[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 93 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6722-S6723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CELEBRATING THE 4TH OF JULY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, last week I was proud to celebrate West 
Virginia Day, marking the 134th anniversary of the birth of my great 
State. Born in the midst of a terrible war, the mountain State still 
bears witness to that difficult four years of struggle, from Harper's 
Ferry to battle sites across her hills and farmlands. But she also 
still stands fast, and holds onto the traces of earlier history in her 
sturdy log barns and cabins and the winding rows of moss-covered stones 
bounding fields and cemeteries. Crumbling now, these long stone walls 
are losing their battles to the honeysuckle vines and the frosty 
upheavals of the centuries, but they remind us still of our forebears 
who settled this rugged and beautiful country and who bequeathed to us 
a legacy both tangible and intangible. For just as these early settlers 
left us these stacked stones, they also left us an even greater gift, a 
gift no one else on Earth has ever truly shared--our American freedom 
and the remarkable form of government that keeps Americans free.
  Next Friday, on the Fourth of July, we in the United States will 
celebrate the declaration of our freedom and the announcement of our 
intent to form a new government, not bound by happenstance of birth or 
caste, but one that gives each man an equal opportunity to rise above 
the circumstances of his own beginning and to make of his life whatever 
his ability and ambition would allow. The government that was 
painstakingly crafted in the years following this turning point in 
history combines the best of many forms of government, while avoiding 
their excesses. I never cease to wonder at our great and lasting 
fortune in having been blessed with a collection of Founding Fathers 
who were able to blend so many differing viewpoints and draft a 
Constitution that is so well thought out, and so finely balanced, that 
it has survived over the last two centuries with remarkably little 
change--remarkably little change. It demonstrates an ability to 
cooperate that has been in rather short supply around here in recent 
years.
  The drafting of the American Constitution was the work of many minds. 
The Declaration of Independence, though conceived by a committee of 
five, was penned by a single versatile, very remarkable man. The group 
formed for this work was comprised of notables including John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson, and Robert 
Livingston--whose namesake graces our Government today with his 
presence in the other body, Representative and chairman of the 
Committee on Appropriations in the House of Representatives, Bob 
Livingston. These were brave men to undertake what was then an act of 
treason against the British monarch, King George III. They decided 
unanimously to select Thomas Jefferson for the delicate job of putting 
into words the message they wanted to send to George III, and to the 
world. And of all the powerful and lyrical speeches that have ever been 
captured on the page, surely the grace, courage, and idealism of the 
Declaration of Independence ranks high. Thomas Jefferson's legacy to 
this Nation is a rich one, including the nucleus of our Library of 
Congress formed from his own collection after the destruction of the 
War of 1812, his contributions to the Continental Congress, and his 
service as President. But the soaring majesty of his words--beginning 
with ``When in the course of human events * * *''--would stand alone as 
a monument to the man. Even as he lay dying at his mountaintop home in 
Monticello in 1826, Jefferson struggled to last until the fourth of 
July before succumbing to the call of the angels. John Adams, who died 
that same day--what a coincidence, what a coincidence--50 years after 
the Declaration of Independence was adopted, observed with his last 
breath that the

[[Page S6723]]

young Nation was safe, because ``Jefferson still lives.'' He did not 
know that his friend had already died a few hours earlier.

  The birth of our Nation, like the birth of my beloved State of West 
Virginia, was marked by conflict ignited by the Declaration of 
Independence, and the fireworks that we will watch next Friday serve as 
a vivid reminder of the price of our freedom. But many of us will watch 
those fireworks amid gatherings of friends and family, and the sting of 
battle will be but a distant memory. In West Virginia, the Fourth of 
July is marked in traditional ways, with parades and large family 
reunions, gatherings of kin from around the State and around the 
country. In cities like Weirton and Ripley, high school bands and 
volunteer firemen will step out smartly behind banners carried by 
majorettes in sequins that glint in the bright afternoon Sun. Local 
politicians and beauty queens will decorate the open tops of mirror-
polished convertibles. And families will cheer as the Stars and Stripes 
goes past, carried proudly by an Eagle Scout. The very sight of Old 
Glory stirs the pride in even the most jaded or unpatriotic among us, 
when it is surrounded by such homespun and heartfelt pageantry.
  After the parades, long tables will be laid under the old trees 
shading the yard--it may be a churchyard; There may be a cemetery 
nearby. Many hands will share in the labor of cooking, and the 
fragrance of meat grilling will blend with the sweet aroma of home-made 
pies and cakes. Children with watermelon juice dripping down their 
chins will run past grandparents in lawn chairs, waving their sparklers 
at the darkening sky as the dogs bark and give chase. When finally the 
fireflies give way to the stars, fathers will set up the roman candles, 
fountains, and noisemakers in a spectacular reprise of the ``rocket's 
red glare, the bombs bursting in air,'' penned by Francis Scott Key as 
he witnessed the battle over Fort McHenry.
  And after the glories of the Fourth of July, after the sleepy 
children are put to bed and the dishes are washed, the gathered kinfolk 
will scatter like the fallen rocks of the old stone wall, back to their 
homes, to be gathered again for next year's reunion. The strength of 
their families goes with them, and the love and pride they have in 
their union and their country will be renewed. There is no better 
Nation on Earth, no Nation more blessed, than this one. So, for this 
happy Fourth, I wish my fellow Senators Godspeed as they go to their 
many homes throughout the several States of the Union. I wish them all 
a safe journey in their weekend travels. I also wish God's blessings to 
all Americans traveling or residing abroad, who will gather at U.S. 
Embassies to celebrate with their fellow Americans on the Fourth of 
July in reunions of strangers that are still, intangibly, our kin as 
citizens. So with God's blessings on everyone, everyone who is a part 
of the U.S. Senate, everyone who is part of the family of the Senate, 
we will come together again after we have celebrated the invisible yet 
lasting legacy of the men who gave us the Fourth of July. Henry Van 
Dyke captured this deep seated pride and kinship we all feel for our 
country, and never more so than on this holiday, in his poem, ``America 
for Me:''

       'Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down
       Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,
       To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the 
     kings,--
       But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things.

       So it's home again, and home again, America for me!
       My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be,
       In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars,
       Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of 
     stars.

       Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air;
       And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair;
       And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study 
     Rome

       But when it comes to living there is just no place like 
     home.

       I like the German fir-woods, in green battalions drilled;
       I like the gardens of Versailles with flashing fountains 
     filled;
       But, oh, to take your hand, my dear, and ramble for a day
       In friendly West Virginia hills where Nature has her way!

       I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to 
     lack:
       The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back.
       But the glory of the Present is to make the Future free,
       We love our land for what she is and what she is to be.

       Oh, it's home again, and home again, America for me!
       I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling 
     sea,
       To the blessed Land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars,
       Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of 
     stars.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. GRAHAM addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Florida.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, it is intimidating to speak after such 
poetic eloquence. One of the joys of serving in the U.S. Senate is to 
be part of a permanent class with Senator Byrd. Some students have left 
for their homes and Fourth of July activities and some of us were able 
to share in his just concluded statements on behalf of his wonderful 
State. I thank the Senator.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank my honorable friend, the senior 
Senator from Florida, for his overly gracious and very charitable and 
kind remarks, and I hope that he and his lovely wife will have a joyous 
Fourth of July and a safe journey to the great State of Florida and 
back to Washington when the holiday week is done.
  Mr. GRAHAM. I wish the same for Senator Byrd and his family.
  (The remarks of Mr. GRAHAM pertaining to the introduction of S. 984 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. GRAHAM. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. BAUCUS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Montana.

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