I yield to the gentleman from North

Mr. COOLEY. Carolina [Mr. Deane].

Mr. DEANE. Mr. Speaker, I join with the dean of our delegation, Mr. Cooley, in the beautiful tribute he has paid to our late junior Senator from North Carolina, WILLIS SMITH. The passing of our fellow North Carolinian brings sadness to the hearts of the many citizens of the Old North State here in the Nation's Capital. We all knew that WILLIS was seriously ill but felt that his strong and vigorous stamina would pull him through. His passing is further evidence of the terrific strain under which Members of Congress serve. In a real sense it can be said that his homegoing represents a supreme sacrifice in public service.

I would most sincerely share with the beloved family in their great loss.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Chatham].

Mr. CHATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sympathy and my respects to the family of Senator SMITH.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Jones].

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, we have heard with profound regret and with deep sorrow of the passing of our friend and colleague, Hon. WILLIS SMITH, junior Senator from the State of North Carolina. Truly it can be said that he gave his life in the service of his country. Since becoming a Member of the United States Senate some 3 years ago, he has worked unceasingly for the good of our country and no one who knows of his labors would seriously doubt that these arduous duties have cost him his life. Without regard to his own personal comforts and physical wellbeing, he fought long and hard to preserve our American way of life.

He has had a long and successful career in both private and public service to the people of North Carolina and our Nation. He was an eminent lawyer, rising to the exalted position of president of the American Bar Association. As Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and as the junior Senator from the State of North Carolina, he rendered outstanding and courageous service in these public capacities. He shall long be remembered in North Carolina as an ardent defender and advocate of our American way of life.

The North Carolina delegation will miss him in the Halls of Congress. North Carolina has lost a great citizen and

Senator and the Nation has lost a real statesman.

To his widow and children I extend my heartfelt sympathy.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Fountain].

Mr. FOUNTAIN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the splendid tribute paid by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Cooley] to the junior Senator from North Carolina, WILLIS SMITH, whom God has seen fit to take from our midst.

Just 2 weeks ago Senator SMITH and I had a lengthy conference designed to obtain relief for a large number of farmers in my district who sustained great losses during a hail storm. At that time, casually, we had a brief conversation about death and the fact that it is no respecter of persons. He was apparently in the best of health. He gave evidence of having a strong constitution because he worked hard, long, and faithfully in behalf of the people of North Carolina.

I was naturally terribly shocked to learn of his serious illness and more greatly shocked to learn this morning that he had "slept away" while in the hospital. I do not believe I have ever had the opportunity of knowing well a Member of Congress who was more sincerely devoted to duty and to performance of service in behalf of the people of his State

and Nation.

WILLIS SMITH was a great thinker. He had exceptionally keen ability to analyze given situations. In a short time in the United States Senate he won the praise, the admiration, and the respect of his colleagues. He was a man with deep convictions. While human, like all of us, he was a man who did what he thought was right and called the shots as he saw them, without regard to personal consequences or political expediency.

As the junior Senator from North Carolina, he rendered loyal, faithful, and efficient service to the people of his State and Nation. The State of North Carolina and our Nation have sustained a great loss in his tragic passing. My deepest sympathy, thoughts, and prayers are with his wife, his children, and his other loved ones in this their hour of sorrow.

Amid all of the sadness of his passing, I would like to say to his family, and to all who experience similar situations, that, after all, death is a day of victory. Death is a day when the spirit of man travels into the life beyond where peace, happiness, love and understanding abide. May God be with his family and his friends during their bereavement. Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Alexander].

Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, I wish to join with my colleagues in paying tribute to our beloved late Senator WILLIS SMITH, whose untimely passing has saddened the entire Congress of the United States.

I extend my heartfelt sympathy to Mrs. Smith and to his entire family.

I have known Senator SMITH for many years and considered him one of my true and stanch friends. His great public service to North Carolina and the Nation is inestimable. His death only emphasizes this fact since it is undoubtedly attributable to his devotion to duty and loyalty to the cause of freedom and constitutional government.

It can truly be said that Senator SMITH was a great North Carolinian, a great American, and a great statesman. I never knew him to vote for political expediency. He was a man of deep conviction and great courage and had an undying faith in the American way of life and constitutional government. It has been a real honor to me to have had the privilege of associating with him as a colleague in the public service of our country.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Rogers].

Mr. ROGERS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it was my pleasure to know Senator SMITH ever since he came to serve in the Senate. We associated together quite a bit while we were at the Wardman Park and also during the winter season. I believe it was the Senator's intention to acquire a home at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., after he retired from the United States Senate, and to spend the rest of his days there.

I regarded the Senator as a man of courage and sound judgment. He was a real public servant. I join the North Carolina delegation in paying tribute to him, and I should like to include the remarks of the gentleman of North Carolina [Mr. Cooley] as part of mine, for he certainly paid our departed colleague a fine tribute. I extend my sympathy to the members of his family.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. LeComptel.

Mr. LECOMPTE. Mr. Speaker, WILLIS SMITH was one of the sweetest and noblest characters I have ever known. If I may refer to my personal relationship with him, I lived in the same hotel, in an apartment almost adjoining his. We became very close and intimate friends from the day he came to Congress. I think he was one of the finest statesmen I have known in my service in Congress. He possessed not only unusual intelligence and foresight and ability to

analyze a problem but he had the courage to stand up and vote for what he believed to be right. I have never known a finer example of American statesmanship than was represented by WILLIS SMITH. My heartfelt sympathy goes to his charming wife and his dear children.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 305).

The Clerk read as follows:

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. WILLIS SMITH, a Senator of the United States from the State of North Carolina.

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased Senator.

Resolved, That a committee of 12 Members be appointed on the part of the House to join the committee appointed on the part of the Senate to attend the funeral.

The resolution was agreed to.

The SPEAKER. The Chair appoints the following Members on the part of the House to attend the funeral: Messrs. Cooley, Barden, Durham, Bonner, Deane, Carlyle, Chatham, Jones of North Carolina, Fountain, Jonas of North Carolina, and Shuford.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members who desire to do so may extend their remarks on the life, character, and service of the late Honorable WILLIS SMITH.

The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina?

There was no objection.

The SPEAKER. The Clerk will report the remainder of the resolution.

The Clerk read as follows:

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the House do now adjourn.

The resolution was agreed to.