Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

there is a new and clear awareness of the loss of an earnest friend who will not be replaced in our time. To know him best is to admire him most.

CLARENCE CANNON did not believe in spending money we do not have for things we do not need. By continually hammering at that theme, he saved billions of dollars for the taxpayers in unnecessary expenditures. Undoubtedly, in his long service here, he saved more money for the taxpayers than any other Congressman in history, and possibly more than any other individual in history. His integrity, parliamentary skill, and his capacity to get things done will be sorely missed in the House. Truly, a great American has passed on.

There is one here today who knew him better, far better, than any of the rest of us. "Miss Ida," as we affectionately know his beloved wife, was his inspiration and his guiding light through his long years of public service. To her and to her family, each of us extends heartfelt sympathy in the bereavement that they must bear.

Remarks by Representative Flynt

Of Georgia

Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues in paying tribute to a great American, a leader of this body, and a friend to all of us, CLARENCE CANNON, late a Representative from Missouri.

Mr. Speaker, the loss of such a distinguished and able person as CLARENCE CANNON is felt in our hearts. His absence from the Halls of Congress and the leadership of the Appropriations Committee will engrave his memory in each of us who continue to serve in the House of Representatives.

CLARENCE CANNON served his country well. As an author he applied his genius to laying down the guidelines of parliamentary rules and procedure. I have long been a great admirer of his written accomplishments and his books and manuals will long be the mainstay of deliberative bodies.

He served the House of Representatives with dignity, foresight, and courage. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, his influence reached into every phase of the operation of our Government. A desire for economic management of governmental spending resulted in effectuating economy throughout governmental operations. He was a champion of the principle of fiscal responsibility. He believed and he practiced as John Viscount Morley said in his "Recollections":

In my creed, waste of public money is like the sin against the Holy Ghost.

It might be said of him as Alfred Lord Tennyson said of the Duke of Wellington:

Rich in saving commonsense,

And, as the greatest only are,

In his simplicity sublime.

O good gray head which all men knew.

A legislator, author, devoted husband and father, CLARENCE CANNON served well. His family's loss is the Nation's loss. We will miss his presence deeply.

Mrs. Flynt joins with me in expressing our heartfelt sympathy to Mrs. Cannon and her two daughters.

Remarks by Representative Ford

Of Michigan

Mr. Speaker, the passing of CLARENCE CANNON was a great blow to the House of Representatives, the Congress as a whole, his State, and our Nation. The legislative body of the Federal Government lost a man with unique talent, priceless experience, and unbelievable energy. The people who have spoken earlier from his own State of Missouri, those who knew him best, have set forth for all time the outstanding characteristics of CLARENCE CANNON. The leadership on both sides of the aisle, men who have served with him for many, many years, men who have worked with him on difficult, controversial problems involving our Nation's past and future, have extolled his virtues and told of his talents.

I would simply like to add a comment or two from my own personal experience. My intimate connections with Mr. CANNON were as the result of my service on the Committee on Appropriations. For some 14 years I have been on this committee, all of the time, of course, when Mr. CANNON was chairman or the ranking Democratic member. As far as the Committee on Appropriations was concerned CLARENCE CANNON was ageless. I have felt that the committee for many reasons would not be the same without him either in the capacity of chairman or the ranking minority member. I do not imply that the quality of the committee or its work will suffer, but I do mean to say that the atmosphere in the committee, its approach, its method will be changed because there was only one CLARENCE CANNON.

During his tenure on the committee, at least during my time, he made contributions not only to the committee but to the House as a whole which will be indelible in the history of our country.

He was particularly kind to the new Members, and I was an early and continuous beneficiary of his thoughtfulness. He

[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

could be arbitrary but always with a conviction which one had to admire.

I can only say that personally he was a good, a warm friend. He was a kind person to me and hundreds in the Congress in his long and outstanding service, and his name and his record will be forever for the good in our Nation's history.

« ElőzőTovább »