Second District, and the United States Supreme Court; Member of the Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh Congresses; died June 4, 1941.

Mrs. NORTON, a Representative from the State of New Jersey, standing in front of the Speaker's rostrum, placed a memorial rose in a vase as the name of each deceased Member was read by the Clerk.

Then followed 1 minute of devotional silence.

Dr. MONTGOMERY. Almighty God, from whom we come and unto whom our spirits return, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Thou art our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble. Grant us Thy blessing in this hour, and enable us to put our trust in Thee, that our spirits may grow calm and our hearts be comforted. Lift our eyes beyond the shadows of earth and help us to see the light of eternity. So may we find grace and strength for this and every time of need. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hon. LUTHER A. JOHNSON, a Representative from the State of Texas, delivered the following address:

ADDRESS BY HON. LUTHER A. JOHNSON

Mr. LUTHER A. JOHNSON. Mr. Speaker, we have met today, in this annual memorial service, to pay just and loving tribute to the memory of our colleagues who have left us.

Since we last assembled in like service, nine Members of the House and four Senators have answered the final summons and responded to their last roll call.

They died in the service of their country, at their post of duty, and those of us who labored with them can best attest to their fidelity and evaluate the quality of service they gave to this Republic.

We knew them in their daily life. We saw them while they were on duty and under fire, meeting crises in passing upon great questions affecting the welfare and destiny of their country, and these are the testing times which determine the

character, the caliber, and the fiber of which men are made. Measured by every standard, they were all men of character, integrity, ability, and fidelity.

They were among our ablest and most distinguished Members. Each had his very vivid personality, his lively individuality, and each stood with a marked degree of eminence among us.

Observance of custom and limitation of time prevent my paying tribute to each. Other Members will do this in the printed Record. But in passing I cannot refrain from mentioning two of them. One of these had attained the eminent position of Speaker of the House, second only in importance to the Presidency of the United States, our beloved and late Speaker, WILLIAM B. BANKHEAD, whose brilliant mind, whose charming personality, whose rugged honesty, and whose superb eloquence earned for him during his service of nearly 24 years in the House a national reputation as an orator and a statesman of the first magnitude.

I recall that when Speaker Byrnes, his immediate predecessor, passed away Mr. Speaker BANKHEAD paid tribute to him, and in that forceful and characteristic manner of his, and with deep emotion, said:

I cannot but feel that somehow and in some way his spiritual presence and his solicitude still abide within this Chamber.

Today in this sacred service I likewise feel that the immortal spirit of our late Speaker BANKHEAD abides with us.

The other, Senator MORRIS SHEPPARD, the dean of Congress, who served continuously in the Senate of the United States for more than 28 years, and immediately preceding served continuously as a Member of the House for more than 10 years, the length of his continuous service as a Member of Congress being 38 years 5 months and 29 days, a record unequaled by that of any other individual with two exceptions since the foundation of our Government.

A knightly warrior, eloquent and able, a loyal friend, with a kind and noble spirit and a soul pure and unsullied, who

literally gave his life in service to his constituents and his country-that was MORRIS SHEPPARD.

The lives of all these whom we honor today were doubtless shortened by the service they gave to their country. Illustrative of the high death rate in the House, during my 18 years here I have served under 7 different Speakers, and 4 of these died while holding that high office. Contrary to the popular belief, membership in Congress requires constant labor. The manifold duties here require not only unremitting toil but deep thought, often vexatious worry, and this has been true at all times, but especially so during the grave crisis through which our country has been passing during the past few years.

A few years ago a well-known writer and prominent businessman was elected to membership in the House and after serving a short time and familiarizing himself with the duties here and becoming acquainted with his colleagues, wrote an article for a current magazine entitled "What Surprised Me About Congress," in which he described his disillusionment as to the ability of Congressmen and the amount of work which they do. His conclusion was that, viewing Congress from the inside, he was surprised to find how hard they worked, how much they knew, and the conscientious manner in which they discharged their obligations.

If the American people could see Congress at close range, and follow them daily, they would reach the same conclusion as did the distinguished author of that article.

The Congress of the United States epitomizes and expresses as no other body possibly can the genuine spirit and the profound emotion of American life. To be chosen out of a population of 130,000,000 people to be the Representatives of their constituents in the national law-making body is an honor.

Critics may speak in disparagement of our national lawmaking body, but the history of our Government reveals that, by and large, the type of men who have served here excel in

character and ability the same number of men in any other similar group.

The membership of Congress, representing as it does divergent views and faiths, both political and religious, and coming from those of wealth and those of poverty, might be compared to a great mosaic, reflecting a true cross section of the American people.

It has always been a popular pastime to ridicule any legislative body, and Congress has often been made the subject of gibe and criticism, but not only the quality of its membership but the importance of the work which Congress performs is a complete answer to those who scoff.

If some foolish and fantastic decision should ever be made that one of the three coordinate branches of the Government should be abolished, the legislative, if a democracy is to survive, would be the last to go. Whatever else may be said about the Congress of the United States, with all of its faults and its foibles, it is the palladium of our liberty, and when Congress falls the Republic will die.

These colleagues of ours were worthy and honored members of this great institution, which constitutes the bulwark of our Government, and they measured up in the highest degree to all responsibilities devolving upon them. They knew first-hand what Congress was and what it meant not only to the present but to the future. Theirs was the responsibility to solve the perplexing problems of economic and social progress, to adjust differences between various contending groups, to pass laws to protect the weak from the strong, and to see that a code of government existed where justice and right would prevail, and where happiness and prosperity might abound.

They were all patriotic Americans, loving its institutions and willing to die, if necessary, to preserve them. They witnessed the threat to democracy, both from without and within, and, belonging to different political parties, may have at times differed as to methods, but all were inspired by the same

holy ambition-that a government of the people, for the people, and by the people should not perish from the earth; that no dictator, however powerful he may be, shall ever lay his unholy hands upon this temple of democracy, established by the wisdom, the blood, and the sacrifices of our fathers.

To those of us who survive they have tossed the torch, and ours is the duty to carry on. Let us make this sacred hour not one of memorial alone but a rededication and rebirth of patriotism. Emulating their virtues and their consecration to duty, "let us highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain”; that in this dark and threatening period which menaces our existence as a nation we shall eschew all bitterness and strife, forget racial and religious differences, adjourn partisan politics, and unite as one great people, under one flag, and with one destiny-that destiny to defend America and to preserve inviolate her institutions.

The votes which our colleagues cast and the speeches which they made are preserved in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, but their memory is enshrined forever in our hearts. We shall remember best not their official record but our association with them and the ties of lasting friendship which death cannot sever and which is one of the compensating joys of our service here.

The greatest comfort and consolation that can come to their families is not alone the splendid record which they made as faithful public servants but the heritage of a good name which they have transmitted to their children, and the love, loyalty, and generous devotion which they bestowed upon their loved ones.

Each geographical section is represented in the list of our sacred dead, New England, the North Atlantic States, the deep South, the great Southwest, the Central, the Midwest, and the far West. All have representatives who have been called by the Divine Master of men to His eternal home. Death is no respecter of sections or of persons; the rich and