State. 
 
 His first political activity was as a member of the House 
 of Representatives of Alabama, in which position he 
 served one term, taking high rank among the members of 
 that body. Some years later he was nominated when not 
 a candidate and elected State senator from his senatorial 
 district. Again, he soon won an enviable place in the 
 highest legislative body of his State, serving with marked 
 credit to himself and to his constituents. Mr. Burnett was 
 
 [46] 
 
Address of Mr. Steagall, of Alabama 
 
 always modest and unpretentious. He never made the 
 mistake, loo common among men, of taking himself too 
 seriously. He seemed never to think of the things he had 
 accomplished, but was always seeking opportunity for 
 some new service. He was ever ready to meet responsi- 
 bilities that arose, never lacking the courage to follow 
 where duty and conviction pointed the way. He was a 
 brave and stubborn fighter, yet always considerate of 
 others, maintaining a moderation and modesty that com- 
 manded admiration. 
 
 An incident typical of his character occurred in the con- 
 vention in which he was first nominated as the candidate 
 of his party for Congress. Several names were before the 
 convention, but he was not a candidate when first pre- 
 sented for the nomination. It was well understood that 
 the nominee would have a stubborn contest that would be 
 hard to win. Mr. Burnett was a delegate in the conven- 
 tion, and when his name was offered arose immediately 
 and insisted that a stronger man might be found to lead 
 his party. But his protest only served to deepen the im- 
 pression that he possessed the qualities and attainments 
 essential to successful leadership. He was nominated, and 
 accepted the mandate of his party and won a triumphant 
 victory. He established himself in the confidence of his 
 people in a way that for 20 years made him invincible in 
 a district torn by partisan strife seldom surpassed in any 
 congressional district in the Union. He was a man of 
 strong convictions and without fear in following them. 
 He was not the type of politician to follow the line of least 
 resistance. His sense of duty constituted his guide. Such 
 a man was, of course, bound to meet with opposition, but 
 he soon established a reputation for courage and common 
 honesty which many times commanded the support even 
 of those who did not agree with him. 
 
 [47] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 During all the changing issues and vicissitudes of his 20 
 years' service in Congress liis hold upon the confidence of 
 his constituents was unbroken and the people of the 
 entire State of Alabama regarded him as one of their 
 ablest and most valuable public servants. There had been 
 for years before his death a desire throughout the Slate 
 that he should become a candidate for governor, but his 
 work in Congress was too important and the need for his 
 service too unceasing for him ever to turn loose. 
 
 I have known no Member of the House more suited to 
 service here, no one of deeper devotion to the interests of 
 the masses, no one who possessed in higher degree the 
 courage needed in this body. I shall never forget a con- 
 versation had with him when the war resolution was 
 pending. No one knew better than he that the reso- 
 lution would be adopted and that the feeling and excite- 
 ment to follow would be productive of great resentment 
 against those who saw fit to oppose the passage of the reso- 
 lution. But he believed that the honor and welfare of the 
 Nation could best be protected and promoted by declin- 
 ing to enter the horrible conflict, and, so believing, he 
 voted against the passage of the resolution. I voted with 
 the majority of the House, but I have always honored him 
 for his courageous course. No Member of this House was 
 more loyal than he to the cause of the Allies in the strug- 
 gle to beat back the invading hordes of the German mili- 
 tary machine and save the civilization of the world. 
 
 Mr. Burnett measured up to the highest standard in this 
 great body. He was an untiring worker and allowed noth- 
 ing of importance to escape his painstaking attention. He 
 was one of the ablest debaters who ever sat in this House. 
 He was loyal always to the true principles of his party, 
 but never allowed partisanship to supplant his patriotism. 
 Few men on either side have ever commanded deeper or 
 more genuine respect among the members of the opposing 
 
 [48] 
 
Address of Mr. Steagall, of Alabama 
 
 party. He sought always to find the truth and to serve his 
 country. He was a true representative of all that is best 
 in our national life — the highest type of American patriot. 
 
 It was as a member and as chairman of the Committee 
 on Immigration that he rendered his greatest service. 
 For years and years he fought to arouse public opinion to 
 an appreciation of the dangers involved in the admission 
 of millions of foreigners unfitted for American citizenship. 
 A deep student of this subject, he saw with clear vision 
 the wisdom of protecting the Nation against the vast 
 hordes of irresponsibles whose presence among us has 
 proven so great a menace. The dastardly attempt to ac- 
 complish his death by a bomb sent him through the mails 
 was in itself a tribute to his patriotic effort to protect the 
 Nation against those who would destroy American insti- 
 tutions. Could he have had his way, we should not now 
 be confronted with the difficult task of dealing with the 
 undesirables who have been admitted within our borders. 
 He well foresaw and sought industriously to prevent the 
 disease that others are now undertaking to cure. Real 
 statesman that he was, he grasped the importance of cor- 
 recting the evils inherent in our national life and preserv- 
 ing an electorate devoted to true Americanism. 
 
 He understood that the real danger to the perpetuity of 
 this Republic lies not in the invading army of any possible 
 foreign foe; that our safety depends upon our ability to 
 preserve the sacred principles and ideals upon which our 
 Government was founded, and he knew that these institu- 
 tions can never be safe, except in the hands of men 
 schooled in our scheme of government and devoted to the 
 principles of liberty regulated by law. 
 
 His great work was unfinished, but he won high place in 
 the Nation's histo^}^ He has left an impress on legislation 
 and public thought that will last through succeeding years. 
 He served well his party and his country. He devoted his 
 
 48755—22 i [491 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 life to the uplift of humanity and the betterment of the 
 world. He was too reverential and unpretentious to pa- 
 rade before men any profession of piety, but if it be true, 
 as I devoutly believe, that we reap as we sow, rich, indeed, 
 must be his eternal reward ! A good father, a devoted son, 
 a faithful husband, an able, courageous statesman, a great 
 democrat, an unsullied patriot, a noble, knightly, unselfish 
 soul, his death is a loss to his country and the world. 
 
 Mr. Heflin assumed the chair as Speaker pro tempore. 
 
 [50] 
 
Address of Mr. Steenerson, of Minnesota 
 
 Mr. Speaker : Having served in the House with Mr. Bur- 
 nett for nearly 17 years, I necessarily became acquainted 
 with him, and I deem it a high privilege to join now in 
 paying tribute to his memory. 
 
 When we realize that nine-tenths of the legislation in 
 Congress is really nonpartisan, it is easily explained that 
 in the course of time men engaged in legislative duties, 
 especially those who are active workers, must necessarily 
 become pretty well acquainted. I had occasion to appear 
 before the two committees of which Mr. Burnett was 
 chairman, the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds 
 and the Committee on Immigration. All Members, espe- 
 cially those from the country districts, like to appear be- 
 fore the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and 
 during his chairmanship we always received a courteous 
 and considerate hearing. 
 
 I was present at hearings before the Committee on Rules 
 on the immigration bill, which he championed; and on 
 these and various other occasions I learned to admire him 
 greatly. 
 
 As has been said here, few Members on the other side 
 enjoyed more friendships on this side of the aisle than he 
 did. He was admired for his splendid abilities, and espe- 
 cially for his brilliant oratory. It has been pointed out 
 here that he was unexcelled in debate under the five- 
 minute rule, and that was true. He commanded the art 
 of oratory to a high degree, but he never employed it for 
 a base purpose. When he played upon the emotions of 
 his hearers it was to arouse them to a realization of the 
 cause which he sought to further and explain. 
 
 [51] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 There was one characteristic about the man, and I re- 
 gard that as the chief distinction of his nature. That was 
 his love for the genuine, for the real, and his hatred of 
 sham and pretense everywhere. He believed in what he 
 advocated, and he advocated it because he believed in it. 
 He was not a slave to partisanship. It may be truly said 
 of him that he carried his sovereignty under his own hat, 
 but so far as it did not conflict with his view of right and 
 wrong, of course he was loyal to the party to which he 
 belonged. 
 
 Another distinguishing feature of his character was his 
 intense love of his country and its institutions. He be- 
 lieved in representative government, and he believed that 
 representative government implies confidence and faith 
 in your fellow men. I often talked with him about this 
 question of immigration. He believed that in order to 
 preserve our free institutions it was necessary to exclude 
 not only the illiterate and defective, but also those, how- 
 ever well educated, who professed hostility to all govern- 
 ment or to our form of government. Obviously he was 
 right. The principles of the Constitution of the United 
 States, embodying as they do the best form of representa- 
 tive government, have gone forward until they have 
 achieved the admiration of the world. 
 
 But that has been possible only because of the character 
 of the people of the country. The people must have high 
 ideals, must believe in progress and in justice and in law 
 and order, and, above all, they must have faith in their 
 fellow men, before representative government can be a 
 complete success; and because we have had faith, more 
 love, and fellowship among our people our Government 
 has produced the wonderful results which entitles it to 
 the good opinion of the world. A man who professes and 
 preaches the doctrine of hate and envy or whose life prin- 
 ciple is selfishness and distrust can not become a part of 
 
 [52] 
 
Address of Mr. Steenerson, of Minnesota 
 
 such a government. The success of repi-esentative institu- 
 tions is itself a refutation of the age-old slander that man 
 was incapable of self-government. Mr. Burnett, as has 
 been so eloquently stated, rendered valuable services in 
 the advocacy of stringent immigration policy on the part 
 of our Government. There is no doubt but that if his 
 views had been listened to and observed and earlier recog- 
 nized we would not now have the difficulties that we are 
 having as the result of a too liberal and indiscriminate 
 policy on this subject. 
 
 Mr. Burnett is dead. His friends shed tears of love at 
 his bier. But his works live and will continue to be a 
 potent influence for good and the advancement of civiliza- 
 tion and the welfare of mankind throughout the world 
 forever. 
 
 There is no death — the thing that we call death 
 Is but another, sadder name for life, 
 Which is itself an insufficient name. 
 Faint recognition of that unknown Life — 
 That Power whose shadow is the Universe. 
 
 [53] 
 
Address of Mr. McDuffie, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I have always heard it said, and I verily 
 believe, that " To live in the hearts of those we leave 
 behind is not to die." And so, though his flesh and blood 
 have passed from his scene of earthly usefulness, the 
 spirit and memory of John L. Burnett will remain with 
 us throughout our lives. 
 
 Unfortunately for me, and I have always deemed it 
 unfortunate, I did not intimately know Mr. Burnett. The 
 first and only time I ever saw him was on this floor on 
 the 3d of March, 1919, when he invited me to sit by him 
 during the closing hours of the Sixtj-^-fifth Congress, and 
 the last hours he spent in this Hall. And while my ac- 
 quaintance was not intimate, yet I have always known 
 him by that reputation he bore in Alabama and in these 
 United States as a man, an affectionate father, a tender 
 and loving husband, a splendid statesman, and the high- 
 est type of American citizen. And, believing so well all 
 that has been said of him this day, I am sure that on the 
 final day his spirit heard that voice which said : " Well 
 done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been 
 faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over 
 many things. Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord." 
 
 And, while we miss him and mourn his loss, we can 
 but find some consolation in the thought of him, that the 
 world was made better that he lived in it. I am reminded 
 of him when I recall that " he has achieved success who 
 has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who 
 gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of 
 little children; who left the world better than he found 
 it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a 
 
 [54] 
 
Address of Mr. McDuffie, of Alabama 
 
 rescued soul; who always looked for the best in others 
 and gave the best he had; whose life was an inspiration, 
 and whose memory a benediction." 
 
 A bright, brave memory, his the stainless shield, 
 
 No shame defaces, and no envy mars. 
 When our far future's records are unsealed 
 
 His name will shine among the morning stars. 
 
 [55] 
 
Address of Mr. Rainey, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: It had been my purpose to dwell some- 
 what at length on the life, character, and public service of 
 my distinguished predecessor, the Hon. John L. Burnett, 
 but these have already been gone into fully by many of 
 his colleagues who served with him in the House. There- 
 fore, Mr. Speaker, I shall content myself with a few brief 
 remarks in tribute to the memory of this eminent man. 
 
 He lived a life of intense action — he fought and over- 
 came tremendous obstacles. His burning desire was 
 achievement in legislation for the protection of his people 
 against the flood of undesirable immigration from foreign 
 shores. The signal success of this great endeavor is 
 marked by his untiring work in committee sessions, the 
 stormy battles upon the floor where he stood as the cham- 
 pion of the Burnett immigration bill, the final passage of 
 that measure over the President's veto, and the ultimate 
 writing of that law upon the statute books of the Nation, 
 now standing as guard and warden against ignorant, 
 criminal, and undesirable immigration. 
 
 It has been my pleasure and privilege to know Mr. 
 Burnett intimately for many years. I recall the last con- 
 versation I had with him. It was shortly before he passed 
 away. When next I saw him he lay in his casket, motion- 
 less and still in death. I looked for a while upon those 
 well-known features, then I turned and saw the great con- 
 course of his friends passing in an almost endless stream 
 to gaze for the last time upon their friend. Amid the 
 beautiful ritualistic ceremonies of Masonry his earthly 
 remains were lowered to their last resting place. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, it has been well said that in the midst of 
 life we are in death. The moment we begin to live, that 
 
 [56] 
 
Address of Mr. Rainey, of Alabama 
 
 moment also we begin to die. Short days ago upon this 
 floor you heard the voice and felt the presence of him in 
 whose honor and memory we have assembled here to-day. 
 Though his lips are sealed in the eternal silence of the 
 grave, and he sleeps the last long sleep, yet he still lives 
 in the hearts of those who loved and honored him in life, 
 and now in death pay tribute to his memory. I speak 
 not for myself alone, but I voice the sentiment of the 
 people of my district. Through me as their Representa- 
 tive they too pay tribute and homage to his memory and 
 honor to his name. 
 
 I have known Hon. John L. Burnett from the days of 
 my youth. Indeed, he was the first man for whom I ever 
 cast a ballot upon attaining my majority. He was the in- 
 vincible victor for more than 20 years in every political 
 campaign in which he participated in the seventh district 
 of Alabama. For more than 20 years he was the standard 
 bearer of his party, and never did he permit that standard 
 to trail in the dust. As his successor in Congress and as 
 his political opponent in two campaigns, I can well say 
 of him that in battle he was fearless and valiant, quick to 
 repel an assault, strong and aggressive, and yet when the 
 contest had concluded he was equally as prompt to forgive 
 and forget. For him no scars remained and, like a brave 
 warrior, when the battle was over he sheathed the sword. 
 
 It was this magnanimous spirit that contributed to his 
 power and aided in maintaining his prestige throughout a 
 long and useful career. Born in Alabama, he sleeps be- 
 neath the sod of his native State. His feet came to the end 
 of life's toilsome journey. He laid down his burden by 
 the wayside and, as befalls the common fate of man, suc- 
 cumbed to the universal dominion of death. 
 
 In his youth John L. Burnett lived in the days of the 
 Civil War. He felt the pangs of poverty, beheld the suf- 
 ferings of those he loved, and endured the hardships of 
 
 [57] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 those dark days. To his eternal credit be it said that he 
 braved all these, and from a poor plowboy he went into 
 the mines as a laborer, then into the schoolroom as a 
 teacher, worked his way through the law department of 
 Vanderbilt University, gained admission to the bar, and 
 soon became recognized as a lawyer. 
 
 John L. Burnett not only rose from obscurity to State 
 renown, but ultimately, through his vast work as chair- 
 man of the Committee on Immigration, his fame spread 
 over the Nation. It is a striking and a tragic thing that in 
 life his great ambition was to write upon the statute books 
 of the Nation a perfect immigration law and that his fatal 
 illness came upon him as he was delivering a speech on 
 that subject. He fell in the line of his duty. He died 
 bravely in the harness. His work on the great problems 
 of immigration stands as a monument to his memory. 
 The love and the loyalty enshrined in the hearts of his 
 thousands of friends constitute yet another memorial. 
 These shall endure during the years to come. His name 
 thus engraved, the corrosive hand of time shall not soon 
 elTace. 
 
 [58] 
 
Address of Mr. Almon, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: It would be easy to write a long biography 
 or make a lengthy eulogy on the life and character of our 
 loved and lamented friend and colleague, Hon. John L. 
 Burnett, of Alabama, but to tell the story of a life so full 
 of love and loyalty, sacrifice and service, unselfishness and 
 devotion to duty in a few words or a few lines, even, is a 
 difficult thing to do. 
 
 There is so much of praise and appreciation that could 
 be said that I am going to add just a few words to say 
 that I, too, loved him and honored him. I regret exceed- 
 ingly that it was not my privilege to be present at the 
 memorial service which was held for him last Sunday in 
 the House of Representatives, to mingle my voice with the 
 voices of the men who stood there to pay tribute to the 
 memory of this grand and good man; to recount with 
 them his splendid attributes, attainments, and achieve- 
 ments; to express with them our sorrow, our deep sense 
 of loss, and the shock we felt at his sudden death. 
 
 I have read with great interest and intense pride every 
 word that was spoken in eulogy of him, and I rejoice in 
 knowing that no meed of praise could be too great for him. 
 
 His passing seemed to some of us most untimely, but 
 some very wise man has said: " He lives longest and best 
 who has acquired and ministered to the greatest number 
 of friends and loved ones." Measured by this standard, 
 Mr. Burnett had lived long and lived well, for wherever 
 he went he gathered around him a host of friends and ad- 
 mirers. He was himself a true and faithful friend, a man 
 of the highest type, for he was a Christian, a gentleman, a 
 statesman, a devoted husband, and loving father. 
 
 [59] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 Every day we miss his cordial greeting, his wise counsel, 
 his manly courage, his influence for good in all things, and 
 we shall miss him more and more as they days go by. We 
 shall always cherish his memory. With bowed heads and 
 heavy hearts we reverently say: 
 
 Father, in Thy gracious keeping 
 Leave we now Thy servant sleeping. 
 
 [60] 
 
Address of Mr. Blackmon, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I presume there was no Member of this 
 House who enjoyed a more cordial personal relation than 
 that which existed between myself and the late lamented 
 Hon. John L. Burnett, to whose memory we are to-day 
 paying tribute. I knew Mr. Burnett as a lawyer. He 
 possessed all the qualities that go to make a good lawyer. 
 I knew him as a Member of Congress, and all who served 
 with him are glad to testify to his splendid ability as a 
 legislator. In the death of Mr. Burnett the United States 
 of America suffered a distinct loss. Mr. Burnett believed 
 that in the admission of a certain class of foreigners the 
 happiness and welfare of this country was seriously men- 
 aced. Those who took an opposite view to him on this 
 subject and fought his untiring efforts and energy along 
 this line all now agree that he was right. Mr. Burnett 
 paved the way for ridding this country of the anarchists, 
 Bolsheviks, and the reds. That he could not have lived 
 to see the fruits of his untiring labor and energy is to be 
 lamented. 
 
 In his private life among his friends he was as gentle 
 and lovable as a woman. I shall never forget the many 
 kind things he did for me when I first came to Congress. 
 It seemed to give him genuine pleasure to give me the 
 benefit of his long experience here. He carried me to a 
 number of the places in the Capital where it was necessary 
 for me to get my different assignments and otherwise 
 familiarize myself with the different departments with 
 which I had to subsequently deal. It seemed to give him 
 a great deal of pleasure to do this, and I was not the only 
 beneficiary of the many acts of kindness which Mr. Bur- 
 nett extended to the new Member of Congress. 
 
 [61] 
 
Memorial Addresses; Representative Burnett 
 
 Mr. Burnett was devoted to my children — not only to 
 mine, but to all children, in fact I lived with him for 
 several years at the Congress Hall Hotel, and " Uncle 
 Johnnie," as he was called by my children and the other 
 children in the hotel, was loved with that devotion which 
 was to me remarkable. On Saturday nights, even after 
 he had gone through a strenuous week's work, he would 
 give the children concerts, and in that way made hotel life 
 to the youngsters worth while. 
 
 It is impossible for one in a short space of time to point 
 out the many splendid traits of character which this truly 
 great statesman possessed. In his death I lost a real 
 friend, his family lost a true and good husband and father, 
 and the country lost a statesman of the highest order. 
 
 [62] 
 
Address of Mb. Dyer, of Missouri 
 
 Mr. Speaker: One of the sad duties devolving upon us 
 as Members of Congress is to note the deaths of those 
 whom we have learned to love and to respect here as our 
 colleagues. 
 
 Our life is but a dream; 
 
 Our time, as a stream 
 
 Glides swiftly away, 
 
 And the fugitive moment 
 
 Refuses to stay. 
 
 The arrow is flown. 
 The moments are gone; 
 The millennial year 
 Rushes on to our view. 
 And eternity is here. 
 
 I have been particularly grieved, as I am sure the mem- 
 bership generally have been, at the departure of some of 
 those whom we esteemed so highly. 
 
 This morning we meet to pay tribute to the memory of 
 another splendid, worthy Representative of the great 
 South, Congressman Burnett. I also knew him well. I 
 had talked with him on many occasions. Our offices in 
 the House Office Building were near each other. 
 
 Mr. Burnett was a real gentleman and a real Repre- 
 sentative, and to-day as we meet to pay tribute to his 
 memory we deeply mourn his loss. This great Republic 
 of ours is made up of men of different feelings, different 
 aspects, different traits; but as we come together and 
 meet here to work for the greatness and glory of our 
 country 1 have found but little difference in our com- 
 mon desire to serve the Nation as well as the section from 
 which we come. Those of us who have had the privilege 
 
 [63] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 of associating with men like Mr. Burnett are proud that 
 we have been able to serve with them. Their going is 
 our loss. The American people lose greatly when such 
 men as these go from public life, but their example en- 
 courages us who remain to renew our obligations and to 
 be more faithful in the discharge of our public duties. 
 
 In former times the minds of the Members of this body 
 were directed to questions that are no longer paramount 
 and no longer of great interest. In former days men 
 were bitter, but as the years have healed the wounds 
 caused by the differences of the past we are all striving 
 to be the better and the more worthy Representatives. 
 I know that this Congress has not had in it abler or 
 better or truer friends of this gi-eat Republic than the 
 men whom we meet here to honor to-day, and I wish that 
 I were able to express in words what I feel and what I 
 am sure the Members of this House feel toward these two 
 gallant souls whose lives have gone out forever. 
 
 Humbly I pay tribute to the memory of our colleagues 
 who have gone, and I desire to record for the benefit of 
 posterity and of the loved ones left behind by this gallant 
 man my appreciation of his personal worth and of the 
 value of his services to his State and to the Republic. 
 
 And when earth's last picture is painted 
 
 And the tubes are twisted and dried; 
 And the oldest colors have faded, 
 
 And the youngest critics have died, 
 We shall rest, and faith we shall need it. 
 
 Lie down for an aeon or two, 
 'Till the Master of all good painters. 
 
 Shall set us to work anew. 
 And those who were good shall be happy; 
 
 They shall sit in a golden chair. 
 They shall splash at a ten-league canvas 
 
 With brushes of camel's hair; 
 
 [64] 
 
Address of Mr. Dyer, of Missouri 
 
 They shall have real saints to draw from — 
 
 Magdalene, Peter, and Paul — 
 They shall paint for an age at a sitting 
 
 And never get tired at all; 
 And only the Master shall praise us, 
 
 And only the Master shall blame. 
 And no one shall work for money, 
 
 And no one shall work for fame. 
 But each for the joy of the doing. 
 
 And each in his separate star 
 Shall paint the thing as he sees it. 
 
 For the God of things as they are. 
 
 The Speaker pro tempore. In accordance with the reso- 
 lution already adopted the House stands adjourned until 
 to-morrow at 12 o'clock. 
 
 Accordingly (at 2 o'clock and 50 minutes p. m.) the 
 House adjourned until Monday, January 26, 1920, at 12 
 o'clock noon. 
 
 48755—22 5 [65] 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 
 
 Monday. May 19. 1919. 
 
 Mr. Bankhead. Mr. President, I send to the desk reso- 
 lutions for which I ask immediate consideration. I give 
 notice tliat at some future date I shall ask the Senate to 
 set apart a time for the purpose of paying tribute to the 
 memory of the deceased Representative. 
 
 The resolutions (S. Res. 10) were read, considered by 
 unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as 
 follows : 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the 
 announcement of the death of Hon. John Lawson Burnett, late a 
 Representative from the State of Alabama. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 Mr. Bankhead. As a further mark of respect to the 
 memoiy of the deceased Representative, I move that the 
 Senate do now adjourn. 
 
 The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 12 
 o'clock and 50 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
 to-morrow, Tuesday, May 20, 1919, at 12 o'clock meridian. 
 
 Tuesday, May 20, 1919. 
 Mr. Hempstead, the enrolling clerk of the House of 
 Representatives, appeared and delivered the following 
 message : 
 
 ******* 
 
 "Also, that the House communicates to the Senate the 
 intelligence of the death of Hon. John Lawson Burnett, 
 late a Representative from the State of Alabama, and 
 transmits resolutions of the House thereon." 
 
 [6T] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 Monday. January 26, 1920. 
 A message from the House of Representatives, by 
 D. K. Hempstead, its enrolling clerk, transmitted resolu- 
 tions on the life, character, and public services of Hon. 
 John L. Burnett, late a Representative from the State of 
 Alabama. 
 
 Wednesday, March 2, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Mr. President, on account of the recent 
 death of one of my colleagues in the House and the fact 
 that the resolutions came over from the House at a late 
 hour in respect to another colleague who has passed away, 
 it is desired at an early date to hold memorial services. 
 We are approaching the closing hours of the Congress. 
 I ask unanimous consent that a short time may be set 
 aside this afternoon to offer resolutions in reference to the 
 late John L. Burnett, of Alabama, and that a few short 
 speeches may be made. I ask that at 3 o'clock the un- 
 finished business may be laid aside for that purpose. It 
 will not take long to dispose of it. 
 
 Mr. Poindexter. I have no objection. 
 
 The Vice President. There being no objection, the order 
 will be entered. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Mr. President, the Senate by order has 
 set apart the hour of 3 o'clock for eulogies on two late 
 Representatives from the State of Alabama, and as that 
 hour has about arrived, if there is no objection, I will ask 
 that the Senate proceed under that order. 
 
 I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the resolutions 
 of the House of Representatives. 
 
 The Presiding Officer (Mr. Fernald in the chair). The 
 Chair lays before the Senate the resolutions of the House 
 of Representatives, which will be read. 
 
 [68] 
 
Proceedings in the Senate 
 
 The reading clerk read the resolutions, as follows : 
 
 In the House of Representatives of the United States, 
 
 January 25, 1920. 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, 
 that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
 Hon. John L. Burnett, late a Member of this House from the 
 State of Alabama. 
 
 Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
 of the deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public 
 career, the House, at the conclusion of the exercises of this day, 
 shall stand adjourned. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
 Senate. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the 
 family of the deceased. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Mr. President, I submit the following 
 resolutions and ask for their adoption. 
 
 The resolutions (S. Res. 469) were read and considered 
 by unanimous consent, as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended, 
 that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of the 
 Hon. John L. Burnett, late Member of the House of Representa- 
 tives from the State of Alabama. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
 lutions to the family of the decedent. 
 
 169] 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. President : We stand in the closing hours of a dying 
 Congress. The hour is fast approaching when friendships 
 of many years' standing must part and go their separate 
 ways. We can not but feel in our inner hearts a note of 
 sadness as we realize the ties that bound many of us to- 
 gether are about to sever, and in this hour we halt the 
 column in its march along the legislative highways to re- 
 call the memory of our friends and colleagues who served 
 loyally with us in life and passed to the great beyond 
 witliin the life of this Congress. 
 
 The State of Alabama asks you to halt the legislative 
 battle for an hour to do reverence to the memory of two 
 of our honored sons, John Lawson Burnett, who was 
 elected from the seventh district of Alabama to the Sixty- 
 sixth Congress, but died before it convened, and Fred L. 
 Blackmon, of the fourth district of Alabama, who served 
 until a few weeks ago, when he was called to his fathers. 
 
 John Lawson Burnett was born at Cedar Bluff, Chero- 
 kee County, Ala., January 20, 1854. When he was only 4 
 years old he lost his father, and his widowed mother had 
 three children to care for and the burden of life to face 
 unaided. As soon as he was able to do so, Mr. Burnett 
 went to work to aid in the support of his mother and two 
 brothers. He was not afraid of labor and worked in the 
 coal mines and the fields of Alabama, studying at night to 
 obtain the rudiments of his education. Finally he was 
 able to attend the common schools of Cherokee County, 
 and then amassed sufficient funds to carry him to the 
 Wesleyan Institute in Georgia, where he received his early 
 
 [71] 
 
Memorial Addresses: Representative Burnett 
 
 education. Finally, after hard work and study, he was 
 able to enter the Vanderbilt University, graduated at the 
 age of 22, and was admitted to the bar. If there ever was a 
 truly self-made man, John L. Burnett was the man, striv- 
 ing as he did from his early youth through hardship and 
 privation to attain ultimate success. He was an excellent 
 and successful lawyer, obtaining prominence among the 
 best in his native State. His sterling worth and high 
 character were early recognized by his home people, and 
 at the age of 30 he was elected to the House of Representa- 
 tives in the General Assembly of Alabama, and two years 
 later was elected to the State senate, serving in both with 
 distinction. Shortly afterwards he was named by the 
 Democratic Party as their standard bearer and elected by 
 his people as a Member of the Fifty-sixth Congress. He 
 was reelected for the 10 succeeding terms and served for 
 20 years before his untimely death. During his member- 
 ship in the House of Representatives he was recognized 
 as a staunch and unyielding Democrat, ably sustaining the 
 great principles of his party; but he was more than that: 
 He was an American first, last, and all the time, always 
 ready to serve and sacrifice for our common country rather 
 than yield to the call of political expediency. He was a 
 hard and faithful worker in Congress, a student of the 
 principles of government, and he never undertook to 
 espouse a cause without a thorough understanding of it. 
 
 We who knew John Burnett best loved him for his 
 sturdy and rugged character, his honesty of purpose, and 
 his faithful friendship. He has gone to the great beyond, 
 but his memory will always be cherished by his colleagues. 
 
 [T2] 
 
Address of Mr. Robinson, of Arkansas 
 
 Mr. President: The Senate has scarcely known a busier 
 time than that through which we are now passing. We 
 pause in the midst of important duties to pay tribute to 
 the memory of two departed friends. Both of them served 
 with ability and distinction in the House of Representa- 
 tives. 
 
 John L. Burnett, of Alabama, enjoyed the cordial 
 friendship of all his associates. He was active, diligent, 
 and capable in the performance of his duties as a Repre- 
 sentative in Congress. It is seldom that anyone has en- 
 joyed a more liberal experience than was the lot of Mr. 
 Burnett. Trained in hardships, he proved himself equal 
 to every task which he assumed. He was never known to 
 betray a friend or to neglect a duty. Mr. Burnett's service 
 extended over a period of many years. It was his privi- 
 lege as well as his duty to deal with some of the gravest 
 problems that have come to Congress during the last 25 
 years. I bear witness to the fact that he never failed to 
 give careful study to the questions upon which it was his 
 duty to reflect, and that he never feared to speak and vote 
 as he was prompted to do by a sincere conviction of duty. 
 
 Another Representative from the same State recently 
 has been called by death. The Senate honors itself in pay- 
 ing just and appropriate tributes to the name and service 
 of John L. Burnett. 
 
 48755—22—6 [73] 
 
Address of Mr. McKellar, ov Tennessee 
 
 Mr. President: When I first came to the House of Rep- 
 resentatives, some 10 years ago, one of the strong men 
 of that body was John L. Burnett, to whose memory we 
 pay tribute to-day. At that time he was chairman of 
 the Immigration Committee of the House, and at that 
 time the immigration question was probably one of the 
 leading questions of the day. An immigration bill pro- 
 viding for restriction of immigration by a literacy test 
 had been passed by both bodies during President Taft's 
 administration, as I I'ecall, and he had vetoed it. Under 
 the leadership of Mr. Burnett another bill of similar char- 
 acter and having a similar purpose was passed by both 
 bodies in Wilson's administration, and vetoed by Presi- 
 dent Wilson. The Senate and House overrode the veto 
 of President Wilson, and the bill became a law. That 
 fight was led by Mr. Burnett in the House of Representa- 
 tives in a masterly way. 
 
 He was a forceful speaker. Of the question of immi- 
 gration he was a great student. He went to Europe and 
 studied the question from that viewpoint as he studied 
 it from every viewpoint here, and when he spoke he 
 spoke as a man of authority. He was an authority upon 
 that great question and did much to solve it. It was 
 he who first in an official way brought the dangers of 
 unrestricted immigration straight home to the American 
 people. The law on that subject that we have recently 
 passed is quite largely an outgrowth of his earnest and 
 steadfast work on that subject. His work in the House 
 was of the most effective kind. His services to his State 
 were of the same character. He was a diligent, faithful, 
 intelligent, and efficient legislator. 
 
 [74] 
 
Address of Mr. McKellar, of Tennessee 
 
 Mr. President, Mr. Burnett was a man of the deepest 
 conviction of right, a man of the highest purposes, a man 
 who was unafraid in the performance of every public 
 and private duty. The word " fear " was not known to 
 John L. Burnett. His life was an open book. He was 
 kindly, genial, and pleasant, especially to the j'ounger and 
 newer Members of the House. He was friendly to all; 
 esteemed and respected by all for his splendid worth and 
 for his many genial and lovable traits of character. 
 
 I know of no man who impressed himself on his fellow 
 Members as a more genuine, a more sincere, a more 
 honest, or a more upright man than John L. Burnett. 
 
 In every phase of life he took a man's part. A kindly, 
 gentle, splendid man he was, and I honor and respect 
 his memory. I am glad that the Senate of the United 
 States has paused long enough in this busy session to 
 permit a tribute to be paid to his life and character. 
 
 Alabama has sustained a great loss in his death. His 
 friends miss his kindly fellowship. The House has been 
 deprived of an able and splendid Member. 
 
 Mr. President, Alabama has indeed been unfortunate 
 lately in the loss of her distinguished sons. Mr. Burnett's 
 death was followed by that of Congressman Fred L. 
 Blackmon, a Representative from the fourth Alabama 
 district. His death was sudden and unexpected. He 
 died while away from home. 
 
 Mr. President, I was born in the State of Alabama, in 
 the district that was represented in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives by Mr. Blackmon for so many years. He lived 
 near my home. He was educated by my eldest sister. I 
 think the most of the education that he received was 
 received at her hands. He was a splendid young boy. 
 He was a good student. He had a splendid mind. When 
 he arrived at manhood's estate he became a lawyer, 
 having received his legal education at the University of 
 
 [75] 
 
010 536 577 5 
 
 Memorial Addresses: Representative: Burnett 
 
 Alabama. He made a distinguished record there, and 
 afterwards at the bar he quickly assumed a commanding 
 position. He was successful in all that he attempted. 
 
 Turning to politics while still a young man, he was 
 elected to the House of Representatives and was reelected 
 five times, his period of service extending over 10 years. 
 Popular in his own district, no one could defeat him. 
 Though it was frequently tried, he always won by his 
 ability, by his geniality, by his honesty and sincerity of 
 purpose. 
 
 He did not always agree with probably most of his con- 
 stituents; he frequently disagreed with them. I remember 
 on the subject of prohibition his views did not accord with 
 the majority views of his district, but in that manly, up- 
 right, honest, straightforward way of his, he voted his own 
 convictions, and the people, while disagreeing with him 
 upon that important question, always stood by him. 
 
 I knew him intimately in the House of Representatives. 
 I loved him, and I think everyone else who knew him 
 loved him — a kindly hearted man, a man of a noble soul, 
 a man who had nothing of guile in his nature, a man who 
 loved men because they were men, a man in whose word 
 every one of his fellows had the most implicit confidence. 
 His word was always as good as his bond. He stood high 
 in the House. He was a member of the Post Ofiice Com- 
 mittee in that body. He took an active and eff'ective inter- 
 est in all that came before that committee. He did much 
 for roads and much for the building up of all the various 
 branches of the Postal Service. I deeply regret his death, 
 and shall ever cherish the memory of my departed friend. 
 
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 [76] 
 


 
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