[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13473-13475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                             THE GREENBRIER

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, tucked into a sheltered green valley in 
Southern West Virginia is a magical place, a place where fascinating 
history, natural majesty, and sumptuous comfort have combined since the 
first days of our nation's founding to create a spot that is justly 
world-renowned. That place, Mr. President, is called The Greenbrier, in 
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It has been a special place for 
several decades now, overflowing with game for the Shawnee Indians, a 
spa since colonial days, a place of high society idylls and balls, 
fought over during the Civil War, a World War II diplomatic internment 
site and then a rest and recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers, 
and a secret government relocation site--all cloaked behind the well-
bred, white-columned face of a grand southern belle of a resort.
  Mr. President, in May, my wife Erma and I celebrated our 63rd 
anniversary. Erma is my childhood sweetheart, the former Erma Ora 
James. We have written a lot of history together over the past 63 
years, and I could not ask for a better coauthor.
  This year, as we have in the last several years, we celebrated at the 
fabled Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs. I am certainly not 
original in my inspiration to celebrate moments of marital bliss 
there--President John Tyler, the first President to be married in 
office, spent part of his 1844 honeymoon in White Sulphur Springs. 
Actors Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher spent part of their 1955 
honeymoon there, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy arrived at the 
Greenbrier on October 11, 1914, for a two-week honeymoon. Many, many, 
other famous names are inscribed in the Greenbrier's guest register. 
The history that Erma and I have created together is a blink of the eye 
compared to that of The Greenbrier, whose healing waters were first 
enjoyed by hardy colonists in 1778, as they had been by Shawnee Indians 
for untold years before that.
  The Greenbrier has been a resort almost since the day in 1778 that 
Mrs. Anderson, one of the first homesteaders in the Greenbrier area of 
the ``Endless Mountains,'' as the region was identified on colonial 
maps, first tested the wondrous mineral waters on her chronic 
rheumatism. Word of Mrs. Anderson's recovery spread rapidly, and 
numerous log cabins were soon erected near the spring. The ``summer 
season'' at the spring was born, albeit in a somewhat primitive state.
  Still, the fame of the spring along Howard's Creek continued to 
spread. Thomas Jefferson mentioned ``Howard's Creek of Green Briar'' in 
his ``Notes on the State of Virginia'' in 1784; that same year, George 
Washington focused the Virginia legislature's attention on the 
commercial prospects of the ``Old State Road'' running between the 
Kanawha River valley, through The Greenbrier's lands, to the piedmont 
and tidewater sections of Virginia. Along the route of today's roadway 
between the hotel and the golf clubhouse stands a monument to this 
vision. The Buffalo Trail monument commemorates the point at which the 
pre-colonial Indian Buffalo Trail crossed the Allegheny Mountains on 
its way from the Atlantic Coast to Ohio. This trail became the James 
River and Kanawha Turnpike, which for over a century carried commerce 
and development from the settled East to the future states of West 
Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. By 1809, a 
tavern with a dining room, a barn, a stable, mills, and numerous cabins 
constituted a hospitable stopping place along the still-rugged route 
West. And rheumatism sufferers were joined at this watering hole by 
others more interested in the creature comforts and social interaction 
than in relieving joint pain.
  By 1815, the first spring house was built over the spring head, and a 
thriving resort was attracting visitors who typically stayed for 
several weeks at a time. A hotel and many surrounding cottages, some 
quite sumptuous, were erected over the years. Commodore Stephen 
Decatur, hero of the Barbary Wars, brought his wife for a 16-day stay

[[Page 13474]]

in 1817, and Henry Clay of Kentucky, Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, spent some time at White Sulphur Springs during 
several summers over some 30 years. The cool mountain breezes under the 
shelter of ancient oaks, combined with stylish fans and gentle rocking 
chairs on a shady porch, made the Greenbrier a comfortable spot in 
those sweltering summers before air conditioning.
  In many ways, the Greenbrier has changed little over the years. The 
gracious sweep of lawn, the stately trees, the ranks of white cottages 
and imposing hotel facades hark back to that earlier era. Many of the 
cottages, most too sumptuous to be called merely ``cottages,'' have 
their own special histories. One of the cottages was owned by Jerome 
Napoleon Bonaparte, who was a nephew of the French Emperor. General 
John J. Pershing, Commander of the Allied Forces in World War I 
completed his memoirs in the cottage named ``Top Notch.'' Early morning 
horseback rides are still popular, and Erma and I recently enjoyed the 
romantic carriage ride through the grounds. Hunting, fishing, and even 
falconry are still practiced. But more golf courses, tennis courts, and 
swimming pools encourage a more active lifestyle than in those early 
days. The Greenbrier is justly famous for its golf and for the Sam 
Snead Golf School. Though I do not play, I still enjoy the beautifully 
landscaped courses with their wide sweeps of lawn and water dotted with 
sandy island obstacles. The partaking of the sulfur water, that 
elemental component of the original spa experience, is now complemented 
by health and beauty facilities and services that pamper every part of 
you. A visit to the Greenbrier has grown ever more restorative over the 
years.
  Henry Clay, that great man from Kentucky, the State of the Senator 
who now presides over the Senate with a dignity and degree of charm and 
skill and poise as rare as a day in June, often visited at the 
Greenbrier, as I have said.
  Henry Clay was an early political fan of the Greenbrier, surely the 
most gracious and comfortable stopping place on his many trips between 
Washington and his home in Kentucky. Other well-known figures and 
luminaries who visited the resort prior to the Civil War were 
Presidents Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Franklin 
Pierce, and James Buchanan. I have already noted that President John 
Tyler honeymooned at the Greenbrier. Dolly Madison, Daniel Webster, 
Davy Crockett, Francis Scott Key, and John C. Calhoun, and many other 
political notables have also contributed to engrossing dinner 
conversations there in more recent years, including Senate greats such 
as Everett Dirksen, Sam Ervin, Jacob Javits, and Barry Goldwater. Other 
politicians preferred the outstanding golf at the resort, including 
President Eisenhower, President Nixon (as a Vice President), and Vice 
President Hubert Humphrey. President Woodrow Wilson has also graced the 
Greenbrier, though I do not know if he was a golfer.
  The Greenbrier has always been a favorite spot of other celebrities, 
as well. The Vanderbilts, Astors, Hearsts, Forbes, Luces, DuPonts, and 
the Kennedys have sojourned there, as did Prince Ranier and Princess 
Grace with their children Albert and Caroline. The Duke and Duchess of 
Windsor danced the night away in the grand ballroom. Bing Crosby has 
sung there, and Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, 
Rudi Valle, Art Buchwald, Dr. Jonas Salk, Cyrus Eaton, and the Reverend 
Billy Graham have all made mealtime conversations there sparkle more 
than the crystal chandeliers in the dining room. Babe Ruth and Lou 
Gehrig are just two of the sporting greats who have autographed the 
guest register. Clare Booth Luce wrote the first draft of her most 
enduring play, ``The Women'', during a three-day stay in 1936. Like 
Tennyson's brook, the fascinating list of notables could go on and on 
forever. People watching--that is watching people--has always been a 
spectator sport at Greenbrier functions!
  The Greenbrier has experienced trauma as well as galas. During the 
Civil War, the Greenbrier's location astride a strategic rail line into 
Richmond, Virginia, put her in the line of fire. Troops were billeted 
in her guest rooms, but both sides spared a favorite pre-war vacation 
site and fighting raged along the Greenbrier River. Being in what 
became Southern West Virginia, during the debate over succession in 
1863, the Greenbrier's fate as a West Virginia or a Virginia citizen 
was uncertain. I am surely glad that West Virginia was the winner!
  During Reconstruction, the hotel's healing waters also helped to heal 
the wounds of war, as grand society from both sides of the conflict 
continued to meet at the Greenbrier. General Robert E. Lee was a 
frequent visitor. In General Robert E. Lee's single post-war political 
statement, he led a group of prominent Southern leaders vacationing at 
the Greenbrier in drafting and signing what became known as ``The White 
Sulphur Manifesto'' of 1868. This document, widely reprinted in 
newspapers across the country, declared that, in the minds of these 
men, questions of secession from the Union and slavery ``were decided 
by war,'' and that, upon the reestablishment of self-governance in the 
South, the Southern people would ``faithfully obey the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, treat the Negro populations with kindness 
and humanity and fulfill every duty incumbent on peaceful citizens, 
loyal to the Constitution of their country.'' The war was truly over.
  In 1869, one of the most famous photographs ever taken at White 
Sulphur Springs included Robert E. Lee and a group of former 
Confederate Generals, among them Henry Wise of Virginia, P.G.T. 
Beauregard of Louisiana, and Bankhead Magruder of Virginia. Other ex-
Confederate officers who visited the resort were Alexander Lawton of 
Georgia, Joseph Brent of Maryland, James Conner of South Carolina, 
Martin Gary of South Carolina, and Robert Lilley of Virginia. Former 
Union General William S. Rosecrans visited General Lee while Lee was 
vacationing one summer at the Greenbrier.
  The Greenbrier has served the nation well in two other wars, as 
well--World War II and the Cold War. At the outbreak of World War II, 
the hotel served as a rather gilded cage for several thousand foreign 
diplomats and their families, from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, 
and, later, Japan. It was then taken over by the federal government for 
the Army's use as a rest and recuperation hospital for wounded 
soldiers, before returning, like the soldiers it housed, to civilian 
life.
  Much has been made, in recent years, of the Greenbrier's secret life 
as a covert agent of the U.S. government. In 1992, the existence of an 
emergency government relocation center built secretly deep beneath the 
Greenbrier was revealed. The result of an extraordinary partnership 
between the CSX Corporation and the federal government, the bunker 
contained facilities to house and operate the entire United States 
Congress in the event of nuclear attack. It had its origin in plans 
created by President Eisenhower to ensure the survival of the 
constitutional system of checks and balances. The President had to 
convince Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon 
B. Johnson, to go along with the plan, which was carried out in the 
greatest secrecy for over forty years. The secrecy was necessary, 
because the bunker at the Greenbrier was not designed to withstand a 
direct hit, but, rather, to ensure security through a combination of 
physical design and camouflage. The remote shelter of the West Virginia 
hills proved a perfect combination of cover, concealment, and denial.
  Now, the bunker is open to the public for tours. It is fascinating to 
see the level of detail that was included in the bunker, but it is also 
sobering to reflect upon the real fear of Armageddon that existed in 
this country during those years and which justified this kind of 
contingency planning. As you finish the tour and return to the sunlit 
world of golf, lazy country walks, luxurious settings, and fine dining 
that is the hallmark of the Greenbrier experience, it is difficult to 
recall those not-so-distant times when school children practiced hiding 
under their desks in the event of a conventional or nuclear exchange.

[[Page 13475]]

  I encourage my fellow Senators, and, indeed, anyone listening, to 
visit the Greenbrier, to tour the bunker, and to relish the history and 
the service that are so much a part of this precious piece of West 
Virginia. Avoid the current high gas prices and road congestion, and 
take the train as so many have before you. Leave steamy, contentious, 
Washington behind for a time, and step out at the Greenbrier's rail 
depot wondering at the beauty, the cool breezes that smell of fresh, 
clean air and wildflowers. Allow yourself to be swept along by the 
attentive, unobtrusive service of an earlier age and be deposited in a 
bright, flower-bedecked room before a pre-dinner stroll about the 
grounds. You will be walking with the celebrities of the past as you 
write a wonderful new chapter in your own history.
  I was mentioning the Amtrak train. My recollection went back to a 
time in England when the distinguished Senator from Washington, Slade 
Gorton, and his nice wife Sally, and Erma and I rode the train from 
London up to York. Oh, my, what a wonderful time we had in York, 
visiting through the countryside with its narrow roads and its hedges 
and having our meetings with the British. Those were most enjoyable 
days and memorable ones.
  But riding the train in itself is a real treat. I like to ride 
trains, and I know Slade Gorton does, too. Has he ever told about his 
bicycle journey across the United States? He and his wife and their 
children traveled by bicycle, a bicycle odyssey, across the United 
States of America, all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic. That 
would be something worth reading about. Better still, talk with him in 
person about it.
  I close with the immortal words and images of the poet William 
Wordsworth, who lived from 1770 to 1850, when the Greenbrier was yet in 
its early days. But his lines eloquently capture the sights one can now 
happen upon when strolling through the magical grounds of this 
wonderful outpost of gentle civilization amid the mountains, and they 
capture the happiness such beauty inspires:

     I wandered lonely as a cloud
     That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
     When all at once I saw a crowd,
     A host, of golden daffodils;
     Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
     Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

     Continuous as the stars that shine
     And twinkle on the milky way,
     They stretched in never-ending line
     Along the margin of a bay:
     Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
     Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

     The waves beside them danced; but they
     Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
     A poet could not but be gay,
     In such a jocund company:
     I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
     What wealth the show to me had brought:

     For oft, when on my couch I lie
     In vacant or in pensive mood,
     They flash upon that inward eye
     Which is the bliss of solitude;
     And then my heart with pleasure fills,
     And dances with the daffodils.

  Like the Greenbrier, the forests in West Virginia.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Collins). The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 
20 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I say to the Senator from West 
Virginia how much I appreciate that rendition and bringing us back to a 
better reality here from time to time.
  I remember the comments by that same poet who once said:

     Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers,
     Little we see in nature that is ours.

  I don't think anyone can ever say that about the senior Senator from 
West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. He said, ``we lay waste our powers.'' But I can assure you 
that the Senator from Tennessee doesn't lay awaste his powers. He is a 
busy man, and he serves his country and his State in a great fashion.
  I thank the Senator for his kind words.
  Mr. THOMPSON. I appreciate that very much.

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