[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 91 (Thursday, July 14, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              THE DONALD STUART RUSSELL FEDERAL COURTHOUSE

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, on July 25, the Federal courthouse in 
Spartanburg, SC, will be formally dedicated in honor of Donald Stuart 
Russell. At my initiative, a provision to name the building in honor of 
Donald Russell was included in a supplemental appropriations bill early 
this year. This is a fitting, if belated, honor to one of the most 
accomplished and respected South Carolinians of our time.
  Mr. President, Donald Russell's career in public service spans more 
than half a century and continues to this day, as he continues to serve 
with distinction as U.S. circuit judge for the fourth judicial circuit.
  A native of Mississippi, his family moved to Chester, SC, in 1911 
when he was 5 years old. Judge Russell graduated Phi Beta Kappa from 
the University of South Carolina in 1925, and from the University of 
South Carolina School of Law in 1928. Before the war, he practiced law 
in Spartanburg, eventually joining Jimmy Byrnes' law firm in that city. 
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, he came to Washington with Byrnes to serve 
in the War Department, first as a member of the Price Adjustment Board 
and later as Deputy Director of the Office of War Mobilization, which 
was charged with full responsibility for managing the war effort on the 
home front. In 1944 he served as an Army major assigned to the Supreme 
Headquarters Allied Forces in Europe.

  When then-Justice Byrnes was named Secretary of State by President 
Truman in 1945, he tapped Donald Russell to serve as Assistant 
Secretary of State for Administration. In that capacity, Russell laid 
the basis for a modern, professional U.S. diplomatic corps by 
shepherding through Congress the Foreign Service Act of 1946.
  In 1951, he returned home to serve as president of the University of 
South Carolina. During this distinguished 6-year tenure, he boosted 
academic standards and made major improvements in the university's 
physical plant.
  In 1963, Russell succeeded me as Governor of South Carolina, 
presiding over the peaceful integration of Clemson College and, several 
months later, the University of South Carolina. His inauguration in 
January 1963 is still remembered as a remarkable event. The newly sworn 
in Governor Russell opened the grounds of the executive mansion to 
whites and blacks alike for a festive and integrated celebration.
  After a stint as U.S. Senator from 1965 to 1966, he was appointed by 
President Lyndon Johnson to serve as U.S. district judge of South 
Carolina. In 1971, President Nixon appointed him to serve as U.S. 
circuit judge for the fourth judicial circuit, where he has served with 
enormous distinction for nearly a quarter century.
  Mr. President, as scholar, statesman, and jurist, Donald Russell has 
distinguished himself as a man of extraordinary ability and genuine 
vision. For more than a half century, Judge Russell has epitomized the 
ideal of selfless and dedicated public service. In dedicating the 
Donald Stuart Russell Federal Courthouse, the people of South Carolina 
and of the United States express their appreciation for the many 
contributions and accomplishments of this great public servant.

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