[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 15 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           EMILY TAFT DOUGLAS

  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, Illinois and the Nation recently mourned 
the loss of Emily Taft Douglas, former Representative from Illinois and 
widow of Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois, who passed away on Jan. 28 
in White Plains, NY, at the age of 94.
  Emily Taft Douglas was elected to an Illinois at-large congressional 
seat in 1944 and served during the 79th Congress. History will record 
the fact that she was the first woman to precede her husband in service 
in the Congress. Years later, Paul Douglas was fond of saying that the 
only reason he was elected to the Senate was that people confused his 
name on the ballot with Emily's.
  She served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was an active 
proponent of post-war U.N. relief programs, and immediately after the 
war travelled throughout the devastated precincts of Europe. In the 
House of Representatives, she introduced legislation for library 
bookmobiles to serve rural areas, and her bill ultimately passed 
Congress as the Hill-Douglas Act following Paul Douglas' election to 
the Senate in 1948.
  Born in Chicago, she was the daughter of Lorado Taft, the renowned 
sculptor, and Ada Bartlett Taft. After graduating from the University 
of Chicago, she studied acting and starred in the Broadway and road 
company productions of ``The Cat and the Canary.''
  Before her election to Congress, Emily Taft Douglas was active in the 
fight against international fascism and was a strong opponent of U.S. 
isolationism. She served as Illinois secretary for the League of Women 
Voters, chaired the League's foreign policy department, and later was 
executive secretary of the International Relations Center in Chicago.
  During the 18 years of Paul Douglas' service in this body, Emily Taft 
Douglas supported numerous civil rights and political causes, was a 
representative to UNESCO and other United Nations conferences, and she 
joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as a participant in the historic 
1964 civil rights march in Selma, AL. As a Unitarian, she served her 
faith at one point as Moderator of the American Unitarian Association.
  Her part-time career as an author included publication of ``Appleseed 
Farm,'' a children's book, in 1948; ``Remember the Ladies,'' an account 
of the lives of American women, in 1966; and ``Margaret Sanger,'' a 
biography of the family planning pioneer, in 1970.
  She is survived by a daughter, Dr. Jean Taft Douglas Bandler of New 
York City, and two grandsons, James Douglas Bandler of Woodstock, VT, 
and John Taft Bandler of New York City.
  I owe Paul and Emily Douglas a great deal for their contributions to 
my own development in public life. They freely offered advice, insight 
and opportunities for service. Their commitment to each other was also 
an inspiration, because Emily Douglas and Paul Douglas were good 
partners. You could see that clearly in their life together. Emily 
never flagged in her devotion to Paul, nursing him--often by herself--
after his stroke. He relied on her intelligence, political instincts 
and advice in his work in the Senate. Once, while I was traveling with 
Paul Douglas in Illinois, we received word that Emily had been in an 
accident. In the end, it turned out to be a minor accident, with no 
serious injury. But the look on Paul Douglas' face told it all about 
their partnership.
  In innumerable ways, large and small, Emily Taft Douglas and Paul 
Douglas contributed immensely to Illinois and to their country. We are 
a better Nation for their having been with us.

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