[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1606-E1607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF PAUL O'DWYER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the passing of 
Paul O'Dwyer, a man who fought in the interests of justice without 
counting the costs. As ``the people's lawyer,'' Mr. O'Dwyer dedicated 
his life to defend those unable to defend themselves.
  Immigrating from Ireland in 1925, Mr. O'Dwyer began his American 
experience as a foreign face on the streets of New York City, surviving 
purely by hard work and street smarts. Working as a longshoremen, Mr. 
O'Dwyer put himself through undergraduate studies at Fordham University 
and law school at St. John's University.
  As his fellow Americans faced the pressures of the Great Depression, 
Mr. O'Dwyer committed his legal smarts to the defense of those 
struggling to earn an honest living. A labor lawyer in days when labor 
was scarce, he often worked without compensation, guided not by self-
interest or commercial impulse, but a calling to social justice. Mr. 
O'Dwyer's efforts on behalf of the working man earned him the 
suspicions of the House Un-American Activities Committee, his defense 
of labor leaders like ``Red Mike'' Quill raising speculation that he 
was a communist. Such accusation always lacked sufficient evidence.
  A champion of civil rights in the fifties and the sixties, Mr. 
O'Dwyer fought passionately in southern courtrooms to integrate 
publicly subsidized housing. Mr. O'Dwyer's philosophical difficulties 
with the Vietnam War culminated in his leading anti-war delegates as 
they walked out of the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention. This brave 
act of defiance against the establishment would later be used against 
Mr.

[[Page E1607]]

O'Dwyer in his numerous attempts at being elected to public office. Mr. 
O'Dwyer did serve as President of the New York City Council from 1973 
to 1977.
  My fellow colleagues, join me in recognizing the passing of Paul 
O'Dwyer, a man who rigidly and without pause adhered to principle at 
the price of self-interest. Let us aspire in our own efforts to show 
such a commitment to the truth.

                          ____________________