Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-29
MARQUETTE STATUE.
Speeches on Its Acceptance Made
in the Senate.
TRIBUTES PAID TO THE EXPLORER
Mr.. Dockery's Plan for Economy
in the House.
MR.. DIN REPLY

MIR DIN GLEY' REPLY
The naval bill was temporarily laid aside
in the Senate today to consider the accept
ance of the statue of Pere Marquette, pre-
sented by the state of Wisconsin, and now
in Statuary hall. At the outset Mr.. Palmer
Qll) presented a resolution expressing the
thanks of Congress to Wisconsin for this
statue CT the renowned explorer and dis
coverer of the Mississippi river" and formal
ly accepting the gift.
Mr.. Mitchell (Wis) was then recognized
for speech recountiag the services of Mar
qrette among the Indians of the northwest.
Mr. MitchelI's Estimate.
After tracing the explorations of Mar
quette, Mr.. Mitchell summed up his char
acter, as follows:
He was Jesuit, it is true. Whatever
faults the Jesuits of those days may have
had were peculiar to their time. The Puri
tans, Tor instance, were every whit MS
blgoted as they. Their conduct in OtheN
countries is not in question here. In North
America they stand the transcendent heroes
in the advancing army of civilization. AS
explorers, they pushed into the cruel wilder
ness. tnfalteringly, seif-devotedly, far to
the front, where others followed with cal
cula ting circumSpection.
But the qualities of priest and CT Jesuit
had no part in determining Wiscor sins
choice of Marquette for the honors of
statuary hall. His pure and sain:like life,
his writings and his fame as the explorer of
the Mississippi controlled the selection. He
was the first white man to traverse our ter
r1tory and write d description of it. He was
the first to map out our confines He gave
a name to the river after which our state is
called On our soil he planned his voyage
of discovery From Cur borders he first
he W 3tarS of no ciS
slppi. Marquette is the one great historic
character identified with our state Wis
consin has developed many notable men.
They are the men of YESTERDAY who NAV
seem great today, but tomorrow their names
will be lost in obscurity. Not so with Mar
quette. On the pages of history his name
Will shine the brighter as time goes on
MIR. kyle's Tribute.
Mr.. Kyle Is. d. followed in tribute to
Marquette.
Senator Kyle sketched briefly the life of
Marquette and of his travels in the north
west and west. HIS mission was to carry
tie gospel to a heather people; yet he
rendered a great service to our country as
pioneer of civilization.
ITO such men our nation rghtfully does
honor Marquette stands for a great class
OF Christian missionaries who have led the
vanguard of explorers into the unknown
parts of the earth. From the time St.
Boniface carried the gospel to Germany in
of the north, to Scandinavia until now,
when missionaries of all denomina tons are
penetrating the jungles of Africa, the
church has been foremost in discovery and
has rendered untold services to civilization.
Time would not permit, Mr.. President, to
enumerate the missionaries of the church,
both Catholic and Protestant, who have laid
the world under obligations for their val
liable discoveries Thus the church has
added greatly to the geographic and scien-
t!fic knowledge of the world. To this great
class of discoveries belongs James Mar
quette. He was sanity in character, I'M
selfish in his purposes and untring in his
efforts to bring the message OF sladness to
darkest civilization. How striking the con-
trast between this man and De Soto and
scores of explorers whose ambition was
gold. AS many of his predecessors had
done, Marquette gave his life for those he
loved Marquette's life is beautiful in self
sacrifice. His discovery ranks along the
foremost and most important on the con-
t!rent, and it is to Marquette the explorer
that we do honor at this time. Though a
simple missionary Of the cross, and without
a possession in the world, his name is writ
ten beside those of De Soto, Balboa. Car
ter Joliet and others who are enrolled in
the historic annals Of our country
Mr.. Palmer Ill) added another tribute
to Marquette, saying Wisconsin could not
have chosen better type of nobility and
Palmer said he did not assent to the tenets
of Roman Catholicis m, yet he would not
permit the garb of a priest to hide the no
bility of character behind it.
MIR. Villas Eulosy.
Mr.. Villas (Wis) followed in support of
the resolution and in eulogy of Marquette.
He sketcbed the history of the mission
ary's work and the development of the
state of Wisconsin. and closed as follows:
1.-THE sta te of Wisconsin, now common
wealth of two million freemen, rejoicing In
prosperity and happiness on the soil Mar
quette trod so long ago, in raising this
stone in the nations hall of statuary, does
not merely celebrate a name illustrious for
historic renown, a character whose excel
lence is worthy Of perpetual remembrance.
1t means still more; that 1t shall stand
there a testimony and monument to
principle Of our social order of the utmost
value TO mankind-the principle Of religious
liberty. Human Intelligence and reason all
the history of the world, teach no more
useful and impressive lesson than is en-
bodied I' that fundamental rule which
draws an absolute and impossible line be-
tween the affairs of state and the affairs
of religion, and denies to social law all
right or jurisdiction to transcend it. On
one side is the citizen, component Of and
subject to the. state, charged with Its du-
ties, obedient to the laws within it's sphere
Across 1t is the man, the creature of AL
mighty God, His worshper, his subject,
amenable there to his law and no other.
In that domain man is entitled to enjoy all
checked, unrestricted by I is fellows in the
state. There he stands lighted and led by
his ov n conscience. Thither no human law
can follow him.
"And therefore 1t is that this statue OF
James Marquette will stand as a monu-
ment and emblem of religious liberty. The
noble right to honor and remembrance
among men, which the legislature of Wis
consin and the Congress of the United
States have declared his, he is not de-
MED. 1t is sacredly preserved. This statue
is raised to him in no token of his religion,
inscription of honor to his creed, his
opinions. 1t invites no special countenance
from the adherents OF any church or creed.
Regardless of all these neither with favor
nor disfavor to any, this statue, a repro
duction of him as in life he was, stands to
the honor OF the discoverer and the man,
the testimonial of people who rejoice in
the brother hood of man, who love liberty
and who guide their conduct by Its precepts
without shade of fear.
mo state in all this Union can more
worthiy, more hororably, support this at
ttude in the presence of the nation and
mankind thar the state of Wisconsin
There is composite citizenship which
mingles the blood of all the civilized peo-
pie on the eartn. Around their altars gath
er the faithful servants of God in many
and various forms, Of many diverse
churches Sects and creedS Topather thav