[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 132 (Monday, September 29, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BOOTLE FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES 
                               COURTHOUSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Chambliss] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 595, the William Augustus 
Bootle Federal Building and United States Courthouse naming bill. This 
is an issue of great importance to me as well as all the citizens of 
Georgia and in particular, Macon, GA.
  On February 5, 1997, I introduced this legislation in the House of 
Representatives. H.R. 595 is similar to a bill introduced in the 104th 
Congress which was titled H.R. 4119. H.R. 4119 passed in this House by 
voice vote, but unfortunately was submarined in the U.S. Senate, along 
with a number of other naming bills.
  H.R. 595 passed in the Senate on June 12, 1997, and earlier today, 
this bill was debated in this body. I look forward to its passage 
tomorrow so it can be sent to the White House for the President's 
signature.
  The courthouse houses the U.S. District Court for the Middle District 
of Georgia, which covers much of the territory of Georgia's Eighth 
Congressional District, which I represent.
  Mr. Speaker, there is not a more deserving individual to name this 
building and courthouse for than Judge Bootle, and the current judges 
of the court wholeheartedly agree. Judge Bootle received his 
undergraduate and juris doctorate degree from Mercer University in 
Macon, GA. He was admitted to the bar of the State of Georgia in 1925.
  Judge Bootle honorably served the U.S. District Court for the Middle 
District of Georgia for almost 25 years. Upon his appointment by 
President Eisenhower, Judge Bootle served as district judge from 1954 
to 1961 began serving as chief judge from 1961 to 1972. Moreover, he 
served the middle district as assistant U.S. attorney and as U.S. 
attorney from 1928 to 1933. Judge Bootle also served Georgia's legal 
community as dean of Mercer University School of Law from 1933 to 1937. 
His distinguished service is admired, appreciated, and recognized 
throughout the State of Georgia.
  Upon Judge Bootle's appointment to the bench as judge for the Middle 
District of Georgia in 1954, the chief judge was ill and remained so 
for an extended period of time, and until 1962 when another judge was 
appointed, Judge Bootle handled all six divisions of the Middle 
District of Georgia, which included 71 of Georgia's 159 counties.
  Judge Bootle served this country well during the very emotional and 
precarious time of desegregation in the South. Judge Bootle was 
responsible for the admittance of the first black students in the 
University of Georgia.
  I would like to take this opportunity to quote from a book written by 
Frederick Allen, which is entitled, ``Atlanta Rising.'' This book deals 
with a lot of history which took place in the Atlanta area during the 
years of the civil rights movement. Two black applicants who were 
denied admittance to the University of Georgia filed suit in the Middle 
District of Georgia, and quoting from this book, I read as follows:

       Two black applicants, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, 
     went to the court attacking the welter of excuses University 
     of Georgia officials had concocted to keep them out. The two 
     made a convincing case that the only reason they had been 
     denied admission was segregation, pure and simple. In a 
     ruling issued late on the afternoon of Friday, January 6, 
     1961, Judge William A. Bootle ordered Hunter and Holmes 
     admitted to the school, not in six months or a year, but 
     bright and early the next Monday morning.

  In the 1960's in Georgia, folks, that took great judicial integrity.
  Judge Bootle has dedicated himself to years of service as a humble 
steward of justice, his community, the State of Georgia, and the United 
States. Due to this level of commitment, all of these societies are 
better places. Naming the courthouse the William Augustus Bootle 
Federal Building and United States Courthouse is an appropriate way to 
ensure the judge's efforts will always be remembered.

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