[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4733-4737]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            LIONS CLUB FOUNDER MELVIN JONES AND LIBERTY DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, over 200 years ago, at the end 
of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, a curious woman asked 
Benjamin Franklin, ``Sir, what have you given us?'' He replied, ``A 
republic, if you can keep it.''
  That is our challenge today. A couple of things that are vital to 
maintaining, to help that republic, include the active involvement of 
our citizens in our government and the active community service of 
others, reaching out to others in their communities. No one understands 
this better than a man named Melvin Jones who I would like to honor 
here today, the club he started, the Lions Club, as well as a program 
that the Lions Club are undertaking called Liberty Day.
  This man, Melvin Jones, is a living example of what it means to be a 
community servant. As he went out and founded the world's largest 
network of community service organizations, the Lions Club 
International, I am proud to be a member of the Watertown, Minnesota, 
Lions Club.
  Melvin Jones was born on January 13, 1879, in the cavalry outpost at 
Fort Thomas in what was then Arizona Territory, to Captain Calvin Jones 
and Lydia Gibler Jones. Like many children growing up in the Wild West, 
his early years were filled with memories of horses, blue-clad 
troopers, bugles and war cries, wagon trains, rugged

[[Page 4734]]

settlers and windswept dust. At the age of 7 his father was transferred 
east to St. Louis and later to Quincy, Illinois. Marked by the effects 
of growing up during times of war, Melvin's attendance in school was 
sporadic.

                              {time}  1830

  After the move east, he attended public schools in both Quincy and 
St. Louis and attended Union Business College and Chaddock College in 
Quincy. After college, he moved to Chicago and took a job with the 
insurance agency Johnson and Higgins. In 1909 he married women's 
professional golfer, Rose Amanda Freeman, who later unqualified as 
Melvin worked tirelessly to get Lions Club rolling. In 1913 Melvin's 
success in the insurance industry opened the doors of his being the 
sole owner of Melvin Jones Insurance Agency.
  Later in 1913 an acquaintance invited Melvin to meet some of the boys 
who turned out to be a members group of businessmen called the Business 
Circle who welcomed Melvin to the club with open arms. Like many such 
groups during that time, the Business Circle was a scratch-my-back-and-
I-will-scratch-yours club. Although Jones enjoyed the club, he was 
uncomfortable with the exclusivity and introduced new ideas to expand 
the group's membership and purpose. In 1915 Melvin Jones was elected 
secretary of the Business Circle. As secretary, he pondered how much 
could be accomplished if everyone redirected their energy and pooled 
their abundant intelligence, talents, and ambition towards the greater 
good of their communities.
  Jones broached this idea with other similar organizations with mixed 
reviews at best. So Melvin Jones set out to launch his own organization 
to put this unique vision into action. Although the reviews of this 
novel idea were mixed, Melvin Jones trudged on; and on June 17, 1917, 
he assembled 20 delegates representing 27 clubs nationwide in the east 
room of the Hotel LaSalle in Chicago. A consensus was easily reached 
that a national organization should be formed dedicated to community 
service. After spirited debate, the group voted by secret ballot to 
name this new organization the Association of Lions Clubs. Jones 
advocated for the name Lions because it was a symbol of courage, 
strength, fidelity, and vital action. It helped set the standard for 
the club. Jones insisted during the draft of the organization's 
constitution that no club shall hold out as one of its objects 
financial benefits to its members. He followed this model throughout 
his life.
  The novel idea of a national organization committed to community 
service caught on fast. In 1920, the club became international when it 
chartered a new club in Windsor, Ontario. One of the profound moments 
of the club's history occurred at the 1925 Lions international 
convention in Cedar Point, Ohio. At the Cedar Point convention, Helen 
Keller addressed the members challenging the Lions to become ``knights 
of the blind in the crusade against darkness.'' From then on the Lions 
Clubs have made one of their biggest priorities to serve the blind and 
the visually impaired.
  By 1927, the Lions Club had grown to 11,083 local clubs supporting 
60,000 members performing charitable service in communities all over 
the world. In 1950 when Lions membership surpassed the 400,000 mark, 
the International Board of Directors conferred upon Melvin Jones the 
title of secretary general of Lions International, which was changed to 
founder and secretary general in 1958. The 1950s and 1960s were marked 
by major international expansion by the Lions of Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. Melvin Jones played a central role in the Lions operation until 
the time of his death.
  Throughout his life, Jones's refusal to accept the limitations of old 
age was an inspirational reminder to his peers of his dedication to 
serving others. At the age of 81, even after several strokes the year 
before, he commuted alone on a daily basis from his suburban Chicago 
home, never missing a moment of the Lions 1960 international convention 
where thunderous applause for the founding father shook the rafters.
  On June 1 of 1961, Jones's perfect attendance record ended with his 
passing into the next life and joining his maker. Soon after his 
passing, the International Board of Directors proclaimed January 13, 
Melvin Jones's birthday, as a day of memory each year through the 
world. In 1965 the Melvin Jones's Lions International Memorial was 
erected and dedicated near his birthplace at Fort Thomas, Arizona. In 
June of 1999, the Lions International Board dedicated a prestigious 50-
foot spire, recognition as an international shrine. During his 
remarkable life, Melvin Jones accumulated dozens of awards, honors, and 
accolades. In 1932 Herbert Hoover invited him to the White House as 
part of the conference of business leaders to discuss the economic 
problems of that time. In 1945 he represented the Lions Club at a 
conference in Washington, D.C. for preliminary planning of the United 
Nations and later that year in San Francisco as a consultant at the 
historic organization of the United Nations. And in 1953 after 32 years 
in cramped quarters of the McCormick Building in Chicago, the Lions 
Club International's very own building was dedicated on Michigan 
Avenue, a beautiful symbol and living monument to the founder.
  Lions Club International is the largest network of service clubs in 
the world. Today there are more than 44,600 clubs and 1.4 million 
members throughout the world spanning 190 countries. Lions Clubs 
continue to embrace, giving back to their communities by building a 
brighter future for their communities. Lions Clubs perform a wide range 
of services from simple things such as cleaning up local parks to 
helping with medical advances. And ever since Helen Keller addressed 
that convention, they have had a dedication to helping those with sight 
issues and advancing those with blindness.
  This brings us to the Lions' role in a new project for the new 
century. As many of us are well aware, over the years civics has become 
only a voluntary study in many schools around the country. In fact, 
many history books have left out the two most important documents in 
our Nation's history: the Declaration of Independence and the 
Constitution. This is very unfortunate and will have detrimental 
effects on our Republic as young people are learning less and less 
about government and about our beginning as a country. This leads to 
the apathy and cynicism about our government often associated with our 
younger generations. If we educate our children about our foundation, 
it is more likely that they will take a stronger interest in our 
government and be more attentive, informed voters when they become 
adults.
  In the summer of 1966, two members of the Youth Service Committee of 
the Lions Club in Denver, Colorado, decided to start a small program in 
Denver schools to distribute books containing just the Declaration of 
Independence and the Constitution. The program immediately got traction 
and volunteers sought out private donations for the printing of these 
little booklets.
  Teachers loved the concept, but they lacked an appropriate day on 
which to teach about the Declaration of Independence and the 
Constitution because students were out of schools on the most logical 
day, the July 4 holiday. A theme day was established and through a 
contest it was named Liberty Day. The first official celebration of 
Liberty Day was September 17, 1999, the same day as the signing of the 
Constitution. However, many thought it was celebrated too close to the 
start of a school year. It was moved to December 15, the day of the 
ratification of the Bill of Rights. Many thought it was too close to 
Christmas. It was then decided that the best day would be the Father of 
the Constitution's, James Madison's, birthday on March 16. However, 
this day still lacked significance to many students. Lions Club members 
and volunteers recruited elected State officials in Colorado that 
included the Speaker of the Statehouse, Russell George, former Senator 
Gary Hart, and Attorney General Gale Norton, and others to go to the 
schools, speak to the classes, and distribute the books. The response 
was unbelievable. Instead of doodling,

[[Page 4735]]

scribbling, or discarding the books, students lined up to have their 
books autographed and flooded the speakers with thank you notes for 
what they had learned. To make things easier for teachers, Lions Club 
members and volunteers have taken on the role of schedulers for both 
the officials and teachers.
  An idea this powerful could not stay in one place for very long. 
Almost immediately, the little Denver project began expanding across 
the country. Today, every State has its own booklet on Liberty Day, and 
many have appointed statewide Liberty Day coordinators who are raising 
money to print these books; and I am proud to be the State chairman of 
Minnesota's Liberty Day program. Other national service organizations 
have even chimed in to contribute to the Liberty Day cause. Liberty Day 
is not just spread all over the United States. It is spread all over 
the calendar. Although March 16 is still the official date, Liberty 
Days are now being celebrated practically every week of every month 
somewhere around. Liberty Day has evolved into more than just a 
celebration for students. It is a celebration in which the whole 
community can participate.
  Many communities celebrate by holding public lectures, displaying 
sections of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in public 
places, staging mock debates on issues our Founding Fathers grappled 
with more than 200 years ago. The little booklets that started with 
Liberty Day are used for far more than just Liberty Day celebrations 
and educating students on our founding documents. Boy Scouts use them 
to study for their merit badges, immigrants to study for their 
citizenship tests, even Congressmen use them to distribute at town 
meetings, and grandparents to give to their grandchildren. As in many 
parts of the country, Liberty Day has taken on an importance to 
thousands of students in Minnesota.
  Liberty Day celebrations are terrific opportunities to connect with 
our constituents and to provide an example and opportunity to give back 
something to our community. It is also a chance to leave a lasting 
impression in the minds of young and old alike and erase some of the 
cynicism that they may have towards government and public officials. In 
my district, I have had the honor of participating in about a dozen of 
these celebrations, talking to thousands of students and hundreds of 
adults, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
  I really challenge all of my colleagues, many of whom already do 
this, to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to give so much 
back to the community with the minimum commitment of time. To learn 
more about this exciting program, I highly encourage everyone to 
contact the National Liberty Day organization and visit their Web site 
at www.LibertyDay.org.
  In many of my programs, we do in fact involve the whole community. 
The VFW, the American Legion often participate in bringing the flags 
up. The schools often participate by singing a patriotic song or the 
band playing patriotic music. Local officials such as school board 
members, the mayor, or legislators or members of the Lions Club would 
come and participate, giving their message as to what liberty means for 
them. And there is a very powerful message that these students really 
appreciate hearing.
  In my remarks at these Liberty Day programs, I remind them that, in 
fact, President Bush reminded us that in every generation the world has 
raised up enemies of human freedom and that they have attacked America, 
as he said, because we are freedom's home and defenders. I tell them 
that their grandparents' generation will all remember where they were 
on that Day of Infamy on December 7, 1941; and I encourage them to talk 
to their grandparents about that memory and what it meant to them and 
how they valued freedom ever since.
  I tell them that people of their parents' generation, of my 
generation, will remember where we were on November 22, 1963, when we 
first heard that John F. Kennedy was shot. I tell them of my memory of 
being in first grade in a four-room schoolhouse and our teacher coming 
in and telling us that and looking to the back of the room and seeing 
the picture of President Kennedy on top of the bookcase. And I tell 
them that in a similar way, all of them, indeed everyone today that was 
living at the time of September 11, will remember the vicious and 
cowardly attacks on our country on that day. I describe to them how I 
will never forget that day, in being in my office here in Washington, 
D.C., seeing smoke from our Nation's military headquarters, the 
Pentagon, out of my office window, having the Capitol as a prime target 
across the street and a fourth hijacked plane heading our way.

                              {time}  1845

  How I will never forget returning to the Capitol after being 
evacuated later that day and seeing, even though it was a bright 
sunshiny day, that instead of the crowds of students and others that 
usually throng the Capitol, there was only beefed-up security forces, 
and F-16s flying overhead, making it seem more like the movie set of a 
science fiction film than our Nation's Capital.
  And how I will never forget going to the Pentagon 2 days after the 
attack and having the workers there tell me that they had not yet found 
a piece of the airplane longer than 6 feet long. How I would never 
forget going with several Members of Congress to Ground Zero at the 
World Trade Center site in New York City and the utter devastation that 
I witnessed, with seven buildings totally destroyed and the others 
looking as if a giant had taken a can opener and pried away at the 
edges.
  But I tell them that in New York City if you stopped and turned up 
towards the harbor, that you could see that the Statue of Liberty still 
held that Flame of Liberty high. And that as you talked to the people 
there in New York, and for me back home in Minnesota and all my other 
colleagues, I know you experience the same thing back in your own 
States, you could tell that the spirit of America was as strong as it 
has ever been.
  I asked them to think about where do we get that source of the spirit 
of America? In answering that question, I describe to them a vacation 
that I took where I learned about the spirit of America, the first 
vacation in fact that I took outside of the State of Minnesota when I 
was 10 years old.
  I took a vacation with my family to visit my uncle and his family in 
Virginia. My uncle Earl was a World War II veteran of Pearl Harbor, was 
in the Navy at the time, did not really enjoy the fact you could not 
dig a foxhole in the middle of the ocean, so switched to the Army, 
retired working with the Army in Newport News at Fort Eustis.
  He was a history buff. He took us all around the Tidewater, Virginia 
area to the historic sites there, to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and 
Yorktown. And I describe Jamestown as the place where the first 
settlers came over and braved the treacherous crossing on the ocean to 
come and settle this land back in 1607, and how a young captain there, 
John Smith, got in trouble with the natives, but that a young lady came 
and helped him out. And, you know, it is true, thanks to the movie, all 
of our students can tell us who that young lady was. Pocahontas. I, of 
course, kid them that their younger brothers and sisters were the ones 
that made them watch the movie.
  Then I talk about Williamsburg, the colonial capital of Virginia, 
right nearby and describe that it is a lot like my State capital, in my 
case in St. Paul in Minnesota, but that instead of having the 
legislators, several of which are often there at the Liberty Day 
programs, how they had people like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, 
and a guy who said, ``Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be 
purchased by the bonds of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. 
I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty 
or give me death.'' And many of these students do know who said that: 
Patrick Henry. And it is good to have many of them reminded of the 
historic events that took place there.
  Then I talk to them about the fact that that was the place where the 
Virginia legislature made the motion for

[[Page 4736]]

independence that was carried to the Continental Congress, a place 
similar to our body here, that made the motion for independence that 
led to the Declaration of Independence. And how just a few miles away 
from there, in Yorktown, is where we ultimately won the Revolutionary 
War, our battle for independence, when General Cornwallis surrendered 
to George Washington.
  And I describe that clearly in those historic places and the events 
that took place there, that that is part of the source of our American 
spirit, but that I learned more about the American spirit than its 
strengths later on in that trip. How my uncle took me to the Newport 
News shipyards and how I could see, looking through the chain-link 
fence, them building a ship. The ship happened to be pretty big. It was 
the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier. And I described that one of 
the biggest honors that I have had in my term in Congress, my first 
term in Congress, was having the opportunity to fly out aboard that 
same carrier many years later.
  And I asked the students, do you know how a plane stops on an 
aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean on such a short runway? 
There is always at least one or several smart young students that know. 
And they are enthralled when you talk about the risks that these pilots 
take, how an arm drops down from a plane with a hook on the end of it 
and has to catch one of the cables strung along the flight deck. How 
you go from 150 miles an hour to zero on the way in. And the experience 
that you have when you come out aboard this heaving, windblown flight 
     deck, with the Hornets and the Tomcats crowded in around 
     you, and the sailors in their multicolored suits standing 
     at attention to salute you.
  I tell them I have never seen a more dedicated, capable, committed 
group of young men and women than those I have seen defending our 
freedom here in America today, and say that clearly that is also part 
of the source of America's strength, the strength of the American 
spirit.
  But I say I found out even more about that source of the strength of 
the American spirit later on that same trip, when we had one day where 
we came here to Washington, DC. I tell how I was really inspired by 
coming to the Capitol and the White House and seeing the Washington 
Monument and the Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial.
  But I say the one place that inspired me most and that in my mind had 
the deepest source of that American spirit was in a building that has a 
room in it as big as the auditorium that we are normally giving these 
presentations in, and I say in this room its prime purpose is to house 
just two documents, and that those two documents are so vital and 
critical that they are kept in an environmentally controlled case that 
will recede down into a vault in the evenings or when it is threatened.
  Then I ask them to guess what are those documents? And by that time 
they always know, and they are impressed with how much we hold these 
documents in reverence, the Declaration of Independence and the 
Constitution.
  To help them better understand those documents, I use the example of 
football. Since we are in the State of Minnesota and the people we love 
to compete against and beat are the Green Bay Packers, I always put it 
in the context of the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers and 
say, you know, if you are going to play football, the first thing you 
need to do is you need to agree on what the goal is. And if the Packers 
say it is the team with the least points that wins and we think it is 
the one with the most, and you do not decide that ahead of time, you 
really do not get much out of the game of football.
  But I describe that that is the role of the Declaration of 
Independence. It tells everybody what our goal is, what is the goal of 
government. And the goal of government is that governments are 
instituted amongst men to secure our rights, and that they derive their 
just power from the consent of the governed; you, the students, I say, 
as you turn 18.
  That is what the Declaration of Independence tells us. It talks about 
our rights, those inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of happiness. And I tell the students that even though you have heard 
this so many times, seemingly from before you were born, that you think 
that there is nothing big about that. But that back in 1776 those 
words, those ideas, were radical.
  Back then, they still had a Holy Roman Emperor in Europe, the Manchu 
Dynasty still ruled in China, the Shoguns still ruled in Japan, and the 
Declaration of Independence brought to birth for the first time the 
idea that we were free and that governments got their power from the 
governed.
  But getting back to the football example, I say, okay, now that we 
all agree on what the goal is, you need to know more, and you need to 
know the rules of engagement. And let us just say the Packers say, 
okay, they get five downs to make a first down and the Vikings only get 
three, that would not be fair. The students understand that. And in a 
similar way we cannot decide that one party gets 5 years if they get 
elected as a President and the other party's candidate would only get 
3. We have to all do it the same.
  I describe that in the case of Minnesota, that our coach, Vikings 
Coach Tice, cannot all of a sudden decide he wants to switch with the 
referee, or the referee cannot decide that he just wants to switch and 
be quarterback instead of Dante Culpepper; that there has to be rules, 
and that the Constitution defines those rules.
  I say that we here, colleagues, are very much like the coach; we pass 
the laws, which is very similar to calling the plays. How the President 
and the administration are very much like the quarterback and the team. 
They carry out those laws, carry out those plays. And how the court 
system is very much like the referees, how they blow the whistle when 
we go out of bounds.
  I talk about how it is for this understanding that Liberty Day was 
established, and how George Washington was the father of our country, 
but that James Madison was really the father of the Constitution and 
therefore the father of our government. And that even though we 
declared independence in 1776 and we won the Revolutionary War at 
Yorktown in 1781, it was not until that Constitution was ratified that 
we began having Presidents and Congresses.
  I tell them how Madison was elected to that very first Congress. And 
one of the things that always captures their attention, even if it is 
4,000 students in an auditorium, is when I put the microphone in front 
of a student and bend down and show them the pin that recognizes us as 
Members of Congress.
  I ask the student, What is the only thing it says on this pin? 
Everybody is focused, because they are waiting to hear what the child 
has to say, and they always get it right, sooner or later. The only 
thing on our pins is it says 108. And that 108 means that we are a 
Member of the 108th Congress. I tell them, James Madison was in the 
First, we are in the 108th.
  Our Congresses last every 2 years. That is why we have campaigns 
every 2 years, which makes sense to them. So how long has our 
Constitution been functioning? Two times 108; and, you know what? There 
is always a smart kid, they always get the answer right, 216 years.
  I congratulate the math teachers and I describe to them how 
significant that is, how our Constitution is a century longer than most 
other countries' constitutions. How during that same time, France has 
had five constitutions.
  I tell them that just as their football team, their school football 
team, needs fans in the stands that are engaged, that know what the 
goal is, to get the most points, and know what the rules of the game 
are, they need all of that for their team to be successful; that for 
our government, for our country to be strong and successful, that we 
need to have people that are engaged in a similar way, that know what 
the goal is, independence, and that know what the rules are, our 
Constitution.

[[Page 4737]]

  I challenge them to renew their commitment to learn more about our 
heritage, to learn more about the Declaration of Independence and the 
Constitution and the ideas behind it, and to continue to be informed 
about their government, about civic life, and challenge them to be 
involved.
  Finally, given the times we are in, I tell them, you know, we are in 
scary times. You hear and see scary things. But I encourage them to 
remember what President Bush said: that we are in a battle between fear 
and freedom, and that if we succumb to that fear and lose all our 
freedoms, that the terrorists have won, and that we need to be strong 
in that.
  I tell them that not did just President Bush tell us not to be 
fearful, but another guy told us not to be fearful. When I tell them 
that this other guy's name was in a movie series called Star Wars and 
his name is Yoda, and encourage them to do the same that he told Anikan 
before the Jedi Council, which I describe is very similar to the group 
that they are viewing, and they always get a good chuckle out of that; 
but I tell them, Remember what Yoda said, that fear is the path to the 
dark side; that fear leads to anger and anger leads to hate and hate 
leads to suffering.
  I encourage them to follow the words of their President, to follow 
the words of Yoda, to follow the words and example of the veterans, 
many of which are at the events, and as described by President Reagan, 
those veterans, the men of Normandy, and tell them as Reagan said of 
the men of Normandy, that they had faith that what they were doing was 
right; that they had faith that they fought for all humanity; and they 
had faith that a just God would show them mercy on this beachhead or 
the next. And how they knew that word was spreading back home in the 
dark, and that they could feel in their hearts that the people in 
Georgia were filling the churches at 4 o'clock in the morning; that the 
people in Kansas were kneeling on their porches and praying; and that 
the people in Philadelphia were ringing the Liberty Bell.

                              {time}  1900

  I remind them that we have been given the responsibility and the 
honor to again fight freedom's fight. But that if we redouble our 
efforts to understand what our Constitution and what our Declaration of 
Independence tell us today, to follow through with the strong active 
civic involvement, and that if we follow the examples of those that 
came before us, by filling our churches, kneeling on the porches and 
praying and ringing the Liberty Bell, that we will do, as John F. 
Kennedy said, by having the energy and the faith and the devotion that 
we bring to this task light our country and all who serve it and that 
the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
  Mr. Speaker, that is a powerful message that our students appreciate 
hearing and really need to hear. We need to make sure that we are 
inspiring the next generation with the message of the Constitution, the 
message of the Declaration of Independence, the message of our 
Founders, and the heritage that has been built up by so many people 
over the centuries of this country.
  I would really like to thank the Lions Club, the members, all of 
those whom have been involved in bringing this Liberty Day to the 
success that it enjoys today. Specifically, I would like to mention 
Andy McKean, the director of Liberty Day, Colorado and a member of the 
Denver Lions Club, who has played a vital role in promoting Liberty Day 
nationwide. I would also like to thank our very own Frank Loreno, the 
Minnesota Lions Club Liberty Day coordinator. He has been tireless in 
his working to promote this program throughout Minnesota. However, it 
is with great sadness I report that Frank has recently been diagnosed 
with cancer. He is recovering well, but I ask that he and his family be 
kept in our thoughts and prayers.
  It is important for all of us to remember our veterans, many of whom 
gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our liberty, to ensure that it is 
protected. And it is the volunteers of Liberty Day, it is these 
veterans, it is individuals who have sacrificed their own time and 
effort for the good of their neighbors, these are the true inspiration 
for the importance of Liberty Day.
  Mr. Speaker, Liberty Day is a wonderful concept and a valuable part 
of teaching all Americans about the importance of civics. I strongly 
encourage everyone to support Liberty Day and to volunteer to help 
advance this noble cause.

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