[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E92-E93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN HONOR OF WILLIAM M. SCHREIBER OF INDIANA

                                 ______


                        HON. ANDREW JACOBS, JR.

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 25, 1996

  Mr. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, once in a while strong partisans are 
strongly liked by both parties. It happens, I think, because even 
though partisan, such people are also public spirited enough to put our 
country first and are decent enough to care about the personal feelings 
of their opposite numbers.
  Such a person was Bill Schreiber of Indiana whom cruel cancer took 
from us on January 11, 1996.
  He was 52 and the father of a months-old baby boy, Will. The 
following shows the affection felt for him by Hoosiers who knew him, 
Democrat and Republican alike.
  Our hearts go out to little Will and his mom, Connie. Bill Schreiber 
is irreplaceable.

              [From the Indianapolis Star, Jan. 13, 1996]

         William M. Schreiber, 52, was Strategist for Democrats

       William M. Schreiber, 52, a key strategist for the Indiana 
     Democratic Party and an aide to Lt. Gov. Frank L. O'Bannon, 
     died Jan. 11 in Community Hospital East.
       Calling will be Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the 
     rotunda at the Statehouse, followed immediately by a memorial 
     service.
       Mr. Schreiber died of cancer which was discovered in 
     October, six weeks after his wife, Connie Bainbridge 
     Schreiber, gave birth to a son, William.
       State Rep. John D. Gregg, D-Sandborn, a close friend, said 
     Thursday: ``He was probably the smartest Democratic 
     politician, with a razor-sharp wit, to hit Indiana in the 
     '70s and '80s and this decade.''
       Mr. Schreiber was the mastermind behind the election in 
     1990 of a majority of Democrats to the Indiana House of 
     Representatives, ending 15 years of Republican control.
     
[[Page E93]]

       He had been an assistant to former Rep. Michael K. 
     Phillips, D-Boonville, when Phillips was minority leader and 
     speaker.
       Mr. Schreiber also was expected to play a key role in 
     O'Bannon's gubernatorial bid this year.
       In 1968, he was treasurer of Robert F. Kennedy's 
     presidential primary campaign in Indiana.
       Mr. Schreiber was Marion County Democratic Party chairman 
     from 1972 to 1976.
       Although considered mainly a strategist in the party, Mr. 
     Schreiber ran unsuccessfully for two political offices--for 
     the nomination for secretary of state in 1974 and mayor of 
     Indianapolis in 1975.
       In 1976 he became a backer of presidential candidate Jimmy 
     Carter, who stayed overnight in Mr. Schreiber's home during 
     the campaign.
       When Carter was elected president, he named Mr. Schreiber a 
     commissioner for the International Boundary Commission, which 
     oversees U.S.-Canada border affairs.
       Mr. Schreiber also served as legislative assistant to Rep. 
     Andrew Jacobs, Jr., D-Ind., from 1969 to 1973.
       He was an adjunct professor of political science, an author 
     and a political analyst and commentator, as well as a member 
     of the American Civil Liberties Union.
       O'Bannon said Mr. Schreiber ``has been a close friend and 
     adviser in my office and we will miss him greatly.''
       ``The good of the community came first,'' O'Bannon said, 
     ``and he could explain that in terms that could be partisan, 
     but informative, but never abusive to a republican.''
       Gov. Evan Bayh said: ``I was very saddened to hear of 
     Bill's death. He was a fine, hard-working man, honest and 
     dedicated to the public interest.
       ``At a time when there is alot of skepticism about 
     politicians, Bill was an honorable person who always tried to 
     do what was right for the state. We need more of his type.''
       Former House Speaker Phillips said Mr. Schreiber was not 
     only a close friend but ``a real politician's politician.''
       ``He loved politics and the governmental process.
       ``He was a student of government and politics, had a keen 
     insight into what caused things to work, how to get things 
     accomplished,'' Phillips added.
       But Democrats were not the only ones close to Mr. 
     Schreiber.
       John Sweezy, Marion County Republican Party chairman, said 
     he had known him since 1972, when Sweezy became the GOP 
     chairman and Mr. Schreiber was the incoming Democratic 
     chairman.
       ``He was a good friend,'' Sweezy said. ``A fierce 
     competitor, but a good friend.''
       ``Fierce competitor'' were the same words other Republicans 
     used to describe him. Among them were House Speaker Paul S. 
     Mannweiler, R-Indianapolis, and GOP strategist R. Mark 
     Lubbers.
       Lubbers, presidential campaign manager for U.S. Sen. 
     Richard G. Lugar, matched political wits and quips with Mr. 
     Schreiber for years on radio and television on the political 
     insight program, Indiana Week in Review.
       ``I think he was one of the very best political minds of 
     our time,'' Lubbers said. ``Bill understood the nuts and 
     bolts of how to get voters to the polls on Election Day. No 
     matter how much politics changed with television, Bill never 
     lost sight of the absolute core of democracy.''
       And in an era when professional politicians are reviled by 
     many, Mr. Schreiber was proud of his profession.
       ``Bill had been doing this long enough that he stopped 
     caring what people thought about him being a political 
     guru,'' Lubbers said.
       ``He was satisfied he was doing something very, very 
     important. He was absolutely one of the very best.''
       Memorial contributions may be made to the William Riley 
     Schreiber Education Fund, P.O. Box 24253, Indianapolis, Ind. 
     46224.
       Survivors include: wife Connie; sons Matthew, Benjamin, 
     William; daughter Claire Aileen; parents Rudolph and Margaret 
     Schreiber; brothers Robert, Richard, Matthias Schreiber; 
     sister Nancy Hagist.

              [From the Indianapolis News, Jan. 13, 1996]

                          William M. Schreiber

       William M. Schreiber was one of those unsung heroes who 
     made the political system work.
       Schreiber died this week at the age of 52, leaving a gap in 
     Indiana Democratic Party circles.
       His death is a loss not only to the campaign for governor 
     of Lt. Gov. Frank O'Bannon, but also to other Democrats who 
     had come to rely on his wisdom and counsel.
       ``He was one of the most civil-minded people I've met in 
     government and politics,''. O'Bannon said, ``The good of the 
     community came first, and he could explain that in terms that 
     could be partisan, but informative, but never abusive to a 
     Republican.''
       Schreiber served Democrats in a number of capacities, as 
     Marion County party chairman in the 1970s, as an aide to 
     House Speaker Michael Phillips, then as an aide to O'Bannon.
       ``Bill understood the nuts and bolts of how to get voters 
     to the polls on Election Day,'' noted Mark Lubbers, 
     presidential campaign manager for Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
       Schreiber had the kind of friendships across party lines 
     that can keep two-party politics competitive, without getting 
     nasty about it. ``He was a good friend,'' said Republican 
     county chairman John Sweezy. ``A fierce competitor, but a 
     good friend.''
       In a time when many people are mourning the loss of 
     civility in political debate, Schreiber's example will be 
     missed in Indiana, in both political parties. But his life 
     and example remain a standard for those who continue in the 
     political battles.

                          ____________________