[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 50 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO JAMES STILLMAN FREE

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, on April 3, James Stillman Free, a native 
of Gordo, Alabama and for 33 years the Washington correspondent for The 
Birmingham News, passed away at the age of 87. Jim enjoyed a rich and 
colorful career as a journalist and historian. Back in November 1993, I 
had the opportunity to attend his 85th birthday celebration and it was 
a wonderful experience for his many friends and associates as we 
gathered with him to celebrate and reflect.
  Jim Free attended the public schools of Tuscaloosa, AL; earned his 
bachelor's degree at the University of Alabama; and obtained his 
master's degree from Columbia University. He was part owner and editor 
of a weekly Tuscaloosa newspaper shortly before joining the News in 
1935.
  Jim's 33 years as The Birmingham News' Washington correspondent was 
the longest tenure for any Washington correspondent for Alabama 
newspapers. He spent a total of 35 years with that paper, his name and 
writings becoming synonymous with Alabama political coverage and 
analysis in the nation's capital. He also served as the Washington 
correspondent for the Chicago Sun, Raleigh News and Observer, and 
Winston-Salem Journal during the 1940's and '50's.
  His coverage extended from the Great Depression and New Deal through 
World War II preparations and his own combat duty as a Navy Captain in 
the Pacific; the McCarthy ``Red Scare'' era; the Civil Rights movement; 
the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King; 
and all national defense, medical, educational, and environmental 
issues that affected Alabama. He was an on-the-scenes, eye witness to 
much of the social change and history of this century.
  His many ``scoops'' included President Truman's 1946 order for the 
Army to take over strike-threatened railroads, and he led the national 
press with his stories on the Justice Department's civil rights 
decisions. Jim filed overseas reports on the 1957 Berlin crisis and 
NATO operations in the North Sea, Western Europe, and the United 
Kingdom in 1966. He served as the historian for the Gridiron Club and 
was the author of ``The First One Hundred Years: a casual chronicle of 
the Gridiron Club.''
  His World War II service allowed him to bring special insight into 
his coverage of national defense issues. In an October 1961 article on 
his time in Berlin, he said, ``* * * our test of strength with Russia 
in the months and years ahead * * * will be 90 percent non-military. It 
will be political, economic, scientific, and educational. It will be a 
showdown of our way of life against theirs.'' Indeed, history proved 
him right.
  While covering the Justice Department, Jim relayed messages from 
Alabama moderates to then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy during the 
Freedom Rider bus burning crisis. He was also one of the first 
reporters to question in print the validity of charges brought against 
public officials and private citizens by Senator Joseph McCarthy.
  Jim held a number of leadership positions in his field and received a 
number of honors. In 1967, he was elected president of the Washington 
chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In 1989, he was 
inducted into the society's hall of fame. The Raymond Clapper Award 
committee gave him a special citation for exceptional reporting on 
national affairs and he received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the 
University of Alabama alumni association.
  It is a grand understatement to say that Jim Free was a highly 
regarded and respected figure. He was a well-rounded professional and a 
genuine person of integrity. Jim never tried to purposely harm anyone's 
reputation through his reporting. His professional ethics dictated that 
he would let the facts speak for themselves. He never tried to make a 
career of finding dirt on government officials. He was not a 
practitioner of yellow journalism and was not a purveyor of scandal.
  Jim was a gentleman who possessed all the traits that one would 
expect to find in a gentleman--civility, an educated mind, sensitivity, 
courteousness, and a healthy respect for the views of others.
  I was proud to have known Jim Free, who will long be remembered in 
the dual worlds of journalism and politics for his lifetime of service 
to the cause of informing citizens about the world around them. I 
extend my condolences to his family in the wake of their tremendous 
loss.

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