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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
ON THE
LIFE AND CHARACTER
Joseph Forney Johnston
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Form No. A-369
HON. JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON
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JOSEPH FORNEY JOHNSTON
ORIAL ADDRI
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JOSEPH FORNEY JOHNSTON
(Late a Senator from Alabama)
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
DELIVERED IN THE SENATE
AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE UNITED STATES
SIXTY-THIRD CONGRESS THIRD SESSION
Proceedings in the Senate Proceedings in the House
January 9, 1915 January 31, 1915
PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING
WASHINGTON 1915
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page.
Proceedings in the Senate 5-60
Prayer by Rev. Forrest J. Prettyman, D. D 5
Prayer by Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D;D 8
Memorial addresses by —
Mr. John H. Bankhead, of Alabama 11
Mr. Jacob H. Gallinger, of New Hampshire 21
Mr. John R. Thornton, of Louisiana 27
Mr. Knute Nelson, of Minnesota 30
Mr. Lee S. Overman, of North Carolina 34
Mr. John D. Works, of California 39
Mr. Morris Sheppard, of Texas 40
Mr. Henry F. Ashurst, of Arizona 44
Mr. John Sharp Williams, of Mississippi 48
Mr. Francis S. White, of Alabama 52
Proceedings in the House 61-98
Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 64
Memorial addresses by —
Mr. Oscar W. Underwood, of Alabama 67
Mr. Edwin Y. Webb, of North Carolina 71
Mr. George W. Taylor, of Alabama 70
Mr. John L. Burnett, of Alabama r/9
Mr. Richard W. Austin, of Tennessee 82
Mr. J. Thomas Heflin, of Alabama 84
Mr. John W. Abercrombie, of Alabama 86
Mr. William O. Mulkey, of Alabama 91
[31
DEATH OF HON. JOSEPH FORNEY JOHNSTON
Proceedings in the Senate
Friday, August 8, 1913. The Chaplain, Rev. Forrest J. Prettyman, D. D., offered the following prayer:
Almighty God, we come to Thee this morning in the midst of a great sorrow that has fallen upon our national life. One whom Thou didst honor, calling him to places of power and authority, who was honored by his fellow citizens of a great State, called to be their leader in public affairs, this hero of the past, this great true man, has passed on to the great beyond.
We remember with reverence and with deepest affec- tion the lives of the worthy fathers whose characters were forged in the furnace of the conflicts of the past, who came out of the furnace unsoiled and stood for the highest, the truest, and the best. As these fathers pass on to the beyond, give to us the inheritance of their char- acter and the inspiration of their example.
We pray that Thou wilt sanctify unto us the bereave- ment of this hour, teaching us the uncertainties of life, giving to us the real concern for the highest ideals of life, as we gather these inspirations out of the characters of the men whom Thou dost call into leadership in this great country.
Guide us, we pray Thee, in all our ways. Help us to follow the path of duty and honor until at last we, too,
[5]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
shall be gathered to our fathers. For Christ's sake. Amen.
The Secretary proceeded to read the Journal of yester- day's proceedings, when, on request of Mr. Smoot and by unanimous consent, the further reading was dispensed with and the Journal was approved.
Mr. Overman. Mr. President, in the absence of the surviving Senator from Alabama it becomes my sad and painful duty to announce the death of Senator Johnston. The end that comes to us all found him this morning at 8.30 o'clock in his apartment house in this city, sur- rounded by his stricken wife, his devoted son, and loving friends.
A prince among men, a gallant Confederate soldier, an able governor, a great Senator, a true patriot, a faithful and loyal friend has passed from this world of strife and bitterness and has crossed over the river to rest under the shade of the trees in a better land of peace, happiness, and eternal rest.
I would ask the Senate that a public funeral in the Senate Chamber be observed, but his family desire that his funeral shall be of the simplest character.
The Senator from Alabama [Mr. Bankhead] at a future time will ask the Senate to set apart a day that fitting tribute may be paid to his memory and his long and faithful services.
I offer the resolutions which I send to the desk.
The Vice President. The Secretary will read the reso- lutions submitted by the Senator from North Carolina.
The resolutions were read, considered by unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as follows:
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret and pro- found sorrow of the death of the Hon. Joseph Forney Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama.
[6]
Proceedings in the Senate
Resolved, That a committee of 17 Senators be appointed by the Vice President to take order for superintending the funeral of Mr. Johnston.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect his remains be re- moved from his late home in this city to Birmingham, Ala., for burial, in charge of the Sergeant at Arms, attended by the com- mittee, who shall have full power to carry these resolutions into effect.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of Representatives.
The Vice President appointed, under the second reso- lution, Mr. Bankhead, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Overman, Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Clarke of Arkansas, Mr. Vardaman, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Swanson, Mr. Smith of South Carolina, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Gallinger, Mr. War- ren, Mr. Bristow, Mr. Catron, Mr. Brady, and Mr. Kenyon as the committee on the part of the Senate.
Mr. Overman. Mr. President, I move, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator, that the Senate do now adjourn.
The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 12 o'clock and 7 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Saturday, August 9, 1913, at 12 o'clock me- ridian.
Thursday, December 17, 191k. Mr. Bankhead. Mr. President, I desire to give notice that on Saturday, January 9, immediately after the rou- tine morning business, I shall ask the Senate to consider resolutions in commemoration of the life, character, and public services of my late colleague, Hon. Joseph Forney Johnston.
[7]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
Saturday, January 9, 1915. Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D. D., of the city of Wash- ington, offered the following prayer:
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, Thou hast prom- ised that Thou wilt never leave us nor forsake us. Ful- fill unto us now, we beseech Thee, Thine own gracious word and be with us at this tender and holy hour. Thou hast called us to this day and to this hour, nor do we come, our Father, empty handed, but we come bringing the most precious gift that Thou dost grant unto us to present to Thee, for we come bringing to Thee the mem- ory of one who was dear to Thee, and therefore dear to us, the memory of one whom we loved because Thou didst first love. Though we behold not now his face and listen in vain for his voice, yet we can not, our Father, forget the honored companion, the wise coun- selor, the faithful public servant. We thank Thee not as we would but as we may for the life and the public services of him whom this day our lips shall name.
We remember before Thee those to whom this loss is most sore and whose grief it is beyond our words to re- pair. Give unto them, we pray Thee, Thou most gracious One, the oil of joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Lead them by the still waters of Thy grace. Grant that the rod of Thy faithfulness and the staff of Thy providence may be their comfort; and grant that neither the present with its sorrows, nor the future with its uncertainty, nor the height of their love nor the depth of their grief may be able to separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And unto Thee, our Father, who loved us with an everlasting love and hast given us com- fort and good hopes through the gospel, unto Thee be the glory, the praise, the dominion, and power, now and forevermore. Amen.
[8]
Proceedings in the Senate
Mr. Bankhead. Mr. President, pursuant to the notice given on December 17 last I offer the resolutions which I send to the desk and ask unanimous consent for their present consideration.
The resolutions (S. Res. 516) were read, considered by unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as follows :
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow of the death of the Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama.
Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the de- ceased the business of the Senate be now suspended to enable his associates to pay proper tribute to his high character and distin- guished public services.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- lutions to the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased.
[9]
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama
Mr. President: It is one of the inscrutable mysteries of creation, if not the most lamentable tragedy of human existence, that when a man reaches the fullest maturity of wisdom and attains the ripest development of temper and judgment, then he must die. The death of Senator Joseph Forney Johnston, my late colleague, adds affirm- ance to this melancholy contemplation.
He had not reached his seventieth year, and was not an old man by the measure of patriarchs; and yet out of the various conflicts of a combative life, out of the intel- lectual contests that he had waged against master minds both in the forum of politics and the activities of a period of marvelous industrial development, out of the exulta- tion of his triumphs and the philosophy of his disap- pointments, he had contrived to reach that eminence where he could survey all human affairs not only with great wisdom but also with a great sense of justice and tolerance.
Subjected as he was in the course of a long and arduous political life to many asperities, assailed front and rear not only by worthy but sometimes by sinister adversaries, he would have been justified in harboring in his bosom some natural resentment; and yet it is my firm conviction that, although he may have pitied some and condoned others, Senator Johnston died with peace in his heart and with love and charity toward all the world.
Reminded as I often am of the deep sense of the loss of his comradeship and counsel, deprived as we all are of
[11]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
his splendid attributes of geniality and courtesy, I deeply regret that there can not be conveyed with these bio- graphical reminiscences the expression of the real spirit of Senator Johnston's personality.
Joseph F. Johnston, the eleventh of twelve children, was born in Lincoln County, N. C, March 23, 1843, and was reared on his father's farm near Charlotte. His fore- fathers were of sturdy Scotch stock and were among the early pioneers of the State while it was yet a colony. That Senator Johnston's ancestors were men prominent and useful in the public service is evidenced by the fact that two of his kinsmen served as governor of North Carolina — one, Gabriel Johnston, before the Revolution- ary War, and the other, Samuel Johnston, during that war. That he inherited in just measure the soldier blood which he so freely shed for the Confederacy is shown by the record of his grandfathers on both sides, who served with distinguished gallantry as colonels of militia in the War for Independence.
At an early age he moved to Shelby County, Ala., where his guardian then resided. Although youth is ever hope- ful and fashions for the future roseate dreams and high ambitions, it is doubtful if this stalwart lad on his tedious journey from his native State to his new home had the temerity to contemplate the high and ungrudged honors that Alabamians would in the reach of the years bestow upon him.
When he was 17 years of age the great Civil War came upon us. Although lacking four years of his majority, Joe Johnston heard and answered the call of the South and enlisted as a private soldier in the Eighteenth Ala- bama Regiment. He did not go to the front to parade or to seek epaulettes or for any thin veneer of glory. He went to fight.
[12]
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama
The chronicle of Holy Writ informs us that when David, Prince of Israel, desired, for unworthy reasons, to compass the death of Uriah, the Hittite, he wrote a letter to Joab in command of his forces of battle, and he sent it by the hand of Uriah. "And he wrote in the letter saying, ' Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, that he may be smitten and die,' and Joab assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men wrere." By the four separate wounds received by him it is known that Joseph F. Johnston, as a Confederate soldier, fought in the forefront of the hottest battles where valiant men desired to be. He finished the service with the rank of captain, won by virtue of devotion to duty and gallantry in action. Alabama has not forgotten nor failed to reward the services of her sons who de- fended her honor during the Civil War. At no time since her people regained control of her affairs after the days of reconstruction up to this hour has my State ever been represented in this great body save by a Con- federate soldier.
After the war Capt. Johnston returned to Alabama and began the study of law in the office of his kinsman, Gen. William H. Forney, another great Alabamian, who with signal ability served his State and country for a number of years in the House of Representatives. Upon admis- sion to the bar he located at Selma, Ala., which was also the home of the late lamented Senators John T. Morgan and Edmund W. Pettus.
Those were perilous times in the days of the South, and especially so in the Black Belt section of Alabama, where the Senator then lived. It is rather difficult, even in retrospect, to recall now the tumult and the passion in which our southern people were embroiled on account of the conditions imposed upon us by the blunders of reconstruction. It was a desperate, an unyielding, and a
[13]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
relentless struggle to sustain the traditions of our fathers and the social integrity of our race.
As evidencing the political conditions with which as a young citizen Capt. Johnston and his people were con- fronted at that time, it may not be amiss to quote the following extract from a speech delivered by Senator Daniel W. Voorhees, of Indiana, in the House of Repre- sentatives on March 23, 1872:
From turret to foundation you tore down the governments of 11 States. You left not one stone upon another. You rent all their local laws and machinery into fragments and trampled upon their ruins. Not a vestige of their former construction remained. Their pillars, their rafters, their beams, and all their deep-laid corners, the work of a wise and devoted generation of the past, were all dragged away, and the sites where they once stood left naked for the erection of new and different structures. You re- moved the rubbish, pushed the Army into the vacant ground, established provisional governments as you would over territory just acquired by conquest from a foreign power, and clothed brigadier and major generals with extraordinary functions as governors.
With reference to this part of his career, a friend, in writing a brief sketch of the Senator, said, in 1907:
His first public service after the disbanding of the Confederate Army was in connection with the overthrow of Africanism in Alabama. Residents of the Black Belt counties need not be retold of the nature of Capt. Johnston's services in those days. He did not waste Jehovah's good time in persuading the black man that the entire theory of republican government is repugnant to the domination of the illiterate and degenerate, though that was a constitutional question of lofty interest and truth. On the con- trary, he acted. Organizing the famous "Lightning Committee," whose purposes were practical and not academic, he and his patriotic associates kept Dallas County habitable for the white man until good government had been fullv restored in the State.
[14]
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama
And so it was amid such turbulent surroundings that Capt. Johnston entered the arena of politics and public life and began that long struggle for civic leadership which, through the varying vicissitudes of triumph and disaster, culminated in the achievement of the highest honor within the bestowal of a grateful and affectionate people — their commission to a seat in the Senate of the United States.
Senator Johnston continued to practice his profession at Selma until the year 1883, when he foresaw the possi- bilities of Birmingham as the industrial metropolis of the South, and moved to that city when it only had a popula- tion of 3,000 people. He was offered and accepted the presidency of the Alabama National Bank, and remained at the head of that institution for many years. When the Sloss Iron & Steel Co., the pioneer iron-making cor- poration of the district, was organized, he was elected its first president, and financed and conducted it success- fully, and from that time on to his death was identified as one of the leading figures in the industrial and civic development of what is now a great city.
In the campaign of 1890 he wras a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, but was defeated. In 1894 Senator Johnston made his second race for the office of governor of Alabama, but was again defeated by Gen. William C. Oates. This contest was exceedingly close and was not settled until the State convention met, when Gen. Oates was nominated by a narrow margin. Undismayed by two defeats, in 1896 Senator Johnston made his third and successful race for chief executive of the State, and in 1898 was renominated without opposi- tion and elected.
During the last administration of Gov. Johnston the question of the constitutional convention for the State became a leading issue, and the legislature in 1898 passed
[15]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
an act providing for the holding of an election to deter- mine whether or not a convention should be held. This act was approved by Gov. Johnston. Thereafter, how- ever, Gov. Johnston decided to throw the weight of his influence against holding the convention. He called an extra session of the legislature to repeal the convention act, and the legislature not only repealed the act but refused to submit the question of a suffrage amendment to the constitution to a vote of the people. This act upon the part of Gov. Johnston temporarily alienated from him many of his political admirers, but no man ever questioned that in his conduct on this matter he was actuated by the highest and purest motives. In 1900 Gov. Johnston was a candidate for the United States Senate against John T. Morgan, but was defeated in the primary election. It could not be said, however, in dis- paragement of any candidate that he was defeated by John T. Morgan, for the man did not live in that State who could compass the defeat of Senator Morgan as long as he offered for the position. Gov. Johnston in the hour of his defeat did not sulk or repine. He accepted the situation with good grace and announced that as a Democrat he abided by the will of his party.
In 1902 the leading issue was the ratification of the new constitution, and Gov. Johnston again announced as a candidate for the gubernatorial nomination against Gov. W. D. Jelks on the platform of opposition to the ratification of the constitution, which resulted in another defeat. But defeat to the indomitable spirit of Senator Johnston only served to spur his ambition to renewed efforts and activity.
In 1906 the Democratic State committee agreed upon the plan of nominating in the primary election two " alternate Senators," which meant the selection of two nominees to succeed Senators Morgan and Pettus in the
[16]
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama.
event of death or resignation during their terms. There were seven candidates in the primary, and Senator Johnston, having received the second largest number of votes, under the primary plan succeeded to the seat of Senator Pettus upon the death of that venerable and well-beloved Alabamian.
If asked to state Senator Johnston's leading char- acteristic, I should without hesitation say that it was his absolute devotion to and reliance upon his friends. It is doubtful if the political history of Alabama affords an instance of a public man who, through the varying phases and tumult of public life, gained and absolutely held a larger or more devoted coterie of personal fol- lowers than did Senator Johnston. And so it happened that throughout the varying fortunes of his stormy po- litical career Senator Johnston was never without his close and devoted personal following in every county in Alabama, whose ardor and devotion no defeat could chill, and who formed the nucleus of a force that never be- came dissipated and who were always eager and anxious to be summoned by their leader to another contest.
At the time when he was stricken with his fatal illness he had sent out his summons of fidelity once again, and for the last time, and with the same unfaltering trust in his character and statesmanship, they were answering the call with the old ardor and enthusiasm, because they loved the man, because they trusted in the leader, because they knew that he believed in and loved them.
It is a wonderful thing to contemplate the magnetic qualities of a man who through the long process of the years can so lay hold on the hearts of hosts of men, who in every controversy affecting public affairs, without cavil or question, gave to their leader unreserved alle- giance.
87633°— 15 2 [17]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
It was another of Senator Johnston's leading char- acteristics that he always followed his own counsel and acted upon his own convictions. His was not a dogmatic obstinacy, but after patiently hearing all views, diligently seeking to inform himself, tolerantly weighing all argu- ments on a given proposition, he came to a deliberate conclusion; he adhered to his views with unfaltering integrity. His intellectual processes were discursive and analytical rather than academic and ornate. He sought the truth of a proposition rather than to observe the pleasing ornamentation by which the truth is surrounded. He delighted to drive the spear of question through the armored mail of doubt — in short, his quest was for the verities of life, of society, of government, to the end that by their use he could better serve his people, the State, and the Nation.
Any attempt at recalling the life and character of my lamented colleague would be conspicuously incomplete were mention not made of the softer side of his nature. He was not a man who wore his heart upon his sleeve; he was not given to lamentation, nor was he ostentatious in the bestowal of favors, and yet to those who really knew him his nature was as tender as a child's. The unswerving and gracious solicitude that he bestowed upon the wife of his bosom and the splendid sons who sur- vive him testifies to his qualities as husband and father.
Touching another of Senator Johnston's chief charac- teristics, well remembered by his colleagues here and his constituency in Alabama, I desire to quote an excerpt from an editorial in a Birmingham paper commenting upon his death:
It remains to say a word about his humor. Without it Senator Johnston could not have traveled so far or have climbed so high. A man of his good, tough fighting qualities would have raised up enemies to last far beyond the next campaign. But Senator
[18]
Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama
Johnston's unfailing good humor, his second nature to make his points with anecdotes, and such anecdotes as were pure fun, without a sting, smoothed down the rough places in the conflicts and made it easy to hridge every difference. And so in com- mending to the rising generation a study of the eminent virtues and patriotism and the career of the dead statesman, we would point them especially to this shining quality of qualities in the man, that he walked ever on the sunny side of the road of life, saw shadows and brightened them, felt that most things and men were good, and rejoiced thereat.
In conclusion I desire to commend to the youth of Ala- bama and of this Nation as a pattern of conception of and devotion to honest conviction, of fearless adherence to moral and intellectual standards, a portion of the speech delivered by Senator Johnston in explanation of his vote on a question that had attracted national attention and invited considerable adverse criticism from portions of the press. From his own lips in life fell the brave and manly words that now in death may be read as a true epitaph of his character. I quote from the speech Senator Johnston made in the Senate on the Lorimer contested-election case:
Mr. President, I entered the Confederate Army in April, 1861, because the State of Alabama had seceded from the Union, and I believed their cause was righteous and that it was my duty so to do. For four long, bloody years I followed the flag of Dixie, sometimes in defeat and often to victory. I became convinced before the surrender that we could not succeed, because we could not replace the brave men who fell on the field of battle. We were shut out from the world, and could only draw recruits from the cradle. The idea never came into my mind that because we must inevitably fail I should desert to the enemy. I stood by my colors facing death and defeat until Lee and Johnston surren- dered the fragments of glorious armies whose fame will never die. The span of my years may be shortened by the shots stopped by my breast in that failing cause; but, all in all, my keenest satisfac- tion in the past rests not upon those moments when I swam with
[19]
Memorial Addresses : Senator Johnston
the tide, but when I bared my breast, with Ajax, and took the lightning. Mr. President, I refuse to save myself at the sacrifice of my convictions and my honor. The people have not heard the evidence as I have. They have not taken an oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and the laws. I have. I can not render judgment upon their convictions, nor can they transfer to themselves my punishment if I violate my own. I would be unworthy of my place if, for any fears of public retri- bution or disapproval, or for the sake of securing popular favor, I should disregard the convictions of my judgment and con- science. If every member of the Legislature of Alabama and every citizen of the State should demand that I should yield to the popular clamor for the conviction of anyone upon their belief about the facts contrary to my judgment, my convictions, and my oath as a Senator, I should promptly resign my commission and permit them to choose a successor who might be more will- ing than I to sacrifice his honor and self-respect for a seat in the Senate. I have taken no oath and made no promise to cast my vote according to the edict of the press. I ran before the wind of no popular temporary issue. I rode into this Chamber upon no hobby selected for political effect. I believe that the dignity of a Senator is not consistent with catchpenny platforms, patent issues, or maudlin generalities, and that my presence here is based upon the conviction of my people that upon all public questions my experience and my record of service in the past justified them in relying upon me to consider patiently each question in the light of public welfare and vote my convictions.
During his service in the Senate possibly no other Mem- ber was more punctual or constant in his presence in the Chamber during the sessions of this body or attended with more regularity his various committee meetings.
He died in the city of Washington on the 8th day of August, 1913, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in the city of Birmingham in the soil of his adopted State which he loved so well and to which he gave such valuable patri- otic service.
[20]
Address of Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire
Mr. President: Joseph Forney Johnston entered the Senate in the year 1907 as a Senator from the State of Alabama. Senator Johnston had served as governor of his State, and had also been a soldier in the Confederate Army, enlisting as a private at the age of 17 years. He distinguished himself in battle, was wounded four limes, and rose to the rank of captain. In spite of his zeal for the Confederate cause, at the close of the war he became an earnest advocate of reconstruction. In a speech de- livered in the Senate he said:
I am glad that I survived the war to support and aid the Government that my forefathers helped to establish.
That feeling dominated his life, and he did all in his power to weld the North and the South more firmly together.
Upon Mr. Johnston's election to the Senate, among other assignments he was given a place on the Committee on the District of Columbia, of which committee at that time I was chairman. During the five years of his service on that committee he was a regular attendant at the meetingSj and devoted much time and attention to the matters brought before it. On meeting days he was always one of the first members to appear in the com- mittee room, and, while waiting for a quorum, furnished much enjoyment to the Senators present by relating some of his inexhaustible stock of stories. His rendering of the negro dialect was perfect, and his most amusing anec- dotes dealt with the colored people, always in a good- natured and kindly way.
[21]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
Senator Johnston was a profound believer in the Christian religion, and made repeated efforts to secure the enactment of a law for the more complete observance of Sunday as a day of rest in the city of Washington. The bill introduced by him was passed by the Senate, but, much to the Senator's disappointment, never became a law.
For some time during his term of service in the Senate Senator Johnston was a member of the Committee on Privileges and Elections. It became his duty, with other members of the committee, to pass judgment on the validity of the election of some of his colleagues, a duty which he never shirked, but, on the contrary, gave force- ful utterance to his convictions on the floor of the Senate, never allowing partisan considerations to influence his opinions in the slightest degree.
He also served as a member of the Committee on Mili- tary Affairs, in which position he displayed his usual broad and conciliatory views. When his death occurred he was chairman of that great committee.
Senator Johnston gave much time and thought to the study of the negro question. He was a true friend of the colored man, and believed, as he expressed it, that it was the duty of the superior race to do what it could to de- velop and enlarge his usefulness and increase his happi- ness. On New Year's eve, 1907, he delivered an address before the Algonquin Club, of Boston, on the negro ques- tion, discussing it with great frankness and making a profound impression upon his audience.
Senator Johnston endeared himself to the people of New Hampshire in a peculiar way, and for that, among other reasons, I esteem it a privilege to participate in these memorial exercises. While governor of his State he visited New Hampshire with his staff, accompanied
[22]
Address of Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire
by his wife and a party of the most attractive girls of Alabama, the purpose of the visit being to accept on behalf of his State a bas-relief presented by New Hamp- shire to the new battleship Alabama, at that time lying with her sister ship, the Kearsarge, in the harbor of Portsmouth. The joint participation in such a ceremony in northern waters of these two vessels, whose progenitors had engaged in the memorable combat of the Civil War, was of peculiar significance, which Senator Johnston recognized, and in accepting the gift of New Hampshire spoke feelingly of the ever-growing friendship between the people of the North and South. One of the features of the celebration was a banquet at Hotel Wentworth, at the close of which two crippled veterans presented to Gov. Johnston two Alabama battle flags that they had captured during the war. The governor accepted them in a speech which brought tears to the eyes of many of those present.
Gov. Johnston, accompanied by Secretary of the Navy Long, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Frank W. Hackett, ex-Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. Herbert, and Rear Admiral W. T. Sampson, United States Navy, with ladies, arrived in Portsmouth on a special car from Boston on the 17th day of September, 1900. They were met at the depot by several hundred people, headed by a band, and were welcomed by Mayor Mclntyre and Hon. Wallace Hackett, of the reception committee, and were driven to the Hotel Wentworth, at Newcastle, a short distance from Portsmouth. The company remained in Portsmouth and vicinity for three days, and every possible courtesy was bestowed upon the distinguished visitors. There was a great parade and presentation of the bas-reliefs of the tablets, followed by a banquet and ball at the Hotel Went-
[23]
Memorial Addresses : Senator Johnston
worth. The inscription on one of the tablets reads as follows :
The State of New Hampshire to the U. S. S. Alabama. This tablet, companion to that on the U. S. S. Kearsarge, placed here by courtesy of the State of Alabama, perpetuates in enduring peace names once joined in historic combat.
On one side of the car in which Gov. Johnston reached Portsmouth was conspicuously displayed the word "Ala- bama," on another line the words "Alabama-Kearsarge," and on still another appeared the name " New Hamp- shire."
In advance of his arrival Gov. Johnston wrote to Gen. Chadwick about a flag which the party would carry, thus showing his great regard for the proprieties. It was the State flag of Alabama — a red St. Andrew's cross on a white field, with a yellow hammer on the staff. The governor explained in his letter that it was carried by a soldier in the Spanish War, and, as there might be danger of its being taken for a Confederate flag, he deemed the explanation necessary, that the people of New Hampshire might fully understand it.
At the banquet Gov. Johnston made an eloquent and touching speech, two paragraphs of which I quote from the Portsmouth Herald, a Republican newspaper, as follows :
It is fit that the Commonwealth of New Hampshire, a Common- wealth the mother of Webster, that great apostle of an indis- soluble Union of indestructible States, should be the first, offi- cially, not only to rise superior to the passions and prejudices of a fratricidal war, but to determine to commemorate and honor the gallant deeds of the American sailor, without regard to the flag which floated over him.
Men might differ about the right or wrong of any cause, and they may conscientiously take one side or the other. A great nation worthy of liberty and inspired by lofty sentiments can not fail to honor courage and heroism by whomsoever displayed, and
[24]
Address of Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire
especially should it do so when those heroes are descendants of the very men who gave so freely of their blood and treasure to secure the independence of our common country.
At the close of the celebration Gov. Johnston and his party were taken on a trip through the White Mountains, Hon. Frank W. Rollins, at that time governor of New Hampshire, being one of the party. Gov. Rollins became greatly attached to Gov. Johnston, and the two became firm friends. I have received from Gov. Rollins a letter containing some reminiscences of the trip, from which I quote a few sentences :
Every time the train stopped Gov. Johnston would go out on the back platform and make a speech to the assembled multitude, to their huge delight, for he always had something pat and perti- nent to say. The trip was one of the pleasantest of my life, and I know that Gov. Johnston enjoyed it greatly.
One of the curious happenings of this trip was the fact that Senator Chandler was present, and he and Gov. Johnston kept up a running fire of repartee, which was immensely amusing and in which Gov. Johnston more than held his own.
I found him a most whole-souled, honorable, and genial man, and I should imagine him a very loyal man, standing strongly for his friends. He was without question the best story teller I ever knew. When we took him through New England he kept every- body in laughter from the time he struck Boston until he left for home. He was always ready with an impromptu speech, clever and to the point. He could illustrate his speeches and his stories by quotations from the best authors and from the Bible, with which he was very familiar and which he used with great effect.
One of the lovely things about Gov. Johnston —
Says Gov. Rollins —
was his devotion to his wife and his deference to her wishes. He was always consulting her, either verbally or by a glance of the eye, to see if she approved of his course, and apparently she knew just how to handle him, and toward her he always exhib- ited extreme tenderness and courtesy.
[25]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
Mr. President, the death of Senator Johnston removed from this body a man whom I was privileged and proud to call friend. His sweet spirit, his genial manner, his delightful companionship, all appealed to me, and his memory will remain as an inspiration for all that is best in both public and private service. Our associate has left us, never to return, and we may well say, slightly changing the words of the poet :
Again a parting sail we see;
Another boat has left the shore; As kind a soul on board has she
As ever left the land before; And as her onward course she bends — Sit closer, friends.
[26]
Address of Mr. Thornton, of Louisiana
Mr. President: Although I did not know him until I reached Washington in 1910, I think I can truthfully say that Senator Johnston had no more intimate relations with any of his brother Senators than with myself.
We were thrown together from my arrival, as we lived in the same house during the first year of my term, and we made it a point after our separation to seek the company of each other whenever we could conveniently do so, and our wives found the same attraction in each other's company from the beginning as did their hus- bands, which was another link between the latter.
I was drawn toward him by his strong qualities of head and heart, his dislike of sham and humbug, the highly developed sense of quiet humor which he pos- sessed in so eminent a degree and which, with me, adds to the attractiveness of its possessors when not ma- liciously used by them, as it never was by him, and also by the subtle and indefinable feeling that exists between former Confederate soldiers and serves as a link to bind them closer together.
It was to me that, when he was taken with the illness that finally carried him off after only a week's duration and which neither he nor anyone thought in the begin- ning was serious, he sent word requesting that I would announce his necessary absence from the Senate, and I did so regularly during the week of his illness.
I did not seek to see him during the first four days of his sickness because each day I was expecting his return to the Senate on the following morning, and when on the fifth day I learned the disease had taken a sudden
[27]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
turn for the worse and sought to visit him it was deemed best that he should receive no visitors, and I could only send him word of my deep solicitude on his behalf and of my prayers for his recovery.
And so I never saw him in his sickness, and it is a mournful pleasure to me that the recollection of his face which will ever abide with me is that of the strong yet kind and genial countenance lit up by the eyes kindling with humor that I had always known, rather than one drawn by pain and wasted by disease.
Senator Johnston belonged to that class of men more generally the product of this than of any other country, the class to which this Nation owes more than to any other class of her citizens, and the class I honor above all others, the self-made men of strong and virile character who rise to eminence through the native strength of their intellects, the assiduity with which they have cultivated their minds later in life when circumstances beyond their control prevented them from doing so earlier, their con- scientious devotion to all duties, private or public, in- trusted to their care, coupled with absolute integrity of character.
Such a man was Senator Johnston, and through the application of these principles throughout life he rose to financial and political influence.
In every phase of human endeavor in which he em- barked he played well and honorably his part.
True to his conception of duty, he entered the Confed- erate Army as a private in the beginning of the Civil War at the age of 17, and left it as a captain at its conclusion at the age of 21, bearing on and in his body four different wounds received in that strife as a testimonial to the fact that he had not failed to discharge his duty as a soldier.
He received from his State the highest political honors she could bestow on one of her citizens, having been twice
[28]
Address of Mr. Thornton, of Louisiana
elected governor and then sent to the United States Senate as one of her ambassadors to this body, and he died in her service in the last position.
May the State of Alabama always continue to send to this body men of the type she has been universally send- ing for so many years, and thereby continue to maintain here the high prestige she has established in the past and maintains in the present time.
In all positions of public honor or trust he ably and worthily discharged his duty and to the satisfaction of the people of his State, who had given him these proofs of their confidence.
In all private relations of life he proved himself the good husband, father, kinsman, and friend.
It was my privilege to be named on the Senate com- mittee selected to accompany his body to his home, and thus I was permitted to pay the last tribute of respect to his remains.
I heard the solemn and beautiful burial service of the Episcopal Church in Birmingham, of which he was a member and vestryman, read over his body, and then saw it consigned to the earth in the beautiful Oak Hill Cemetery of that city, in the midst of a great and sorrow- ing concourse who had known and loved and respected him in life.
There may his body rest in peace with his spirit re- turned to God who gave it.
[29]
Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota
Mr. President: The first active and pronounced work Senator Johnston entered upon in his early youth was that of a soldier. When the tocsin of the great Civil War first sounded he left school and joined the Confederate Army as a private, infused with the enthusiasm and war- like spirit which then arose and prevailed in the South. He was barely 17 years old at that time. He rose in the service to the rank of a captain, and was wounded on four different occasions, once or twice quite severely. His record as a soldier and officer was of a high order. He was noted for his skill, his energy, and his more than ordinary bravery. That enthusiastic spirit and fervor of youth, which swept so many of the young men of the South into the Confederate Army, also prevailed at the North, and swept thousands of her youth into the Union Army. The war was fought largely by boys and young men. The spirit of patriotism, as each side understood it and felt it, was paramount and controlling. It was not a mercenary war nor a war of mercenaries. It was a war of the entire people of one section against the entire peo- ple of the other section, involving fundamental and vital principles of government, and hence when the god of battle had determined the result and the war had come to an end the veterans of the North and the veterans of the South returned to the avocations of peace, untar- nished and with their manhood intact, ready and willing to assume the duties of citizenship in a reunited country. The war was a hard school, but the veterans came out of it with a purpose and determination to bear their full share in promoting the welfare, the progress, and the prosperity of our common country.
[30]
Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota
The historian Macaulay tells us that when the Stuarts came into power again in England and disbanded the old veterans of Oliver Cromwell it was feared that these old Puritan soldiers had become so demoralized by the war that they would prove to be a lawless and dangerous ele- ment in the community. These fears, however, the his- torian adds, proved wholly groundless and unfounded. As a matter of fact, these old veteran soldiers of many a bloody battle field, on resuming the avocations of peace, proved themselves to be among the most law-abiding, industrious, and thrifty men in the community; and if a mechanic, an artisan, or a skilled laborer in any com- munity was found to be more sober, more industrious, and more prosperous than any other of his class it turned out on investigation that he was apt to be one of Cromwell's veterans.
What proved true as to these veterans of the " Com- monwealth " has, on the whole, proved equally true as to the veterans of our great Civil War. Disbanded as warriors, they at once enlisted in the great armies that were invading the industrial fields in all directions and rendered good and faithful service therein. It was not always an easy matter for the soldiers of the North to take up the severed thread of their civil life, and, in the nature of the case, it must have been much harder for the soldiers of the South. Yet both classes, with that fortitude which they had exemplified as soldiers, took up their tasks of civil pursuits with energy and perse- verance. With them peace had its victories no less than war.
At the close of the war Senator Johnston took up the study of the law, was admitted to the bar, and soon be- came a successful and much sought after lawyer, with a lucrative practice for that locality.
[31]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
In 1896 the people of Alabama had such confidence in him that they elected him their governor and reelected him in 1898. After serving four years as governor he retired to private life until 1907, when he was elected United States Senator to fill the unexpired term of Sen- ator Pettus, deceased. He was also reelected for the succeeding full term ending March 3, 1915. Senator Johnston proved himself a wise, prudent, and able gov- ernor, and as such had the confidence, esteem, and good will of all the people of his State.
As a Member of this body he was active, attentive, and energetic in the performance of his duties, both in com- mittees and on the floor of the Senate. While he was not much given to debate, yet when he spoke there were always force and wisdom in what he said, and he had the attention of his associates. He was a most genial, kind-hearted, and sympathetic man, ready and willing to hear and help those who were worthy and in need of assistance. In his youth, and before the war had laid a heavy hand on him, he must have had a strong and vigorous constitution, but the many wounds he received in battle had to some extent undermined his strength and vitality; yet he bore up cheerfully and courageously under the burden, while his mind and the spirit of his youth abided with him to the last.
I have and have had many dear friends on the other side of the Chamber, but the nearest and dearest to me have always seemed to me to be the old Confederate soldiers. The memory of the march, the bivouac, and the stress of battle, though we were on opposite sides, has somehow through the lapse of years eliminated all but a feeling of fellowship, kinship, and sympathy for each other and an untarnished love for our common country. The war was the great crucible which removed the dross
[32]
Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota
and left the pure metal to survive. We never knew or understood each other as we came to know and under- stand each other through the stress of war. And the knowledge and understanding thus acquired have bred a moral ligament stronger even than our written Consti- tution.
Since the war both the North and the South have honored many of their veterans by sending them to the Halls of Congress. Many of them have served in years past in this body, but time and advancing years have thinned their ranks. Ten, however, remain, and of these five, namely, du Pont, Goff, Warren, Works, and Nelson, were in the Union Army, and five, namely, Bankhead, Catron, Martin, Thornton, and White, were in the Con- federate Army.
In a few years time will eliminate the last of the veterans from this Chamber, but let us hope that the memory of what they wrought in peace and in war will survive among the sagas of our country. One of these old veterans, a brave and heroic soul, passed away when Senator Johnston left us, left us in line of battle, for his final reward. Corpl. Nelson, of the Union Army, pays this brief and sincere tribute to Capt. Johnston, of the Confederate Army— opponents in war but comrades and brothers in peace.
87633°— 15 3 [33]
Address of Mr. Overman, of North Carolina
Mr. President: Three times within 18 months has this Senate Chamber been converted into a "lodge of sorrow." Within this short time the pale horse has entered its por- tals from whence its mysterious rider, without warning, has borne to the great beyond, from whence no traveler ever returns, three of our colleagues — great Senators who served their country well and had endeared themselves to us in a marked degree. They were suddenly called to take a journey which we all must take, solitary and alone, a journey which not only those who occupy high positions of trust, honor, and influence must take, but for this sad journey the pale messenger of death knocks with impor- tune hand at all doors. He enters alike the house of the humble, the gates of the great, the palaces of the rich, and the home of the poor.
On such occasions we are solemnly reminded that riches, pride, ambition, vainglory, strife, bitterness, ani- mosity, are all vanity; that " the path of glory leads but to the grave"; that at such a time only things eternal are worthy of supreme consideration.
Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of sorrow. He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth like a shadow and continueth not.
Beyond the circle of our immediate family the dead are soon forgotten; and it is meet and proper, when our col- leagues, the representatives of great States, depart this life, that a day be set apart in order that there shall be some public reminder and memorial of their death to perpetuate their memory in the records of the Senate.
[34]
Address of Mr. Overman, of North Carolina
Joseph Forney Johnston was born and reared in Lin- coln County, N. C, a small county situated near the foot of the mountains, a county full of historic interest and inhabited by a brave people. Here was fought the Battle of Ramseur's Mill, where a splendid victory was won over Cornwallis's men. In the Revolutionary War it fur- nished two generals — Gen. Joseph Graham and Gen. Peter Forney — and also Maj. Daniel M. Forney and Maj. Abram Forney, all of whom fought valiantly in the cause of liberty. Of Gen. Forney's family Senator Johnston, as his middle name would indicate, was a direct de- scendant.
In the Civil War this county furnished one brigadier general and two major generals, all of whom were pro- moted from the ranks for gallantry, and made fame for their State. They were Gen. Robert F. Hoke, Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur, and Gen. Robert D. Johnston, a brother of Senator Johnston, who was promoted several times for gallantry, and on the field at Gettysburg was shot five times while leading his men in a charge in that great battle.
Senator Johnston was descended from fighting stock, and no braver man ever wore the Confederate gray than he. He was in school when the war began, volunteered at the beginning, and served four years. He enlisted as a private and rose to the rank of captain. He bore upon his body four wounds received in as many battles.
His paternal ancestors were no less brave than his maternal. He was descended from the brave Scottish Highlanders, the Johnston Clan, who, with other clans, after the destructive battle of Culloden, settled in the Old North State, and from these splendid people have descended some of our best and greatest men.
After the war, in 1866, Senator Johnston left North Carolina and went to Alabama, and first settled in Selma,
[35]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
where he resided for 18 years. He then moved to Bir- mingham, where he took an active part in the upbuilding of that great city. He was not only a strong figure in politics, but was one of the leaders in the industrial, finan- cial, and political progress of that city and State. He was president of the Alabama National Bank and was the first president of the Sloss Iron & Steel Co. He was particu- larly active in restoring to the white people the control of that great State. Recognizing his leadership and activity in^ their behalf, the people elected him governor of Alabama for two terms. In 1907 he was unanimously elected to the United States Senate to succeed the late Senator Pettus, and was reelected in 1909. He was rarely ever absent from his seat in the Senate and was one of the most untiring and industrious workers in this body.
I knew him well not only as a Senator, but our personal relations were intimate. No one knew him but to admire him. His evenness of temper, his courage, his great ability, his forbearance, his gentlemanly and courteous manners I recall with fondness. These qualities, with his inimitable wit and humor, made men love and follow him. His ready wit left no scars.
He never made a brow look dark nor caused a tear but when he died.
He loved his people and his people loved him. He was one of them — their champion, their guide, their friend.
In time of war, when but a young man, he fought in the ranks with his people in North Carolina; he suffered with them; he shared their sorrow and their adversities; "he was with them in the burning light of battle, by the sol- emn camp fires, beside the dying and the wounded, amid hunger and cold, and came back home with them in defeat and humiliation."
[36]
Address of Mr. Overman, of North Carolina
In the State of his adoption during the terrible days of reconstruction, amid tumult, amid ruin and anarchy, amid distress and tyranny " he guided his people through the wilderness of woes, helped to bring them safely back to their rights, and to restore their hopes. He helped to preserve their priceless honor, their sacred homes, and to restore their liberties." When the history of the great men of Alabama is written his name will be recorded there.
To his family and his friends he was all tenderness and indulgence. In his married life he was most happy. His noble wife, who was his faithful and loving companion, was a descendant of William Hooper, of North Carolina, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Sweet spirited, gentle, and kind, she adorned her station in life and shed luster and joy upon his home. His hap- piest and most contented hours were passed in her pres- ence, and his love and best thoughts centered about her. To him his home was the holiest spot on earth. He loved and read his Bible. He was a member of the Episcopal Church, and rarely did he miss attending the Sunday morning service. In Washington he and his lovely wife every Sunday morning could be seen wending their way to the House of God to worship Him in His holiness. He lived a patriot. He served his State and country well, and died a Christian. What higher tribute can be paid any man?
In the early morning of the 8th day of August, 1913, his spirit took its flight to the home of the soul in that realm where the sun never sets and the waves of eternity roll.
A soldier, a leader, a captain of industry, a financier, a governor, a Senator, and a statesman has departed this life; and, as his friend, I am glad to pay this poor but just and deserved tribute to his memory. His voice is
[37]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
still, but his public career will live in history. When he crossed the bar he had no fears but that he would meet his "Pilot face to face."
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
[38]
Address of Mr. Works, of California
Mr. President: I have not prepared any formal eulogy upon the life and character of Senator Johnston. I desire only in a few simple words to express my kindly appreciation of a man who brought so much of joy and happiness and sunshine into the world. My acquaintance with him was brief. I first met him in this Chamber. I had the good fortune to serve with him upon one of the important committees of the Senate and met him frequently.
What appealed to me and drew me to him was his boundless good humor. The work of a United States Senator is not of a kind, as a rule, to cheer the heart; it is a round of incessant toil day after day, but Senator Johnston always met it cheerfully. They who knew him when he was young and strong and vigorous and full of worthy ambition may speak of his courage and bravery in time of war and his great achievements in civil life, but I venture to say that he brought more of good to humanity by his kindly disposition, his brotherly love, and the sunshine and sweetness that he brought not only into his own life but into the lives of those who asso- ciated with him than by deeds of valor in war or worthy achievements in time of peace. It was that quality of his nature that, as the years go by, will serve more than anything else to keep green his memory in the minds and hearts of those who have loved him.
[39]
Address of Mr. Sheppard, of Texas
Mr. President: When Joseph Forney Johnston died there passed from earth as gentle and as brave a spirit as ever dwelt within the casements of mortality. His qualities were of so rare a type as to suggest an environ- ment of surpassing inspiration. He was born and brought up in the State of North Carolina. For nearly 70 years he illustrated the virtue, the chivalry, the patriot- ism for which that Commonwealth is so signal a synonym. Moreover, the physical charm of the land of his birth stamped his budding years with a love of the beautiful, a reverence for the divine. For who, sir, may observe that stretch of peak and plain from the Blue Ridge to Raleigh Bay, the island chain that links the sounds of Currituck, of Albemarle, and Pamlico, the shores on which beats the music of the sea from Mooney Swamp to Kitty Hawk, the cypress and the cedar — nature's priesthood robed in moss, the forest floors all carpeted with shrub and plant of royal bloom, the azaleas and the goldenrods, the gorges and the valleys in which the Hiwassee, the French Broad, the Little Tennessee, the Yadkin, the Dan, the Roanoke, the Catawba bare silver bosoms to the sapphire skies, the Great Smoky, the Bald, and the Unaka Mountains gather- ing about their shoulders cloaks of spruce, of balsam, and of pine, while on their crests the rhododendrons cluster among the clouds, without feeling that in such a land men well may rise to the highest possibilities of ambition and achievement?
Such were the surroundings amid which Joseph Forney Johnston obtained his first impressions of the world, surroundings that found appreciative response in
[40]
Address of Mr. Sheppard, of Texas
every fiber of his being. To the last he remained the modest, unassuming, courageous, courteous gentleman of the South. The highest of honors could not alter, the heaviest of financial responsibilities could not modify, his unaffected, his genuine, his wholesome democracy of thought and conduct. His frank, clear eye, his vigorous handclasp, his straightforwardness of speech, all denoted a man who knew neither concealment nor indirection.
While still a youth he became a Confederate soldier. When he joined the Confederate Army he signed a muster roll that will be called by angel lips through all eternity. He united with a band of men whose devotion to duty has furnished a prevision of the ultimate per- fection of humanity. What a welcome his comrades who had gone before must have given him as he reached the other shore! With what precision must this soldier of eternal life have answered the command to about face and to salute his God! What hallelujahs must shake the tabernacles of the blessed as each old soldier, blue or gray, arrives to take his place in the ranks that never break !
They are purged of pride because they died,
They know the worth of their bays; They sit at wine with the Maidens Nine
And the Gods of the Elder Days — It is their will to serve or be still
As filteth our Father's praise.
'Tis theirs to sweep through the surging deep
Where Azrael's outposts are; Or buffet a path through the Pit's red mouth
When God goes out to war, Or hang with the reckless Seraphim
On the rein of a red-maned star.
[41]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
A northern historian has this to say of the Confederate Army:
Who can forget it that once looked upon it? That array of tat- tered uniforms and bright muskets — that body of incomparable soldiery, which for four years carried the revolt on its bayonets, opposing a constant front to the mighty concentration of power brought against it, which, receiving terrible blows, did not fail to give the like, and which, vital in all its parts, died only with its annihilation?
Joseph Forney Johnston served four years in that army with a fidelity and courage that made him a typical Confederate soldier. He rose from private to captain, and was wounded four times. He contributed, therefore, as much as any other man of his toil and zeal and blood to make the military organization of the Confederacy worthy of the remarkable tribute to which I have alluded.
After the conclusion of the war he became a stalwart figure in the rebuilding of the shattered South. He took up his residence in Alabama, that glorious Common- wealth which was to be the scene of his principal labors as a civilian. As a lawyer he was distinctly successful; as a banker he demonstrated business ability of the highest order. It is given to few men to achieve such eminence in both the profession of the law and the avoca- tion of banking as did Joseph Forney Johnston. But this is not all. He acquired so firm a place in the affection and admiration of his people that he was successively elevated to the positions of governor and United States Senator. In both capacities he displayed a statesman- ship as broad as it was practical. When the Democracy assumed control of the Senate and the Nation he was accorded prominent recognition by being made chairman of one of the Senate's great committees — the Committee on Military Affairs. He gave patient and sympathetic
[42]
Address of Mr. Sheppard, of Texas
attention to the petitions and appeals of the many who sought his consideration. His mind was a tribunal where every man had an equal chance, a fair and impartial hearing. In his relations with his brother Senators the attributes of a kind and generous nature, including an invincible good humor, were always in evidence. I re- call that as a new Member of this body I felt that I could always approach him for information or assistance with perfect freedom. He was dignified without reserve, firm without harshness, just without severity. His name is proudly linked with that of Alabama and the Nation.
How false it is to say that such men die. His example has become a light to lead us to the higher and the nobler paths. It is a part of every life he touched while on this sphere, and it will be transmitted from heart to heart, from soul to soul, until the last mortal shall put on immortality.
[43]
Address of Mr. Ashurst, of Arizona
Mr. President: When brought into the presence of death vast and shapeless forms and images come crowd- ing themselves on the mind faster than we can put them into words. We mournfully think of the closely bound ties of kin and fellowship violently sundered, of valuable attainments and accomplishments lost to the world, of rare and attractive gifts scattered and dispersed; we think of the instability of all things human, and especially of the instability of power, fame, and glory. We think of men and women of genius, industry, eloquence, wit, courage, imagination, and fertility of thought " molder- ing cold and low." We think of youth with its enthusi- asms, its high hopes, its illusions, and its dreams cut off in the morning of its beauty; we think of the dimpled, darling babe called to its " windowless palace of rest " before its little life had done aught else than enshrine itself as the pride and joy of its parents and the ruler of their hearts, and yet withal we think of death as the charitable softener of asperities and enmities, the courier of reconciliation to warring factions, and the messenger of silence, rest, repose, and peace.
In Milton's description of death it is astonishing with what a gloomy pomp, with what significant and impres- sive strokes and coloring the poet finishes the picture of the king of terrors :
The other Shape — If shape it might be called that shape had none Distinguishable in member, joint, or limb; Or substance might be called that shadow seemed, For each seem'd either — black it stood as Night, Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell, And shook a deadly dart: what seem'd his head The likeness of a kingly crown had on. [44]
Address of Mr. Ashurst, of Arizona
In all literature passages are to be found delineating, portraying, and vividly describing the horrors of sudden death. In all ages mankind has complained of the uncer- tainty of life, but upon candid and serious reflection we inevitably come to know that even if we possessed the power to draw aside the curtain which mercifully veils and conceals from us the exact time when we shall be- come a part of the awful enigma of the grave very few persons would avail themselves of such dubious privi- lege. In all probability those who dared thus to tran- scend the borders of the finite and gaze into the infinite would during their remaining years be wretchedly un- happy and would live a life of bitter and vain regret that they had so far presumed as to attempt to solve the great problem of human destiny — the problem of whence came we and whither are we going.
If we knew the exact hour of our dissolution the appall- ing knowledge would overcast the pleasures and comforts of existence, it would hinder the improvement and indus- try of the human race, and would become an insupport- able mischief to human society, because we would then no longer concern ourselves with diversions, with pleas- ant conversation, with books, with laborious tasks, sci- ence, art, progress, cultivation, or with the business of living. Hence, the wisdom and goodness of God are vin- dicated and made manifest in His concealing from us knowledge as to the exact time of our death.
It is to reflect upon the mystery of life and death, as well as to pay proper tribute to the memory of our late colleague, Senator Joseph Forney Johnston, that the Senate pauses in its labors to-day. Others more familiar with the life work of the dead Senator will relate the his- tory of his career. It will be fitting for me to submit a few simple words of appreciation of his acknowledged ability and courage.
[45]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
As a flash of lightning in the dark sometimes discloses to our view weather-beaten pinnacles, storm-riven crags and domes and minarets in the mountains which years of daylight have not revealed to our eyes, just so a crisis, a dark or dangerous hour in a man's career, frequently calls our attention to some valuable attribute of char- acter, some rare virtue possessed by him which years of acquaintance and comradeship do not reveal to his closest friends. An example of Senator Johnston's rugged independence of thought and action was mani- fested one day in the Senate when he differed from the majority of the Senators on some grave question, and it was suggested that he would better abandon his views or suffer some reverse of his political successes. He replied in the following words :
Mr. President, I entered the Confederate Army in April, 1861, because the State of Alabama had seceded from the Union, and I believed that their cause was righteous and that it was my duty so to do. For four long bloody years I followed the flag of Dixie; sometimes in defeat and often to victory. I became convinced before the surrender that we could not succeed, because we could not replace the brave men who fell on the field of battle. We were shut out from the world and could only draw recruits from the cradle. The idea never came into my mind that because we must inevitably fail I should desert to the enemy. I stood by my colors facing death and defeat until Lee and Johnston surren- dered the fragments of glorious armies whose fame will never die. The span of my years may be shortened by the shot stopped by my breast in that failing cause; but, all in all, my keenest satis- faction in the past rests not upon those moments when I swam with the tide, but when I bared my breast, with Ajax, and took the lightning. Mr. President, I refuse to save myself at the sacri- fice of my convictions and my honor.
Such was the character of our departed colleague. He might break, but he would not bend. After a life char- acterized by industry, courage, devotion to duty as he
[46]
Address of Mr. Ashurst, of Arizona
saw it, success at the bar, and distinguished service as governor of Alabama and in the Senate of the United States he met death with that tranquil and decorous fortitude which marked his labors here. He has at last reached the place where the path of every life will end, and is to-day resting in that beautiful island valley of Avalon, where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow.
[47]
Address of Mr. Williams, of Mississippi
Mr. President: When I was first elected to fill a seat in the House of Representatives I had been strenuously supported by an old comrade who had been a schoolmate at the primary school, at college, and at the university. It was only natural that I should say to him that I was at his behest for any service "within my cable tow." He responded, "John, I don't want and won't want anything except one thing; I want each year a copy of the Congres- sional Directory, so that I may read the autobiographical sketches that Representatives and Senators prepare of themselves. I love to study human nature, and especially the human nature of those 'drest in a little brief author- ity.'" That utterance struck me then as cynical; it has struck me afterwards as wisdom. I think I may safely say that the chief recorded line of demarcation to be found between men who are wise and men who are other- wise, elected to these two Houses, may be found in these sketches in the Congressional Directory. One man tells about his ancestors, whom he married, the names of his children, boasts of his achievements and his "popularity with the people," foretells what a figure he is going to be — the prophecy antedating his swearing in — and some- times takes a vicious under-the-rib dagger stroke from this safe vantage ground at his political or personal ene- mies, and thereby "writes himself down ass," as Dog- berry proudly insisted that he should be written down. This sort of man belongs to the class who take themselves seriously. To take one's work seriously is one thing; to take oneself seriouslv is another. The former rule of
[48]
Address of Mr. Williams, of Mississippi
guidance is needful and helpful; the latter is confusing, self-destructive, and foolish — vanitas vanitatum.
A wholesome sense of humor is the only corrective for those of the latter class. This wholesome sense of humor in its turn grows out of the conscious viewing of oneself as a part only of all humanity and all humanity as a part only of God's universe. No man who habitually thinks that thought can find any reason why " the soul of mortal should be proud." Such a man with such a thought is to himself only a part of his allotted work. I have clipped from the Congressional Directory ex- Senator Johnston's short sketch of himself. Here it is:
Joseph Forney Johnston, Democrat, of Birmingham, was born in North Carolina in 1843; quit school to join the Confederate Army as a private in March, 1861; served during the war, was wounded four times, and rose to the rank of captain; practiced law 17 years; was a banker 10 years; was elected governor of Alabama in 1896 and reelected in 1898, serving 4 years; never sought or held any office other than governor and Senator. He was unanimously elected to the United States Senate by the legis- lature August 6, receiving the Republican as well as Democratic vote, to fill out the unexpired portion of the term of Hon. E. W. Pettus, deceased, ending March 3, 1909, also for the term ending March 3, 1915.
It is multum in parvo, and bears the impress of intel- lectual humility. Not a word about the Johnstons, one of the best and most useful families of the Old North State; not a word about the Forneys, several of whom have been so prominent that their names became house- hold words in the State of Alabama, to which State Joe Johnston moved. Here we find only the bare facts with- out boast or embellishment; only that he had been pri- vate, captain, lawyer, banker, governor, Senator — not a word about bearing himself greatly in each capacity. Only once is there the appearance even of claiming any
87633°— 15 4 [49]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
superiority over anyone, and that consists in the recital of the fact that as a Confederate soldier " he was wounded four times." Others may have been wounded only once or twice or not at all, but he wants his friends to remember that he was wounded four times. His scars alone are referred to as a badge of honor, and those scars received in battling for a cause which went down, not for a victorious and applauded cause. Several things are true, which he does not tell you; he was promoted from the ranks for gallantry; he never swerved in loyalty to the cause he espoused nor afterwards in loyalty to a re- united country. Most men boast of being self-made; not he, with better cause than most.
He never utters a word of regret that his volunteering to "live and die for Dixie" left him half educated; nor a word about his self-teaching and the wide range of attentive reading whereby he sought to make up for his lack of schooling; nor a word to the effect that despite this great disadvantage, thus in a great sense overcome, he became and for years continued to be one of the best and most completely well-grounded lawyers in the State of Alabama; not a word of his universally recognized business capacity as a banker; not a word of the truth that his record as governor was so honest and true and faithful to platform, party, and people, and so intelligent that golden opinions from all, friend and foe, came to be his part. You infer it only from the recital of the bare fact that he was "unanimously elected by the Alabama Legislature to the Senate" — all factions of the Democracy and all the Republicans, as well, voting for him. I first knew him after I became a Member of this body. He at- tracted the love of all who became intimate with him by his sterling common sense, his honesty of purpose, and his sly and acute and genial sense of humor. Even those who were the butt of it enjoyed it. No malice entered
[50]
Address of Mr. Williams, of Mississippi
into it. He possessed honesty, courage, knowledge of self, and love of truth. These four are the cardinal virtues of man. Their opposites are the only sources of sin and evil in this world. I will not say that "none knew him but to love him." That can be said with truth of no strong man. But I will say that no generous, honest, and brave soul ever came in contact with his without recog- nizing a kindred spirit. Not for us to say — God has already said: "Requiescat in pace." He finds, Mr. Presi- dent, his best monument in our memories.
[51]
Address of Mr. White, of Alabama
Mr. President: I prize the distinction of being the im- mediate successor in this body of the late Senator Joseph Forney Johnston. I esteem as a privilege the oppor- tunity of participating in the proceedings by which we are paying tribute to his memory.
I did not know him in his early life, nor am I as fa- miliar with his services in the Senate as are many of you who were associated in service with him. I shall there- fore speak very briefly of those periods of his life, leav- ing them for others who have more accurate and detailed information.
I did know him, however, through many years of his active business and political career. I knew enough of him, I think, to enable me to form a fair estimate of his character and qualities.
He was a North Carolinian by birth, an Alabamian by adoption. The former State nurtured him in childhood and equipped him for the struggles and duties of life; the latter opened to him the way on which he traveled to business and political success.
With the equipment furnished by the one and the opportunity presented by the other, he entered earnestly upon life's arduous task. Both States watched his up- ward progress with a selfish, lively interest; both felt proud of his achievements. He did not disappoint either, but reflected credit on them both.
He possessed characteristics which gave proof of his Scotch-Irish descent. He had the humor and wit of the Irish, the deliberation, persistence, and keen insight of the Scotch. In social life he showed the Irish traits; in
[52]
Address of Mr. White, of Alabama
his business and political undertakings he manifested the Scotch qualities. These inherited gifts performed for him useful service; they were ever naturally and conven- iently at hand to do his bidding.
Senator Johnston was endowed with a strong native intellect, which he assiduously cultivated throughout his life. His attainments were of a high order. While his college course was interrupted — in fact, cut off — by his participation as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War, he nevertheless by his own efforts acquired a liberal edu- cation. His range of information was extensive and varied. It embraced not only much learning that was classic, but also current literature. He was not only a student of books but of men and their concerns; he ob- served their conduct, saw the objects of their pursuits, and in this wise divined their motives. It was the knowl- edge obtained in this way that enabled him to control and lead them. His look was prospective; he beheld the panoramic view of real life. He mixed and mingled with it. Life to him was real, and he was real life. He saw the struggling masses; they had his sympathy and help.
He was a lawyer by profession; he possessed skill and ability as such, and in his young manhood was successful in the practice. He had, however, not practiced law for a number of years immediately prior to his death. He was an active, successful business man; he followed it with zest; but his specialty was the banking business. He was accomplished in this line. He was devoted to it; he studied its principles; he understood its philosophy; he actively participated in it for many years as president of a large and successful banking institution. He engaged in other important industrial and business enterprises, in all of which he attained success.
His decided leaning, however, was for public affairs. He was a close and apt student of them, viewing them
[53]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
from many angles, understanding and comprehending their underlying principles. He had long and practical experience in dealing with them; he demonstrated his capacity for handling them.
The chief characteristic of our departed friend was his great will power. It was a boyhood trait; it con- tinued with him to the end; it seldom bent; it never broke. When he brought it into play on a course of conduct he adhered to that course with a tenacity of purpose that bordered on stubbornness. He never called into action this faculty in light or trivial matters, but only when some principle in which he believed was involved or when some preconceived plan was questioned. His plans were well considered before they were adopted; when adopted they were intended to be followed, and were followed wherever they led. When they were assailed he listened with patience to his friends who opposed them, gave full consideration to their views, and when fully convinced that they were right he changed his course, but he was rarely convinced and seldom changed.
His iron will, backed by his natural abilities and varied accomplishments, made him an attractive figure in all the spheres of life in which he moved, a dominant force in many of them.
He was inclined by nature to be a partisan; certainly he had pronounced views on all matters of importance. His convictions on political questions especially were tena- ciously and obstinately maintained.
In politics he was a Democrat. By some it may be thought that this was the result of environment and train- ing. This is not my view. I think he was a member of the Democratic Party because he believed in its catho- licity, in its ability and disposition to serve all the people of the country — the entire country. He regarded it as the
[54]
Address of Mr. White, of Alabama
foe of special interests of the favored few. He was steeped in its principles, controlled by its purposes, thrilled by its achievements. He was every ready to champion its cause, to give battle to its enemies; he met them on every field. He fought them, as was his custom, with courage and persistence.
In political conflicts he was a real gladiator, giving blow for blow and ofttimes two for one. He smote his enemy hard but fair, asked no quarter and gave none, until his enemy had fallen.
To those who opposed him or were unfriendly he was reserved; in fact, austere. He held aloof from them and kept them at arms' length. To his friends he was ap- proachable and genial. To them he was confiding, ex- cept in the graver and more serious concerns of life; in these he was reserved even with them.
He loved his friends; he trusted them and enjoyed their association. He added much to their comfort and hap- piness. He owed them much for their loyal support.
Senator Johnston was a favorite in social life; he en- joyed it himself, and helped to make others enjoy it. He enlivened it with his wit, brightened it with his humor, charmed it with his proverbial good nature.
In domestic life he was a paragon. Happily married in early life, he was blessed with a continuation of the union until his own sad death severed the bond. He appreciated the obligations and responsibilities imposed by the wedded vow; he observed them with marked fidelity.
He was fortunate in his selection of a wife; she made his life and career a part of her own. In early life with him she faced its conflicts and endured its hardships. Later she shared in his disappointments and his tri- umphs. In some of his political disappointments he must have felt the need of her sympathy, for they were real
[55]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
disappointments. Once he had the senatorial toga almost within his grasp, when it was snatched from him. Thrice he was near the governorship of his State, when ashes took the place of his hopes; but they both lived to see these defeats reversed by his being called to fill the very places which had been denied him. She was to him a loving, faithful, confiding companion; he, in turn, cher- ished, loved, and honored her. Their union was blessed with a number of children, all of whom were boys, as I remember. He was to them a firm, devoted, generous father.
This well-ordered and happy home life, filled with comfort and pleasure, unmixed with strife and pain, must have been prized by him more than all of life besides. To me it seems his greatest achievement.
Mr. President, the subject of these exercises in his early life adopted high moral standards by which he was to be guided. He never lowered them or failed to adhere to them; his conduct and mode of life were clean; they fur- nished a fit example to be followed by all.
He had deep, sincere religious convictions; they con- trolled him in his daily deportment; they abided with him in all the vicissitudes of a varied life; they were not expedients with him, but convictions that guided and con- trolled the whole course of his life. He lived fully up to his religious obligations; he never brought reproach upon his church or his brethren. The light of his religious life was never hid, never obscured; it shone alike in pros- perity and adversity.
Senator Johnston's political career, though successful, was a stormy one; it dates back to the close of the Civil War. The peace that Gen. Grant declared and asked to let our section have did not come, in fact, though the war itself had closed. The soldiers on both sides returned to their homes, those of the North to be welcomed and hon-
[56]
Address of Mr. White, of Alabama
ored by a grateful country. Their political status was as good as, if not better than, it was when they enlisted. Their section had lost much by the war, but had gained more than it lost.
The soldiers of the South returned to their homes with- out means and faced a country made desolate by the rav- ages of war. This they expected to find on their return. It was a natural consequence flowing to the section that had been invaded and overcome in the armed conflict. It took heroes to meet and battle with this situation; but this was not the full penalty inflicted upon us by our conquerors — for they were, indeed, conquerors — as the men on both sides, in the hate and passions engendered by war, had forgotten the brotherhood that bound them together. The people of the North had not only defeated us in war, but they misunderstood us; they doubted our loyalty to the institutions of our fathers, and doubted our good faith in observing the promises we made when we renewed our allegiance to the Union. As a consequence, they denied our right to participate in the politics of our common country, to share in its responsibilities and its rewards; they supplanted us with an ignorant and ava- ricious horde, whose purpose it was to strip us not only of the property which the waste and exigencies of war had left, but to humiliate us beyond endurance. We saw that in its far-reaching consequences this situation was more ruinous, more appalling even, than that which had resulted from war; we saw not only our financial ruin, but saw that we had lost our liberties.
We reread our parole and saw that this cruel, unnec- essary penalty was not written in the pact made for us between Grant and Lee at Appomattox. We rebelled and entered upon a war against reconstruction. It was in this just cause that Joseph F. Johnston enlisted as a political warrior and led the citizens of his adopted State to vic-
[57]
Memorial Addresses : Senator Johnston
tory, and with them unfurled the banner of white su- premacy, placed it beside the Stars and Stripes on the spire of our capitol, where since they have floated to- gether in peace and harmony, evincing our loyalty to the Union, our devotion to race integrity and race supremacy.
Mr. President and Senators, it was his valiant and suc- cessful leadership in this struggle for race preservation that endeared your late associate to the people of Ala- bama. As a recognition of his services and sacrifices made for them in this the darkest hour of their country's history, the people of that State twice elected him as their governor and commissioned him to sit in this Chamber, where he served until the final summons came calling him to a higher service, a greater reward.
Mr. President, the brightest jewel in the crown of the distinguished dead was that won by him as a Confederate soldier. When a mere youth his country claimed of him the greatest sacrifice possible for man to make — it asked him to lay his life upon her altar. She obtained from him a willing and prompt response. He enlisted as a private soldier; by gallant conduct and faithful service he rose to the rank of captain.
Others preceding me have mentioned many of his brave deeds, much of his daring conduct; they have pointed to the hardships and privations endured by him, the long and arduous marches he made. They have per- formed this gracious service much better than I can. Allow ms to say, however, that he was foremost among that heroic band that followed the Stars and Bars that floated over the Army of Virginia. He was noted for the cheerfulness with which he underwent hardships, with which he endured privations, for his disposition to encourage others, his soldierly bearing, his manly con- duct, for his courage and coolness in battle. His gal- lantry in the battle at Spottsylvania Court House was such
[58]
Address of Mr. White, of Alabama
as to attract the personal attention of Gen. Robert E. Lee, who observed him by the side of another young officer dash forward in advance of their command to capture a flag that was posted on the breastworks of the enemy. It was an inspiring scene to those who beheld it. They were so evenly matched in the race that it could not be told which would obtain the prize. Just as they were reaching out their hands to seize it one of them fell, stricken to the ground, wounded by a bullet from the ranks of the enemy. The one who had fallen was none other than the man whose memory we are commemorat- ing. His gallantry was so conspicuous on this occasion that Gen. Lee made special mention of it in compliment- ing him and his command for the part they took in that battle.
Throughout the sanguinary struggle between the States he performed a notable and worthy part. While the life which he offered to his country was not required at her hands, her soil was sanctified with his blood, shed on many battle fields. He wore upon his body numerous scars which he received for his country's sake and in which were preserved his country's honor.
Mr. President, when for the want of men and muni- tions it became impossible for the South to longer con- tinue the unequal conflict, this young hero, with a mere fragment of the gallant army that followed Lee, laid down his arms at his country's bidding as he had taken them up at her command.
The only excuse he or they ever gave for this act was that Lee had ordered it. This was enough; they never doubted his wisdom; they never questioned his authority. The name of Joseph F. Johnston, if otherwise undistin- guished, will go down in history associated with the name of Robert E. Lee and the dauntless band that followed and fought with him. This itself is sufficient to forever
[59]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
endear it to and enshrine it in the memory of the people he loved with all his heart and served with all of his ability.
Mr. President, I offer the following resolution:
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the Senate do now adjourn.
The resolution was unanimously agreed to; and the Senate (at 2 o'clock and 10 minutes p. m.) adjourned until Monday, January 11, 1915, at 12 o'clock meridian.
[60]
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
Friday, August 8, 1913.
A message from the Senate, by Mr. Tulley, one of its clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the follow- ing resolutions:
In the Senate of the United States,
August 8, 1913.
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret and pro- found sorrow of the death of the Hon. Joseph Forney Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama.
Resolved, That a committee of 17 Senators be appointed by the Vice President to take order for superintending the funeral of Mr. Johnston.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect his remains be re- moved from his late home in this city to Birmingham, Ala., for burial, in charge of the Sergeant at Arms, attended by the com- mittee, who shall have full power to carry these resolutions into effect.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of Representatives.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator the Senate do now adjourn.
In compliance with the foregoing the Vice President appointed as said committee Mr. Bankhead, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Overman, Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Clarke of Arkansas, Mr. Varda- man, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Swanson, Mr. Smith of South Carolina, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Gallinger, Mr. Warren, Mr. Bristow, Mr. Catron, Mr. Brady, and Mr. Kenyon.
Mr. Underwood. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to announce to the House the death of the Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, of Alabama.
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Memorial Addresses : Senator Johnston
At a later date I will ask the House to set apart a day to pay proper respect to his memory. I now move the adoption of the following resolution.
The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read as follows:
House Resolution 225
Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow and sincere regret of the death of the Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama.
Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate and send a copy thereof to the family of the deceased Senator.
Resolved, That a committee of 17 Members of the House, with such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the funeral.
The resolution was agreed to, and the Speaker an- nounced as the committee on the part of the House Mr. Underwood, Mr. Clayton, Mr. Taylor of Alabama, Mr. Richardson, Mr. Hobson, Mr. Burnett, Mr. Heflin, Mr. Dent, Mr. Blackmon, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Webb, Mr. Howard, Mr. Austin, Mr. Towner, Mr. Norton, Mr. Kelley of Michigan, Mr. Cullop, Mr. McKellar, and Mr. Bell of California.
Mr. Underwood. Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of the following resolution.
The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read as follows :
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator the House do now adjourn.
The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 53 minutes p. m.) the House, in accordance with the order heretofore adopted, adjourned until Tuesday, August 12, 1913, at 12 o'clock noon.
[62]
Proceedings in the House
Monday, January 4, 1915.
Mr. Underwood. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous con- sent for the present consideration of the order which I send to the Clerk's desk.
The Speaker. The gentleman asks unanimous consent for the present consideration of a resolution, which the Clerk will report.
The Clerk read as follows:
House resolution 693
Resolved, That Sunday, January 31, 1915, be set apart for serv- ices upon the life, character, and public services of Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama, and of the Hon. William Richardson, late a Representative from the State of Alabama.
The Speaker. Is there objection?
There was no objection.
The resolution was agreed to.
Saturday, January 9, 1915. The committee informally rose; and Mr. Ferris having taken the chair as Speaker pro tempore, a message from the Senate, by Mr. Tulley, one of its clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the following resolution:
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow of the death of the Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama.
Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the de- ceased the business of the Senate be now suspended to enable his associates to pay proper tribute to his high character and distin- guished public services.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- lutions to the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the Senate do now adjourn.
[63]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
Sunday, January 31, 1915.
The House met at 12 o'clock noon and was called to order by Mr. Underwood, Speaker pro tempore.
The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the following prayer :
Infinite and eternal energy, our God and our Father, out of whose heart came life and all its possibilities, the wisdom that illumines, the faith that sustains, the hope that cheers, the love which binds us together into friend- ship and families, we are here to-day because of these indissoluble ties in memory of two souls who have answered the summons and passed into the great beyond from whence no traveler returns. To recall their deeds, sing their praises, is to put an estimate on their virtues. We thank Thee that the good in man lives to inspire others to the nobler virtues. These men were chosen servants of the people because in them were ability, in- tegrity, honesty, zeal, high ideals, and lofty purposes, and though they have passed on they live in the hearts of their countrymen. May those who knew and loved them best look forward to a reunion in one of the Father's many mansions where the ties of friendship and love will never again be severed. And songs of praises we will ever give to Thee in the name of Him who taught us faith, hope, love. Amen.
The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will read a letter from the Speaker.
The Clerk read as follows :
January 29, 1915. Hon. South Trimble,
Clerk of the House: I hereby designate Hon. Oscar "W. Underwood, of Alabama, as Speaker pro tempore to preside on Sunday, January 31, 1915.
Your friend,
Champ Clark.
[64]
Proceedings in the House
The Speaker pro tempore. Without objection, the ap- proval of the Journal of yesterday will be postponed until to-morrow. [After a pause.] The Chair hears none. The Clerk will read the special order.
The Clerk read as follows :
On motion of Mr. Underwood, by unanimous consent, Ordered, That Sunday, January 31, 1915, be set apart for serv- ices upon the lives, character, and public services of Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, late a Senator from the State of Alabama, and Hon. William Richardson, late a Representative from the State of Alabama.
Mr. Blackmon assumed the chair as Speaker pro tempore.
Mr. Underwood. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolutions which I send to the Clerk's desk.
The Clerk read as follows :
Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended that an opportunity may be given for tribute to the memory of the Hon. Joseph F. Johnston, late a Member of the United States Senate from the State of Alabama, and to the memory of the Hon. William Richardson, late a Member of the House of Representa- tives from the State of Alabama.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased and in recognition of their eminent abilities as dis- tinguished public servants the House at the conclusion of these memorial proceedings shall stand adjourned.
Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate.
Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions to the families of the deceased.
Mr. Underwood. Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of the resolutions.
The question was taken, and the resolutions were unanimously agreed to.
87633°— 15 5 [65]
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES.
Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker : We meet to-day to do honor to the mem- ory of comrades who have fallen on the battle field of life's great struggle. We mourn their loss; we cherish their memory; we love the recollection of their friend- ship; and we honor the high character, the sterling cour- age, and the purity of purpose that were so eminently portrayed in the lives of our departed colleagues.
I could ask no higher privilege and find no sweeter duty than the right to place on the records of this House my remembrances of Alabama's great son, the late Senator Joseph Forney Johnston.
He was born in North Carolina in the year 1843. When only a schoolboy he joined the Confederate Army in March, 1861, served during the entire war, was four times wounded in battle, and rose to the rank of captain.
At the close of the War between the States he made his home in Alabama, and for 17 years practiced law in Selma, Ala., with marked ability and success, retiring from the active practice to engage in banking in Birming- ham for 10 years, when he was elected governor of Ala- bama, serving the people for 4 years with exceptional ability.
He was unanimously elected to the United States Senate by the Legislature of Alabama to serve out the unexpired term of the Hon. Edmund W. Pettus, ending March 3, 1909, and also for the full term ending March 3, 1915. He died in the city of Washington on the 8th day of August, 1913, at his post of duty.
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Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
From the time he first made his home in Alabama until his death Senator Johnston actively participated in pub- lic affairs. He was there during what is called the "re- construction period" and was a leader in the movement by her citizens to drive from the conduct of her affairs the carpetbaggers and their ignorant coadjutors, to end dis- cord and corruption, and to restore to the intelligent and the virtuous the State government. That being secured, Alabama began a period of advancement and develop- ment which the world is coming to appreciate. If a story of Senator Johnston's life were written from 1874 until the date of his death it would tell of nearly every impor- tant movement connected with the history of the State itself, so closely was he identified with its political, ma- terial, and educational development and policies. He was active in promoting its development. He was inter- ested in whatever tended to the advancement of Alabama and her people. He was willing "to spend and be spent" in her interest, and his willingness to serve gave occasion for many drafts upon his time and energies which he always tried to honor. As a consequence he drew to him a very large number of loyal friends and supporters in all parts of the State who implicitly followed his lead upon all questions. His influence was accordingly far- reaching, and, be it said to his credit, his influence was for good.
Senator Johnston was a man of positive convictions and firm purpose. When he had decided upon his course his perseverance and persistence in following it account for much of his success. His political life illustrates these qualities. He was defeated for the gubernatorial nomination in his own party and then was twice elected by it as governor. He was likewise defeated for Senator and then was twice elected as Senator, once to fill out an unexpired term and then for a full term. In these
[68]
Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama
battles he naturally gave and received hard blows, but he lived to see the day when many strong men who had been pronounced in their opposition to some of his views became his most active supporters, for they realized that whatever view he urged, it was an honest view; that whatever purpose he had, it was a manly and up- right one; and whatever conviction he entertained, he had the courage to support it. When he found the way of duty, he never flinched in following it. And it is but natural that such a man tied men to him.
Behind a reserved and apparently cold exterior Senator Johnston had a heart that was very tender. He was re- sponsive to the calls of charity and, without ostentation, he aided many needy ones. His love for the old Con- federate veterans who were in need amounted almost to a passion. He cherished the memory of the days when as a mere boy he fought for the South; and, assuming that all honorable men would give him credit for honesty of conviction, he had no unkind words for those whom he opposed in war, and met all men upon the dead level of personal integrity and manhood. But the old Con- federate soldiers never appealed to him in vain. When he became governor they did not always address him by that title, and when he became Senator they did not call him Senator. They preferred, and he liked to be called by them, " Captain."
Senator Johnston's life was a successful one. His few political disappointments seemed but to nerve him for another combat, and he won. His character and life are well worth study by the young men of his adopted State, and because of the elements of force to be found in it we can see the reason he succeeded. But not alone in his work as lawyer, banker, business man, and states- man do we find the inspiration of his activities, for back of these, as back of all strong American life and hope, is
[69]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
the home. And it was in his beautiful home life that Senator Johnston shone at his best. There he was the devoted husband and affectionate father, and there he received the homage that kindness and sympathy and love elicit, and there he placed upon his children "the imperishable knighthood" of the Fifth Commandment.
Senator Johnston possessed the elements of real great- ness. His character was strong; his standards lofty. He worked hard and perseveringly. He died at his post of duty, and I have no doubt that if it had been given him to choose the place of his death the choice would have been to die while in the discharge of a duty. He left us the good example of his life, and to his family he left the heritage of a good name.
When Earth's last picture is painted,
And the tubes are twisted and dried, When the oldest colors have faded,
And the youngest critic has died, We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it —
Lie down for an aeon or two; Till the Master of all good workmen
Shall set us to work anew.
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 working,
And each in his separate star Shall draw the Thing as he sees it
For the God of Things as They Are!
[70]
Address of Mr. Webb, of North Carolina
Mr. Speaker: It is but proper that we pause for a few moments and turn aside from the duties of the hour to say a word of those who have been our coworkers but who have been called to their reward.
Joseph Forney Johnston was unanimously elected to the United States Senate by the Legislature of Alabama August 6, 1907, to fill out the unexpired term of Hon. E. W. Pettus, deceased, ending March 3, 1909. He was then reelected for the full term expiring March 3, 1915. While still in the service of his country as Senator from Alabama, on August 8, 1913, he died at his post of duty in the city of Washington.
I and the people whom I represent are proud to claim a peculiar interest in his record and achievements.
On March 23, 1843, he was born at Mount Welcome, on the banks of the Catawba River, in Lincoln County, N. C, which is in the district I have the honor to represent. His early youth was spent at Mount Welcome on his father's extensive estate, consisting of about 2,500 acres of land, on which were operated iron forges, flour and saw mills, in addition to the farm. He first attended a school in the neighborhood which was maintained and supported by the community composed of his father, Dr. William Johnston, Rev. Dr. Robert Hall Morrison, Dr. Hunter, the Cahills, and the Rosells. From there he went to Catawba College, at Newton, N. C, which was under the management of Maj. Finger, afterwards superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina. He then spent some time at the Charlotte Military Insti- tute under Gen. D. H. Hill, and later, about 1859, he went to Alabama and entered the Wetumpka Military School.
[71]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
His father's home was a center of culture, refinement, and genial hospitality. Its environments were whole- some and pleasant, such as should bring out the manly qualities of the boy. Those acquainted with him in his early youth tell us that young Johnston was always a sturdy, manly boy from his earliest days and possessed much dry humor. As illustrating this they relate of him that when he was only about 6 years old the ball of bees- wax used for the thread in sewing was missing. Some one said, " I think Josie has it." He stood before them, looked into their faces, and said, " Search me." They did and found the missing beeswax.
Although he left North Carolina at an early age and set- tled in Alabama, where he spent the active years of his life, he never lost interest in his native State. He could not outlive the feeling that the old Johnston homestead in Lincoln County, where his ancestors lie buried, was his home and the people around it his neighbors and friends. His friends in North Carolina always felt that should an occasion arise where they needed his help they had in him a true friend and advocate.
He was truly of the aristocracy of the South. He held this rank because of his gentle birth, as well as his manly traits of character. In his veins mingled the blood of the Scotch-Irish, the Huguenot, and the Swiss people, blended to form a character possessed of modesty and gentleness, yet grand in heroic suffering and chivalric daring.
His paternal grandfather, Col. James Johnston, was an active patriot throughout the American Revolution, and one of the immortal heroes of the battle of Kings Mountain.
His maternal grandfather, Gen. Peter Forney, was like- wise a patriot and gallant soldier in the cause of Ameri- can freedom. His father was a French Huguenot and
[72]
Address of Mr. Webb, of North Carolina
his mother a Swiss. Gen. Forney served in both branches of his State legislature, represented his district in the Thirtieth Congress, and was a presidential elector on the Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson tickets.
With such an ancestry it is not strange that when the South took up arms in behalf of her independence he and his four brothers, Gen. Robert D., William H., Capt. James F., and Bartlett S. Johnston, entered the Con- federate service and were loyal and gallant soldiers.
When the war commenced Senator Johnston was at- tending high school at Talladega, Ala. He enlisted at the age of 18 in Company I, Eighteenth Alabama Regi- ment, April 21, 1861, as a private, and was mustered into service at Auburn in that State. This company was under the command of Capt. Mickle and was known as the Shelby Rifles. In the same year he was made orderly sergeant. He was in the Battle of Shiloh, and in the rear- guard fight at Iuka, where he was promoted to second lieutenant by Gen. Bragg. He had his right arm broken while in the Battle of Chickamauga. It is related of him that in that battle, while tying down under fire, a canteen some yards in front of him was repeatedly hit by bullets. He crawled out and, throwing it away, said, " That thing makes me nervous." He was with Gen. Bragg in his march to Kentucky and in the Battle of Perryville. He was transferred to the Army of Northern Virginia as aid-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Robert D. Johnston, his brother, and later appointed captain of Company A, Twelfth North Carolina Regiment.
A shell exploded over his head at the Battle of Spott- sylvania, causing him to bleed freely from the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and disabling him for duty for some time. He was with Gen. Early in all the fighting in the valley of Virginia until again wounded by a shell in the right ribs. He fell from his horse and was left on the
[73]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
field. Late in the night he regained consciousness and had the presence of mind to work the piece of shell out of his side and stop the flow of blood by the use of his handkerchief.
As evidence of his cool daring it is related that while he was in the fight in the Wilderness a shell plowed a furrow in front of where he was lying and he imme- diately crawled into the furrow. A soldier called to him to come back, but he calmly replied, " They can't hit here again."
He was again wounded by a shell, this time in the left side, at Hares Hall, on March 25, 1865. In this fight Gen. Robert D. Johnston fell and sprained his ankle; Capt. Nicholson was killed; and Capt. Hayne Davis, of Gen. Johnston's staff, lost his right arm.
After the war was over he and his companion, Maj. Burton, went to Alabama to bravely battle against the adverse conditions and to give their best efforts to the rebuilding of the South. When Senator Johnston started out for Alabama on his new task he carried with him a mule and an ambulance which he had brought back from the war. His less fortunate friend had only a mule. Senator Johnston stopped in Jacksonville and studied law under his first cousin, Gen. H. Forney. He sold the ambulance and mule, and from them obtained sufficient funds to live on until he was licensed to practice law. He then went to Selma, Ala., and worked in the law offices of Pettus & Harolson. After practicing with them for a short time he formed a partnership with R. M. Nelson. Soon after this he was elected chairman of the Democratic executive committee for the State, and con- ducted the reconstruction campaign in which Alabama was redeemed.
He was a delegate to the Chicago convention that nominated Mr. Cleveland for President. He was, how-
[74]
Address of Mr. Webb, of North Carolina
ever, a loyal supporter of Mr. Bayard to the finish. There were with him in this delegation seven of his cousins, who were also for Mr. Bayard. When the convention contest was on he was approached and virtually promised politi- cal control in Alabama if he would lead the delegation over to Mr. Cleveland, but his reply was that "I am for Bayard all the time."
He continued to live and practice law in Selma for about 18 years, after which time he moved to Birmingham and accepted the presidency of the Alabama National Bank. In 1896 and again in 1898 he was elected governor of the State of Alabama, serving four years.
In presenting this brief review of the life and achieve- ments of Senator Johnston, I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to my friends, Mr. A. Nixon, clerk of the Superior Court of Lincoln County, N. C, and Bartlett S. Johnston, a brother of the Senator, for many of the facts and incidents which I have related.
I have not spoken of his record while a Member of the United States Senate. This is still fresh in the minds of his associates, who have already spoken of it, and these utterances have found place in the permanent records of Congress.
Mr. Speaker, we may well repeat of this gallant, splen- did gentleman the words Mark Antony used, in Shake- speare's "Julius Caesar," after he had routed Brutus in battle. When Brutus, despondent, commanded his faith- ful servant Strato to kill him with his own sword, Mark Antony, coming upon him sitting against a tree, dead, halted his triumphant army and, amid perfect silence, pointing to the dead Brutus, said: "His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'This was a man.' "
[75]
Address of Mr. Taylor, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker : Joseph Forney Johnston was a rare man, adaptable, capable, successful.
His success in life came to him naturally through a long line of ancestors and associations, and he grew as a sturdy oak grows in the forest, because he had it in him and nothing could hinder or check his rising above his fellows, a leader because he was born that way.
Of his early boyhood I have heard little. He had early and good schooling, the best to be had in his day. He was educated beyond the school and had barely entered college life when war came, and the boy of 18 became a soldier and a good one. He could not help it. It was his nature to be thorough, and he acted up to his nature. Four wounds and many battles proved his cour- age and his capacity, and he left the service at the close of the war a captain, still little more than a boy in years. He studied law as he acted the soldier, and he studied to win, and won. He became a good lawyer, a business lawyer, a man of coolness, sagacity, and judgment. He was not a great lawyer, but ranked high in his profession. The life of an attorney was too slow for him. He gave it up and became a banker, and as a banker and business man of affairs he won his highest recognition in private life.
Joe Johnston, as he was familiarly known throughout the State of Alabama and almost throughout the South, was gifted with social virtues and accomplishments. He could and did hold his own in every gathering together of the people in his community. He was courteous,, gentle, attractive in his home life and among his friends
[76]
Address of Mr. Taylor, of Alabama
and acquaintances. He was a charming host, a fascinat- ing guest, ever welcome, and ever ready with wit and repartee to make an occasion better for his presence.
He was ambitious, as is every man of courage, intelli- gence, and energy. Naturally he entered political life, but not till success in business enabled him to do so with- out injustice to his family.
For many years his part in public life was active and effective work for his party in the State of his adoption, for he was born a North Carolinian and was proud of it. In the dark days of the South, through reconstruction and its horrors, no man stood more bravely at his post or did more unselfish and effective service than Senator Johnston. He was for a long time chairman of the Democratic executive committee of the State, and he did his work well and faithfully.
When he presented himself for office he did not suc- ceed at once. He was elected governor after he had failed three times to get the nomination.
But Capt. Johnston learned the battle of life under leaders who knew when to retreat and understood but would not accept defeat. So he tried again and suc- ceeded. He was twice governor of the State. His two administrations were stormy and he made many enemies and bitter ones, but the weight of opinion was and is that he was a good governor, an exceptionally good one, and added much to the history of Alabama that will be matter of pride to our people while time lasts.
I am persuaded to believe Gov. Johnston had for years the largest personal following of any public man in Alabama in his day.
He made friends easily and he held them, for he was loyal to his friends and fearless in the expression of his loyalty when necessity arose to claim evidence of it. It is not to be wondered at that Joe Johnston ended his
[77]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
career as man, citizen, and public officer as a twice elected Member of the United States Senate.
Senator Johnston was a member of the Episcopal Church. His attendance and attention to duty were the same as in business life — regular. He was a busy and a useful member, as prompt and punctual at services, vestry meetings, at general conventions and convocations, and as faithful as when he was a soldier in the ranks and under military discipline.
Again it was simply the nature of the man.
Few men have done so well with their lives as this distinguished gentleman, and fewer still have done better. A worthy life well spent and approved by his country- men, who loved him while living and will honor his memory forever.
In camp and court, in banking house, and at church his voice is hushed. He can not answer, but his record answers for him — " Present and accounted for."
[78]
Address of Mr. Burnett, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker: A little less than seven years ago we as- sembled in this Hall to pay tribute to the memory of Alabama's two distinguished Senators, Morgan and Pettus. They were men whose names were interlinked with the history of Alabama from its early days.
Almost their entire lives were devoted to their State, and they died holding the highest commissions of public trust that their people could place in their devoted hands.
When honor called them they unsheathed their swords for Alabama, and not until the Stars and Bars were furled forever did they quit the field of courageous duty. When they returned with heavy hearts to devastated homes and saddened people they set about to help inspire the hearts and restore the wrecked and ruined fortunes of sorrow- ing men and women.
To-day we meet again to pay tribute to the memories of two other Alabama heroes who " died in the harness " while laboring for the people who had honored them. Senator Joseph F. Johnston and Representative William Richardson, like Senators Morgan and Pettus, dedicated their long and useful lives to Alabama and her people. They were both my friends, and to the memory of both I ask to pay my humble tribute of respect.
Senator Johnston was a native of North Carolina — that grand old State that has given to Alabama many of the bravest and noblest of her sons. Through his veins flowed the blood of heroes of '76. He was a grandson of Col. James Johnston, of the Revolutionary Army, and the great-grandson of Gilbert Johnston, who on Cullo- den's field shed his blood in the cause of the Pretender.
[79]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
When a boy at school Senator Johnston heard the bugle call to arms, and from private to captain this brave boy in gray followed the varying fortunes of the " storm- cradled nation " till its sun went down forever amid the gloom of Appomattox. Four times wounded, this in- trepid young Confederate rose each time from the bed of suffering to unsheath his sword in behalf of a stainless flag and an honored cause.
Just before the war he came to Alabama and cast his lot with her people, in sunshine and shadow, till God called him, and then with devoted hands and solemn steps we laid him to rest amid her magnolias and her pines.
I first knew Senator Johnston when, as one of Ala- bama's chosen chiefs, he was called to lead her struggling people against the rule of the satrap and the carpetbagger, who were sapping the very heart blood of his people.
No leader was ever more fully trusted or more highly honored. As chairman of the State Democratic commit- tee he was one of those who helped to throw off the yoke of the oppressor and to redeem his State from the thrall- dom of those who sought to crush out a prostrate people.
He never sought any office except that of governor and United States Senator. In both these high stations he manifested the same industry and devotion to duty that characterized his life on the field and in the private walks of life.
He had a passion for work. In one of his campaigns for governor he wrote more than 5,000 letters with his own pen.
In 1906 he was nominated alternate Senator and on the death of Senator Pettus was elected by the legislature as his successor.
When the Democrats secured the majority in the Senate he was made chairman of the Committee on
[80]
Address of Mr. Burnett, of Alabama
Military Affairs and was assigned to several other im- portant committees.
In his career as Senator he was thoughtful of every detail of interest to his people. No little pension case or post-office matter was too small for his attention.
His humblest constituent was as dear to him as the greatest steel magnate in his State.
While he was a man of detail, he also had many of the elements of splendid statesmanship. Wherever duty pointed there his footsteps led him.
In one great case which came under his jurisdiction as Senator he knew that a decision one way might mean his defeat, and yet he believed that duty led that way, and with splendid courage he followed what he thought was right.
His fatal illness was only for a few days, and his col- leagues, with sad hearts and tear-dimmed eyes, listened with bated breath when the news was brought that Senator Johnston was no more.
I was one of those who attended his funeral, and from all over Alabama came the multitudes to mingle their tears with those of his beloved State.
When I saw this vast concourse that crowded the little church and thronged the streets I said, as was said of another, " Behold how they loved him."
He died as he had lived, " on the field of duty." He is gone, but " his deeds do follow him."
87633°— 15 6 [81]
Address of Mr. Austin, of Tennessee
Mr. Speaker: I first met the late Senator Johnston 25 years ago when he was the president of one of the lead- ing banks of Birmingham, Ala., and our second meeting was here in Washington after his election to the Senate and at the beginning of my service in this House in the Sixty-first Congress. During the last few months of his life we were thrown together daily, having our residence in the same apartment house. There not only grew up a close friendship between us, but the members of our fami- lies soon learned to love each other.
I had every opportunity to observe the official conduct of the Senator and can truthfully say I do not believe a more faithful, tireless worker ever served in either House of the American Congress. There seemed no limit to his power of endurance, of constant, ceaseless toil, not only for his immediate constituents, but for the country at large. Up to the very hour of his fatal sickness he was at work night and day. During the long extra session of this Congress he was in his seat in the Senate, not only during every day, but in attendance at every night session. He did not leave or do all of his work at the Capitol, but performed much of it at home. Considering his age and the vigorous, active life he had led, it was a marvel how much he would accomplish; how much hard and difficult work he could crowd into a day. He was so true to the interest of his people, so conscientious in the performance of his duties, so anxious to continue to the end his splen- did record as a faithful public servant that he let no opportunity pass to do good; to accomplish results; to advance and promote the interest of his beloved State and
[82]
Address of Mr. Austin, of Tennessee
Nation. He was not only a constant, endless worker, but he possessed that rare virtue of always having the cour- age of his convictions. He was not a trimmer; he never dodged; he hated hypocrisy; and had no patience with the demagogue.
He had high and lofty ideals of his duties and responsi- bilities, and hence he lived the life of an honorable, worthy, patriotic statesman. He was not only loyal and faithful to the State and Nation he served so well, but he was true and devoted to the countless thousands of friends who stood by him in all of his contests before the people of Alabama.
I never knew a more considerate, loving husband — so full of gentleness, tenderness, and sweetness for his thoughtful, devoted wife. This kind and genial man, warm and generous friend, devoted husband and indul- gent father, fair and manly opponent, incorruptible and courageous public servant, was a martyr to duty, to the people's cause. Finally, weary, tired out, overworked, and exhausted, "God touched him, and he fell asleep."
Tennessee joins Alabama in paying a just and loving tribute to her fallen leader, her brave and gallant Con- federate soldier, her wise and progressive governor, her efficient and faithful Senator.
[83]
Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker: Again the flag on the Capitol has stood at half-mast. Another Member of the national official family has gone. A desk in the Senate Chamber has been covered with flowers. A United States Senator is dead. Alabama heard with profound sorrow of the death of Senator Joseph F. Johnston, and she mourns the loss of a devoted, able, and honored son. He gave the best years of his young manhood in battle for his State and he spilt his blood in the settlement of the great ques- tion that determined finally and forever the indisputable status of the Union.
When the war was over he returned to Alabama and there reconsecrated his heart, his strength, and his all to the highest and best interests of his State. Mr. Speaker, in reconstruction times he was a terror to the vandal horde that came into Alabama to incite the ne- groes and to plunder our people, and no one did more than he to protect our women from the lust and carnality of the brutes in our midst and to drive out the scalawags and carpetbaggers and to give back home rule and self- government to the State that he loved. He helped to bring his beloved Commonwealth back into cordial rela- tionship with her sisters in the great household of sov- ereign States. He was honored and loved by our people. They called him to the high office of governor in the State of Alabama, and in that responsible and exalted position he reflected great credit upon himself and the people of the State.
He brought about many substantial and helpful reforms in the civic conduct of the State, and his administration was a distinct blessing to the people of Alabama.
[84]
Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker, he lived to see a man born in the South elected Chief Executive of the Nation, and the people of Alabama, having honored him with a seat in the United States Senate, it was his proud privilege to serve in that august body when a southern-born Democrat sat in the White House as President of the United States.
His was a unique and splendid career, full of faithful service and distinguished honors, and he died highly es- teemed by his associates in the Senate and greatly loved and honored by the people of his State.
[85]
Address of Mr. Abercrombie, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker: We have assembled to-day for the pur- pose of paying tribute to the lives and characters of two of Alabama's most distinguished citizens, two of the Nation's most faithful servants — former United States Senator Joseph Forney Johnston and former Representa- tive William Richardson.
While I enjoyed the privilege of a personal acquaint- ance with each of them, while I held them in equal esteem, and while I purpose to pay a tribute to each, I will be pardoned if, on account of my longer and more intimate acquaintance with him, I should speak at some- what greater length of Senator Johnston. During his incumbency as governor of Alabama I had the honor of being a State officer, a quasi member of his cabinet, and in that capacity had an unusual opportunity to observe his habits, to study his methods, and to appraise his character,
Senator Johnston was born in the State of North Caro- lina March 23, 1843, and was the son of Dr. William and Nancy (Forney) Johnston. He died in the city of Wash- ington on the 8th day of Augusts 1913, having attained to the age of 70 years 4 months and 15 days. His funeral was one of the most largely attended that ever occurred in Alabama, so universally beloved was he by his people.
In the days of his youth educational advantages were meager and beyond the reach of most people, but not- withstanding those limitations and the exigencies of war that called him from the schoolroom while yet in his teens, he possessed a highly cultivated mind. He was a well-educated man, though he never attended college or
[86]
Address of Mr. Abercrombie, of Alabama
university. In this time of schools, colleges, universities, libraries, newspapers, and other educational agencies, it is difficult for us to appreciate the obstacles to learning that beset the youth of that day. Only the most indom- itable could overcome them. He belonged to that type. Indeed, for tenacity of purpose he was equaled by few, surpassed by none. Once formed, he never abandoned a purpose except in response to the dictates of reason and conscience.
When 18 years of age, responding to the call of duty as he interpreted it, as did tens of thousands of other young Southerners, he withdrew from the high school in which he was a student and enlisted as a private in the Army of the Confederate States of America. He served faithfully and gallantly throughout that mighty struggle, participated in a number of battles, received four wounds, and was promoted to the rank of captain. When the tremendous contest was over, regarding the issue as a closed matter, accepting the result philosophically, he joined his fellows in the task of rehabilitating the South- land, and for the remainder of his eventful life wrought heroically and effectively in that stupendous undertaking.
After reading law at Jacksonville, Ala., in the office of his kinsman, Gen. William Henry Forney, who was sub- sequently a distinguished Member of this body, he located at Selma, in that State, where he pursued his profession from 1866 to 1884, a period of 17 years. At the bar, as in the army and elsewhere, he was successful. A man of his capacity, diligence, determination, and straightfor- wardness always succeeds.
As is the case with most successful lawyers Senator Johnston was a good business man, and in 1884 he re- moved from Selma to Birmingham, where for the next 10 years he was president of the Alabama National Bank. He was one of the organizers and the first president of
[87]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
the Sloss Iron & Steel Co., a pioneer in the development of the Birmingham district, and many of the most suc- cessful business and industrial enterprises of that re- markable district are due to his initiative, foresight, and leadership. He was a born leader, and was equally at home as soldier, lawyer, financier, and statesman.
During the exciting, troublesome, and cruel times of the reconstruction era, when the crushed and unhappy Southland was experiencing a perfect nightmare of hu- miliation, injustice, and horror, Senator Johnston was a wise, fearless, and efficient leader of his people, and in his capacity as chairman of the State Democratic execu- tive committee of Alabama was influential in the ulti- mately successful struggle for the reestablishment of white supremacy in the Southern States. It was largely through his efforts that the white people of Alabama regained control of the State government, and it was but natural, therefore, that they honored him with every public office to which he aspired.
He was elected governor of Alabama in 1896 and again in 1898. His administration began during the great and widespread financial and industrial depression of that period, and was characterized by the highest types of ability, courage, and patriotism. Taxes were more nearly equalized, schools were promoted, economies were inau- gurated, business and industry were encouraged, laws were vigorously enforced, and the State entered upon an era of progress and prosperity. While some of his poli- cies were assailed by political opponents, all now con- cede that his administration as governor was able, pa- triotic, and efficient.
In August, 1907, he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired portion of the term of former Senator Edmund Winston Pettus, who died while in office. He was reelected for the term ending in March,
[88]
Address of Mr. Abercrombie, of Alabama
1915. As a Member of the Senate he soon won the con- fidence and esteem of his colleagues, and was noted for his energy, breadth of view, cheerfulness, and devotion to duty. Indeed, it is a matter of common knowledge among his colaborers in Congress, especially among members of his own State delegation, that his death was hastened by close application to arduous duties incident to the frequent and continued sessions of Congress after he became a Member of the Senate. His colleagues urged him to take a rest, but he refused to do so and went down at the post of duty. When his death was an- nounced, a distinguished member of the Alabama dele- gation truthfully said of Senator Johnston, " He was a victim of his devotion to public duty."
With all of his varied activities in secular affairs, in each of which he was signally successful, he did not neglect the spiritual side of his nature. He was long a communicant of the church of his choice, the Episcopal Church, and he displayed there the same elements of popularity and leadership that characterized him in secular life. His church conferred many honors upon him, and I have never witnessed so beautiful a testi- monial as that incident to his funeral, which I had the honor of attending. The entire city of Birmingham seemed to be in mourning, and every portion of Alabama was represented.
Like most other men of great achievement, Senator Johnston was in large measure the architect of his own fortune. He began at the bottom; he ended at the top. In both private and public life he was wedded to high ideals, and no man was ever more tenacious in the advocacy of the principles for which he stood. A more determined, a more courageous, a more conscientious, a more patriotic man I never knew, and I had opportunity to know him in many trying conditions. But with all of
[89]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
his tenacity and firmness I never knew him to cease to smile. He was cheerful under all circumstances. In- deed, cheerfulness was one of his most striking char- acteristics, and fortunate is the man who can smile.
Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.
A man's character is measured by his ethical standards. Senator Johnston's code of ethics is reflected in the fol- lowing quotation from the speech which he delivered in the Senate on the occasion of the death of his illustrious predecessor:
It seems to me, Mr. President, that a man who nurses an injury and prides himself on relentlessly pursuing an enemy may be an able man, but can never be either a great or a good man. * * * A man who steels himself against forgiveness and goes through life with resentment in his heart will never command the admira- tion of his people or deserve their leadership. How much nobler it is to have it recorded of a man that he loved his friends and conquered his enemies by the generosity of his disposition.
Alabama has sent many able men to the Senate of the United States. In the years to come she may send many other able men to that august body, but she will never commission for that high service a man of more stainless honor, of more incorruptible character, of more un- wavering courage, of more stalwart patriotism than was Joseph Forney Johnston.
[90]
Address of Mr. Mulkey, of Alabama
Mr. Speaker: We have met to-day in this Hall to pay tribute to the memory of two great American statesmen, patriots, and Christians. Both were an honor to the Nation and to their State, and of whom it may truly be said that the world is better by their having lived.
I did not have the pleasure of knowing, personally, Congressman Richardson, and I shall leave the eulogy upon him to be pronounced by others, but I do not affect to be ignorant of his exalted character, of his achieve- ments in public life, and of his devotion to duty. I shall speak to-day with reference to the late Senator Johnston, whose personal and intimate acquaintanceship it was my privilege to form.
Senator Johnston, a North Carolinian by birth, was a descendant of the Johnstons, a Scotch-Irish family which emigrated to America after the battle of Culloden and settled in North Carolina, and of the Forneys, a Huguenot family which left Lorraine at the time of the religious persecutions.
His grandfather, Gilbert Johnston, with the latter's father, also bearing the name of Gilbert Johnston, resi- dents of Anandale, were devoted followers of Prince Charlie in all of the vicissitudes of the Pretender after the Battle of Culloden, in which both participated. Both father and son were compelled by the royalists to flee from Scotland. They stopped for a time in Ireland and then came to North Carolina, where a brother of the elder Gilbert Johnston was the royalist governor of that province. The elder Gilbert Johnston was outlawed by the Crown for his adherence to the cause of the Pre-
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tender, and, although he was protected by his brother, the governor, he was unable to hold property in his own name on account of the law of escheat, which would have forfeited his holdings to the Crown.
His grandson, James Johnston, was a colonel of the Revolutionary forces, and he, in turn, was the grand- father of Joseph F. Johnston.
Joseph F. Johnston was attending a military school for boys in Alabama at the time of the secession of the Southern States. His brothers, some of whom had grad- uated and some of whom were in attendance at the Uni- versity of North Carolina, all enlisted; and Joseph F. Johnston also enlisted, at the age of 17, in the Eighteenth Alabama Regiment. On the promotion of his elder brother, Robert D. Johnston, to the rank of brigadier general for repeated acts of gallantry in the field, Joseph F. Johnston, who at that time held a lieutenancy, was transferred to the Twelfth North Carolina Regiment and became a captain upon the staff of his brother, Gen. R. D. Johnston.
Capt. Johnston was wounded four times during the Civil War, and in the fighting near Winchester a shrapnel exploded and a fragment of the shell passed entirely through his chest, so seriously wounding him that he made his way with great difficulty to his home in North Carolina, where he finally recovered from the wound and rejoined his regiment before the close of the war.
The family was of course impoverished, their available resources having been invested in securities of the Con- federate Government. His father had died some years before the war, and the product of the plantation owned by his mother was barely sufficient to support the mother and his two sisters. The family resources were further taxed in order to enable his elder brothers, Robert D. Johnston and William H. Johnston, to complete courses
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Address of Mr. Mulkey, of Alabama
at the law school of the University of Virginia and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, respec- tively. Joseph F. Johnston was accordingly compelled to begin life with a total cash capital consisting of a mule and wagon and a box of tobacco, with which he set out for Jacksonville, Ala., where he began the study of law in the office of his cousin, William H. Forney, who had been a major general in the Confederate service and who for many years represented his district in the Congress of the United States.
After having been admitted to the bar Capt. Johnston moved to Selma, in Dallas County, the home of John T. Morgan and Edmund W. Pettus. He was at first asso- ciated in the office of Brooks, Haralson & Roy, and subse- quently, during his residence in Selma, practiced law with Col. W. R. Nelson and with John P. Tillman. He moved to Birmingham in 1884, at the instance of clients who had become interested in the Birmingham district and induced Capt. Johnston to retire from the practice of law and organize the Alabama State Bank, afterwards the Alabama National Bank. In Birmingham he early identified himself with the industrial development of that city and district, becoming president of the Sloss Iron & Steel Co.
In the days of reconstruction Capt. Johnston was un- sparing in his efforts to restore normal conditions. The dangers and burden of the civil strife which beset the people of Alabama at that time, and particularly in those counties in which the recently freed blacks were largely in the majority, were no less acute than those of actual war, and for his consistent and patient service in this respect Capt. Johnston had become a member of the State Democratic executive committee and was serving as chairman of that committee in 1874 when the election by the Democrats of George S. Houston as governor put
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an end to the intolerable regime of the carpetbaggers in Alabama. Feeling that his militant service of his State and people, beginning with four years of civil war and ending with nine years of no less tempestuous political turmoil, had for a time discharged his public obligations in that connection, he devoted his attention to the prac- tice of law and, on moving to Birmingham, to the de- velopment of that city and district.
The experiences of Capt. Johnston and his associates during reconstruction days constitute the most pro- foundly interesting pages in the history of Alabama, and it is unfortunate that complete annals of that turbulent period have not been made available for the historian of the future.
It is quite proper that we should meet on occasions like this and, in a feeble way, rehearse the character of great men. It is fitting not only because it shows our appre- ciation of their lives and services to their country, but is high evidence that as a Nation we cherish the memory of those whose judgments have guided us and aided materially in producing that happiness and prosperity and good fellowship so universally enjoyed by us. More- over, by it we teach future generations the value of great lives and the importance of a cultivation of their ideals. I would not want to live in a country which would not honor its patriotic dead. Failure in this regard is the surest sign of national decay.
The erection of statues and monuments to the dis- tinguished dead, and the commemoration of their lives and proclaiming their virtues, must of necessity impress those who are to follow, and upon whose shoulders shall rest the great responsibility of guiding this Nation to its final high destiny, with the idea that no nation can long endure whose guiding hand is without virtue, character, or patriotism.
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Address of Mr. Mulkey, of Alabama
It is our duty to transmit to future generations the vir- tues of our illustrious men, not so much merely to keep these men alive in their memories, but that their ex- amples may be emulated and their high ideals adopted.
No one need be alarmed as to the final destiny of this Republic as long as we, as a Nation, delight to extol the virtues of our truly great men. From it we are inspired by patriotic impulses and press forward with more deter- mined zeal to reach that high mark in whose direction their own strong efforts were aimed.
Senator Johnston is dead. He died as he lived, in the service of his country. He felt a deep interest in the progress of mankind. He directed his talent to their ele- vation and increased happiness at all times, forgetting himself, or rather unconscious of himself. He was wholly unselfish and always solicitous and considerate of the welfare of others. He never did any act, knowingly, which was calculated to deceive or injure others. He was incapable of it. He was delighted most when he was doing something for the comfort and well-being of his fellow man. The ends at which he aimed, both in public and private life, were his country's and his God's. He was a godly man, the first great essential to wisdom. As a soldier in the unhappy struggle of 1861, he never fal- tered in what he conceived to be his duty, and came from the battle field to a desolate home, honored by his people for his courage, bravery, and fidelity to the cause he so valiantly espoused. When the smoke of battle cleared away and the burning issue which had divided the two sections of our country had been settled by the sword, he took steps to aid in the rescue of Alabama from mis- rule and to elevate her to that station among the States of the Union to which she was entitled.
As governor of Alabama he distinguished himself in many ways. His administration of affairs was noted by
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an era of prosperity in that State without parallel or precedent. He urged many reforms, and his ideas were adopted into statutory laws.
It would not be appropriate here to detail his great work as governor of the State. He set an example of economy and honesty in every department of the State which has resulted in its betterment. Through him the convict system was placed upon a more humane basis; reform schools were adopted; curtailment of child labor in our factories provided for; a more symmetrical sys- tem of taxation inaugurated; a system of rigid examina- tions of public officials and of their books and accounts enacted; and, in fine, the interest of the people carefully and scrupulously guarded. He was a very popular gov- ernor, though, of course, as all men in public life, he had his political enemies. But they respected, though they feared him. The people of his State appreciated his extraordinary talents and powers displayed in the Senate of the United States. Here he shone as a particularly bright star. He was a constructive statesman and yielded his convictions to no man. In casting his vote he did not stop to inquire whether he was with the majority or minority. He voted, spoke, and acted from the dictation of his own conscience, and not from the viewpoint of policy or of the demagogue. He did not have to explain his votes and position on public questions to the people of Alabama. We understood him and knew that his chief joy was in his country's good.
At the time of his death he was a candidate for re- election to the Senate. No one seriously doubted that he would be elected. Almost everybody in every walk of life was his friend. How could they have been other- wise? Every public act of his was in sympathy with their needs
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Address of Mr. Mulkey, of Alabama
But he met the common fate of men. He has passed from this world. Though no more, yet his character, his notable achievements, and his public spirit will never die. They will endure as long as time itself. He was true to himself, and it followed, as night the day, that he could not be false to others. But, sir, his great work may go on; his great mind may be engaged in the amelioration of mankind. Of the future life but little is known. It is shrouded in mystery and doubt. We all dread to meet it, because we do not know with certainty what it is. We think, we imagine, we often suit it to our own conditions, yet none of us are satisfied with our own diagnosis.
But whatever may be our doubts and fears, who would or could deny that the great mind of Senator Johnston did not die with him, but that it has gone to a happier and better world, there to inspire, improve, and advance in a greater degree than ever before the general condition of mankind, and who doubts that he is now exalting other nations and peoples to a higher degree of right- eousness?
Senator Johnston was a Democrat of the old school. He was eminently safe and sane. He did not seize every political heresy sweeping over the country and nurture it in order to advance his own political fortunes. He stood for the Constitution and sound government. He was not swept off his feet, nor was his judgment dis- turbed by the vaporings of either the demagogue or the alarmist. He was not afraid of the arguments of political revolutionists as long as reason was left free to combat them. Senator Johnston did not live in vain; his life tended to make the world richer and better; his examples may well be emulated and his character and integrity serve as a model for all. I repeat, he died as he had lived, in the service of his country, and the sky upon which he closed his eye was cloudless.
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Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
adjournment
Then, in accordance with the resolution heretofore adopted, at 2 o'clock and 22 minutes p. m., the House adjourned until to-morrow, Monday, February 1, 1915, at 12 o'clock noon.
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