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Certainly, EVEREtt Dirksen was not only a great national leader and a great statesman but a great Senator as well. He was one of those giants of history in every sense of the word-a brilliant floor leader, a masterful legislator, a patriot with a remarkable sense of duty, and a man of unimpeachable honor.

EVERETT DIRKSEN has been described as a unique man, one whose like shall not be seen again. Fortunately, EVERETT DIRKSEN was a product of a unique country, which has a remarkable capacity for producing unique and brilliant leaders. We have had them in the past, as we shall have them in the future. So, while EVERETT DIRKSEN passes this way only once, there happily are many more gallant men to pick up the standard of this great fallen warrior for freedom, who continue on the same road of undiminished patriotism, helping to build an even greater and better America.

This Republic is both better and greater because of the service and because of the presence and because of the inspiration of EVERETT DIRKSEN.

May joins me in extending to Louella and to Joy our deepest condolences, commingled with congratulations on their relationship to a great American. This country is safer and stronger and sounder because EVEREtt McKinley DIRKSEN passed this way.

ADDRESS BY HON. TED STEVENS

OF ALASKA

Mr. President, on the first Sunday of September, late on an afternoon when the very first leaves of autumn were beginning to turn, EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN died.

In the waning days of the most turbulent decade this Nation has ever known, the Nation lost one of the most articulate and able leaders it had possessed.

It seems, in retrospect, that we have always had him with us. I was a boy of 10 when he came to the House of Representatives. He won his party's nomination and subsequently a Senate seat in 1950: the year I graduated from law school. It seems he has been with us always.

Under six administrations he has been there when the Nation needed him. He saw and presided over the transformation of this country from the sleeping isolationist giant of the 1930's to our present position as the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth.

He was called a conservative, an appellation that brought more distinction to the word than it did to him. In a dynamic and magnificent way, he believed in and fought for, the freedom of man; the dignity of man; the greatness of man. He believed that the chains of bondage holding men down must be broken-whether these chains were an insular and monolithic Federal Government, or the chains of bigotry and racial hatred.

He did not fit the comfortable mold so readily prepared for politicians who are termed "conservative." He fought hard for the 1964 Civil Rights Act and was instrumental in its passage—an occurrence that led many to ask: "Is this a new DIRKSEN?"

It was not a new DIRKSEN. It was the same man, unafraid to do what he thought was right-and, as always, doing it extremely well. He said once upon being questioned about his changes in position on various issues—“If a man doesn't change his mind, he is either a fool or dead." The remark in many ways epitomized the man. He was the essence of practical politics-but managed to never lose sight of the greater goals for the people of this Nation.

Perhaps an even greater key to this man's character was his reply to another query concerning what he thought his greatest legislative achievement had been. DIRKSEN replied-this is an approximate quotation:

Although it is perhaps a negative distinction, I am most proud of the bills which I prevented from being enacted.

On another occasion he remarked:

The American people can thank God that only 6 to 8 percent of all legislation introduced becomes law.

He realized that the most basic ingredient of democratic freedom lay in the absence of excessive regulation. He knew that it was perfectly possible for a free society to legislate itself to death. He believed that the accomplishments of a government cannot be measured in inches of statutes, and that the freedom of man could not be measured as a ratio of Federal regulation.

Yet, when events and circumstances warranted, he would not hesitate to support and work for laws as sweeping as any in history. He set a high standard and the Nation stood taller because of it.

He looked and sounded like a Senator. He was in the great tradition of this body: a statesman, an orator, a leader of his people. His impact on the Senate and the Nation will be felt as long as free men meet together and call themselves Americans.

His sense of humor was unfailing. Not unconsciously did he cultivate his old-fashioned and courtly image. His carefully tousled silver hair; the booming stentorian voice; and his eloquent and ornate style of speaking, all served as a gentle reminder that no one, no matter how high, should be afraid to smile at themselves. And in this age of the fashionable condemnation of America, he knew, too, the difference between the smile and the sneer.

EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN. Even his name rolls off the tongue like silver bells, bringing back reminders of great debates, crises averted, and difficulties conquered.

In the beginning of this autumn, EVERETT DIRKSEN has left us. His legacy of honor, courage and fortitude are a treasure of all generations of Americans to come. We who knew him stand humble today; humble but not bowed. For if he taught one thing, it is that we must never be bowed. Believing in what is right, we will go on, working for those things EV DIRKSEN believed in.

His life was devoted to America. This devotion resulted in a better America. He certainly would ask no more than that—and we who stand here today, with many great tasks undone, can do no more than carry on, as he would have.

After every autumn comes the spring. Every apparent death beneath the snows of winter bears within itself the fruit of life for the coming summer. We must take a lesson from the good American earth, which EVERETT DIRKSEN loved so well. We must see to it that the ideals and hopes which he cultivated so lovingly in the people of this Nation are never lost.

If we do this, then we will carry on his work successfully. We will insure that the bright dreams and high ideals of EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN are never lost beneath the drifting snows of winter, but rather, like the seeds in his garden, grow ever stronger in the promise of never-ending summer.

Ann and I enjoyed being with Ev and Lou Dirksen. We shall cherish the memories of being with them in their home and together with them at social functions. But, the moment I shall not forget was that moment when I was first on the floor-a newly appointed Senator and he said to me:

Let me walk you down the aisle.

And EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN stood by me while I took my oath as a U.S. Senator.

He will, I feel, be standing by me so long as I am privileged to serve here.

ADDRESS BY HON. JACOB K. JAVITS

OF NEW YORK

Mr. President, I am grateful to my colleague for his very gracious statement in yielding to me.

I hope very much that Senator Percy is right about his appraisal, because I considered EVERETT DIRKSEN one of the most illustrious Members of the Senate.

The passing of EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN marks the end of an era. A distinguished public servant and talented political partisan, he led as a friend and out of the regard of his colleagues. As such, he is irreplaceable. Senator DIRKSEN was uniquely a legislator. Indeed, the greatest compliment often paid to the memory of such great leaders as Sir Winston Churchill is to say that they were first and foremost, "House of Commons men." Much of the same thing can be said of EVERETT DIRKSEN. His first and greatest love was the Congress of the United States. His skills were those of a parliamentarian. Both in the Senate and the House, EVERETT DIRKSEN used his considerable intellectual powers to persuade, to inform, to cajole, to entreat, even on occasion to threaten-but always to stimulate action.

I served briefly with EVERETT DIRKSEN in the House, but I knew him best as a Senate colleague. All my service in the Senate was spent with him, and for most of that time he served as the leader of my party. Thus, I had the opportunity of working closely with him and of intimately observing his many qualities.

It is a nostalgic memory for each of us to think of EVERETT DIRKSEN telling the story of how he gained the votes for cloture on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The very apogee of that story was how, when he finally had just one more vote to get and he had used every conceivable argument and every conceivable point of self-interest for the future, he finally had to appeal to the past. And he appealed to the last Senator on that ground that he "owed him one"-that is, the Senator owed Everett Dirksen one, and this was the moment he wanted to collect. As we all know, those are always the toughest votes. But EVERETT's character was so impressive that it could not be denied to him.

This, to me, represents the most vivid memory of EVERETT DIRKSEN.

The keenness with which EVERETT DIRKSEN understood every nuance of what we were negotiating was a matter of tremendously refreshing quality to me.

I often thought that the floor of the Senate was EVERETT DIRKSEN's jousting ground. This was where he came in the morning, full of anticipation, to find a lance worthy of his own, and on occasion he was not disappointed.

EVERETT DIRKSEN and I did not always agree, but he was a pragmatic and sensible man, who abhorred rigid ideologies. He was always capable of change and utilized the art of compromise skillfully and creatively. Thus, through almost four decades he had an important role in shaping the major laws which affect the lives of every American. I remember most clearly his role in the long and difficult struggle to enact the civil rights bills of 1964, 1965, and 1968. Indeed, I believe that history will consider the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to have been his crowning achievement, and for this the Nation should always be grateful to hirn.

But I do not believe that EVERETT DIRKSEN will be identified in American history with any particular piece of legislation. Rather, he will be thought of as the epitome of a very unique American political tradition and we are unlikely to see his like again. For the flowing and mellifluous oratory of which he was so capable was of the past, but in legislative practice, he was very much of the present and future. He was capable of exercising superbly the art of political and legislative compromise. He knew, as President Nixon said, that his friends

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