[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[SE]
[Pages 13330-13331]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO REPRESENTATIVE PAUL FINDLEY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor former Congressman 
Paul Findley--a great American who served his country in war and in the 
hallowed halls of Congress, a son of Illinois, a prolific writer and 
Lincoln scholar, a former political adversary, and my now friend.
  Paul Findley was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, on June 23, 1921. 
And at 91 years of age, today Paul is as active and involved as he has 
ever been. Paul earned a bachelor's degree from his beloved Illinois 
College in his hometown in 1943, where he was inducted into the 
prestigious Phi Beta Kappa society. After college, Paul served as a 
lieutenant in the Navy in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1946. His 
honorable service and that of the dwindling number of living Americans 
who served during World War II--one of the most difficult periods in 
our country's history is something we should all take time to reflect 
on and thank them for.
  After the war, Paul became president of Pike Press, Inc., in 
Pittsfield. He spent several years as editor of this small town weekly 
newspaper. In 1952, Findley lost a bid for the Republican nomination 
for State senator--something he and I have in common, having lost our 
first campaigns for public office--but it didn't stop either of us.
  In 1960 Paul Findley was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 
representing the 20th Congressional District of Illinois. He served in 
the House honorably for more than 20 years, until in 1982 a young 
lawyer from Springfield and a long shot to win surprised a lot of 
people, including many of his supporters, by unseating the incumbent 
Findley. Though Paul Findley and I were opponents in that campaign, I 
always respected him and his public service. Notwithstanding what is 
often a bitter and rancorous climate of partisan politics, I am proud 
to call Paul Findley my friend.
  One of Paul Findley's greatest accomplishments during his long and 
distinguished congressional career was his dogged, ultimately 
successful effort to

[[Page 13331]]

preserve a great American treasure--the Springfield home of our beloved 
son of Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Strolling today through this historic 
neighborhood at the heart of Springfield, as thousands of visitors do 
each year, it would be almost inconceivable that preserving Lincoln's 
home was ever a matter of debate. But it once was. Back in the 1950s, 
the site visitors see today looked very different.
  Where now-restored historic homes line a gravel street in a stately 
and peaceful neighborhood, then stood souvenir shops surrounded by a 
neighborhood that Paul Findley would later recall was, ``rundown and 
decaying in all directions.'' The Lincoln home itself--what Lincoln's 
own private secretary once called ``the precious heirloom of the 
republic''--was then the property of the State of Illinois.
  For years, developers had tried to encroach on the historic site with 
the goal of exploiting the area for commercial opportunities. Some 
wanted a theme park. Others tried to build wax museums or hotels or 
buffet restaurants in close proximity. Still others had been trying 
unsuccessfully to ensure the home's restoration and the preservation of 
the historical integrity of the surrounding area. In Congressman Paul 
Findley, those who wanted to honor this piece of history found their 
champion.
  Findley traces his own interest in this project back to a 
presentation at a meeting of the Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce in 1955 
well before he held elected office. At the meeting, a Springfield 
resident presented a case for preserving the Lincoln Home and 
developing the site commercially. While the plan for development never 
got off the ground, the presenter did make a point that Findley never 
forgot--that the Lincoln Home had largely been neglected compared to 
other Presidential homes. This, Findley regarded as ``shameful, awful, 
scandalous.'' It was in 1967, as the congressman representing the 
district that encompassed the Lincoln site that Findley became directly 
involved and took up the mantle of this effort. After years of lining 
up local, state, and national support, Congressman Findley announced in 
1969 at a Springfield dinner that he would introduce legislation in 
Congress to make the site part of the National Park System. At that 
dinner was New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, whom Findley had 
successfully enlisted in the effort.
   The late Senators Charles Percy and Everett Dirksen introduced 
companion legislation in the Senate. The bills had the support of every 
member of the Illinois congressional delegation. But even with all this 
support, as those of us who have been around here long enough know, the 
fight wasn't over. Money, as always, was an issue. People began trying 
to raise private funds. Congressman Findley worked tirelessly to get 
the attention of the relevant committee and subcommittee chairs--
Democrats held the majorities in both Chambers at the time. Among other 
things, he invited key members to Springfield to tour the site after 
which they usually agreed to support his efforts.
  I have no doubt that the commitments of these members to support his 
bill had as much to do with Findley's tenacity, passion, and 
determination as it did the power of seeing the Lincoln Home in person.
  Then the Nixon administration threw its support behind Findley, and 
even asked that the bill be amended to fully authorize the 
appropriation required for the site--so the private fundraising was 
unnecessary. The House passed the bill first, and it enjoyed, as 
Findley says, ``swift approval'' in the Senate we can't say that about 
too many matters around here anymore. On August 18, 1971, years of 
efforts culminated in a ceremony in the Old State Capitol in 
Springfield, just blocks away from the Lincoln Home. With Congressman 
Findley looking on, President Richard Nixon signed the Findley bill 
authorizing the establishment of the Lincoln Home National Historic 
Site.
  Think about it, this was an effort championed by a Republican 
Congressman, passed by a Congress controlled by Democrats, and signed 
by a Republican President. It was a different time. One year after the 
signing ceremony, then-President of the Illinois State Senate, Paul 
Simon, signed legislation transferring the title for the Lincoln home 
to the National Park Service.
  Thanks to the leadership of Congressman Paul Findley and the many 
local supporters of his efforts--including then-Springfield Mayor 
Nelson Howarth, the first superintendent of the Lincoln Home National 
Historic Site Albert Banton, the architect of the Lincoln Home Visitor 
Center and early supporter of preservation efforts Wally Henderson, and 
countless others--visitors to the site today can stroll the street 
Lincoln once strolled and take in the neighborhood in much the same way 
it would have looked to him more than 150 years ago.
  The experience of visiting the Abraham Lincoln National Historic Site 
will undoubtedly inspire generations of young Americans to serve their 
country, just as Paul Findley has and as Abraham Lincoln did.
  This is Paul Findley's legacy.
  It is a legacy that forever will be intertwined with President 
Lincoln--an honor that Paul richly deserves.
  Throughout his 91 years on this Earth, my friend and this great 
American, Paul Findley, has made an indelible mark on our State of 
Illinois and our country--and he has not done yet.

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