[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19038-19039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING JOHN RHODES AND JOSEPH KARTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, as the calendar gives way to August, and 
435 Representatives of our great country return to their respective 
districts to catch up with constituents, to spend time with family, to, 
yes, enjoy a portion of the summer, it gives us a chance, in what has 
been a hectic and crowded legislative schedule, especially recently, to 
pause and remember what makes this institution unique, not only the 
representative government in the legislative branch of our 
constitutional Republic, but also those who serve herein, and those who 
have served.
  Two nights ago, Mr. Speaker, it was my honor to welcome back to 
Capitol Hill one of my constituents, Betty Rhodes, the widow of our 
former Republican leader, John J. Rhodes, who passed away now two 
summers ago next month.
  And as I was honored to be the Congressman for former Congressman 
Rhodes and certainly honored that his widow, Betty, remains one of my 
constituents, it is also important to reflect on another Member of 
Congress who called the Fifth District of Arizona home, and who 
recently passed on. His name, Joseph Karth.
  He came to this institution being elected in the year of my birth, 
1958, and served until 1977, representing the people of the Fourth 
Congressional District of Minnesota.

                              {time}  1200

  I stand to remember Joe not having a real personal relationship with 
him, but having this bond that we are among a comparatively few 
Americans who have been given the honor and privilege of serving in 
this constitutional office as a United States Representative.
  Perhaps the best expression of what this honor means came earlier in 
our history from the man who served as the sixth President of the 
United States, John Quincy Adams. Many of us remember that, but few 
remember

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the fact that following his time as President, former President Adams 
ran for and was elected to the United States House of Representatives. 
And when he was elected to this body from the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, former President, Congressman-elect John Quincy Adams 
said, ``There is no greater honor than serving in the people's House.''
  And though Joe Karth came to this Chamber on the other side of the 
aisle, and though I am sure there would be many points of disagreement, 
as we survey the opportunities in America, as we perhaps typify 
different philosophies and different practices, there is this common 
bond that everyone honored to serve here understands. There is no 
higher honor than being elected to serve in the people's House.
  Joe Karth did it remarkably well for the people of the Fourth 
District of Minnesota. He succeeded a man who served in the other body, 
Eugene McCarthy, who went on to run for the Presidency of the United 
States. But Joe Karth was more concerned during his 18 years of service 
in the people's House with getting his job done for his constituents.
  Journalists remember that he was the kind of Congressman who would 
roll up his sleeves, the kind of Congressman who had intense interest 
in his constituents. And if there might be a problem with a Social 
Security check arriving late or not arriving at all, or if there might 
be a dispute about a veteran's disability, Joe Karth was the type of 
Congressman who would step in to make sure his constituents were 
represented.
  Mr. Speaker, I would maintain that is a great lesson for all of us, 
regardless of political philosophy or partisan designation, that to 
truly represent the people, we have to listen to the people and 
respond. By that measure of service, Joe Karth was indeed an 
exceptional Member of this body.
  History will record that it was Joe Karth, an avid outdoorsman, who 
introduced and had passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. His love of 
golf brought him to Arizona, and that is where he lived, and that is 
where he passed away earlier this summer.
  To his family, to his many friends, to the people of Minnesota and to 
his neighbors in Arizona, we say we remember Joe Karth, and we salute 
him for his lifetime of service.

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