[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 46 (Monday, April 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 REMARKS OF MIKE MANSFIELD IN ACCEPTING THE PAUL H. DOUGLAS AWARD FOR 
                      DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, recently, our former colleague, 
Senator Mike Mansfield, was given the first annual Paul Douglas Ethics 
in Government Award.
  Paul Douglas served this Nation with great distinction, and one of 
the areas where he contributed the most was in the area of ethics in 
government.
  It was appropriate that the first honoree should be Senator Mike 
Mansfield, who, like Paul Douglas, is a completely unpretentious man 
who is the ideal of what a public servant ought to be.
  Those of us who were at the ceremony appreciated Mike Mansfield's 
brief remarks, and I ask to insert them into the Record at this point.
  The remarks follow:

                       Remarks of Mike Mansfield

       You have seen fit to bestow on my wife Maureen and me quite 
     an honor. I can think of many others who deserve it more but, 
     as you have chosen us, we are flattered and we are grateful 
     to receive this Paul H. Douglas Award.
       In 1945 to 1947 I had the pleasure of serving in the 79th 
     Congress with Emily Taft Douglas where she was designated as 
     Congresswoman ``at large'' from Illinois. She was, among 
     other things, an author, actress, internationalist and a 
     strong proponent of civil rights. She marched at Selma. In 
     her own right, she could also best be described as a 
     Stateswoman whose interests were broad, deep and founded on 
     her strong faith and idealism. It was a privilege to sit 
     next to her on the Foreign Affairs Committee and to learn 
     from her what true liberalism meant. As a dear friend, I 
     cherish her memory. When here husband, Paul Douglas, 
     returned from World War II, he was elected to the U.S. 
     Senate. It was in the Senate that I came to know him.
       I have always felt deep respect, admiration and 
     appreciation for Senator Douglas and what he achieved in his 
     many official and private capacities. As a dear friend, I 
     also cherish his memory. He was a man of both the 
     extraordinary vision of what America could become and the 
     dedication and skill to move the nation closer to that ideal. 
     He had the rare gift to be able to see the richness and 
     beauty of the forest while many around him were lost among 
     the trees.
       I remember him for his other qualities as well, for his 
     courageous spirit, his patriotism, his integrity, his 
     determination and his optimism.
       And I remember him for his abilities as a statesman. Few 
     could match his skill in mastering the essentials, in keeping 
     the urgent from driving out the important, of harnessing the 
     energy of a dream to the machinery of a democratic 
     government. As a nation, we are the better for his 
     contributions.
       In many ways, Paul Douglas was the quintessential American, 
     and an extraordinary man for his time--for all time. We were 
     richly blessed to have him among us.
       Someone once wrote: ``Of those who dream, only the few turn 
     their dreams into action. Of those who act, only the few turn 
     their actions into successes. Of those who succeed, only the 
     few turn their success into greatness. And of those who 
     achieve greatness, there are only a few whose deeds and 
     character will outlive them for generations to come.''
       Such a man was Paul Douglas.
       I can think of no more appropriate name for an award for 
     public service. He set a standard to which all who work for 
     the betterment of our nation and in service of our citizens 
     should aspire.
       Therefore, we accept the Paul H. Douglas Award in the hope 
     that it will inspire future generations of Americans to 
     commit themselves to the service of this nation which both 
     deserves and needs the very best we all have to offer.
       As for myself, having also been a public servant in many 
     capacities over the last 5 decades, I have had the privilege 
     to work along side of Paul Douglas for much of that time and, 
     along with him, to be part of that magnificent process by 
     which the directions of our great nation are determined.
       That alone has been honor enough for one person's lifetime. 
     On top of that, this gift that you give us today leaves me 
     with no more to say than a simple and heartfelt thank 
     you.

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