[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      HONORING ROBERT E. MATTESON

  Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Robert 
Matteson, a truly distinguished statesman and public servant who died 
at his home in Saint in Paul last Monday, after a battle with 
Parkinson's disease.
  Throughout the 79 years of his life, Bob Matteson was a man who used 
every ounce of his potential to contribute to the public good. His 
career was as long as it was distinguished. Most notably, Bob served as 
director of the White House disarmament staff under President 
Eisenhower, and as Chief of Staff for the Foreign Operations 
Administration--which was directed by former Minnesota Gov. Harold 
Stassen.
  It was Bob who suggested the creation of a permanent disarmament 
agency to President Eisenhower, and he was instrumental in the 
disarmament policy of the Kennedy administration.
  But the wonderful example of Bob Matteson's life is about a lot more 
than his national security and Government career. Bob was also an avid 
outdoorsman, making canoe trips on Lake Superior, down the Mississippi 
River, and across Canada all the way to the Bering Sea.
  He founded the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland 
College in Ashland, WI, and was a board member of the Minnesota 
Historical Society and Science Museum of Minnesota.
  Bob helped found the Harold Stassen Center for World Peace at the 
University of Minnesota in 1981. And in 1985, after several trips to 
Cuba, he started a Minnesota-Cuba cultural exchange program.
  Mr. President, in last night's State of the Union address, President 
Clinton focused a great deal on the problems of crime, violence, and 
drugs in America. He painted a pretty grim picture of our society.
  Bob Matteson's life stands out in stark contrast to that picture. 
Indeed, it stands as a beacon of hope for those of us who are trying to 
make that picture a brighter one. In the most difficult days of the 
cold war, Bob Matteson showed what a dedicated person could accomplish 
if motivated by a love of service, a sense of responsibility, and the 
thrill of taking on challenges.
  We would all do well to follow his example.
  Thank you, Mr. President.

                          ____________________