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While mourning with them, sharing in their great loss and sorrow, I also, with them, will cherish so long as life may be spared to me the memory of Chairman CANNON and his invaluable contributions to our country and to mankind.

Remarks by Representative Natcher

Of Kentucky

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to reconcile ourselves to the fact that our beloved chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, CLARENCE CANNON, has passed away.

His concept of public trust was without parallel and never did he hesitate to speak out against any proposal which he felt was not sound and not to the best interests of our people. Words are inadequate to fully appraise Mr. CANNON'S tremendous capacity for loyalty and love of his country. In every position he held, either private or public, he achieved distinction. His service in all of his assignments was marked by a high sense of conscience and duty.

Mr. CANNON had those outstanding moral and intellectuual qualities necessary for the position of chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. As a Representative, he had those qualities that are essential for leadership, sound judgment, patience, perseverance, and unyielding adherence to the principles and policies advocated by his party for the welfare of the country. As the chairman of one of the outstanding committees in the Congress, he presided with dignity and firm

ness.

He had become an inspiration, a symbol of the power and the achievements of the House of Representatives. Mr. CANNON will have a high place in the history of his country and in the hearts of his countrymen. His character, his achievements, and his faithful service will be an inspiration to generations yet to come. May God let the light of His countenance shine upon him and give him peace.

I have lost a true friend, and this country has lost a great statesman. To his lovely wife and family, I extend my deepest sympathy in their bereavement.

Remarks by Representative Evins

Of Tennessee

Mr. Speaker, a giant oak has fallen. In the passing of the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, the Honorable CLARENCE CANNON, this House has lost one of its foremost Members.

The State of Missouri has lost one of her greatest sons. And this Nation has witnessed the passing of one of the truly great patriots of the Republic. We shall miss him, and we shall miss him greatly.

I was deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. CANNON, Who was a dear friend, with whom I had been privileged to be intimately associated in our work together on the Committee on Appropriations.

It has been my privilege to serve as a member of the Subcommittee on Public Works Appropriations under the leadership of Mr. CANNON, who was not only chairman of the full Committee on Appropriations, but also chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Works Appropriations. In this work he gave of himself untiringly and unstintingly. For him the development of the great Missouri River in his State and, in fact, all the great rivers of the Nation, was a labor of love. His contributions to our country are legion.

Congressman CANNON was a great chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. It has been said, and properly so, that untold millions and billions of the taxpayers' dollars have been saved by his work and his frugality.

He was

He was also a great and noted parliamentarian. the author of "Cannon's Rules of Procedures" and "Precedents of the House of Representatives." He served as parliamentarian of every Democratic National Convention since 1928. Chairman CANNON told me that it was my illustrious predecessor in the Congress, Cordell Hull, who first named him as parliamentarian of the Democratic National Convention.

Chairman CANNON gave his life in the service of his country as he would have wished it.

His service to his country was great and good from the day that he started his career in the House in the 68th Congress to the day when he answered the summons to his last rollcall.

Our country is stronger today because of his immense contributions.

He was a great friend of my State and a great friend to me personally. We shall all miss him, and are saddened by his passing.

I extend to Mrs. Cannon, the daughters of Chairman and Mrs. Cannon, and other members of his family an expression of my deepest sympathy in their loss and their bereavement. My wife joins me in the expression of these sentiments.

Remarks by Representative Sikes

Of Florida

Mr. Speaker, one of the Nation's legislative giants has taken his final leave of the Halls of Congress. CLARENCE CANNON was truly a great American, and his going was as dynamic as the way he lived. Knowing him as one can know a man only after many years of close association, I am sure that his living and his going both were the way he wanted it. There was only one CLARENCE CANNON, and the memories which he left are something to be savored over and over again. The lore and the memories of CLARENCE CANNON Will be treasured more and more as time passes.

He was one of the oldest men in the House, yet, he retained an amazing physical vigor and mental sharpness until the final day of his life. He was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee much longer than any other person in history, and no one ever had cause to doubt that he was indeed the chairman. Some called him the most influential man in the House. Certainly he was one of the most powerful in this great body.

No one questions the fact that CLARENCE CANNON knew more about the working of the House than any other individual. From the time when he first came to Washington in 1911 and through his long service in the House, which began in 1923, he was absorbed in the parliamentary procedures of Congress, and his works on parliamentary procedure are the official guidebooks for legislative deliberations throughout the Nation.

In sheer ability he had few peers. He commanded the respect, though not always the admiration, of his colleagues because he made no attempts to curry favor. Now that he is gone, that admiration is accorded him in full measure by colleagues who can measure the greatness of the man in the light of the image of a lifetime of service. And now

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