[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H304-H305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE TO DR. JOHN MORTON-FINNEY, FROM INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a very humble occasion to pay 
tribute to the life and work of Dr. John Morton-Finney, a 108-year-old 
gentleman of my district, and for whom family, friends and admirers 
paid final tribute on last Saturday.
  Dr. John Morton-Finney, the son of George and Mattie M. Gordon 
Morton-Finney, was born in 1889 in Uniontown, Kentucky. He was the son 
of a former slave. His ancestors migrated from Ethiopia to what is now 
Nigeria before becoming enslaved in America. He was reared in a family 
in which the old people never forgot about their African heritage.
  Mr. Morton-Finney was the last surviving member of the World War I 
Army unit of black soldiers known as the Buffalo soldiers. Dr. Morton-
Finney was also the oldest veteran in the State of Indiana. He never 
spoke of his involvement as an infantryman in World War I, except to 
note with pride that he had a citation from General John J. Pershing. 
During World War II, he was cited for work in the distribution of 
rationing tickets.
  After being honorably discharged from World War I, Dr. Morton-Finney 
began teaching languages in black colleges, including Fisk University, 
Nashville, Tennessee, and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, 
Missouri.
  In 1922, he learned there were openings in the Indianapolis public 
schools. He decided to join Crispus Attucks High School, of which I am 
a proud graduate; and he was hired to teach Latin, Greek, German, 
Spanish and French, some of the languages that he spoke fluently. His 
career spanned 47 years as teacher, department head and administrator, 
enriching the lives of his students and colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, I often tell my grandsons, Andre Carson and Sam Carson, 
that I wish they had an intimate opportunity to meet Dr. Morton-Finney, 
because they certainly could have learned a lot from a man who had five 
earned degrees in law. He had a JD from Indiana University School of 
Law, AB from Butler, and the list of his earned certificates span 
probably most of my life.
  Then he was also cited with a lot of awards for the good work that he 
did in touching the lives of young people. He often reflected on the 
tangible awards and citations that he received and his achievement.
  Dr. Benjamin Mays, formerly at Morehouse and now Mr. Morton-Finney 
having joined him in the hereafter, once said, ``How can I articulate 
the depth of my respect and the degree of my admiration for a young man 
who excelled in life beyond the reach of anyone else?''
  And Dr. Mays said that, ``It must be borne in mind, however, that the 
tragedy in life does not lie in reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in 
having no goal to reach. It is a calamity to die with dreams 
unfulfilled and it is a calamity not to dream.''

                              {time}  1915

  ``No vision and you perish; no ideal and you are lost; your heart 
must ever cherish some faith at any cost.''
  I think that it is imperative for the Congress of the United States 
to recognize the life and work of Dr. John Martin Finney, who could 
have easily been a Member of the United States Congress or could have 
easily been President of these United States, given the amount of 
attributes and academic achievements that he amassed in his 108 years 
that he was among us, a very fine individual.
  I wanted to pay a special tribute to his daughter Gloria Martin 
Finney who taught in the Indianapolis public school system for many 
years and worked in the administration of the Indianapolis public 
schools, but I think it is important as well that Dr. John Martin 
Finney from Indianapolis, Indiana, be saluted for all of the fine work 
that he did do during his lifetime.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise on this most humble occasion to pay tribute to 
the life and work of Dr. John Morton-Finney, a 108 year old gentleman 
of my district and for whom family, friends and admirers paid final 
tributes on Saturday, January 31, 1997.
  Dr. John Morton-Finney, the son of George Morton-Finney and Mattie M. 
Gordon Morton-Finney, was born June 25, 1889 in Uniontown, Kentucky. 
The son of a former Kentucky slave, his ancestors migrated from 
Ethiopia to what is now Nigeria before becoming enslaved in America. He 
was reared in a family in which the old people never forgot about their 
African Heritage.
  The last surviving member of the World War I Army unit of black 
soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldiers, Dr. Morton-Finney was also the 
oldest veteran in Indiana. He never spoke of his involvement as an 
infantry in World War I, except to note with pride that he has a 
citation from General John J. Pershing. During World War II, he was 
cited for work in the distribution of rationing tickets.
  After being honorably discharged from World War I, Dr. Morton-Finney 
began teaching languages in black colleges including Fisk University, 
Nashville, Tennessee, and Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri. 
In 1922, he learned there were openings in the Indianapolis public 
schools. He decided to join the system and was hired to teach Greek, 
Latin, German, Spanish, and French, some of the languages he spoke 
fluently. His career spanned over forty-seven years, as teacher, 
department head and administrator, enriching the lives of students and 
his colleagues in the system.
  He arrived from St, Louis, Missouri, newly married to the former 
Pauline Ray, a native of Geneva, New York, and a graduate of Cornell 
University. Together they enjoyed over fifty-two years of marital 
contentment, and a daughter, Gloria Ann, was born to their union.
  A learned man, Dr. Morton-Finney's education included:

       Pd.B., Lincoln Institute, 1916
       A.B., Lincoln Institute, 1920
       A.B., State University of Iowa, 1922
       A.M. (Ed.), Indiana University, Bloomington, 1925
       A.M. (French), Indiana University, Bloomington, 1933
       L.L.B., Lincoln College of Law, 1935
       L.L.B., Indiana Law School, 1944
       L.L.B., Indiana University, 1944
       J.D., Indiana University School of Law, 1946
       A.B., Butler University, 1965
       Litt. D., Lincoln University, 1985
       L.H.D., Butler University, 1989
       Diploma Trial Advocacy, NITA, 1987
       L.L.D., Martin University, 1995
       Certificate of Meditation in Indiana, ICLEF, 1992
       Certificate of Meditation in Indiana, Indiana Bar 
     Association

  In addition to the immeasurable rewards a teacher gets from touching 
the lives of young people, Dr. Morton-Finney often reflected on the 
tangible awards and citations that he received and his achievements:

       Superintendent's License, 1st Grade, Life, Indiana Public 
     Schools

[[Page H305]]

       Veteran, W.W.I., A.E.F., France 1918
       Member of the Bar of Indiana Supreme Court, 1935
       Member of the Bar of U.S. District Court, 1941
       Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United 
     States, 1972
       Administrator and teacher, Indianapolis Public Schools 
     forty-seven (47) years
       Member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Indiana sixty-one 
     (61) years
       Member Emeritus Club, Indiana University Faculty, 1975
       Crowned Adeniran, I, Paramount Chief of Yoruba Descendants 
     in Indiana, U.S.A. by Council of Yoruba Chiefs of Nigeria, 
     West Africa on August 31, 1979, in an authentic African 
     ceremony at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana
       Distinguished Graduate, School of Education Award by 
     Indiana University Alumni Association, 1983
       Certificate Award by Chief Justice of Supreme Court of 
     Indiana for Public Service, June 9, 1989
       White House Invitation by President George Bush, 1990
       Certificate of recognition, Board of School Commissioners, 
     Indianapolis Public Schools, May 22, 1990
       Inducted into the Hall of Fame, National Bar Association, 
     Washington, D.C., August 9, 1991
       Sagamore of the Wabash Award by Indiana Governor
       Kentucky Colonel Award by Kentucky Governor, 1994
       Honorary Member of U.S. 9th and 10th (Horse) Calvary 
     Association, 1995
       Harvard University Invitation and Recipient of Harvard's 
     Certificate of Award for Public Service
       Certificate Awarded by Indianapolis City Council for Public 
     Service, 1995
       Certificate Award by Mayor of Indianapolis for Public 
     Service
       Oldest Practicing Attorney in U.S. on June 25, 1996, at age 
     one hundred and seven years
       Only surviving Buffalo Soldier of the U.S. Army

  How can I articulate the depth of my respect and the degree of my 
admiration for a young man who excelled in life beyond the reach of 
anyone else. His thirst for academic excellence, his zeal for molding 
character and academic achievement among all who was fortunate to be 
his student.
  He envisioned this country's move to a global economy when he 
mastered and taught so many foreign languages. He was one of my 
favorite teachers at Crispus Attucks High School.
  Dr. Benjamin Mays said:

       It must be borne in mind, however, that the tragedy in life 
     does not lie in reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in 
     having no goal to reach. It is not a calamity to die with 
     dreams unfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not 
     a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a 
     disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace 
     not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars 
     to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is the sin.

  Harriet du Autermont has beautifully said:

       No vision and you perish;
       No ideal, and you're lost;
       Your heart must ever cherish
       Some faith at any cost.
       Some hope, some dream to cling to,
       Some rainbow in the sky,
       Some melody to sing to,
       Some service that is high

  To state it another way, man must live by some unattainable goal, 
some goal that beckons him on, but a goal so loft, so all-embracing 
that it can never be attained. In poetry it is expressed in many ways.
  Man shall not live by bread alone. Man must live by affection and 
love; by forgiveness, forgiveness of man and the forgiveness of God; by 
God's grace, by the labors of many hands; by faith, faith in himself, 
faith in others, and by faith in God. And finally man must live by his 
dreams, his ideals, and unattainable goal, and what he aspires to be. 
Man shall not live by bread alone.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  (Mr. BOUCHER addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter 
in the Extensions of Remarks.)

                          ____________________