[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     FRANK MURPHY: A MODEL AMERICAN

                                 ______


                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 18, 1994

  Mr. BARCIA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention 
to the dedication of the Frank Murphy Memorial Museum this Saturday in 
the city of Harbor Beach, MI. Frank Murphy was best known as an 
Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, having been named to the 
Court by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. To the people of 
Michigan, and Harbor Beach in particular, Frank Murphy is much, much 
more. He is a model American who continues to serve as a worthy role 
model for our young people who love our Nation as much as Justice 
Murphy.
  The Harbor Beach birthplace of Frank Murphy at 142 South Huron, has 
served as a museum since 1960. This building, along with his boyhood 
home, furnishings, mementos, and surrounding structures will provide an 
appropriate tribute to a man who rose from a chief assistant U.S. 
attorney in Detroit, to a potential Vice Presidential candidate with 
Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. The ceremony this Saturday recognizes the 
purchase of the Murphy Estate by the State of Michigan and transfer of 
ownership to the city of Harbor Beach, for the preservation and 
promotion of the life and times of the most famous native son of Harbor 
Beach, Frank Murphy.
  Frank Murphy had an unerring sense of justice. He prosecuted World 
War I profiteers who cheated the Federal Government out of $30 million. 
He defended minority rights as a recorder's court judge in the 1920's. 
He served as mayor of Detroit, Governor General of the Philippines, and 
as the Governor of Michigan before his appointment to the Supreme 
Court. He died in 1949 at the age of 59.
  He is responsible for General Motors having recognized the United 
Auto Workers as the bargaining agent for workers in 1937, and then 
within a few years dissented in the historic case that allowed the 
internment of Americans with Japanese ancestry in camps during World 
War II.
  As a young person, I knew the life story of Frank Murphy, a man who 
stood up for his beliefs, even when those beliefs might be contrary to 
popular views. His selfless devotion to his community, his State, and 
his Nation, played a major role in my personal growth and that of 
countless other Michiganites. It has been a privilege of my public 
career to be a supporter of the Murphy Museum. It is a major regret 
that I cannot personally join his family, his supporters, the 
distinguished Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin, the esteemed 
Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelly, UAW President Owen Bieber, and 
Justice Murphy's colleague Judge James Lincoln. The people's business 
keeps us in session, and I trust that Frank Murphy would once again say 
that the people's business must come first.
  Mr. Speaker, it is rare that we get to celebrate true American 
heroes. Frank Murphy is one. I urge our colleagues to join in paying 
him this richly deserved tribute, and encourage them to visit the 
museum when they visit Michigan.

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