Date: 1986-08-11
Speaker: BENJAMIN L. HOOKS (republican)
Chamber: S

Charles MCC. Mathias stands as a towering. illuminous and powerful personality in the midst of the worlds greatest deliberative body. the United States Senate. As Executive Director of the NAACP and Chairman of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. an organization of more than 165 civil rights groups. I can tell you that Senator Mathias has been there when we needed him. We could not only count him. we could count on him. He has stood tall and acted with compassion and concern. As he leaves the Senate. I thank God that he is not leaving his dedication and devotion to the democratic process and the concept of equal justice under the law for all Americans. We salute and felicitate him and wish him many more years of constructive and useful life. Tonight I say. "Thank God for this Senator and may his tribe increase. and may his brand of Republicanism spread and grow until it shall become the credo for all America." I am glad to be here on this occasion. As a black man I have felt the slings and arrows of outrageous segregation. yve sat on the back of the bus. the front of the train and the third balcony of the movie theatre. and yet through pains and tears I always kept the faith that one day A.-merica would redeem Its promise made many years ago in the Declaration of Independence that all of us were created equal. Thanks to people like Senator Mac Mathias. we have begun that process and we are well on the way. And I believe that with your support and hk continued guidance and help we shall one day reach that land where all of us could say. "Oh Beautiful for spv.clois skies. for amber waves of grain. for purple mcuntains majesty above the fruited plain. America. America God shed His grace on thee." And now. let us go out and. "Crown that good with sisterhood and brotherhood from sea to shining sea." JIM ROUSE. Over here at microphone number six is a great leader of the Senate. who came to the House of Representatives with Mac in 1961.and to the Senate In 1969 together. the Majority Leader of the Senate. best known as the husband of the Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole: Senator Robert Dole. Senator RoBaaT DOLE. Senators only speak now on television. so I am waiting for the set. but we are there (on TV) because of Mac Mathias. (That is) another rrea that many pebple may no. give Mac credit for. but it has been Macs insistence along with Senator Bakers over the years to bring us into the twentieth century. As Jim indicated. I am the only one in this room who served everyday. every week. every month. every year with Mac Mathias in the Congress. We were both elected in 1960. Maryland and Kansas. we both moved to the Senate. we say the Lpper body. some say were promoted. some said goodbye. But in any event. Mac and I have known each other for a long. long time and weve been friends. and we understand one another. When I go to Mac I say. "Mac. can you help me on this one?" and he says. "No." And we understand one another. But I dont give up. I go back on the next day and say. "Mac. can you help me on this one?" and he says. "Yes." Thats really what it Is all about. I am very proud of Mac Mathias. my friend. and a Republican member of the United States Senate. We have been trying to urge Mac to delay this farewell party. We promised him a bigger crowd in 1992. We did everything we could think of to change Macs mind. I guess maybe he witnessed what I witnessed in my state recently. this is a tough year to run for reelection. I was in Kansas only last week and on the front row there were four farmers seated in this little town meeting and they all had baseball caps on. Across the top of the cap. there were two words "Dump Dole". Well. I put them down as undecided. But this is a very tough year. It is one of those years in politics where it is going to be very exciting. We are going to miss Mac Mathias. I want to say on behalf of all of my colleaguesand there may be others of my colleagues speaking tonightin both parties because Mac has reached across both parties over the years. he has set an example for many of us in the area of civil rights. as Ben Hooks just alluded to. He has been a leader in many. many areas. but above all he has been our friend. I know of no better Senator than Mac Mathias. I have known of no one who could be more convincing on the Senate floor than Mac Mathias. I know of no one who can make his point in less time on the Senate floor. and believe me that is appreciated. So I will say to this audience. many of you who have grown up with Mac. and support Mac. Republicans and Democrats and Independents. and maybe even one or two that stole into the wrong meeting. Were very pleased to be here. were pleased to salute Mac and Ann from my state. from all of the states of Anerica. Thank You. Jim RousE. Thank you Bob Dole. And now a senator who is blessed with a special heritage. which we share as Eastern Shoremen. and for those of you from outside the state. you better ask. because its very important in Maryland. He speaks for the Maryland Delegation in Congress. hes a good friend of Macs and hes a leader of remarkable unity of Democrats and Republicans in the House an the Senate. Senator Paul Sarbanes. Senator PAUL S. SARBANES. I know I speak for my coileagues in the Maryland Delegation. and indeed for my colleagues In the Senate and the House. when I say it has been a honor to work with Mac Mathias and to be his colleague and his friend. Mac is a leader of Integrity and intellect. of courage and compassion. for whom we all have the deepest respect and admiration. For more than 30 years in public service at the local. state and federal levels. Mac has been steadfast n his commitment to the vision of our Founding Fathers. to the principles of our Constitution. and to the wellbeing of all our people. His eloquent advocacy of humane values. his deep belief in the words Inscribed above the Supreme Court. "equal justice under law". have elevated our national life and made a singular contribution to a just and decent society. Macs politics have been marked by a civility and grace which enoble our national life and drive from the political scene the mean and the petty. Maryland and the nation have indeed been fortunate to have a man of Macs quality in public office. Christine and I are delighted to join all of you in this salute to Mac and to Ann. whose strength of conviction and kindness we also deeply treasure. Thank you. JIM RouFE. Thank you. Paul. And now the daughter o a Republican nominee for president. first woman to be elected in her own right to the Senate. who sits with Mac on the Foreign Relations Committee. and lives by him very closely in the Russell Building as a neighbor in the Senate: Nancy Kassebaum. The Honorable NANCY L. KASSEBAUM. Mac. now that you have chosen fulltime farming instead of another term in the Senate. you have only confirmed what I have believed your qualities as colleague to have always been: wise and discriminating. You have debated the issues of the day with measured purpose and a twinkle in your eye. separating the wheat from the chaff. I have tended to believe this Is because the measured purpose stems from a great love. respect and a keen appreciation for history and for the land. You will be sorely missed. by all of us. you and your old blue car. but your presence will be there always as a guide for future generations of lawmakers. With best wishes for you and Ann in your new challenges and adventures. JiM RoUsE:. Thank you. Senator Kassebaum. And now were going to have a special intervention in the program tonight. not planned. but It has come upon some of us as being just right. Any of you who dont have wine in your glasses. and can find it at your tables. pour yourself a bit because were going to have a toast. As a very special and honored guest tonight. theres a person who honors Mac very specially just by being here. He comes as a matter of national sacrifice. while his staff and faraLy stay in the embassy of their country to celebrate an important national holiday with important national significance to them. The Ambassador from France comes to u7 tonight on Bastille Day to give a toamt to whomever and however he chooses: Ambassiador de Mrrgerie. AmBASS AOR E:wciuE: . 31.o. us. This is indeed Bastille Day fcr as. tanilht. as the bard kindly rememt. red a moment ago. I reall- ought not be here at a. I on7u1.t ti be celebrating in Wa3k!rgton -tb the French war veterans. But how could one not be hee tonight. whcr. the ce:c:.:. e cn to cetbrate a great man. a mnn to whom so rmuny ambassadoni. and I among iLm in Washington. have turncd to gft wisdom and good advice. A man whom we ae asked to unravel the comple:dtirs of a political situation which he tried to understand. A man wiom we ask to show us what the ways of the world are In the officlal dome of the Capitol of the United States. A ann who cot:d judge events beth from a lofty point of v!ew and with a great good common sense. So this is why I am here tonight. this is why I am coming to pay my respects to someone who has caused us to admire even more your great institution. and this is why I am sure that the French veterans in Washington are forgivng me for not being with them because I am celebrating Mac Mathias. United States Senator. Mac. to your health! A toast. J.-x RoUsE. And a toast to you. Emmanuel de Margerie fcr being here with us tonight. For 20 years there has been a great statesman In the struggle to control militarism. the negotiator of SALT I. head of the national arms control and disarmament agency. and a close friend of Mac Mathias: GCrard C. Smith. The Honorable GERARD C. SmirH. There are many notable public figures who pay lip service to the importance of bringing some control over nuclear weapons. But Mac Mathias is one of the few that I have known over the years who has tried to do something about it. He has introduced a resolution which has been passed by the Senate to stop all nuclear testing. A similar resolution has been passed by the House. We are facing a great dilemma in this country as to whether. and how far. we should go in trying to mount strategic defenses. I think Mac Mathias. without being against or in any way cubjective about it. has generated an area. an arena of feeIng of prudence about this. which I share. and so I would soy for all of these in this country who would like to escape from the thralldom of nuclear weapons. we tfhant you very much. Mac. Keep It up. JnK Rousz. Thank you. s! . Formerly an exe.cutive director of the American Civil IAberties Union. a lawyer. and now .iLepresident of the Harvard Corpo2-.t1:: John S:attuck. Jos SHArrucu. Trying to crapture in a few moments what Mac Matidia3 has meant to the defense of civ.l lPtl-!ss f3r the last three decades. is a little like trying to speedread through a contemuorary history of the Bill of Rights. I woul. hazmrd ta gni that Mae Mathias knows tLe tuth ti..t H. L. Mencken to!d another Baltimore audience many years ago. He &add. "The t:ouble abeut fighting for human freedom is that you have to spend much of your life defendIng the unpopular. for oppressive laws are always aimed at them first. and oppression must be stopped in the beginning if it is to be stopped at all." Thats a very tough calling for a U.S. Senator. In defending freedom. Mac Mathias has been the kind of leader Edmund Burke aspired to be two centuries ago. the kind of leader Burke was talking about when he told his Bristol consitutents in 1774. "Your representative owes you not his industry only. but his independent Judgment. for he betrays. instead of serving you. if he sacrifices his judgment to your opinion." There are countless examples of what Mac Mathias has done for civil liberties. Let me cite just one because It encompasses them all. For three years. from 1981 to 1983 he was at the forefront of the defense of federal courts against efforts in the Congress to strip of their jurisdiction over certain unpopular constitutional Issues. He sumnied up hat was at stake at the beginning of that great debate which occupied the greater part of two years in the Congress when he asked the Senate on June 18. 1981. if we were to deprive the federal courts of jurisdiction over one constitutional issue. would it not then be possible to vitiate the entire Bill of Rights on which our country was founded. Later that month. Mae Mathias thanked another Senator for joining him in the debate. And what he said captured the kind of man he is far better than anything further I could say about about him. Let me tell you what Mac Mathias had to say about a fellow senator on July 8. 1981: "Mr. PrMIdent. I have taken great heart in the Senators statement. I take great confidence from the fact that he stands shouldertoshoulder with me. That is not a question of physical size. We are dealing here with a matter of principle. a matter of philosophy. a matter of very basic national policy and the stature of people that engage in this battle will not be measured by feet and inchzes but by the breath of their concepts. That does not exclude people on either side of this debate. because there will be room. not only room but alo demand for very clear understanding of the constitutional principles. It is in that realm of dimension that I know senators will be engaging in this battle." Senator Mathias. it is in that realm of dimension that you are without peer. Thank you. JIM ROUSE. Thank you. sir. The next speaker was to be a distinguished man. the president of one of our fine liberal arts colleges on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. the President of Washington College. Douglass Cater. but he injured his leg and could not be here. But we have a wonderful substitute. We have Macs son. Charles Mathias. who has bee~i a dstinguished student at Harvard &n t University of Virginia Law School. a maime:ous young man. Charles Mathias. DOUGLASS CATER (read by CHARLES MATHIAS). Thank you very much. it Is very difficult to stand in Douglass Caters shoes this evening and its quite frankly sort of a surprise. But. I think when you hear the citation that he prepared for this evening. I think that you will agree that I am very lucky that he wrote a very. very eloquent script for me to follow. He has written: "To step do xn from high elective office while still in the prime whether measured by age or public esteem takes a special rE-.olve. Those who have watched and admired the career of Charles McCurdy Mathias. Jr. hold no fear that he will soon disappear from public life. His capacities are not confined by loyalty to the state he represents or the party with which he is affiliated. He is the quintessential Independentreflective. sagacious. almost serene. Maryland has never been served by a finer senator. Washington College has already bestowed its highest academic award on Senator Mathias in recognition of his many contributions to this state. Now as he takes on the mantle of a young elder statesman. we award him this special citation. adding a gold trim to his maroon and black doctoral hood for achievements yet to be recorded in the dedicated service of mankind." Jim RousE. And now. a man of the Chesapeake Bay. fishing. crabbing. oystering. since 1973. president of the Maryland Watermens Association. a worker with Mac to renew the Pattons greatest estuary: Larry Simms. Lamut Ssvms. I am very proud to be here tonight for such a special occasion. honorIng such a great man. I can tell you for one that he is a great man and I will explain that He not only represents the big people in the big metropolitan area where he gets his most votes. but he represents small areas like the country I come from which is the smallest county in the state. ahich is Kent County. I also represent a small segment of the population in the state of Maryland. But that hasnt made any difference to the Senator. because he listens to me just like he listens to the Governor. or the Mayor of Baltimore. I want to tell you a little story about a man that does something that is not popular in his time and how great that has turned out. Back in the early seventies when we first formed the Maryland Watermens Association. we were faced with knowing what was happening to the Bay and no one else knowing it because we saw it everyday. And we would go to the bureaucrats and the scientists and the biologists and say. "look. this here treatment plant is harming our reproduction of a certain species. maybe striped bass." And they would say. "Well. that is fine that you would say that. but where is your proof? Where is your evidence that this is so? We think that you are overharvesting it and we should cut back on your production." Well. it was very frustrating to say the least. So we talked to many politicians and many bureaucrats with the same answer. that we did not have scientific evidence to prove our case. So one day when Senator Mathias was forming a boat trip around the Bay. which I helped him get together. (in fact he has been on my boat many times seeing how we harvested different species) he asked me what were the problems that we saw as watermen that needed correcting. I explained to him that we were having problems convincing the people that the bay was declining. Even though we were catching plenty at the time. we saw a trend that was beginzdng to happen that wasnt going to be good for us. He asked me what the problems were. avd I told him what we were running up agiinst. We couldnt prove It scientifically. So. after talking to so many people. I said that it was nice to talk to him and it was nice that he listened to me. but that is probably as far as it is going to go. The next thing I heard. he had called my office a couple of times and got some more information and then I heard about a bill that he introduced for a $27 millon study. to study the Chesapeake Bay and the problemns. Now that was not a polaular thing to do in those days. There were a lot of big businesses tuat did not want to see that happen. Lots of people d:d not think anything was wrong. They thought it was a waste of money. But he started that ball rolling. and it was like a snowball: he started with a little ball and he had to roll uphill and let it roll downhill and he picked up a few people along the way. But he never stopped. he kept right on driving that snowball trying to make it bigger. He got the public involved and all the politicians involved and now we are on the way to saving the Bay. We know what the problems are and we know what needs to be corrected. and I will tell you that he is still in there fighting and I think that that shows what kind of man he is. and makes him a great man in my book. My people that I represent. the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay. are direct benefactors of that move. but every person in the state of Maryland and as far as that goes. any person in the United States benefits by saving the Chesapeake Bay because you have sampled some of the fine seafood here tonight and everybody in the country knows the Chesapeake Bay for its seafood and I think that we have Senator Mac Mathias to thank for starting that ball rolling and for that I say on behalf of myself. and the watermen that I represent. the people that use that Chesapeake Bay. and the Chesapeake Bay itself: Thank you. thank you. thank you. JIM ROUSE. Thank you. Larry Simns. The Regional Vice President of Americas Federation of Government Employees. a worker with Mac for the rights of government workers: John Gage. JOHN GAGE. Senator Mathias was never one to follow the crowd down in Washington. neither crowd down there. When it was popular to bash federal workers. Mac always saw federal workers as real people. like those who get the Social Security checks out on time and not as faceless bureaucrats. I remember when the Panama Canal business was before the Senate. there was Senator Mathias who stood up and made sure that the workers down in Panama maintained their collective bargaining rights. Or a little later when some outlandish RIF regulations were proposed. it was Senator Mathias who took to the floor of the Senate and very eloquently blocked them. Even more recently. when a certain confirmation came before his committee. Mac did not even have to make up his mind. he simply sat there and made sure that all the facts came out and that seemed to be enough. I dont think there will ever be another one like him. a true man of style as well as substance. Best wishes to you Sentor. we will miss you greatly. JiM RousE. Thank you. John Gage. One of Macs distinguished constituents. and woman of the year in Baltimore County in 1986: Lillian Lee Kim.