[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 30, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7962-S7964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EISENHOWER LEADERSHIP AWARD

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, on the evening of Tuesday, May 18, 1999, 
the distinguished Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and 
my good friend, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, received the Eisenhower 
World Affairs Institute's annual Leadership Award in recognition of his 
outstanding lifetime accomplishments. This is indeed an honor Ted 
richly deserves. Ted has dedicated his life to public service, and 
embodies the values, commitment and integrity that were the hallmark of 
former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is an honor to work with such 
an able legislator, particularly on the Senate Appropriations 
Committee, where Ted's leadership has earned him the respect of his 
Senate colleagues. Ted is a great American and serves this institution 
well. I was delighted to be part of the evening's festivities. I would 
like to share with my Senate colleagues and all Americans, Senator Ted 
Stevens' remarks upon the acceptance of the Eisenhower Leadership 
Award. I ask that the full text of Senator Stevens' remarks be printed 
in the Congressional Record.
  The remarks follow.

  Senator Ted Stevens' Remarks at the Eisenhower WordD Affairs Dinner 
      Upon Receiving the Eisenhower Leadership Prise, May 18, 1999

       This is a very unexpected honor. Thanks to Rocco Siciliano 
     and to my departed friend, Al McDermott, who served as 
     Assistant to Ike's Secretary of Labor--a special friend who 
     would be pleased that his wife, Krieks, is here. Al, under 
     Ike's command, drove his LCT to Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-
     Day.
       Alaska's small population seems to be here--the effort all 
     Alaskans made to come so far to share this night means a lot 
     to me. Catherine and I are especially pleased that Lily, soon 
     to be on the Farm at Stanford, is here, together with 
     Catherine's sister, Judi.
       This evening overwhelms me. Friends are here from almost 
     every phase of my life.
       Russ Green and I met in California when we were 14. We 
     traveled far to be with each other for brief periods during 
     WWII. Russ still lives in California--he was our best man in 
     1952 when Ann and I were married.
       George Reycraft has been a companion since 1947, when we 
     started law school. Catherine, Lily and I have spent 
     Thanksgiving with George since 1980. Roemer McPhee and Burton 
     Wood were with us at law school.
       Bill Ewald served in the Interior Department before going 
     to the White House to become Ike's biographer. Donna DeVarona 
     and I were on President Ford's Commission on Amateur Sports--
     she encouraged me and assisted me when Congress enacted my 
     Amateur Sports Act. Sandra Day and John O'Connor are 
     Arizonans from a ranching family like Catherine's mother, 
     Ellie. Tony Motley and Judy--Tony and I survived a Lear Jet 
     crash in 1978--that's a bond that is never broken.
       My constant companions in Alaska--and anywhere the fishing 
     is good--are my brother-in-law Bill Bittner, Chuck Robinson, 
     Bill Allen and my long-time friend and traveling companion, 
     Marshall Coyne. General Joe Ralston and Dede have been close 
     friends since he commanded our 11th Air Force in Alaska--they 
     too are Alaska residents. Throughout this room are members of 
     the Senate staff with whom I have worked. I thank each of you 
     for coming.
       And, I thank Senators Bennett, Inouye, Specter and Warner--
     and Elizabeth Letchworth, Secretary to the Majority, who made 
     certain there were no votes tonight.
       I am filled with awe and trepidation when the list of past 
     recipients of this award is read. I was a foot soldier in 
     Ike's battle to ``Wage Peace.'' To follow President Bush, 
     Colin Powell, Bob Dole, Lloyd Bentsen, and Brent Scowcroft is 
     an honor that takes my breath away.
       Those previous recipients spoke much about Ike. George Bush 
     said:
       ``I think every person in my generation, certainly every 
     product of WWII, who witnessed his dedication to duty and the 
     devotion with which he undertook his many weighty 
     responsibilities, feels exactly the same way I do. In a 
     sense, Eisenhower was like a guardian to us. Certainly, he 
     was a hero figure before he became President of the United 
     States.''
       Bob Dole remembered that of ``the four federal balanced 
     budgets in the last half of this century, Ike gave us three 
     of them''.
       Colin Powell told us of the Eisenhower Corridor in the 
     Pentagon where, among the President's treasures, is his 
     portrait and as Colin said the ``simple, but oh so eloquent, 
     final words Ike spoke before his death, `I've always loved my 
     wife. I've always loved my children. I've always loved my 
     grandchildren. I've always loved my country.' ''
       I have made many statements on the Senate Floor about 
     President Eisenhower. After Ike died in 1969, my comments as 
     a freshman Senator reminded Americans the President held a 
     special place in the hearts of Alaskans. To our 34th 
     President, statehood for Alaska was a matter of simple 
     justice. And, when he listed the accomplishments of his 
     administration, statehood for Alaska and Hawaii appeared 
     first. Alaska first sought statehood in 1913. Two world wars 
     interrupted our quest. After WWII, Hawaii joined the fight. 
     Congress considered Hawaii's bill first, but proponents of 
     Alaska amended their bill and added Alaska, resulting in the 
     defeat of both.

[[Page S7963]]

       Democrats in Congress were certain Alaska would be a solid 
     state for them; Republicans knew Hawaii was certain to be 
     solidly for them. Neither state has followed such 
     predictions.
       In 1950, General Eisenhower said, ``. . . quick admission 
     of Alaska and Hawaii to statehood would show the world that 
     America practices what it preaches.''
       However, in ``Eisenhower the President,'' Bill Ewald 
     reported, ``One day in Ike's first term, Orme Lewis, 
     Assistant Secretary of the Interior, cautiously entered the 
     Oval Office with Secretary Douglas McKay. `What do you want 
     to talk to me about?' The President asked. `Statehood for 
     Alaska,' McKay replied. `Well, it better be goddamn good,' 
     the President shot back.''
       Ike was under Department of Defense pressure to oppose 
     Alaska statehood. Explaining that his 1950 statement 
     endorsing Alaska statehood was made before he had 
     Presidential responsibility, in his first term Ike urged that 
     Hawaii be admitted, but not Alaska.
       This was at the height of the Cold War. Many WWII veterans 
     went north to find a new life, including my wife Ann and me. 
     Only 206,000 people, including military, lived in our 
     Territory. Anyone could enter Alaska without a passport, but 
     when we went to the ``South 48,'' our own Immigration Service 
     demanded a passport from everyone, or at least a birth 
     certificate and we, like Americans before us, found taxation 
     without representation downright un-American! It was 
     demeaning to those of us who had fought WWII. We wanted 
     Congress to listen to Ike and show America does practice what 
     it preaches.
       Alaskans called a Constitutional Convention; we adopted a 
     Constitution for a new state and we also adopted the 
     ``Tennessee Plan.'' Tennessee, when it sought statehood, 
     elected two Senators and a Congressman, then sent them to 
     Washington, D.C. to demand statehood.
       In mid-1956, I arrived back in Washington, D.C. to become 
     Legislative Counsel at the Interior Department. President 
     Eisenhower had just appointed as Secretary of the Interior 
     Fred Seaton, Publisher of the Hastings Tribune, who had 
     served briefly as one of Nebraska's Senators.
       Alaska's newspaper publishers, particularly my friends Bill 
     Snedden of the Fairbanks News-Miner and Bob Atwood of the 
     Anchorage Times, knew Fred well and urged me to accept the 
     appointment.
       In many ways, statehood for Alaska and Hawaii was a triumph 
     for newspaper publishers. Snedden and Atwood visited almost 
     every news entity in the United States from Bill Hearst to 
     Henry R. Luce of Time, Inc. From hundreds of daily, weekly 
     and monthly newspapers and magazines, editorial and even 
     financial support poured in. Seaton's own Western Farm Life, 
     plus his papers, radio and television stations in Wyoming, 
     Colorado and Nebraska, were all active in this endeavor.
       Alaskans found their national champion for statehood in 
     Fred Seaton. His maiden speech on the Senate Floor was an 
     impassioned plea for immediate action on the Alaska bill. 
     (I've always believed it was ghostwritten by Bill Snedden.)
       At Interior, I joined friends with whom I had worked here 
     in D.C. as a volunteer in Ike's 1952 campaign, preparing 
     position papers on natural resource and western issues. 
     Later, at the 1956 Republican Convention, working behind the 
     scenes with Fred Seaton, Alaskans and Hawaiians obtained a 
     provision in our Platform pledging action on both statehood 
     bills.
       During the campaign, on September 11, 1956, the President 
     said:
       ``Now, Alaska is a very great area, there are few people in 
     it, and they are confined almost exclusively in the southeast 
     corner.
       ``Could there be a way worked out where the areas necessary 
     for defense requirements could be retained under Federal 
     control in the great outlying regions and a State made out of 
     that portion in which the population is concentrated, it 
     would seem to be a good solution to the problem.
       ``But, the great and vast area is completely dependent upon 
     the United States for protection, and it is necessary to us 
     in our defense arrangements.''
       That statement led Secretary Seaton and me to meet in 1957 
     in Fred's hospital room with General Nate Twining, Chairman 
     of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one of Ike's favorite military 
     advisors. With Twining was Jack Stempler, then in charge of 
     legislation for DoD. Jack told me just this past week, 
     ``Legislation is spawned in many places in D.C., but I wonder 
     how many legislative solutions came from a hospital room?''
       Secretary Seaton was in traction because of a bad back. We 
     showed him and General Twining the map upon which Ike had 
     drawn a rough line, North and West of which Ike believed 
     there were special defense problems. Twining, who had 
     commanded in Alaska, explained the military reasons for 
     Eisenhower's reservations, particularly the need for 
     unfettered access along the Northern and Western shores of 
     Alaska, obviously defense strategy for opposing the Soviets.
       The General pointed out Ike remembered that part of 
     Alaska's Aleutian Islands were occupied by the Japanese in 
     World War II and that Alaska's Little Diomede Island in the 
     North Pacific was just two miles from the Soviet's Big 
     Diomede Island.
       We developed a concept to meet Ike's military concerns, 
     while at the same time admitting the whole territory as a 
     state, drafting a provision to give the President power to 
     make defense withdrawals, in essence creating martial law, 
     taking over all aspects of government in the area North or 
     West of Ike's line. No such power exists in any other state.
       The Tennessee Plan members--Bill Egan, Ernest Gruening, and 
     Ralph Rivers--later agreed, and Bob Bartlett presented the 
     concept in the House. This was not an easy decision. House 
     Rules Chairman Howard Smith was a dedicated opponent of 
     Alaska. Alaska's statehood bill bypassed his Rules Committee 
     under an old, seldom-used House Rule, which allowed statehood 
     bills to be taken directly to the House Floor. The strategy 
     worked. Alaska's bill passed the House despite repeated 
     attacks from Republicans and Southern Democrats.
       Senate strategy was to avoid amendments. Had an amendment 
     been adopted, the bill would be returned to the House where 
     Chairman Smith would bury it.
       In the Senate debate, our provision, known as Section 10, 
     was the principal target of statehood opponents. Senator 
     Eastland, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, led the charge 
     saying:
       ``I submit that the reservation contained in section 10 is 
     such a condition imposed upon the new State of Alaska as a 
     price for admission in of the Union of States that it does 
     violence to the equal footing doctrine, whereby all the 
     preceding states entering into this Union all entered on 
     equal footing.
       ``The President of the United States is authorized without 
     a declaration of martial law, to withdraw sovereignty from 
     over half of the area of the State of Alaska.''
       Senators Thurmond and Russell spoke at length, leaving 
     Majority Leader Mansfield to wonder out loud if there was a 
     filibuster going on.
       Senator Thurmond objected to any unanimous consent 
     agreement. I remember loud sighs then from Alaskans in the 
     Senate gallery, knowing as we did Strom's capability for long 
     debate. And Strom did speak extremely long and eloquently. 
     Senators Monroney, Fulbright, and Stennis each made motions; 
     all failed. Then Senator Russell, an absolute powerhouse in 
     the Senate, joined Stennis in seeking to refer the bill to 
     the Armed Services Committee. This also failed. Thurmond 
     moved to eliminate a portion of the land in Alaska subject to 
     section 10. That failed by a vote of 16-67. That vote showed 
     enough votes to cut off debate. Soon thereafter, our bill 
     passed, unamended, by a vote of 64-20.
       I later served in the Senate with those Senators who 
     opposed Alaska vigorously. Each was not only a good friend, 
     but worked hard to help me and our new state.
       Bill Ewald, when commenting on the passage of the Alaska 
     bill in ``Eisenhower the President,'' rightfully concluded 
     Seaton was a zealot on the subject--and I was a fanatic.
       Bill also said:
       ``. . . in the end . . . the greatest glory must go to 
     Eisenhower. He chose his lieutenants, gave them the freedom 
     to think and to innovate, backed them to the hilt despite his 
     qualms, and thus produced an outcome that, in retrospect, 
     remains a triumph of his administration.
       ``They worked in his name; and history will, and should, 
     honor him for what they did.''
       The privilege of being near Ike in those days is hard to 
     describe. It wasn't just a battle for Alaska--ten years after 
     Ike approved our Statehood Act, oil was discovered in Alaska. 
     Now 25 percent of all oil produced in the U.S. comes from our 
     North Slope and Cook Inlet. Over 50 percent of all fish 
     landed in the U.S. comes from waters off our shores. 
     Alaska has the highest educated population in this nation. 
     Air Force pilots train above our vast tundra, and our 
     joint Army/Air Force exercises give our defense forces the 
     finest training in the world.
       Bryce Harlow, the President's assistant for legislative 
     affairs, held weekly meetings every Saturday for the liaison 
     assistants from every Department, reviewing the past week, 
     and planning strategy for the week ahead. Ed McCabe and 
     Roemer McPhee attended some of those meetings. General Jerry 
     Pearson joined us once in a while. Ike often stopped by 
     Harlow's meetings; he'd joke a little, take time to clearly 
     and simply explain what his priorities were, and would always 
     end with a plea to get our work done and go home to our 
     families. Once he told us, ``If you are ever at a dinner here 
     in Washington that lasts beyond ten p.m., go to your hostess 
     and tell her the President needs to see you!'' Ike firmly 
     believed in ``early to bed and early to rise.''
       I'm sure you join me in saying how happy we are to be with 
     members of the Eisenhower family again--David and Julie, Mary 
     Jean and Susan. Ike's legacy of family love is obviously a 
     code for each of them.
       In 1982, on the Senate Floor, I discussed Bill Ewald's 
     speech to the Eisenhower Old Guard dinner that year. Bill 
     commented about Ike's calm as the President discussed his 
     decision to send troops into Lebanon just eight days after he 
     signed the Alaska Statehood Bill.
       Ike told Bill, ``Look, when you appeal to the force, 
     there's just one thing you must never do--that's lose. 
     There's no such thing as a little force. When you use it, you 
     use it overwhelmingly.''
       Bill closed that speech with a comment with which we all 
     agree:
       ``Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on 
     earth of steel and velvet. Peace unspeakable and perfect.
       ``Something like that resided in the mind and heart and 
     soul of Dwight Eisenhower. In

[[Page S7964]]

     the midst of many threatening clouds it brought us a 
     beautiful golden season of Eisenhower weather.
       ``For what he did, and above all for what he was, we thank 
     God from the bottom of our hearts tonight.''
       President Eisenhower's Covenant for Total Peace is known to 
     many of you. It was read by Charlton Heston on the 
     anniversary of D-Day, June 6th 1998, in Philadelphia. 
     Americans who didn't know Ike personally should read it--and 
     know what he did for us, and for the world.
       I enlisted in General Eisenhower's crusade 50 years ago. 
     And as a member of the Eisenhower Administration, I joined 
     the President in the battle for Alaska statehood. His 
     admonition that ``there is one thing you must never do--
     lose'' is a principle which continues to guide my public 
     life.
       Ike will always be my Supreme Commander. His devotion to 
     duty, country, honor have shaped my nearly 50 years of public 
     service. I view the world and my responsibility to it through 
     his prism. Whether it's continuing the battle to ensure the 
     promises of statehood are kept or working side by side with 
     my partner, Dan Inouye, to maintain the strong national 
     defense that Ike helped build, I am honored to continue as a 
     foot soldier in his battle to ``wage peace.''
       The Crusade I want to join is obvious: In my mind Dwight 
     David Eisenhower must be named the Person of the Twentieth 
     Century. My question is: where do I enlist?

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