MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
ON THE
LIFE AND CHARACTER
Joseph Forney Johnston
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Form No. A-369
HON. JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON
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.
[61]
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.
[67]
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-
[91]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
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
[92]
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
[93]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
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.
[94]
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
[95]
Memorial Addresses: Senator Johnston
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
[96]
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.
87633°— 15 7 [97]
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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