[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 75 (Monday, May 24, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3470-H3472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CLIFFORD R. HOPE POST OFFICE

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 197) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service at 410 North 6th Street in Garden City, Kansas, as the 
``Clifford R. Hope Post Office''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 197

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
     410 North 6th Street in Garden City, Kansas, is hereby 
     designated as

[[Page H3471]]

     the ``Clifford R. Hope Post Office''. Any reference to such 
     facility in a law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other 
     record of the United States shall be considered to be a 
     reference to the ``Clifford R. Hope Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Davis) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis).
  (Mr. DAVIS of Virginia asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran).
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Davis) yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to speak today on behalf of 
this legislation honoring Clifford R. Hope. Mr. Hope was an active 
public servant involved in Kansas politics for more than 37 years. 
Naming the post office in his hometown of Garden City, Kansas, is an 
honor. It is a small tribute to Mr. Hope's lifetime accomplishments.
  During Mr. Hope's political career, his first leadership 
opportunities presented themselves as a member of the Kansas House of 
Representatives. First elected in 1921, Mr. Hope at the age of 31 
became the youngest speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives.
  As in many other States in the 1920s, tension mounted surrounding 
civil rights issues. Mr. Hope, an ardent opponent of the Klu Klux Klan, 
took the politically difficult stance to ensure that Kansas' history as 
a free State was not tarnished and that individual liberties of all its 
citizens were protected.
  After 3 terms in the State legislature, Clifford R. Hope was elected 
to Congress in 1926. Mr. Hope became a respected leader in this House, 
ultimately serving as the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture from 
1946 to 1951. Mr. Hope was the last Republican chairman of the 
committee until another Kansan, Pat Roberts, assumed that position in 
1995.
  Mr. Hope was deeply involved in establishing many of the agricultural 
programs that still exist today. In addition to his work on behalf of 
agriculture, Mr. Hope was a strong advocate for defense programs and 
was heavily involved in the military programs essential to our 
successful war efforts during World War II.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. Hope was a veteran of World War I.
  Spanning the presidential administrations of Presidents Coolidge, 
Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower, Mr. Hope's time in Congress 
was a period of extraordinary change in our Nation. Through the end of 
the roaring 1920s, the Depression and World War II, and the critical 
rebuilding years that followed, Mr. Hope faithfully served Kansans and 
was actively involved in many legislative accomplishments that we take 
for granted today.
  He was an avid supporter of conservation programs. Mr. Hope first 
experienced legislative success by passing into law the bill creating 
the Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands in Kansas. It was created in 1928, and 
this wetland still today serves the goals of environmental restoration 
and preservation. While Mr. Hope's initial bill was aimed at Kansans, 
it was followed by one of the largest nationwide conservation programs, 
the Small Watershed Program, which was developed under Mr. Hope's 
tenure as the Committee on Agriculture Chairman. Passed in 1954 and 
known as P.L. 566, the Small Watershed Program has been successful in 
reducing runoff, controlling erosion and protecting countless 
communities from flooding for more than 40 years.
  In addition to conservation programs, Chairman Hope also had great 
success in promoting the United States humanitarian role in the world. 
The Food for Peace Program, P.L. 480, was signed into law by President 
Eisenhower in July of 1954. From its inception, Food For Peace has been 
the backbone of the United States's food donation efforts around the 
world. However, not all of Mr. Hope's feeding programs had such worldly 
goals. Authorized in 1946, the zeal with which Mr. Hope promoted the 
School Lunch Program earned him the title of ``Hot Lunch Cliff.''
  While it is often common to measure a man by his accomplishments, it 
is the manner in which those accomplishments are achieved that is truly 
important. In this day of harsh rhetorical battles, it is refreshing to 
honor a Member with character and demeanor. Our former Governor of 
Kansas, William H. Avery, also a former member of this body, perhaps 
said it best about Mr. Hope's character:
  ``I never heard Cliff speak a harsh word against those with whom he 
disagreed, either in debate or in personal conversation. He had the 
respect and admiration of all who knew him. He will always be 
remembered as an honest man with an infectious personality, kind to 
both his friends and adversaries, but unshakable in his convictions.''
  In the epilogue to the book ``Quiet Courage,'' written in 1997 by 
Congressman Hope's son, Clifford Hope, Jr., also a distinguished 
Kansan, the son speaking of his Congressman father concludes that:
  First of all, Congressman Hope had a solid record of substantial 
legislative accomplishments. He probably spent more time from 1933 
until 1957 on farm support legislation than any other single issue, 
seeking to secure a safety net for farmers and, equally important, 
striving to ensure a stable supply of inexpensive food and fiber for 
consumers. His more lasting legislative accomplishments were in the 
area of soil and water conservation, agricultural research and 
marketing, and the Food For Peace program.
  Although preoccupied with agriculture problems, Congressman Hope 
spent many hours studying and seeking the truth on all important 
issues. Hope's legislative achievements were not, in his son's opinion, 
his primary reason that he considered his father a role model 
Congressman and considered so by many of his contemporaries as well. He 
was a role model, rather, because of the virtues and values he held 
dear. In recent years there has been a rediscovery of, or at least a 
renewed interest in, personal virtues.
  William J. Bennett, in his ``Book of Virtues'' quotes stories and 
poems which exemplify 10 virtues: responsibility, self-discipline, 
compassion, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty 
and faith. Senator Frank Carlson, also a former member of the House of 
Representatives, in his congressional ceremony honoring his friend 
Cliff Hope in 1956 cited a list of nine virtues that make up the 
stature of the perfect man: patience, kindness, generosity, humility, 
courtesy, unselfishness, sincerity, good temper, and guilelessness.
  Hope would be the first to disclaim that he was a perfect man, but in 
large measure, he did possess the virtues cited by Bennett and 
Drummond. All of these in particular were ones imparted and taught to 
all of those he came in contact with.
  So, Mr. Speaker, today as we seek passage of this legislation, H.R. 
197, I encourage all of us to strive for these characteristics. We too 
will leave a mark on the history of this country, and I hope that 
during my term of service in the United States Congress that I will 
never forget a fellow Kansan, Clifford R. Hope, that he provided a role 
model for those of us who engage in this business each and every day, 
and that we will all strive to serve with quiet courage.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 197, introduced by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. 
Moran) on January 6, 1999, designates the United States Postal Facility 
at 410 North 6th Street in Garden City, Kansas as the Clifford R. Hope 
Post Office.
  Mr. Hope was a former Member of Congress representing the 7th 
congressional district in Kansas from 1927 to 1957. His political 
career began in the Kansas House of Representatives, where he served as 
Speaker of the Kansas House. Following his election to Congress, Mr. 
Hope became Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture.
  I am pleased to honor such a distinguished colleague, and we are 
pleased to support this bill from this side of the aisle.
  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of 
legislation authored by

[[Page H3472]]

my friend and colleague from Kansas' Big First District, Representative 
Jerry Moran, and cosponsored by the Kansas House of delegation, that 
would designate the Garden City, Kansas, post office as the ``Clifford 
R. Hope Post Office.''
  Clifford Ragsdale Hope was born in Birmingham, Iowa, in 1903. He was 
educated in the public schools and attended Nebraska Wesleyan 
University of Lincoln, Nebraska. He graduated from my alma mater, 
Washburn University School of Law, in Topeka, Kansas, in 1917, and was 
admitted to the Kansas bar that same year.
  Clifford Hope then served in World War I as a second lieutenant with 
the 35th and 85th Divisions in the United States and France from 1917-
1919. After the war, he began the private practice of law in Garden 
City, and served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1921-27, 
where he became speaker pro tempore in 1923 and speaker in 1925.
  Representative Hope was elected as a Republican member of the 70th 
Congress and to the fourteen succeeding Congresses, serving from 1927 
to 1957. He chaired the House Agriculture Committee in the 80th and 
83rd Congresses, when his party held a majority of seats in this body. 
He did not seek renomination in 1956, but returned to Garden City, 
where he served as president of Great Plains Wheat, Inc., of Garden 
City, Kansas, from 1959-63.
  Former Representative Hope died in Garden City, Kansas, on May 16, 
1970. He lived a life dedicated to public service for his community, 
state, and nation. Our home state of Kansas, the United States of 
America, and American agriculture were all made better because of him. 
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present remarks in 
support of this measure to name the Garden City post office after 
Clifford Hope and I am confident we will see it signed into law in the 
near future.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 197.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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