. 
 
 . 
 
 SWfeWS 
 
 IHi 
 
 lift 
 
 mm 
 
 
 jgj? 
 
 sss'a 
 
 «&$:;g^- 
 
 I 
 
 ^^^™ 
 
 m 
 
 
 
J 
 
 k. 
 
 v«x: 
 
 > 
 
 N 
 
 
 
 Class _ El 1,4 
 Book .©IfcliSl 
 

 y 
 
 ^«<^. 
 

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 PETER J. OTEY 
 
 i LaTK I REPRESENTATIVE FROM VlR< I 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE, 
 
 FIFTY-SEVENTH C( INGRESS, 
 First Session. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 ICJ02. 
 
,0*18 U5I 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Proceedings in the House 5 
 
 Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia IO 
 
 Address of Mr. Jenkins, of Wisconsin '9 
 
 Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia 21 
 
 Address of Mr. Lanham, of Texas 2 5 
 
 Address of Mr. Hay, of Virginia 29 
 
 Address of Mr. Morris, of Minnesota 3 1 
 
 Address of Mr. Swanson, of Virginia 34 
 
 Address of Mr. De Armond, of Missouri 39 
 
 Address of Mr. Rhea, of Virginia 47 
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 5° 
 
 Address of Mr. Rixey, of Virginia 52 
 
 Address of Mr. Graff, of Illinois 55 
 
 Address of Mr. William W. Kitchin, of North Carolina . 59 
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 6 1 
 
 Address of Mr. Mercer, of Nebraska 66 
 
 Address of Mr. Mahon, of Pennsylvania 68 
 
 Proceedings in the Senate I 1 
 
 Address of Mr. Martin, of Virginia 75 
 
 Address of Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire 7 s 
 
 Address of Mr. Perkins, of California So 
 
 Address of Mr. Clay, of Georgia S3 
 
 Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia SS 
 
 3 
 
Death of Hon. Peter J. Otey. 
 
 Proceedings in the House 
 
 May 5, 1902. 
 
 The House met at 12 o'clock noon. The Chaplain, Rev. 
 Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the following prayer: 
 
 Almighty God our Heavenly Father, surely Thou hast laid a 
 heavy hand upon us; and oh, how forcibly are we reminded of 
 the uncertainty of life. Our cup of sorrow already full, Thou 
 hast touched another member of the Congressional family and 
 borne his spirit to the realms beyond. Genial and kindly of 
 disposition, buoyant of heart, he had won the affection of his 
 colleagues and friends; and by industry, courage, and devotion 
 to duty, their respect and confidence. He will be mourned and 
 missed here and by a devoted constituency at home; and O 
 God, be very near we pray Thee to the stricken wife and 
 mourning children. Put Thy loving arms about them and 
 give them sustaining grace, and help them to look forward 
 with bright anticipations to that future where life is eternal; in 
 the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 DEATH OF REPRESENTATIYF OTEY, OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 Mr. Joxes, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep feeling 
 and profound sorrow that I announce the death of my late col- 
 league, the Hon. Peter J. Otey, which occurred at his home 
 in the city of Lynchburg at half past 3 o'clock on yesterday 
 afternoon. 
 
 At some future time I shall ask the House to set apart a day 
 when members may have an opportunity to pay tributes to the 
 
 5 
 
6 Proccedmgs in the House. 
 
 personal virtues and public services of my deceased colleague. 
 I now send to the Clerk's desk and ask to have read the 
 resolutions which I offer and for which I ask immediate 
 consideration. 
 
 The Speaker. The gentleman from Virginia offers the fol- 
 lowing resolutions, which the Clerk will report. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the House has heard with deep regret and profound 
 sorrow of the death of the Hon. Peter J. Otev, a Representative from 
 the State of Virginia. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of fourteen members of the House, with 
 such members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the 
 funeral at Lynchburg, Va., and that the necessary expenses attending 
 the execution of this order be paid out of the contingent fund of the 
 House. 
 
 Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and 
 directed to take such steps as may be necessary for properly carrying out 
 the provisions of this resolution. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
 and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 
 
 The resolutions were agreed to; and in pursuance thereof 
 the Speaker announced as the committee on the part of the 
 House Mr. Jones, Mr. Swanson, Mr. Rixey, Mr. Hay, Mr. 
 Lamb, Mr. Rhea, and Mr. Flood, Virginia; Mr. Hepburn, 
 Iowa; Mr. Meyer, Louisiana; Mr. Jenkins, Wisconsin; Mr. 
 Lanham, Texas; Mr. Olmsted, Pennsylvania; Mr. De Armond, 
 Missouri; Mr. McCall, Massachusetts. 
 
 Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, as a further mark of 
 respect to my deceased colleague, I move that the House do 
 now adjourn. 
 
 The Speaker. The gentleman from Virginia, as a further 
 mark of respect for our deceased friend, moves that the House 
 do now adjourn. 
 
 The motion was agreed to. 
 
 Accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 12 minutes p. m. ) the House 
 adjourned. 
 
Proceedings in the House. 7 
 
 May 6, 1902. 
 message from the senate. 
 A message announced that the Senate had passed the fol- 
 lowing resolutions: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret and sorrow the 
 announcement of the death of Hon. Peter J. Otev, Representative in 
 Congress of the Sixth Congressional district in Virginia. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of seven Senators be appointed by the 
 Presiding Officer of the Senate to join the committee of the House of 
 Representatives to make arrangements for and to attend the funeral 
 of the deceased. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the Senate do now adjourn. 
 
 And that in compliance with the foregoing the President 
 pro tempore had appointed as members of the committee 
 on the part of the Senate Mr. Daniel. Mr. Martin, Mr. Bate, 
 Mr. Clay, Mr. Gallinger, Mr. Clark, of Wyoming, and Mr. 
 Millard. 
 
 Junk. 12, 1902. 
 
 eulogies on the eate representative otev. 
 
 Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, June 10, 
 an order was entered providing for a session of the House of 
 Representatives on Sunday June 29, the session to be devoted 
 to eulogies on the late Representative Amos J. Cummings. 
 I ask unanimous consent that that order be so modified that 
 after the conclusion of the eulogies provided for therein, 
 eulogies may be pronounced upon the life and character of 
 my late colleague, Maj. Pktek J. Otkv. 
 
 The Speaker. The gentleman from Virginia asks unani- 
 mous consent to so modify the order in respect to the eulogies 
 upon the life of the late Representative Cummings, to be held 
 on the 29th of this month, that it will be in order to consider 
 similar eulogies upon the life and character of the late Major 
 OTEY. Is there objection? [After a pause.] The Chair 
 hears none, and it is so ordered. 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 
 
 Sunday, June 29, 1902 
 
 The House met at 11 o'clock a. 111. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D.. offered the 
 following prayer : 
 
 Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we lift up our hearts 
 in gratitude to Thee for a deep, tender, sympathetic nature, 
 which enables us not only to enter into the joys and sorrows of 
 our fellows, but enables us to appreciate all that is truly 
 noble and great in them, and we bless Thee for the beautiful 
 custom which prevails in the American Congress which, at the 
 death of a member, brings them together in a memorial service 
 that they may tenderly and feelingly express their sense of loss 
 and pronounce fitting eulogies and encomiums on his life and 
 character. 
 
 We are here to-day, O Lord, feeling keenly the loss of two 
 members of this House, who for their ability, strength of char- 
 acter, manly bearing, and distinguished services have left 
 vacant chairs which can not be easily filled, and we truly 
 mourn their loss. We bless Thee for the excellency of their 
 lives, for their distinguished and efficient services to their 
 country, for the worthy example they have left behind them as 
 statesmen and patriots. And we thank Thee that their col- 
 leagues and associates will hold up to the world their charac- 
 ters in the light of truth as examples worthy of study and 
 emulation. And we bless Thee that this day has been selected, 
 since it is really the Lord's Day — the day of the week on which 
 the immortality of the soul was demonstrated and confirmed, 
 8 
 
Memorial Addresses. g 
 
 which assures us that death is not an extinction of being, but 
 an epoch — an event — in the grand eternal inarch of existence 
 Let Thy blessing be upon this service, and fit us all by the 
 discipline of the now that we may enter upon the then fully 
 prepared for whatever awaits us. 
 
 Comfort, we beseech Thee, the bereaved families with the 
 blessed assurance of a never-ending reunion, where the angel 
 of death never enters, where joy and peace eternal shall reign 
 supreme, and glory and honor and praise be Thine through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 EULOGIES ON THE LATE REPRESENTATIVE; OTEY. 
 
 Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following 
 resolutions. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the Hon. Peter J. Otev, late a 
 member of this House from the State of Virginia, and in pursuance of the 
 order of the House heretofore made, the business of the House be now 
 suspended to enable his associates to pay fitting tribute to his high char- 
 acter and distinguished services. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
 
 Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect at the conclusion of 
 these exercises the House do adjourn. 
 
 Resolird, That the Clerk be, and he is hereby, instructed to send a copy 
 of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 
 
 The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. McClellan). The question 
 is on agreeing to the resolutions. 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously agreed to 
 
Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: Death is an unwelcome messenger, but none 
 comes more surely, none comes with a summons more impera- 
 tive. The messenger, though expected, generally arrives 
 unexpectedly. To each of us he is destined to come, and 
 none of us who have arrived at the years of understanding 
 have any hope of escaping service of the final summons, which 
 all must obey; but we are prone to delude ourselves into a 
 semblance of belief that the stern messenger will not arrive 
 for many days or years, even when every known signal of 
 physical distress heralds his coming and beckons him to make 
 haste. 
 
 Familiar as we are with death, and often as the summons 
 which he bears comes to friend and foe all about us, we are 
 startled and shocked as one after another of the children of 
 our Heavenly Father goes hence, to return no more forever. 
 Particularly is this true when the stricken one is bound to us 
 by the strong ties of kinship or by the almost equally strong 
 ties of friendship. 
 
 Thus it was that when the announcement of the death of 
 Major Otey came so unexpectedly I, with hundreds of other 
 friends, felt the shock of a personal loss, and shared the grief 
 which the sudden taking off of a dear friend ever brings. And 
 now, on this day set apart for the paying of our tributes to the 
 memory of the deceased, with mingled feelings of sorrow that 
 he has gone from among us and pride that while here the ties 
 of a warm friendship brought us close together, I would utter 
 a few words concerning the good man who lately was our 
 
Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia. n 
 
 colleague upon this floor, and who now we fain would believe 
 has his place in a higher sphere of service. 
 
 Peter Johnston Otev was born in Lynchburg, Va., 
 December 22, 1840, and died there on Sunday, May 4, 1902. 
 He came of a distinguished Virginia family on both the pater- 
 nal and maternal sides. The father was John M. Otey; the 
 maiden name of the mother was Lucy \V. Norvell. His grand- 
 father, John Otey, won distinction in the Revolutionary war, 
 fighting for the rights and liberty of the colonies. 
 
 Major Otev was educated at the Virginia Military Institute, 
 from which he was graduated July 1, i860. To the profession 
 of civil engineer he determined to devote himself, and at once 
 upon graduation he obtained employment with the engineering 
 corps upon the Virginia and Kentucky Railroad, under the 
 direction of Claudius Crozet, a most distinguished and accom- 
 plished civil engineer. But the great war between the States 
 soon began, and young Otev entered the army, to battle in 
 defenseaof the South, and particularly of his beloved Virginia. 
 His education at a military institution second only to West 
 Point had prepared him well for this titanic war, where Amer- 
 ican was to meet American in deadly conflict, and where the 
 highest military qualities of the greatest people on earth were 
 to be illustrated in scenes of awful grandeur. 
 
 Major Otey enlisted in the Fifty-first Virginia Infantry, with 
 which he served until promoted to major of the Thirtieth 
 Virginia Battalion. In the summer and autumn of 1861 he 
 saw active service in southeast Virginia, in the Kanawha 
 Valley, where his commander was Gen. John B. Floyd, an 
 uncle of his wife. He was at Fort Donelson, whence, with 
 most of Floyd's command, he escaped just before the surrender 
 and when the choice was between surrender and a desperate 
 effort to escape that fate by breaking through the lines of the 
 besiegers. He also distinguished himself upon the bloody 
 
12 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 field of Shiloh, where the great Southern chieftain, Albert 
 Sidney Johnston, fell, dying with victory in his grasp, his 
 untimely death, however, robbing the Confederacy of its chief 
 fruits. 
 
 Later Major Otey saw much hard sendee with the Army of 
 Northern Virginia. He fought under Breckinridge, Loring, 
 Longstreet, Early, and Lee; helped to defend his native city 
 against the invading Federal army under Hunter; commanded 
 Wharton's brigade at the celebrated battle of Cedar Creek, in 
 October, 1864; was severely wounded at Newmarket, where 
 the cadets from the Virginia Military Institute fought with 
 a steadiness and valor that would do honor to the finest veterans, 
 many of them dying upon the bloody field, and many more 
 leaving it maimed for life, youthful sacrifices offered upon the 
 altar of home and Virginia. 
 
 After performing well his part until near the close of the 
 war, 011 the 2d of March, 1865, Major Otey was captured at 
 Waynesboro and taken, a prisoner of war, to Fort Delaware, 
 where he was held until after the end was reached at Appo- 
 mattox. While at Fort Delaware he was a companion in 
 misfortune with Charles F. Crisp, afterwards a distinguished 
 Speaker of this House. 
 
 It is stated upon what I believe to be good authority that 
 Major Otey fired the first cannon discharged with hostile 
 intent after Virginia passed the ordinance of secession, and it 
 is also said that the shot he then discharged is the only one 
 of all those fired from Sewells Point to take effect, this one 
 striking a Federal vessel as it slowly moved up the river. 
 
 While the war lasted there was no soldier of the South more 
 devoted to the cause in which he was enlisted or more resolute 
 in the determination to fight to the end, no matter how great 
 the odds in favor of the other side; but when the war was 
 ended, no one was readier than he to accept the decision and 
 
Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia. 13 
 
 make the most of the situation as he found it. At once he 
 sought employment, that in the calm of peace he might do his 
 full share in the might)* work of repairing as soon and as well 
 as might be the ravages of war. His first employment was as 
 a clerk in an express office in his native city. He had been 
 educated as an engineer, and naturally he preferred a return to 
 professional pursuits. Soon he went with General Mahone to 
 the old Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad, and was one of 
 the corps which surveyed the route from Lynchburg to Dan- 
 ville. Later he built the railroad from Lynchburg to Durham, 
 N. C. Later still he organized an insurance firm, which bore 
 and yet bears the name of Peter J. Otey & Co. He was also 
 for a time engaged in the banking business. 
 
 For many years Major Otey was active and influential in 
 politics for the sake of the cause and to help his friends. Not 
 until 1S94 did he aspire to office. In that year he was elected 
 to the House of Representatives as a member from the Sixth 
 district of Virginia, taking his seat upon the assembling of the 
 Fifty-fourth Congress. He was reelected to the Fifty-fifth, 
 Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses, and, had he lived, 
 would have been nominated without opposition and as certainly 
 elected to the Fifty -eighth Congress. Through two exciting 
 Presidential campaigns he ably represented Virginia on the 
 national Democratic committee. 
 
 In Congress Major Otey was known as a most industrious, 
 obliging, efficient, and conscientious member. He grew upon 
 the House, and his friends here, as in Virginia, were as 
 numerous as his acquaintances. 
 
 Too much can not be said of the high character and many 
 excellent qualities of this truly great man. I do not believe he 
 had an enemy. I do not understand what manner of man it is 
 who could be his enemy. He was generosity and kindliness 
 and charity personified. lie was a model of industry and a 
 

 14 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 paragon in promptness and exactness. He had a place for 
 everything', and everything that he touched bore evidence of 
 his orderly methods and his thorough system. 
 
 He was a man of fine ability, and no atom of his ability or 
 energy ever found unworthy channels or was directed to ignoble 
 ends. 
 
 Major Otey ranked high in the House, not only for his in- 
 dustry and probity and amiability, but also for his humor. He 
 was one of the few real humorists in the Congress. Everyone 
 who has been present when they occurred will recall his happy 
 sallies. His humor was unadulterated. It pleased and soothed 
 and cheered. It never wounded or exasperated. He was all sun- 
 shine and tenderness and charity, and his humor was as natural 
 and as innocent and as charming as the laughter of children. 
 It smoothed away the wrinkles that care brings, banished the 
 clouds, let in the sunshine, and awakened in the soul the echoes 
 of murmuring rills and the songs of the birds. How we miss 
 the master artist of humor, now gone from among us! 
 
 Major Otey had a great, never-failing, ever-present love for 
 the old Confederate soldier. His soul swelled and his pride 
 mounted as he recalled the heroism of the man in gray. His 
 tender heart was melted as he thought of the privations, the 
 sorrows, the sufferings of his companions in arms. He never 
 was happier than in the company of the grizzled veterans of the 
 lost cause. With generous hand he ministered to the needy, 
 and with kindly touch and prayerful spirit he strove — oh, so 
 gently — to bind up the wounds of the afflicted. Devotion to a 
 common cause, community of effort, of endurance, and of suffer- 
 ing made all Confederates of kin to him — every one was his 
 brother. They will miss him about the -old camp fires; the 
 weight of years and of infirmities will rest heavier upon many; 
 to many there will be longer days of sadness and fewer hours of 
 joy, now that the friend of them all is to help them and gladden 
 
Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia. 15 
 
 them no more. He was the pupil of Stonewall Jackson; a son,, 
 loving and devoted, of old Virginia; deep in sympathy with all 
 who make sacrifices, all who suffer — how could it be otherwise 
 than that he would cherish the memories and love the sur- 
 vivors of the Confederacy? 
 
 But it must not be thought by those who did not know our 
 dead friend, it could not be by any of those who did know him, 
 that in his love and veneration for the South, and for the tradi- 
 tions and heroes of the South, he was lacking in devotion to 
 the whole of our great Republic. Xo truer American ever 
 lived. He was entirely void of sectional bitterness. For him 
 there was no land but the United States. His love for the 
 South was not unlike family affection, his love for the whole 
 country was like unto the love of a friend, hardly short, indeed, 
 of love for a venerated mother, whose chastisement is long since 
 forgotten. 
 
 The tender relations between Major Otev and his devoted 
 wife, who remains to cherish his memory and mourn the loss of 
 his delightful companionship, were rich in all of good and no- 
 bility that the marital union can yield. Not only were this 
 husband and wife most devoted and most happy in their strong 
 and enduring attachment, the one for the other, but Mrs. Otey 
 was the trusted counselor and ever efficient helper of her hus- 
 band in every work and every ambition. 
 
 Nor was this most excellent man anything short of the idol 
 of his children, while for them his love ever flowed warm and 
 free. Death indeed sought a shining mark when he aimed his 
 unerring shaft at Pkter J. Otey, and out of a happy family, 
 whose existence was sweetened by every gift of love and 
 gentleness, has passed the head — the beloved of all and who 
 devotedly loved all. 
 
 I can not deny myself the satisfaction to be derived from 
 relating an incident in the life of Major Otky, trifling maybe, 
 
16 Life and Character of Peter J . Oiey. 
 
 according to the views of some, but in my judgment fairly 
 illustrative of an admirable trait of character. Once, many 
 years ago, as some of Major Otey's children were at play 
 with some other children, one of the youngsters, a negro boy, 
 was bitten by a moccasin. The child screamed with pain and 
 fright, and Major Otky, who was at the house some distance 
 away, ran to the little group to learn what the trouble was. 
 They were in the country, and no physician or remedies near. 
 Something must be done at once, or the little black boy would 
 die. Major Otey sent some one posthaste for a doctor, and 
 then, with the heroism of a martyr and the charity of a saint, 
 he took the black bunch of humanity into his arms, put the 
 wounded little black finger into his mouth, and patiently, with- 
 out thought of the danger to which he exposed himself — no, 
 with full knowledge of the danger — with his own lips he drew 
 from the snake bite the deadly venom. When the doctor came, 
 he declared that but for Major Otey's heroic deed the imperiled 
 life could not have been saved. Of course the physician mar- 
 veled at what had been done, but Otey thought nothing of it. 
 He had merely done what humanity dictated; done it without 
 fear, for he knew not fear in the discharge of duty. 
 
 I knew Major Otey before I met him as a member of Con- 
 gress — knew him as a leading man of the old Commonwealth of 
 our love and pride, but it was as a colleague here that I learned 
 to know him well and to love him. To all of us he was the 
 truest and the best of friends. He never thought of gain for 
 himself at the expense of another. He was ever ready to 
 serve his friends. His chief pleasure as a member of Congress 
 was found in trying to do something for his fellow-members. 
 In this service of love he freely crossed the great aisle which 
 separates us in the House upon the lines of party. A most 
 ardent Democrat himself, he numbered among his warm per- 
 
Address of Mr. /ones, of Virginia, 17 
 
 sonal friends many distinguished Republicans, and he was as 
 generous in kindly deeds to the one as to the other. 
 
 I had for Major Otev the affection of a brother, and it is one 
 of the consolations of my life to believe that his affection for me 
 was not less. He was a man in whom implicit confidence could 
 be reposed. He never abandoned a friend nor betrayed a trust. 
 
 I entered the House as a member of the Fifty-second Con- 
 gress. Among those elected to that Congress from Virginia 
 was Gen. William H. F. Lee, favorite son of the immortal 
 Robert E. Lee. Death claimed him before the time for the 
 assembling of Congress arrived. Since I have been here Vir- 
 ginia has lost from her delegation Senator John S. Barbour, a 
 noble representative of her best statesmanship; Sidney P. Epes, 
 a lovable young man, taken in the spring and promise of man- 
 hood; Richard A. Wise, scion of an illustrious family, a man 
 of years and of experience, and Peter J. Otev, to whose 
 blessed memory we would this day pay just tribute. To this 
 list may be added from the number of those whom Virginia 
 sent to the Congress since I entered it. Smith S. Turner, Paul 
 C. Edmonds, E. E. Meredith, and Gen. James A. Walker, each 
 of whom died soon after leaving the House. I do not believe 
 the mortality among Congressmen has been so great in the 
 period mentioned in any other State of the Union as it has been 
 in Virginia. 
 
 Major Otev loved the Virginia Military Institute, from 
 whose halls he departed with his graduation certificate just 
 before the storm of the civil war broke upon the country. He 
 looked forward with bright anticipations to a visit to the old 
 institution at the June commencement, just passed. But it was 
 not to be. He had seen historic Lexington for the last time. 
 He had followed his famous preceptor, Stonewall Jackson, over 
 the river, for the final rest in the shade of the trees. 
 H. Doc. 714 2 
 
1 8 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 I was one of the Congressional committee appointed to 
 attend the funeral of Major Otey, and never can I forget 
 that sad day in Lynchburg. Business was suspended, uni- 
 versal grief had hushed the everyday stir of the busy marts 
 where men strive in the contests known to commerce. The 
 community followed to the tomb the remains of the citizen 
 whom all loved, and of whom all were proud. Most touch- 
 ing was the picture made by the group of Confederate veterans 
 assembled around the open grave. They had braved death 
 often, had grown familiar enough with the dread presence to 
 make sport of it. But there they were thoughtful and sad. 
 The well-loved comrade and friend had gone from among 
 them. Another tie, linking them to the past and binding 
 them to the present, had been broken. 
 
 As we turned from the last resting place of our friend we 
 paused to gaze once more upon the wealth of glorious flowers — 
 nature's own offering, sweetened by the touch of lovely woman — 
 piled high over the abandoned tenement of clay. 
 
 And so we left him asleep under the flowers. 
 
 Good-bye, dear friend. Your life was sweet and noble, 
 and sweet and ennobling memories of you will abide with us 
 who knew you and who were blessed with your friendship 
 until the day comes, be it near or far, for us to go the way 
 you have gone. 
 
Address of Mr. Jenkins, of Wisconsin. 19 
 
 Address of Mr. Jenkins, of Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I can not permit this mournful occasion to pass 
 without pronouncing some eulogy on the life of the late lamented 
 Peter Johnston Otey. 
 
 We came to Congress together. This was our first acquaint- 
 ance, but it ripened into a close friendship that continued un- 
 broken until his untimely death. The attachment that grew 
 between us was sincere, and I learned to respect his judgment 
 and to confide in his wise and conservative counsel. I found 
 Mr. Otey a most companionable friend, and his association 
 with me is a sweet memory as we pause here to pay the final 
 tribute to his worth. 
 
 I have every reason to believe that he was a most courageous 
 soldier. I certainly know that he was a wise and useful legisla- 
 tor. Possessed of more than ordinary intelligence, a good 
 business man, broad minded, honest, and untiring, he made his 
 mark in this House, as this mournful occasion so eloquently 
 testifies. 
 
 There was nothing narrow nor selfish in his nature. His 
 geniality, his conservatism, and his faithfulness in the perform- 
 ance of public duty shone conspicuously in his independence of 
 thought and action and in the success that crowned his Con- 
 gressional period. 
 
 We all painfully realize that his loss is national, and his 
 coworkers on the floor of this House deeply mourn his sudden 
 and untimely death. 
 
 I remember full well the last time I saw him. He came 
 to our committee room to examine into matters of public 
 interest, declaring that he was going home for a few days, 
 
20 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 and that on his return he would take up the many important 
 matters demanding his personal attention. We little thought 
 that death would interrupt the plans that he had matured 
 by so suddenly summoning him to that bourne from which 
 no traveler returns. Scarcely had he departed from this House 
 when the news of his death reached and saddened us. 
 
 His time and attention were given to the discharge of his 
 public duties with a faithfulness and assiduity that challenged 
 our admiration. I shall always respect his memory, and in 
 this solemn presence declare my faith in his honesty and 
 capability. 
 
 His great aim was to do his full duty in the living present 
 and to so gauge his action that it would have a beneficial 
 effect upon the things of the future. He was modest in the 
 discharge of his duties, unobtrusive, effectual, and engaging. 
 
 It can be said of the lamented dead that he was proud of his 
 State and loyal to his country. While greater men have lived 
 and died, few indeed surpass him in the even tenor of his way 
 and in the modesty and cordiality that characterized him and 
 adorned his public career. We have the right to measure a 
 man by the estimation in which he is held by his fellow-citizens 
 with whom he lived and for whom he had dedicated his life. 
 
 The entire populace of the city that he represented in this 
 House gathered at his grave to do him honor and revere his 
 memory. He is sincerely mourned by soldiers, public men, 
 • and his vast constituency. Brave men of both armies bowed in 
 reverence over his fresh-made grave and testified by flowers 
 and by tears the sense of loss so all-pervading. 
 
Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia. 21 
 
 Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: The duty, or rather the privilege, of adding 
 my humble tribute to the exalted character, the useful life, 
 and the public services of my deceased brother is sadly con- 
 genial to my feelings, for in so doing I place a leaf upon the 
 grave of a cherished friend. 
 
 Peter Johnston Otey was of an honorable lineage, and 
 his family connection was large and influential. He was 
 educated at the Virginia Military Institute, the West Point 
 of the South, and while he was a cadet at that institution the 
 John Brown raid upon Harpers Ferry, that portent of the 
 approaching storm of sectional strife, startled the South like 
 the sound of a fire bell in the night. He marched with his 
 fellow-cadets to the scene of the first hostile invasion of 
 Virginia. 
 
 After his graduation in i860 he engaged as a civil engineer 
 in the business of railroad construction, but promptly upon 
 the secession of Virginia he laid this aside to enlist in the 
 defense of his native State. His first service was in the 
 western campaign that culminated in the sanguinary battle of 
 Shiloh, after which he was in the infantry line of the Army of 
 Northern Virginia to the close of the war, being severely 
 wounded at the battle of Newmarket. 
 
 With the termination of hostilities he entered upon a busi- 
 ness career which absorbed and engaged every faculty of mind 
 and body until his election to Congress in 1894. In the insur- 
 ance business, as a bank officer, and as railroad president he 
 was signally successful. This could not but be so, since to a 
 
22 Life and Character of Peter f. Otcy. 
 
 fine discriminating judgment, quick perception, systematic and 
 methodical habits and scrupulous integrity he united an indom- 
 itable energy that was almost impetuous in its eager activity. 
 He was essentially a business man. The conspicuously active 
 and energetic community in which he lived did not possess a 
 busier, brainier man. His name was the synonym of honor 
 and uprightness, and no man ever enjoyed the confidence of a 
 community in a higher degree than Major Otey enjoyed that 
 of the community in which he was born, had been reared, and 
 had spent his life. 
 
 From earliest manhood he took a lively interest in public 
 affairs, and actively participated in politics in the sense of 
 being an ardent organizer and worker in all campaigns, local 
 and general ; but he never held an office until he was elected 
 to Congress eight years ago. 
 
 He addressed himself to his duties as Congressman with 
 the same zeal and assiduity which characterized his business 
 career. His fidelity to his constituents in the prompt response 
 to their letters and immediate attention to their wants and 
 wishes was proverbial. In such estimation was he held by 
 those whom he represented that there existed throughout his 
 district a practical unanimity of sentiment in his renominatious 
 and returns to Congress. 
 
 In the maintenance and advocacy of his political convictions 
 he was frank and fearless, but his candor was ever united with 
 courtesy and due consideration for those who entertained con- 
 flicting views. The debates in this Hall have often witnessed 
 his ready wit and happy humor. So genial were his manners 
 and so cordial his intercourse with his associates, so earnest 
 the advocacy of the measures he espoused, that few members 
 were more successful in securing legislation they desired. 
 
 It is not, Mr. Speaker, upon this side of the Chamber only 
 that the vacant chair will be regarded with sincere regret, 
 
 
Address of Mr. Flood, of Virginia. 23 
 
 for he had a place in the kindly esteem and affection of not 
 only his personal and political friends here, but of many who 
 held variant views from his upon the public questions of the 
 day. 
 
 But neither his usefulness and fidelity as a Representative, 
 nor his elevated character, nor his gracious and engaging 
 manners could avail to ward off that summons which sooner 
 or later is inevitable to all. 
 
 It came to him at the consummate hour of his existence. 
 His ever rising and ascending life had attained the zenith, 
 where his vigorous intellectual powers had reached a ripe 
 maturity without as yet the least touch of decline. 
 
 So reluctant, sir, was he to obtrude his personal troubles 
 and solicitudes upon others that few of even his closest friends 
 were aware that he had for more than a year suffered from 
 the malady to which he finally succumbed — succumbed so 
 quietly and in such retirement from the gaze of the world 
 that the announcement of his death was the first intimation 
 that most of his friends and neighbors had that he was in 
 a precarious condition. 
 
 While, therefore, Mr. Speaker, his friends were taken 
 unawares, he was not. We may believe that often while he 
 wore a cheerful exterior to his friends he was wont 
 
 To listen, listen, day by (lav, 
 
 To hear their tread 
 Who bear the finished web away, 
 
 And cut the thread. 
 
 His end was comparatively painless, and found him in the 
 unclouded possession of his mental faculties. There was no 
 long and anxious watching by a bed of suffering; no slow 
 decline; no gradual eclipse of the recedinj; world, when 
 
 Unto dying eyes 
 The casement slowly yrows a glimmering square. 
 
24 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 It came as doubtless he would have desired, for it found him 
 with his house set in order as for the reception of a friendly 
 guest. 
 
 May we, his associates in this Hall, so heed the lessons of 
 his life that we shall be in like readiness when the insatiate 
 archer shall aim his unerring shaft at us, and that each of us 
 may in that supreme hour catch the song of rapt anticipation 
 that fell upon the ear of dying Sintram : 
 
 Death comes to set thee free; 
 O meet him cheerily 
 
 As thy best friend; 
 And all thy fears shall cease, 
 And in eternal peace 
 
 Thv sorrows end. 
 
Address of Mr. Lanham, of Texas. 25 
 
 Address of Mr. Lanham, of Texas. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: There are always some peculiar and leading 
 traits of character that mark the lives of mankind, some 
 special and distinguishing features of disposition and conduct 
 that predominate all others and serve to impress upon their 
 associates the personalities of men, and on account of which 
 they will always be particularly remembered by those who 
 knew them. Frequently, if not always, after the death of our 
 fellow-men we attach greater importance and more appropriate 
 significance to these peculiar attributes than we do while they 
 
 live. 
 
 It is somewhat strange, but nevertheless true, that we are 
 prone to bestow greater credit upon and readier recognition 
 of worthy deeds and virtuous characteristics after those who 
 exemplified them have passed away. It seems that the due 
 and impartial audit is only made up when the subject thereof 
 has gone beyond the boundary where human commendation can 
 reach. It would be better if we should cheer and strengthen 
 one another with our approbation along the journey rather 
 than to wait and stay our expression of appreciation until the 
 end is reached. 
 
 In the life and conduct of Major Otey there were discovered, 
 in conspicuous degree, kindliness of heart, promptness to serve 
 his friends and associates, and untiring industry. I believe he 
 was the most accommodating member of Congress to his col- 
 leagues in the House, in all matters pending before the com- 
 mittees upon which he served, of any man I have known in 
 this body. He always was ready to give his close personal 
 attention, upon request, to the bills and measures in which 
 
26 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 others were interested, making their business and wishes his 
 especial concern. He was never too busy nor self-absorbed to 
 be indifferent to or neglectful of the affairs of his fellows. 
 
 He was uniformly polite and obliging; nor did he postpone 
 his altruistic care and assistance to suit his own convenience. 
 He was a man of usually grave demeanor, but at times the 
 genial current of his soul rose high, and often his wit and mer- 
 riment refreshed his companions. Who of us does not remem- 
 ber the recreation and diversion he afforded us? We all knew 
 him well, and he was universally regarded with the kindest 
 feeling. It was impossible when thrown into contact with him 
 not to like him and be drawn to him. He had a kind word 
 and a pleasant manner to everyone within the circle of his 
 association. 
 
 We were shocked at the suddenness of his death. He had 
 been designated by the Speaker as one of the funeral committee 
 to attend the last sad rites of a deceased fellow-Congressman; 
 but before he could render this solemn service he, too, was called 
 away. We remember the unusual and striking circumstance, 
 never before witnessed in the House, when three desks were 
 covered with crape and flowers, and one of these was that of 
 Major Otey. How mysterious and inscrutable are the ways of 
 Providence! How brittle the cord that binds us to life! How 
 quick and sharp the ultimate summons cometh! 
 
 We all miss ourdeparted colleague. We all deplore his death. 
 His taking off is specially sad to his old comrades. Time and 
 death are rapidly decimating the survivors of the awful conflict 
 of the sixties in the last century, in which he bore an honorable 
 part. The mortuary columns of the daily press are filled with 
 the tidings of the passing away of veterans on either side, and 
 the period hastens when there will none be left to relate from 
 personal experience the story of that terrible struggle. When 
 another decade shall have passed, it will be rare, indeed, if at all, 
 
Address of Mr. Laiiham, of Texas. 27 
 
 to find an ex-Confederate soldier in public life. The rush of 
 years and the pressure of later generations are pushing them 
 into the shades of retiraey from official stations and life's activi- 
 ties, but their transition will not be unnoticed. ' ' They shall 
 not go without their fame." 
 
 The Southland can never afford to ignore or subtract from 
 its records and history its chivalry and devotion, its sacrifice 
 and suffering, its contribution to the upbuilding of its places 
 made waste and desolate by war, when the arbitrament of the 
 bayonet had determined the issues of the conflict, as exhibited 
 in the worth and work of these men of undaunted courage and 
 consecration to their convictions of duty. In war and peace 
 they have ever been ' ' where only men were wanted and only 
 men were found." 
 
 The winning side never lacks for champions; triumph 
 insures its own immortality. But the duty remains with those 
 of us who yet survive, as it will with our posterity when we 
 are all gone, to perpetuate and keep green the memory and 
 manhood of the Southern heroes who dedicated their loftiest 
 efforts and offered their lives to the cause of liberty and truth, 
 as it was given to them to see it. The victories they have 
 accomplished in subsequent peace are no less renowned than 
 their valor on the field of battle, for they have demonstrated 
 the highest qualities of American citizenship, and displayed 
 the utmost devotion and energy in the reparation of the woes 
 and wounds that ensued the civil war. 
 
 Major OTEY was a gallant soldier. His record in war is 
 without blot or blemish. The testimonials of his immediate 
 people concerning his merits as a citizen are spontaneous and 
 abundant. Those who knew him best, his friends and ueigh- 
 bors, before whom he went in and out, and who were familiar 
 with his daily walk, are quick to affirm his many virtues. All 
 speak well of him, and their mourning over his deatli was uui- 
 
28 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 versal. The large and sorrowful congregation that attended 
 his obsequies attested the great esteem in which he was held 
 at his home, while the tribute on that occasion from the pulpit 
 to his splendid manhood was highly affirmative of his probity 
 and purity of character. 
 
 It may be truthfully said of him that he was a good man, 
 faithful in all his public and private relations, upright in his 
 deportment, and promptly obedient to every call of duty. 
 Whatever may be the limitation of the heritage in this world's 
 goods that he has left to his family and descendants, he has 
 bestowed upon them the imperishable treasure of his "good 
 name, which is better than riches." His career is closed; his 
 useful life is ended; he has discharged the last debt which 
 all humanity must pay. Let us hope that he is enjoying in 
 a brighter, better clime the recompense of "the just made 
 perfect." 
 
Address of Mr. Hay, of Virginia. 29 
 
 Address of Mr. Hay, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: " The paths of glory lead but to the grave;" 
 aud yet one who treads those paths with honor to himself leaves 
 behind him a name and an example which uplift the aims of 
 men and make the world better because he has lived. Peter 
 Johnston Otey was such a man. In defense of his country 
 he won honors and distinction. His service in the army was 
 typical of the man; seeking no high command, having no great 
 rank, he yet impressed his personality upon superiors and infe- 
 riors alike, and did his duty effectively and with consummate 
 gallantry. Beloved and honored by his comrades to the last 
 day of his life, he has joined those in the great beyond who 
 by his side wrought in that great strife " where the grapes were 
 bullets and the wine was blood." 
 
 He was one of those who accepted results, and when the war 
 was over put his shoulder to the wheels of enterprise and prog- 
 ress. He aided in the upbuilding of the waste places of his 
 beloved State, and from 1866 to the hour of his death he 
 devoted the energies of his mind and the strength of his being 
 to Virginia and Virginia's welfare. In public affairs he took a 
 prominent part, and his advice and counsel were sought after by 
 the wisest men, not only in Virginia, but in the country. His 
 heart was pure, his motives high, and because of these attri- 
 butes his influence was widespread and effective. Possessed of 
 a loyal heart, other hearts sought and found in him a friend, 
 "A very present help in trouble." 
 
 His service in this House was conspicuous for energy, for 
 effectiveness in accomplishing results, for untiring efforts in 
 behalf of his people, for an undivided attention to the wants of 
 
30 ' Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 his constituents, for unfailing courtesy, and for that upright- 
 ness of character which gained for him the sincere confidence 
 of his fellow-members on this floor. 
 
 Buoyant in disposition, genial in intercourse, ever ready to 
 comply with requests, considerate of all, he was beloved by all. 
 
 His loss to his colleagues from Virginia can never be sup- 
 plied. With them he was in peculiar accord. It is no exag- 
 geration to say that he was beloved by us all, trusted by us all, 
 confided in by us all, looked up to by us all. Virginia has lost 
 a devoted son who lived up to her best traditions. He rests in 
 her consecrated soil; by the banks of his beloved river, whose 
 murmer soothed him in infancy, he sleeps. Virginia will ever 
 honor his memory. His name and his fame will be one of her 
 precious keepsakes. 
 
Address of Mr. Morris, of Minnesota. 31 
 
 Address of Mr. Morris, of Minnesota. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I do not rise for the purpose of pronouncing 
 any extended eulogy upon our deceased friend. That has 
 already been eloquently done by the members of his State 
 delegation who have preceded me. But I think I have known 
 Major Otey longer and better perhaps than any member of 
 the Virginia delegation, and I do not feel that I can let this 
 occasion pass without saying something to show my appre- 
 ciation of his many noble traits and his manly and sterling 
 character. We were born in the same town, reared in the 
 same community, educated at the same school, and for years 
 before I went to the State of Minnesota were neighbors and 
 friends. 
 
 My father was his father's friend, and it is a great satisfac- 
 tion to me to feel that he was my friend. He was one of seven 
 brothers who went from our city into the Confederate army, 
 and all of whom served with consummate gallantry that cause 
 which, whatever may be thought of it now, they believed in, 
 and for which they were all ready to, and some of them did, 
 give their lives. His brother, Col. Kirk Otey, was brought 
 to my father's house in Richmond when he was desperately 
 wounded in the bloody battles around that city in 1862, and 
 for two generations the most cordial friendship has existed 
 between our families. And so I think I can say that I knew 
 Major OTEY perhaps better than he was known by any member 
 of this House. 
 
 I knew him as brother, husband, father; as a private citizen 
 and a public man, and in whatever relation or capacity I knew 
 
32 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 him he was always the same able, honorable, upright, pure, and 
 genial gentleman. Whether as bank cashier, insurance agent, 
 railroad president, or member of this honorable body, he was 
 always faithful to his obligations and ever punctual and 
 attentive to his duties. If there was one characteristic more 
 marked in him than any other, it was his capacity for organ- 
 ization, his close attention to and mastery of details, and his 
 untiring energy in directing and guiding the organization he 
 had created. Thus it was that he gained the prominence he 
 attained in the community in which he lived, and established 
 himself in the confidence of his neighbors. 
 
 Major Otey served with conspicuous gallantry and ability 
 throughout the entire civil war, commanding in one of the 
 battles the brigade to which he belonged. He was, of course, 
 imbued with the prejudices (if they may be so styled) and 
 perhaps the hatreds of his people. Certainly he had their 
 principles. But when the gallant fight had been made, and 
 the war was over, and all was lost save honor, he gracefully 
 and honestly and sincerely accepted the result and addressed 
 himself to that business career which brought honor to 
 him at home, and ended with his distinguished services in 
 this House. 
 
 Virginia has produced many sons whose names will stand 
 higher on the roll of fame than will that of Major Otey, but 
 she never had a son more loyal, more devoted, and more deter- 
 mined to serve her with heart and soul. Well might she be 
 proud of him. 
 
 Major Otey came of a family able, sincere, brave, chivalrous, 
 but no scion of that family was abler, more sincere, braver, 
 more chivalrous than he. 
 
 It so happened that we were on opposite sides in politics at 
 a time in Virginia when contests were bitter and severe. The 
 first time I ever ran for Congress he was the chairman of the 
 
Address of Mr. Morris, of Minnesota. 33 
 
 committee of the opposite political party, but I never knew or 
 heard of his doing anything that might not be expected of an 
 honorable opponent, and there was never a time when our 
 personal friendship was severed or even strained. 
 
 When I came to this body, I found him here, and I have felt 
 during all the time in which we were colleagues that, although 
 still on opposite sides politically, there was no man here to 
 whom I could go with greater assurance as a friend. 
 
 And so I say that I did not feel that I could let this occa- 
 sion pass without bearing my feeble testimony to his in>l>l<- 
 and generous character. My sincere sympathy goes out to 
 his wife, his children, and his many friends in the community 
 where we were born and which he so faithfully represented, and 
 I join with them in the belief that he has passed to a brighter 
 and happier realm beyond the shadows of this fitful life. Peace 
 to his ashes. 
 
 H. Doc. 714 3 
 
34 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 Address of Mr. Swanson, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: This House has assembled upon this sacred 
 Sabbath to pay tribute to our distinguished colleagues who 
 recently departed this life. With much eloquence deserved 
 tribute has been paid to that eminent son of New York, Amos 
 Ctjmmings, whose loss we all deeply deplore. Virginia mingles 
 her sorrow with all the rest of the country, and mourns with 
 New York in the loss of her great son. 
 
 We, of Virginia, in the death of Maj. Peter J. Otey, have 
 sustained a great and irreparable loss, and take this as a fitting 
 occasion to pay tribute to his illustrious services and preemi- 
 nent virtues. There was no man in public life in Virginia who 
 was more universally admired, more highly esteemed, than our 
 deceased colleague. His popularity and his friends were not 
 confined to his own district or to his own section, but they 
 embraced the entire State. 
 
 Major OTEY illustrated in his personal traits of character, in 
 his public life and public services, the best developments of 
 Virginia character, which in purity, in force, and the best 
 elements of humanity have been unsurpassed. He was a fair 
 type of those Virginians who, commencing with the majestic 
 Washington and ending with the matchless Lee, have made 
 resplendent the history of Virginia the world over. His lin- 
 eage was of the purest and best in the State. He was a worthy 
 descendant of worthy and noted ancestry. He possessed all 
 the lofty attributes and high ideals which characterize his 
 ancestry. He was brave, truthful, honest, frank, candid, and 
 loyal. I never knew a man possessing to a higher degree that 
 great virtue which embodies what is known as personal integ- 
 
Address of Mr. Swanson, of Virginia. 35 
 
 rity and honor. Affable, pleasant, genial, and ehivalric, he 
 always possessed a host of friends and admirers. 
 
 A distinguished writer has well said that the brightest jewel 
 that can decorate a man is courage, and the brightest jewel that 
 can decorate a woman is purity. Courage in man and purity 
 in woman have been the two great civilizing forces which 
 have enabled mankind to attain its present development and 
 progress. No braver heart ever fluttered in man than that 
 which pulsated in the breast of Major Otey. 
 
 As a mere youth he rendered distinguished service in the 
 late civil war, and many battlefields and rapid promotions gave 
 testimony to his courage and superb qualities as a soldier. In 
 a business career his honesty, industry, quick aptitude, knowl- 
 edge, and attention to business accomplished good results. 
 Coming from a war with a fortune which he inherited wasted 
 and destroyed, he rapidly built up a successful insurance 
 business, and became noted as the most successful banking and 
 financial officer of his section. Under great difficulties he 
 built and constructed the Lynchburg and Durham Railroad, 
 which has been of great benefit and brought great blessings to 
 his city and section. He was president of this road and oper- 
 ated it with much ability until it was purchased and merged 
 into a larger system. 
 
 In the politics of Virginia he has been potential, exerting 
 beneficial and a widespread influence in the State. In the 
 campaign in Virginia which culminated in the overthrow of 
 repudiation and Mahoneism in that State none deserve more 
 credit for efficient service than Major Otky. His powers of 
 organization, Ins silent and persistent work, his wise counsel 
 and leadership constituted a large factor in the victory which 
 the Democracy achieved in 1883. He always manifested a 
 great interest in public affairs. His party loved and tin 
 him fully and completely. 
 
36 Life ami Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 For six years he has represented the State of Virginia upon 
 the national Democratic committee, a high honor which his 
 party was glad to bestow upon him unanimously, and which he 
 held at the time of his death and would have continued to hold 
 as long as he lived. He never asked for a public office until 
 1894, when he was elected to Congress from the Sixth Congres- 
 sional district of Virginia, and which position he held at the 
 time of his death and would have continued to hold as long as 
 he lived. No Representative from Virginia had the confidence, 
 the love, and affection of his constitueuc} - to a greater degree 
 than Major Otey. There was no Representative in this body 
 more attentive to his duties or discharged his public duties and 
 served his constituency more faithfully and patriotically than 
 our deceased colleague, and I believe his unfortunate illness and 
 death largely resulted from his excessive work and his strict 
 attention to the duties of his position. 
 
 The humblest request from the humblest constituent of his 
 he treated as a command to be obeyed, and only those who 
 have been intimately associated with him realize the amount 
 of work he accomplished and the strict and continuous atten- 
 tion he paid to the duties of his office. I can say justly that 
 I have known no Representative since I have been in Congress 
 more faithful, more efficient, and more capable than Major 
 Otey. 
 
 He had a strong, clear, masculine mind, which would grasp 
 public questions with force and clearness. He knew what 
 was right, and his vote and influence were always in that 
 direction. No man has ever served in this body whose public 
 life was purer and freer from blemish. He was an attractive 
 speaker and was always listened to with attention by the 
 House. I do not believe there was a member of this House 
 who was more highly esteemed, more generally loved and 
 liked, than Major Otey. 
 
Address of Mr. Swanson, of Virginia. 37 
 
 During the last years of his service in this House I had 
 the pleasure of being his desk mate. During this time he 
 was possessed of a fatal illness which he knew ultimately 
 must terminate seriously, yet none would ever have judged 
 this from his conduct or manner. He was always cheerful. 
 buoyant, bright and sunshiny, manly, courageous, active, and 
 energetic to the end. Nothing has more impressed me than 
 to see this, knowing, as I did, his serious illness. It exhibited 
 far more than any language I possess can express his brave, 
 courageous heart, his firm will, and energetic determination. 
 
 Thackeray, in his great novel Vanity Fair, has well said 
 that the world is a looking-glass and gives back to every 
 man the reflection of his own face. If he smiles upon it, it 
 smiles upon him; if he loves it, it loves him, invariably 
 mirroring back a true picture of the man presented. Thi^ is 
 a profound truth which is illustrated fully in the life and 
 death of our distinguished friend. He loved the world and 
 its people, and it showered him with its esteem and affection. 
 He smiled upon the world with bright smiles, and it met 
 him with smiles and friends. He treated the world well, 
 honestly, and fairly, and it gave him its esteem, its regard, 
 confidence, and affection. 
 
 When I went to Lynchburg to his burial services I was 
 deeply impressed with this great truth; from all portions of 
 his district and State people came to pay tribute to his worth 
 ami virtue. In his home city all business was suspended, and 
 it seemed as if every person of that city felt that they had 
 experienced a personal los^. 
 
 Such are the rewards which await manly, honorable, and 
 pure lives such as was led by our late colleagui He dis 
 charged the duties and performed all the obligations of his 
 life courageously and completely. 
 
3 8 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 A more devoted husband never lived. His wife was his 
 constant companion, and participated in all of his work, shared 
 all of his joys and disappointments, and divided with him the 
 work and toil incident to his office. Nothing has ever touched 
 me more or furnished me more eloquent proof of Major Otey's 
 high qualities of mind and heart than the sweet, lasting inti- 
 macy and affection between himself and wife. He loved to a 
 passionate degree his children and grandchildren, which they 
 returned with deep intensity and esteem. He was loved and 
 esteemed by his neighbors, his colleagues in Congress, his 
 State, and by all who were brought in contact with him. 
 
 His life constitutes a life of success; one of many achieve- 
 ments; one deserving of great commendation; one which 
 should be imitated, and one whose influence must be lasting 
 and beneficial. Such a life constitutes a rich heritage and 
 solace to his family and friends, adds additional luster to his 
 State, and furnishes an example worthy to be followed by 
 those possessed of the responsibilities of a public life. 
 
Address of Mr. De Armond, of Missouri. 39 
 
 Address of Mr. De Armond, of Missouri. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: The great question in life respecting any 
 
 of us is not so much who our ancestors were as what we 
 are and what we do. It is true, nevertheless, that what we 
 are and what we do and what we may do depends very largely 
 upon the inheritance of birth. Those who come of good 
 ancestry, who trace their line through heroic stock, who track 
 back through good lives, have a better assurance, enter life 
 with a better promise of success, than those who come in less 
 kindly endowed by nature. And yet nature has a way of 
 her own of gathering up through the years and through all 
 conditions, good and bad, sifting and assorting, and from time 
 to time, from sources unpretentious and unpromising, com- 
 bining happily the elements which make the very best and 
 the very highest of human kind. 
 
 The friend to whose memory we pay tribute this day was 
 happy in that his ancestry was historic and of excellent 
 quality. He inherited from both his mother and his father 
 qualities which are best expressed and best summarized in 
 the one phrase which has become historic. He came from 
 a line of Virginia gentlemen, and he was himsclt worthy of 
 that line and a typical "Virginia gentleman." 
 
 He was hardly more than a boy when the war broke out. 
 Fresh from the Virginia Military Institute, just a little while 
 awa) from the schoolbooks and discipline of that institution, 
 just a little while abroad in the work of men. when the tocsin 
 of war sounded and the great crisis in the history of our country 
 and in the history of so mam of our people individually was 
 
40 Life a?id Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 upon him and upon all. In retrospect we certainly can not 
 wonder that Major Otey took precisely the course which he 
 did take. Youthful as he was, of course he had never thought 
 or read or speculated deeply upon the general questions of seces- 
 sion and of States' rights or of national power and of national 
 rights. 
 
 He had the education of a soldier. There had been instilled 
 into him for four years the elements necessary to make an offi- 
 cer, and to them he had added, by way of inheritance, patriot- 
 ism and an intense love of home and of old Virginia. To him 
 the war meant invasion, as it did to so many others; to his 
 ardent soul risk and danger, destruction and death, threatened, 
 impended, unless resistance could be effective, to all that was 
 worth preserving, to all that he loved. When the note of 
 preparation for invasion came from over the border, and when 
 later the tread of armed men was heard echoing over the hills 
 and along the valleys and by the streams of old Virginia, he 
 and others like him stopped not to reason or to speculate. 
 
 They had no time for abstractions. The concrete and only 
 question of the day was upon them. Otey, with his brothers, 
 seven in all — what a heroic family it must have been — cast his 
 lot with his own people, in his own land, with his neighbors, 
 with his friends, with the citizenship and the chivalry of Vir- 
 ginia, and stood for the home that he loved against the force 
 that menaced it. 
 
 Well he bore his part in the dreadful conflicts of four 3-ears. 
 He did it, as did his illustrious chieftain, the great leader of 
 the armies of the South, without bitterness, without malevo- 
 lence, without envy, without feeling of enmity toward any 
 individual or force engaged in warfare upon the other side. 
 He simply followed the course of duty as he saw it; fought 
 without a desire to inflict wanton injury, but with the intent 
 and desire to protect, to shield, to save. 
 
Address of Mr. Dc Armond, of Missouri. 41 
 
 Coming through the war, this sunny-hearted and brave- 
 spirited, kindly, just, aud broad-minded man, after the field 
 had been swept with the storm of shot and shell, aud after 
 hundreds and thousands of the bravest and best of the North 
 and South and of the world had perished, when the blessings 
 of peace came, no reconstruction was needed either in the 
 genial heart or mind or life of our friend. 
 
 Genial and kindly, noble and magnanimous, brave and chiv- 
 alrous, through the storm of battle he carried to the dawn of 
 peace and the struggles of life beyond it those sterling qualities 
 which did not need development, having been inherited and 
 developed in stern practice in the life which he led fighting for 
 Virginia and for home when Virginia and home were menaced. 
 He filled life with charity and a great desire to do good. 
 
 Loving home and Virginia, his love grew aud expanded until 
 it embraced all the people of the Union — North and South, 
 East and West — whether great or lowly, soldier or civilian, 
 rich or poor. Aye, it extended even beyond the confines of 
 country and the line of fellow-citizenship; it embraced the 
 whole world. He was a man who went through life without 
 desire to do harm to any, without a feeling of malevolence 
 toward any, and with an ever present, pulsating desire to do 
 good to all with whom he came in contact. 
 
 Xo wonder that this man was well beloved. No wonder 
 that he had friends by the score, by the hundreds, by the 
 thousands, and perhaps not a solitar} enemy, for he did unto 
 no man anything on account of which he could be his enemy. 
 He was so broad minded and kindly that nobody could find 
 in his life anything upon which enmity could fasten. So 
 we find him throughout life a model character, manly and 
 humane, sweet and charitable, industrious, painstaking, cheer- 
 fully helpful to all. 
 
42 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 We did not know it then — we know it now — that our friend 
 was for weeks before his death really and sorely afflicted. He 
 knew, as has been remarked in these eulogies, that the mark 
 of death was set upon him. He knew that it would not be 
 many weeks, months, or years until he would be gathered to 
 his fathers; but he made it known to none. He made no 
 complaint. To the end he was cheery and helpful, industrious 
 and patient. While awaiting the end he forgot not the duties 
 which lay between him and dissolution; he forgot not the 
 duties of the hour; but, taxing his waning strength, he dis- 
 charged those duties with the same degree of cheerfulness, 
 with the same disposition to be helpful and kindly, as in the 
 very prime and flush and strength of life. 
 
 He appeared to be a man exceedingly free from worry and 
 care. Having no designs that had to be pursued by furtive 
 means, no ends to be accomplished except in direct and honor- 
 able ways, he lived in the light, loving and greatly enjoying 
 the fellowship and communion of kindred spirits. 
 
 In the three terms he served in Congress, during which time 
 I also was a member, so far as I recollect, I never noticed 
 upon his brow the evidence of care; I never saw by his bearing 
 that the hand of trouble was upon him, except, I think, as I 
 now recall it, during the time shortly preceding his death. 
 
 Being of an exceedingly affectionate nature, he was loyalty 
 itself, ever true and faithful to friends. He came to regard, 
 and did regard, everybody in his Congressional district, so far 
 as he could help him or advance him, as being peculiarly under 
 his protection, and having the right to call upon him in every 
 hour of need. He was ever ready to do for the humblest as 
 well as the mightiest whatever he might do, whatever the 
 necessities might require or suggest. 
 
 He looked upon his constituents much as a father looks upon 
 his children. He had an affection for them. He could not 
 
Address of Mr. De Armond, of Missouri. 43 
 
 think with patience or satisfaction of the possibility of loosing 
 them from that care and that protection and that helpfulness 
 which he might extend to them as their Representative in 
 Congress. 
 
 Thus it was that during the time when there was pending 
 in his own State legislation with reference to redisricting I 
 thought — and I believe others who observed him and who 
 enjoyed friendship and communion with him also thought, 
 because the signs were quite evident— that he was disturbed 
 more than we ever before knew him to lie; not so much 
 because there was danger of his losing his seat in Congress 
 by the redisricting, which might leave him among strangers, 
 but primarily because he might, by reason of the change in 
 Congressional districts, be forced to part with friends who had 
 elected him to office and whom he had served, forced to part 
 even from those who had tried to defeat him for office, all of 
 whom he had served as the Representative in Congress of all 
 the people. 
 
 I am satisfied that this weighed upon him. and, added to the 
 infirmities which were already accumulating too thick on his 
 devoted head, really tended to hasten the end. He felt some- 
 how that to lose out of his district any of the counties which 
 constituted the territory which sent him to Congress, and which 
 he had represented so well and striven so faithfully to serve, 
 would be something in the nature of a personal loss, a severing 
 of the ties of friendship. A redistricting which tore up his dis- 
 trict and scattered the fragments seemed to him like taking 
 away from him those to whom he was attached, and in the even- 
 ing of life, with his infirmities heavy upon him, leaving him to 
 form new ties and new relationships, personal and political. 
 
 But even these things, these cares that pressed upon his life 
 here, that disturbed him— for he felt that without fault of his a 
 sale district was likely to be changed into a doubtful one— did 
 
44 Life and Character of Peter f. Otev. 
 
 not harass him so much because of what he might lose as 
 because the redisricting- tended to break up the associations so 
 happy to him and so much cherished by him. This worry, 
 making common cause with the bodily ills which he suffered, 
 broke him down and, I fear, carried him off both suddenly and 
 prematurely. 
 
 We were all very much shocked when the news came that 
 Major Otey was dead. We had not observed that he was fail- 
 ing. We had not observed that there was less strength day by 
 day for some time. He was so cheery, the soul of good humor, 
 the very essence of good fellowship, the very personification of 
 helpfulness, that we could not realize, and we did not realize, 
 that our friend was soon to pass away; and so when the news 
 came, it came with all the force of a shock. As we learned 
 the details, we knew that he had been different from what we 
 saw him only for a few days. Decay had progressed just a 
 little farther, and he was unable to move about in his accus- 
 tomed ways. The struggle was short, and the old soldier was 
 found prepared for the death which he had faced upon many 
 a field without flinching. 
 
 I have often thought what a spectacle that is — the peaceful 
 death, the body dying first, consciousness remaining clear to 
 the end. How helpful it might be if one, without himself 
 dying, could realize and experience what their is in the mind 
 of a well-constituted man, such as Major Otkv was, when the 
 shadows lengthen, when the final stroke is near, when the 
 inevitable hour has almost struck, when the sands of life are 
 running, running, almost run out, when there is in the ears 
 the sound of the wash of the waters of the mystic river which 
 all must cross, in the full possession of his faculties, with all 
 the joys of earth about him, but fading fast, finally fading, 
 with friends and relatives gathered at his bedside — what a feel- 
 ing it must be, what an experience! But we all must take the 
 
Address of Mr. De Armond, of Missouri. 45 
 
 journey alone, and no one can relate the experience to another, 
 and no one can taste its fruit except he himself pluck them as 
 the final act of life here and the initial act of life beyond. 
 
 But speculations about these things, however seductive they 
 are and however we are drawn to them, drawn to them time 
 after time as the grave opens for one after another of our 
 friends, are ever speculations which lead simply to more specu- 
 lations and which only can be answered finally and demon- 
 strated as to their truthfulness or the fact that they are baseless 
 by our own experience. 
 
 It is worth while, however, as we pass along through life, 
 with all its trials and its triumphs, with all its good deeds and 
 its bad deeds, sometimes satisfied with what we do and at other 
 times greatly dissatisfied, sometimes pleased with what our 
 friends or our neighbors or our fellow-citizens or fellow-beings 
 in the great human band do, sometimes dissatisfied, sometimes 
 displeased, sometimes with the aid of others trying to accom- 
 plish what we regard as great and good, sometimes exerting 
 our best energies, drawing all the force and all the will and all 
 the power that we can command into the work of overcoming 
 or even destroying those of our kind who do not think or see as 
 we do, it is well in all these varying and trying experiences of 
 life, in all its peace and happiness, with all its failures and all 
 its successes, when we can recur to and dwell upon a life like 
 that of our friend. Here was a man who discharged his duty 
 void of offense. Here was a man forceful, but who never 
 found it necessary to draw on his powers to the injury of 
 anyone — who wounded none. 
 
 Eulogy often is meaningless exaggeration; eulogy often is 
 worthless, because there is no symmetry about it and no 
 regard for facts or fitness in it; but we are speaking to-day 
 of a man who was among the noblest of his kind, a man who 
 possessed in high degree, unadulterated and undefiled, many 
 
46 Life a?id Character of Peter J. Otcy. 
 
 of the grandest elements found in human nature. All who 
 knew him, all who enjoyed the pleasure and profit of his 
 friendship, all who were placed by association with him, can 
 recollect him with pleasure, and we can, if it be possible for us 
 to do so, model our own lives and direct our own conduct, in 
 some particulars at least, by the example that he has left us. 
 We speak to-day of a departed friend of whom high praise 
 is but justice, whose life may be commended without fulsome 
 eulogy, and whose death may be mourned without feigned 
 sorrow. 
 
Address of Mr. Rhea, of Virginia. 47 
 
 Address of Mr. Rhea, of Virginia, 
 
 Mr. Speaker: The life, character, and virtues of Major Otey 
 have been so fully, justly, and vividly portrayed by others, that 
 it only remains for me to say a few words in paying a humble 
 tribute to the late Representative of the Sixth Virginia district. 
 
 I had known Major Otey for several years, and he was one 
 of the most lovable men I ever met. He was as tender and 
 gentle as a woman. He had endeared himself to the people of 
 his district by his ability and integrity, his strict devotion to 
 duty, his indomitable energy, and his genial disposition. 
 
 I have never known a man more unselfish, or who took 
 greater pride or seemed happier in serving others. He was not 
 a man to promise everything and do nothing. He was essen- 
 tially a man who did things. He never procrastinated. He 
 would not say, "Wait until to-morrow or next week," but 
 now was always the accepted time with him. 
 
 Just a few days before his fatal illness I went to him and 
 told him I was anxious to get a bill reported by a committee 
 of which he was a member, and he said, " I will attend to it 
 at once," and the bill was reported that day, 
 
 It seemed to be a pleasure for him to aid others, and Ik- was, 
 in my judgment, not only for the country at large, but espe- 
 cially for the people of his district, oik- of the most valuable, 
 efficient, and patriotic Representatives who ever occupied a seat 
 upon this floor. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I do not believe I could pay a mole fitting "i 
 tim-i tribute to the memory of our beloved friend than to use 
 his own words spoken by him in this House on March J4, [900, 
 in paying a tribute to Hon. Sydney 1'. Epes. His words were 
 
48 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 not only true of the life and character of our lamented friend 
 Sydney Epes, but how especially applicable they are to his own 
 life and character will be readily seen by all who knew him. 
 Major Otey on that occasion said: 
 
 Mr. Speaker, it has been truly said that the crown and glory of life is 
 character. It is the noblest possession of man, constituting a rank in 
 itself and an estate in the general good will, dignifying every station and 
 exalting everv position in society, wielding greater power than wealth and 
 achieving honor without the petty bickering and jealousies attending 
 fame. 
 
 Sydney P. Epes possessed character which carried with it irresistible 
 power— strong to do good, no less strong to resist evil. Integrity of word 
 and deed was his backbone, and truth and sincerity formed the essence of 
 his manly nature that gave a loyalty to "virtue which served her without 
 livery." 
 
 He cultivated the habit of happy thought, and his genial spirit and 
 charming temper were as "timid violets with their richest fragrance 
 unaware," yet filling the surroundings with wonderful sweetness. His 
 graceful demeanor toward all was a constant source of pleasure, and his 
 gentleness was like the silent influence of light, giving color to the envi- 
 ronments. His bearing toward superiors or inferiors, high or low, the 
 humble or the lofty, was marked in his respect alike for all. 
 
 Good manners gilded his every action, and in speaking a kind word and 
 in doing a kind thing he always enhanced their value. 
 
 He was a gentleman in its largest sense, a dignity in itself, commanding 
 the homage and respect of ever} 7 generous mind. 
 
 He adorned every station in life to which he was called, depending not 
 on fashion, but on moral worth; not on personal possessions, but on 
 personal qualities. 
 
 His law- was rectitude of purpose; his standard, probity of word and 
 deed; his motto, virtue. 
 
 He was a poor man in this world's goods, but rich in all the elements 
 that go to fashion the most elevated models of human kind. The words 
 "nature's nobleman" were stamped on the model which formed him. 
 
 Frank and open, he despised deceit, and he held honor and virtue as 
 beloved twin sisters, not to be hurt if assailed, not to be enthralled if 
 surprised. 
 
 He was a friend, yes, a true friend, whose counsel was not based on 
 flattery, neither was it crooked by selfish ends. 
 
 His friendship, perfectly sincere, unselfish, and pure, was a treasure to 
 those possessing it. It was in no sense an obligation to be met; it had no 
 day of maturity, no days of grace; it bore no interest. No demand for 
 payment, no value received, was written across its face. It was payable 
 never. It was the possessor's to use when ami where deemed proper. It 
 
Address of Mr. Rhea, of Virginia. 49 
 
 was too lofty to serve an ignoble purpose, and, like the forest oak, it 
 grew more and more deeply rooted as time wore on. 
 
 His benevolence and charity were the children of his generositv. and 
 his candle threw its penetrating beams into the dark recesses of the 
 countless homes of the poor, whose tears mingle with ours at his 
 untimely end. The "prayer of want and the plaint of woe" always 
 touched his generous heart. We are all better for having known Sydney 
 P. Epes, and the world is better for his having lived in it. 
 
 Truth was to him as a pearl, that showed best in the light of open day 
 and needed no artifice to disclose its purity. He had no patience with 
 the semblance of delusion that tampered with it. He had lofty ambition 
 and achieved distinguished honor, but was ever free from the canker, 
 envy, in his efforts to excel. 
 
 In his death he exemplified the life described by the Psalmist as one — 
 
 "That walketh uprightly, and worketh righteously, and speaketh the 
 truth in his heart." 
 
 It is my sad privilege to plant a flower on his grave, watered with the 
 tears of memory, and thus to pay my last tribute to him whose death 
 was the crown of a useful life. 
 
 Peter J. Otev was a noble son of the Old Dominion. 
 
 He served her well and faithfully in war and in peace. 
 
 In his death the country has lost a patriotic servant; his 
 State a loyal and devoted son, and his district an ideal 
 Representative. 
 
 H. Doc. 714 4 
 
50 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. MCCALL, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: Peter J. Otey was a rare spirit. Compared 
 with some careers, his term of service in this House was not 
 a long one. He took much less of its time in debate than 
 his abilities fairly entitled him to claim, and yet he spoke 
 enough to reveal himself to those of the members who did not 
 know him personally well. The prime quality of his speaking 
 was the rich, wholesome, and thoroughly American humor 
 with which he delighted the House. That is a quality which 
 no bad man can possess. It is the shining of the kindly 
 and benignant light of a good spirit. 
 
 I knew him also in his relation to the Virginia Military 
 ■ Institute, of which he was a proud and devoted graduate, and 
 for which he cherished a loyal affection. He was a genial, 
 chivalric gentleman, such a man as would be sure to command 
 the love of his friends. The esteem in which his neighbors 
 held him was shown by the tenderness of the last tributes 
 paid his memory in the beautiful city in which he had lived. 
 Upon the faces of the thronging crowds was the sadness of 
 a personal grief, and the presence of so many of the splendid 
 heroes of the Southern armies attested their sorrow over the 
 loss of an old comrade, who bore upon his body the scars of 
 the tremendous struggle in which they had so bravely taken 
 part. His capacity for rendering loyal and efficient public 
 service was gratefully recognized by his constituency, and the 
 Representatives of the State of Virginia have to-day borne 
 fitting witness to the hold he had upon the people he repre- 
 
Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts. 51 
 
 sented. Those whose fortune it was to know him long and 
 intimately have spoken more fully of his character and life. 
 I only rise to mingle my voice with theirs, to express my keen 
 sense of personal loss, and to add my personal tribute to the 
 memory of our friend whose noble qualities will long be 
 held in affectionate remembrance. 
 
52 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 Address of Mr. Rixey, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: Major Otey was more than a colleague — he 
 was a friend. Preceding me to the House of Representatives, 
 where I met him for the first time, our acquaintance ripened 
 into esteem, confidence, and friendship. He was of a lovable 
 nature, and made friends with all with whom he came in con- 
 tact. A Confederate soldier, he had the pleasure of count- 
 ing among his warmest friends the honored Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives and many others who, like him. had 
 fought upon the Union side in the great conflict between the 
 States. 
 
 Educated at the Virginia Military Institute, he early re- 
 sponded to the call to arms and served with distinguished 
 gallantry throughout the great civil strife, and during the 
 remainder of his life carried on and in his bod}- not only the 
 scars, but the bullets received upon the field of honor. Upon 
 the return of peace he engaged in business enterprises; and in 
 railroad, banking, and insurance proved himself a capable, 
 thorough, and successful business man. Unlike many of the 
 successful business men of the present clay, he amassed no 
 fortune, hut left to his friends and relatives a prouder herit- 
 age — that of a life well spent; brave, honest, capable — that of 
 a patriot and a statesman. He believed in fair dealing and 
 loved the right; and. undimmed by any shadow, the example 
 of his life still lives in undiminished luster in the memory of a 
 life well spent in public and private stations. He possessed in 
 an eminent degree not only the affections of the people of his 
 district, but the esteem and confidence of his State and 
 
Address of Mr. Rixey, of Virginia. 53 
 
 party, and for some years prior to his death was the Virginia 
 member of the national Democratic committee. 
 
 Not a professional man, and yet not a man of wealth, he was 
 selected by his fellow-countrymen to represent them in the 
 Fifty-fourth Congress. To those who knew Major Otev this 
 was not surprising. Genial and approachable, he had, in every 
 walk of life, under the most trying and perilous circumstances, 
 been proven loyal to his State, true in his friendships, and 
 absolutely incorruptible and unimpeachable in all of the trans- 
 actions of life — the best type of the American patriot. 
 
 After his first election to the House of Representatives there 
 was never any question as to his successor. Though elected 
 four times, he never had au opponent for the nomination after 
 the first contest. His service was so acceptable that he was 
 truly a Representative for life. 
 
 He was justly proud of his hold upon the affections of his 
 people, and we well remember the pain and anguish the prob- 
 ability of a division of his district caused him. He plunged 
 into the contest with all and more than his accustomed energy — 
 bent on preventing, if possible, the dismemberment of his 
 beloved district. No people ever had a more faithful Repre- 
 sentative. Xo Representative ever had a more appreciative 
 and, I might say, affectionate constituency. 
 
 On the eve of a renomination without opposition, in the city 
 and house where he was born, he laid down his life peacefully, 
 quietly, bravely. The end was not wholly unexpected. We 
 who knew him intimately knew that he did nut look forward to 
 .1 long lite He expressed no vain regrets as to his condition, 
 but conscientiously discharged his duty to the last. 
 
 I believe his end was as he would have chosen. In the full 
 possession of Ins faculties, with but few hours of pain; in the 
 presence of his beloved wife, who hail shared his joys and sor- 
 rows, who had been in very truth his life partner, his helpmate, 
 
54 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 his beloved on whom he leaned for comfort, encouragement, 
 courage, and support, and she was all; surrounded by his chil- 
 dren, of whom he was ever proud, and of whom he took delight 
 in talking to his intimate friends; in the house of his fathers, 
 he gave back to his Maker, as peacefully and calmly as the sun- 
 light fades from the sky, the life he had received. It was the 
 "gathering of ripened fruit." 
 
 The telegram announcing his death was a great shock. The 
 House was already in mourning for Hon. A. J. Cummings, a 
 distinguished member from New York, to whose eulogies we 
 have just listened, and scarcely were the badges of mourning 
 placed upon our colleague's desk before we were startled by the 
 announcement that another, and this time the Hon. Joshua S. 
 Salmon, an honored Representative from the State of New Jer- 
 sey, had, even while he appeared in the most robust health, 
 been "touched by the finger of God and slept." 
 
 On a beautiful May day, surrounded by his old comrades in 
 arms, by a multitude of his fellow-citizens from all the ranks 
 and walks of life, by a delegation of his colleagues of the House 
 of Representatives and from the Senate of the United States, 
 nad by the governor of his Commonwealth, to the sweet strains 
 of the beautiful hymn — 
 
 Beyond the sunset's glow- 
 There is a brighter world I know, 
 
 we laid him to rest in the beautiful cemetery of his best-loved 
 city and State, at the base of the great Blue Ridge Mountains, 
 which lift their peaks into the very clouds, as if to fathom the 
 unexplored beyond. 
 
 There is a resurrection and a life beyond the sunset's glow, 
 and we who knew our friend believe that he will live with his 
 beloved, where mansions are prepared for those who have lived 
 lives of kindness, honesty, and truth, and who love the Lord. 
 
Address of Mr. Graff, of Illinois. 55 
 
 Address of Mr. Graff, of Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I feel it my duty to pay a brief, modest, and 
 informal tribute to the memory of Hon. Peter J. Otey. Dur- 
 ing the past three sessions of Congress it has been my pleasure 
 to be quite intimately associated with him. He was a member 
 of the Committee on Claims of the House, of which I hap- 
 pened to be chairman. During the last session of Congress he 
 was associated with me on the subcommittee, where we were 
 engaged almost daily in mutual work. It was this committee 
 where was done most of his laborious committee work. 
 
 I owe it to Peter J. Otey that I pay tribute to his memory, 
 because I feel indebted to him. I feel that I have obtained 
 benefit because of the personal contact with him which was my 
 privilege during the past two years. 
 
 After all, a human life preaches the most forceful sermon. 
 Deeds are more forceful than words, but character is more 
 forceful than either. After all, it is not what we accomplish, 
 but it is what we are, that is important. Accomplishment may 
 depend upon the accident of opportunity, but character depends 
 upon ourselves. Pktkk J. Otky lived a life of integrity, 
 benevolence, charity, industry, and patriotism, and thus taught 
 these virtues and made them attractive to others. 
 
 Two members of the House of Representatives who have 
 passed away during this session were members of the Com- 
 mittee on Claims. One of those was Representative Otey, 
 and the other Representative Salmon. It is a matter of self- 
 congratulation that in both these men were found most gentle 
 qualities of heart and most thorough and most manly qualities 
 of mind. 
 
56 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 On May 5, the day after Major Otey's death, the Committee 
 on Claims assembled, as they had been called together with 
 the expectation of performing- the ordinary work of the day, 
 and passed these resolutions: 
 
 The Committee on Claims have heard with profound sorrow of the 
 death of the Hon. Peter Johnston Otey, of Virginia, who for several 
 terms was a faithful and efficient member of this committee: Therefore, 
 
 Be it resolved by the Committee on Claims of the House of Representa- 
 tives, That in the death of the Hon. Peter J. Otey, a Representative 
 from the State of Virginia, the Committee on Claims have suffered a 
 great loss in being deprived of the valuable services of Jlr. OTEY as a 
 member of the committee, and sincerely testify to his generous spirit, 
 integrity, unflagging industry, and ability, and that the members of this 
 committee individually all feel that they have lost in him a friend and a 
 liberal, broad-minded coworker. 
 
 Be it resolved, as a further mart; of respect, That the committee do 
 now adjourn, and that these resolutions be spread upon the records of 
 this committee, and a copy thereof be transmitted to the family of the 
 deceased. 
 
 I was reared in a Union soldier's home, from which a father 
 and two brothers went forth on the Federal side to battle for 
 the preservation of the Union. 
 
 Prior to my experience in this House, beginning with the 
 Fifty-fourth Congress, I had no knowledge of Southern life or 
 Southern character save that obtained by reading. My own 
 experience had brought with me only those things which would 
 conduce to a prejudice against Southern life, Southern charac- 
 ter, and Southern aspirations. I little dreamed eight years ago 
 that I would find myself delivering a sincere eulogy to an ex- 
 Confederate soldier during my service here. Without yielding 
 any of my own convictions of the measures of the period of the 
 war of the rebellion, I feel that I have somewhat altered my 
 views of the men of that period who were then against us. I 
 believe Mr. Otey to have been a fair example of the high type 
 of that portion of American life which descended from the 
 Cavaliers. I feel proud of this departed friend who was born 
 
Address of Mr. Graft, of Illinois. 57 
 
 and continued to live until his death in the great State of Vir- 
 ginia — who performed his duty as he saw it. 
 
 His life stretched from 1S40 to 1902, covering a most impor- 
 tant epoch in our history. He was rich in reminiscences, and 
 oftentimes before the committee had commenced its labors he 
 was in the habit of giving us various experiences of army life. 
 Through it all there was not even a suggestion of resentfulness 
 against the victorious, nor was there ever a suggestion of regret 
 of any attitude that he had taken in the great war. There was 
 never a suggestion of the thought that he was wrong in his 
 battle for the Southern cause, but there was a recognition of 
 the fact that the victory came to the Federal side, and with that 
 victory he proposed to contribute all of his influence and all the 
 force of his character to make that victory for the good of his 
 country. Under the new conditions he took his place to do the 
 best he could for his country. 
 
 He was an optimist. He was not addicted to looking on the 
 blue side and the gloomy side of life. Hu hoped for the best. 
 He believed that men were honest. He was slow to believe 
 that they were otherwise, and hence in making up his opinion 
 concerning the many claims which pressed upon us for solution 
 and adjudication if he had any disposition to err it was upon 
 the side of believing that there was no wrong in particular 
 claims which were presented to us. 
 
 Another weakness that he had was that of a noble man, and 
 that weakness was on the side of generosity. If he believed 
 that the claim presented was from one who needed the money, 
 one who had a hard battle in life with which to contend, his 
 disposition was to vote in the affirmative, on the theory that it 
 he erred m his decisions upon the committee it was better to err 
 on the side of the weaker rather than on the side of the great, 
 strong, wealthy Government. 
 
58 Life a?id Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 Therefore I feel gratified that on this occasion, through 
 these memorial addresses, delineating correctly and truthfully 
 the life of Peter J. Otey, the country may get a better 
 notion of the level of character and morality which pervades 
 this House. My own experience for the past eight years 
 has led me to believe that the vast majority of the members 
 who come here give to their duties the very best of their 
 service, the very best of their ability and of conscientious 
 effort; and that upon both sides of the House, contrary to 
 opinions which erroneously prevail, perhaps, all over the 
 country, or in different sections, the great majority of the 
 business done by this House is not transacted in a partisan 
 way, and it is only upon strictly partisan questions that we 
 range upon the one side and the other at the bidding of party. 
 For the most part the great bulk of the business transacted by 
 this body is transacted from the standpoint of the patriot, of 
 the representative of all the people; and hence the needs of 
 every section will be faithfully responded to, no matter what 
 party shall prevail, in the majority of our deliberations. 
 
 Major Otey believed in his fellow-man. He loved his kind. 
 As has been stated, there is probably not another member of 
 this House who has done so many things for his associates in 
 the way of service on his committee as has been done in the 
 past year and a half by Peter J. Otey. 
 
 He always looked, as I said, for a better aay out of the 
 gloom; and may we trust, may we feel justified by his lift-, 
 that he to-day has entered into a better day— into an eternal 
 morning. 
 
Address of Mr. William W. Kitchin, of North Carolina. 59 
 
 Address of Mr. William W. Kitchin, of North 
 Carolina. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: Just a word, for I am sure I can add nothing 
 to the splendid eulogies which have already been spoken 
 upon the life and character of our deceased friend. I feel, 
 however, that I could not let this occasion pass without paying 
 some slight tribute to his worth. 
 
 In 1865 my father and Major Otey were friends and fellow- 
 prisoners of war at Fort Delaware. That of itself would 
 have attracted me to Major OTEY. He was one of the few 
 men in Congress whom I knew before I came here, having 
 known him for eight years before I was elected to the Fifty- 
 fifth Congress. 
 
 He was a civil engineer, a brave and gallant Confederate 
 soldier, a banker, and a practical railroad man before he 
 entered public life, and became distinguished in each business 
 he had pursued. The greatest material monument to his 
 energy and wisdom is the Lynchburg and Durham Railroad, 
 now a part of the Norfolk and Western system, running 
 through my county. To him more than to anyone else was 
 the construction of that road due. The entire people of the 
 good country opened up by that road will cherish his memory 
 with profound appreciation of the great service he rendered 
 them in the building of that line of railway. 
 
 My district in North Carolina adjoins his district in Virginia. 
 In my own county and district Major Otky had many personal 
 friends, attached to him by strong ties of great regard and 
 happy association. I have had many opportunities of knowing 
 the high esteem, the warm affection, and the loyal confidence 
 
60 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 freely given to him by his large constituency. I believe that 
 no man in this body was in closer touch with the people of his 
 district than was our deceased friend. 
 
 Before his election to Congress he had been chairman of his 
 Congressional executive committee, and in that capacity had 
 come to know personally the great majority of the influential 
 men in the various neighborhoods of his district. After his 
 election, in my judgment he gave as much of his personal 
 attention to the needs, the correspondence, and the little mat- 
 ters of business intrusted to his care by his constituents as any 
 man in this House. I can add my testimony to that of his 
 colleagues who have already spoken, that in all this body no 
 man was more diligent or attentive to business than he. He 
 was in truth a good, a splendid Representative, and deserved 
 the plaudit from his people, "Well done, thou good and faith- 
 ful servant." 
 
 As a man, he was candid, courageous, honest, full of sym- 
 pathy and humanity; just such a man as one delights to honor 
 and rejoices to call his friend. He carried sunshine and 
 happiness, comfort and encouragement to those who sought 
 his counsel. As a friend, he was loyal and true; as a husband 
 and father, kind, considerate, and devoted. We have missed 
 him. We shall miss him. No one is more conscious than 
 myself of the inadequacy of words to fitly portray this man's 
 life and character. I shall not attempt it. Words can not 
 compensate for his loss, but in his life — honest, manly, candid, 
 energetic, and faithful — we find much consolation and regard 
 it as an inspiration to struggling men, teaching them the 
 lessons of fidelity, industry, ability, integrity, and kindness. 
 The inevitable mystery has borne him from us, as it will here- 
 after bear us from others, and we must submit. We shall 
 cherish his virtues. His memory will always he pleasant 
 to us. Peace to his ashes — joy to his soul. 
 
Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia. 61 
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: In the quiet of this Sabbath day we turn 
 from the arduous duties of life to the contemplation of 
 
 death. 
 
 How inexorable is death! "All that live must die, passing 
 through nature to eternity." How intrusive is death! There 
 is no age nor condition into which it will not intrude its 
 presence. Since these ceremonies begun it has entered the 
 homes of thousands. The humble and the great, the rich and 
 poor, alike fall before this enemy of mankind. There is no 
 escape from the grim monster. Vain man in pride declares, 
 ' ' I will build me larger barns wherein to store my goods. ' ' A 
 voice in deep and solemn tones replies: "Thou fool, this night 
 shall thy soul be required of thee." A dreamer sees in the 
 dark an ill-omened bird perched upon his chamber door, and to 
 his imprecations he hears but one response— ■" Nevermore! " 
 ' ' Nevermore ! ' ' 
 
 So there is a spirit which haunts us night and day, in toil 
 or sport, in sunshine or sorrow, in sin or in righteousness, 
 evermore repeating this warning: 
 
 Vain man, thy fond pursuits forebear; 
 
 Repent, thy end i-- nigh. 
 Death, at the furthest, can't hv far, 
 
 O! think before thou die. 
 
 How dreadful is death! "All we know or dream or fear 
 of agony" is embodied in death. The youngest of us may, 
 the oldest of us must, soon be ushered into the unknown 
 world from whence come no tidings of those who have gone 
 before. 
 
62 Life and Character of Peter f. Otty. 
 
 Nature, experience, conscience, all sound in our ears the 
 melancholy truth, 
 
 To die — to sleep. 
 To sleep! perchance to dream: ay! there's the rub, 
 For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, 
 When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 
 Must give us pause. 
 
 The numerous deaths in this and the two previous Con- 
 gresses — three from my own State, Virginia — emphasize these 
 sorrowful but suggestive utterances: "In the midst of life 
 we are in death;" "Man that is born of woman is of few 
 days and full of trouble;" "He cometh forth like a flower, 
 and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth 
 not. ' ' 
 
 The last summons came unexpectedly to our friend and col- 
 league, though possibly not without warning to himself. Only 
 the day before he left this city, seeking rest and quiet at his 
 home in Lynchburg, I sat by him in this House talking over 
 some matters that had recently given him much concern. 
 When I asked after his health and expressed the hope that he 
 would soon be with us again, he laid his hand over his heart 
 and remarked: "There is something wrong here; I can not 
 tell what will be the result." In a few days the wires flashed 
 to us the sad intelligence that our colleague had passed from 
 earth to the great beyond. 
 
 In the death of Hon. Phtkr J. Otey the Sixth Congres- 
 sional district of Virginia lost a faithful and efficient Repre- 
 sentative and the State a true and loyal son, who served her 
 well in war and peace. A faithful and devoted husband, an 
 affectionate father and grandfather, and a warm-hearted and 
 sympathetic friend has been removed from the companionship 
 of those whom lie delighted to supply with every needed com- 
 fort and cheer with the words of affection and good will that 
 
Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia, 63 
 
 came from a heart unusually free from selfishness as well as 
 envy and uncharitableness. 
 
 Were I asked to point out in a word the leading trait of 
 character in our departed colleague, I would say that charity 
 was his crowning virtue. During the five years of somewhat 
 intimate association with him I never heard him speak un- 
 kindly of anyone. His political opponents will, I am sure, 
 bear willing testimony to this. Although possessing a fund 
 of humor that he employed at times with telling effect, he 
 never used this power to detract from another or in such a 
 manner as to leave any sting of bitterness behind. He was 
 ever ready to serve a friend, and would put himself to any 
 trouble in order to aid a colleague. In this respect, as well 
 as in other qualifications, he was well equipped for his ardu- 
 ous duties as a member of the Committee on Claims. 
 
 Many others here, besides myself, will testify to the truth 
 of this observation. His industry was equally conspicuous 
 This gave him a hold upon his district. No member of the 
 Virginia delegation worked more constantly and effectively 
 for his people. His constituents often spoke to me of his 
 untiring zeal in their behalf. Had he lived it is my belief 
 that he would have remained in Congress as long as he de- 
 sired. I take this occasion to bear willing testimony to his 
 helpfulness. He had served in the Fifty-fourth Congress. I 
 came in the Fifty-fifth. I had known him slightly as a 
 business man and a useful citizen, but knew him in spirit as 
 a gallant Confederate soldier. This tie soon drew us together 
 and he was prompt to offer such suggestions and assistance 
 as a new member always appreciates and can never forget. 
 
 His acquaintance with the details of the work here soon 
 attracted my attention, and I was not slow to follow his 
 example and profit by his advice. He had a taste lor his 
 work as well as ability to perform it. Men of extraordinary 
 
64 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 ability are sometimes failures as Representatives for lack of the 
 taste, tact, and industry that are absolutely necessary in order 
 to meet the demands of an exacting or, possibly, censorious con- 
 stituency. With an adaptability to the work and ability to 
 perform it, Major Otey had acquired the experience necessary 
 for the duties of his position, and was giving his district and 
 State a splendid service when Death laid his cold hand upon 
 him and transferred his immortal spirit to the better land, 
 whose Maker had endowed our friend with a generous heart 
 and loving disposition. 
 
 In the death of our colleague another of that incomparable 
 body of men, "the glorious infantry of the Army of Northern 
 Virginia," has passed from earth's scenes to the celestial city, 
 not made with hands, whose builder is God. 
 
 I have not spoken of our friend's faith; we may well judge 
 his faith by his works, for we know that "Faith without works 
 is dead. ' ' The generous disposition and gentle qualities our 
 colleague possessed come through the inspiration of a spirit that 
 is not of earth; hence we may infer that our friend had learned 
 more of the things of the spirit than he revealed to those not 
 bound to him by the ties of home and consanguinity. Of one 
 thing I am sure, our friend had the unshaken faith of the Con- 
 federate soldier in the justice and right of his course; and there 
 are soldiers all over Virginia to-day — I often hear them express 
 themselves — who believe that a good and merciful Father above 
 will look with special favor upon and prepare places for the men 
 who sacrificed so much for liberty and home. Many of these, 
 now three score years of age, are struggling with poverty and 
 burdened with cares, while a large majority, with rare spiritual 
 faith, are looking for a heavenly land. A few believe in the 
 law of compensation, and are satisfied that the Confederate 
 soldier will have the full reward for all his toils and sacrifices 
 
Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia. 65 
 
 and losses when the Great King above pensions those who 
 deserve as well as those who win success. 
 
 In this House in the Fifty-fifth Congress we had thirty-two 
 ex-Confederate soldiers. Major Otey prepared a careful list of 
 these. We remember the interest he took in a banquet at 
 which was gathered these thirty-two Representatives, with 
 sixteen of the Senate. He was in his element that night as he 
 listened to and himself recounted the war scenes of forty years 
 
 ago. 
 
 The Fifty-eighth Congress will not number twenty ex-Con- 
 federates. On both sides of this Chamber the soldiers who met 
 in conflict forty years ago are diminishing in numbers. They 
 are falling more rapidly than they fell in battle. In a few 
 years the places that know them now will know them no more 
 forever. The members of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
 by whose deeds of valor we ex-Confederates may well measure 
 our manhood and chivalry, are falling at the rate of 1,000 a 
 mouth. The sons of these soldiers may well be proud of the 
 deeds of their fathers. Many of them stood shoulder to 
 shoulder in recent conflicts. After forty years of warfare the 
 houses of York and Lancaster were united in one. More than 
 a generation has passed since our civil war. May every trace 
 of bitterness soon pass away and this Republic live to bless the 
 world and gladden the hearts of men everywhere, preparing 
 them for the universal reign of peace and righteousness on 
 earth. 
 
 H. Doc. 714 5 
 
66 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 Address of Mr. Mercer, of Nebraska. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: My presence here to-day is because of the 
 friendship and respect I had for the deceased during his 
 service in Congress, and until a few moments ago I had no 
 intention of adding words to those so fittingly contributed by 
 my colleagues as additional evidence of my love and respect 
 for him and for his memory. 
 
 Mr. Otey was an associate of mine on the Committee on the 
 District of Columbia, and during the years we served together 
 I found him in daily attendance at committee meetings, ever 
 mindful of the interests of his constituents and his country. 
 He examined very carefully all bills referred to him for con- 
 sideration, and in the hearings before the committee and in 
 the discussions of measures brought before us for action he 
 exhibited a deep knowledge, and his advice and suggestions 
 were valuable and instructive. 
 
 On the floor of the House he was a unique character, especi- 
 ally in debate. He very seldom occupied the attention of the 
 members by speech, but when he did his associates were pre- 
 pared for an entertainment both amusing and instructive. His 
 wit was refreshing. We always enjoyed it, even when it turned 
 against Republicans, collectively or individually. In the clos- 
 ing days of Congress Mr. Otey was a prominent figure in songs 
 and jollification, and none of us will ever forget his rendition 
 of "Dixie," one of his favorite songs. The Southern accent, 
 the gesticulations, and the dance steps made his rendition of 
 ' ' Dixie ' ' inimitable. 
 
 Otey was always young. Age in years never made him old 
 in his associations. He loved children and always entered into 
 their sports as one of them. He never forgot that he was at 
 
Address of Mr. Mercer, of Nebraska. 67 
 
 one time a boy, and he was full of excuses for the pranks of 
 youth. The young men and women of his acquaintance found 
 in him a companion and a friend, and were never chagrined 
 by severe censorship on his part. Thus he obtained their 
 confidence and officiated as their adviser, leading them into 
 paths of rectitude and wisdom rather than along the highways 
 of recklessness and failure. 
 
 Mr. Otev was a patriot. Although he and six of his broth- 
 ers joined the Southern Confederacy and fought bravely and 
 persistently for the stars and bars, when that unfortunate war 
 came to a close he became a better American citizen than ever 
 before, and in spite of the wounds and ailments received by him 
 as a soldier in the Confederate army he was ever ready to fight 
 for the Stars and Stripes. 
 
 Of late years Major Otey realized that he would leave this 
 earth upon a sudden call. Only a few days before his death he 
 and I attended a banquet in Baltimore, and he then informed 
 me that his heart was bothering him and he was obliged to be 
 very careful in his diet and comportment. That night at the 
 banquet table he spoke as one realizing his near approach to 
 another world. His words were eloquent, full of feeling, and 
 left a most intense impression upon his auditors. 
 
 He referred to the boys in blue and gray who had gone 
 before him, told of their patriotism and loyalty, rejoiced that 
 peace now reigned in the Republic, and declared that his eternal 
 prayer was that never again should the country be embroiled 
 in civil strife. He congratulated himself that he was at peace 
 with all mankind. The announcement of his death was a 
 sudden shock to his many friends as well as to his family; but 
 it was only another reminder that none of us are here per- 
 manently and that we should be prepared at all times to 
 receive a summons from the Great Master. Our friend is gone, 
 but the world is better because he lived in it. 
 
68 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey, 
 
 Address of Mr. Mahon, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: I can not let pass this opportunity to pay a 
 short tribute to our late associate and my personal friend, Peter 
 Johnston Otey. I became acquainted with him in the early 
 days of the Fifty-fourth Congress, when he first entered this 
 honorable assemblage. Although differing in political faith 
 and having fought on opposite sides in the great conflict be- 
 tween the States, our acquaintance soon ripened into the warm- 
 est friendship. I found him at all times to be a loyal friend, 
 true to his country, true to his party, true to his State, true to 
 his friends, and, above everything else, true to himself. 
 
 He led a life of simplicity, one free from ostentation. His 
 paramount thought seemed to be his duty to his constituents; 
 and without disparagement to any other member of this House 
 it can be truthfully said that no one devoted more labor and 
 painstaking efforts to the interests of his district than did Major 
 Otey. Frequently have I seen him working far into the night 
 on the multifarious duties which fall to the lot of a member of 
 Congress. Among his numerous virtues, were I to select one 
 that was preeminent it would be the sacredness with which 
 he regarded the fulfillment of a promise. His word once 
 given could be relied upon implicitly. No matter how trivial 
 the attendant circumstances nor how small the detail, his 
 promise invariably resulted in his best efforts toward its 
 accomplishment. 
 
 Among his many public acts none will be more conspicuous 
 than the opportunity for relief afforded to suffering soldiers by 
 the establishment of a dental corps in the Army which, as we 
 
Address of Mr. Mahon, of Pennsylvania . 69 
 
 all know, was largely brought about by his indefatigable 
 efforts. When he arose to speak on any subject on the floor of 
 this House, he commanded the respectful attention of all. ( >n 
 many occasions his infectious good humor and brilliant flashes 
 in wit have enlivened the usually monotonous proceedings. 
 His wit was not of the kind that hurt or carried with it a sting, 
 for in all his public utterances we have never heard him speak 
 one word derogatory to any man. In his private life even those ' 
 who knew him best never heard from him of the many acts of 
 kindness which he performed nor of the helping hand which 
 he lent to those in trouble. No one ever appealed to him for 
 assistance and was turned away. 
 
 Unselfish, pure in mind, devoted to duty, a loving husband 
 and father, a devoted friend, was Pkter J. Otey. Surely his 
 epitaph should be ' ' Faithful in all things. ' ' 
 
 In closing these remarks. I can not refrain from expressing 
 my heartfelt sympathy for his devoted wife, whose untiring 
 help in sunshine and shadow was, as Major OTEY frequently 
 remarked, the secret of his success. 
 
 The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Jones of Virginia). New, 
 in accordance with the resolutions previously adopted, the 
 House stands adjourned until 1 1 o'clock to-morrow. 
 
 And accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 25 minutes p. m.) the 
 House adjourned. 
 
 March 2, 1903. 
 message from the senate. 
 
 The message also announced that the Senate had passed the 
 following resolution: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow the announcement 
 of the death of Hon. Peter Johnston Otev, late Representative in Con- 
 gress from the Sixth Congressional district of Virginia, 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended that proper 
 tribute may be paid to his memory. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the Senate will, upon the 
 conclusion of these memorial exercises, adjourn. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate these resolu- 
 tions to the House of Representatives. 
 
Proceedings in the Senate. 
 
 May 5, 1902. 
 message from the house. 
 
 A message from the House communicated to the Senate the 
 intelligence of the death of Hon. Peter J. Otey, late a Rep- 
 resentative from the State of Virginia, and transmitted 
 resolutions of the House thereon. 
 
 The message further announced that the Speaker of the 
 House had appointed Mr. Jones, of Virginia; Mr. Swanson, 
 Mr. Rixey, Mr. Hay, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Rhea, of Virginia; Mr. 
 Flood, Mr. Hepburn, Mr. Meyer, of Louisiana; Mr. Jenkins, 
 Mr. Lanham, Mr. Olmstead, Mr. De Armond, and Mr. McCall 
 as members of the committee on the part of the House. 
 
 DEATH OF REPRESENTATIVE PETER J. OTEY, OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
 Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
 will be read. 
 
 The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 
 
 In the House of Representatives, May 5, 1902. 
 
 Resolved, That the House has heard with deep regret and profound sor- 
 row of the death of the Hon. PETER J. OTEY, a Representative from the 
 State of Virginia. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of fourteen members of the House, with 
 such members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the 
 funeral, at Lvnchburg, Va., and that the necessary expenses attending the 
 execution of this order be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. 
 
 Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and 
 directed to take such steps as may be necessary for properly carrying out 
 the provisions of this resolution. 
 
 7i 
 
72 Proceedings of the Senate. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
 and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 
 
 The Speaker announced the appointment of Mr. Jones, of Virginia; Mr. 
 Swanson, Mr. Rixey, Mr. Hay, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Rhea, of Virginia; Mr. Flood, 
 Mr. Hepburn, Mr. Meyer, of Louisiana; Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Lanham, Mr. Olm- 
 sted, Mr. De Armond, and Mr. McCall as members of the committee on the 
 part of the House. 
 
 Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, I beg leave to offer the follow- 
 ing resolutions. 
 
 The President pro tempore. The resolutions will be read. 
 The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret and sorrow the 
 announcement of the death of Hon. Peter J. Otey, Representative in 
 Congress of the Sixth Congressional district in Virginia. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of seven Senators be appointed l>v the 
 Presiding Officer of the Senate to join the committee of the House of 
 Representatives to make arrangements for and to attend the funeral of the 
 deceased. 
 
 The President pro tempore. Will the Senate agree to the 
 resolutions submitted by the Senator from Virginia? 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 
 
 The President pro tempore appointed as members of the 
 committee on the part of the Senate Mr. Daniel, Mr. Martin, 
 Mr. Bate, Mr. Clay, Mr. Gallinger, Mr. Clark, of Wyoming, 
 and Mr. Millard. 
 
 Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, E move that as a further mark 
 of respect to the memory of the deceased the Senate do now 
 adjourn. 
 
 The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 o'clock 
 and 56 minutes p. m. ) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, 
 Tuesday, May 6, 1902, at 12 o'clock meridian. 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 
 
 February 17. 1903. 
 
 Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, I desire to give notice that on 
 Saturday afternoon, February 28, I shall ask the Senate to 
 consider resolutions in commemoration of the life, character, 
 and public services of the late Hon. Peter J. Otey. formerly 
 a Representative of the Sixth district of Virginia. 
 
 Sunday, March i, 1903. 
 At the expiration of the recess, 11 o'clock a. m., Sunday, 
 March 1, 1903, the Senate reassembled. 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES ON THE LATE REPRESENTATIVE OTEY. 
 
 Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, I ask that the resolution of 
 the House of Representatives concerning the death of the late 
 Representative Otey be read. 
 
 The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
 Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
 will be read. 
 
 The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 
 
 In House of representatives, June 2g, 1902. 
 
 Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the Hon. PETER J. OTEY, late 
 a member of this House from the State of Virginia, and in pursuance of 
 the order of the House heretofore made, the business of the House be 
 now suspended to enable his associates to pay fitting tribute to his high 
 character and distinguished services. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to tin- Senate. 
 
 73 
 
74 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect at the conclusion of 
 these exercises the House do adjourn. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk be, and he is hereby, instructed to send a 
 copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 
 
 Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, I ask leave to offer the reso- 
 lutions which I send to the desk. 
 
 The President pro tempore. The Senator from Virginia 
 offers resolutions, which will be read. 
 
 The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow the announce- 
 ment of the death of Hon. Peter Johnston Otey, late Representative 
 in Congress from the Sixth Congressional district of Virginia. 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended that 
 proper tribute may be paid to his memory. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the Senate will, upon the 
 conclusion of these memorial exercises, adjourn. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate these resolu- 
 tions to the House of Representatives. 
 
 
Address of Mr. Martin, of Virginia, 75 
 
 Address of Mr. Martin, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. President: This hour has been set apart by the Senate 
 in order that proper tribute may be paid to the name of a 
 distinguished citizen of Virginia, Maj. Peter J. Otey, who 
 died while serving in the House of Representatives. It 
 becomes mj- sad duty to contribute a few words in honor of 
 the memory of my deceased friend. 
 
 I became acquainted with Major Otey about the time I 
 reached years of manhood. Our acquaintance afterwards 
 ripened into friendship. From the year 1885 to the time of 
 his death our relations were of the closest and most intimate 
 character. I never knew a purer or better man, a more loyal 
 or patriotic citizen, or a more faithful and efficient Representa- 
 tive in the halls of Congress. 
 
 Major Otey was born in the city of Lynchburg on the 22d 
 day of December, 1840. He was educated at the Virginia 
 Military Institute, at Lexington, \'a., an institution of high 
 order, modeled after the West Point Military Academy, grad- 
 uating from that institution on the 1st day of July, i860. 
 During the brief period intervening between his graduation 
 and the commencement of the war between the States Major 
 Otey was employed as a civil engineer in the work of railroad 
 construction. At the very commencement of the war he entered 
 the Confederate Army, and served to the end as an officer, first 
 in the infantry and then in the artillery branch of the service. 
 He was wounded at the battle of Newmarket, in the valley of 
 Virginia, in the spring of 1S65. He was captured at Waynes- 
 boro, Va. , by the Federal Army on the 2d day of March, 1865, 
 
76 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey, 
 
 and was a prisoner at Fort Delaware when the war ended. 
 His career as a soldier was without a blemish in any respect, 
 and was characterized by a spirit of self-sacrifice, by a devotion 
 to duty, and by a courage which endeared him to his comrades, 
 and placed his name high on the rolls of distinguished soldiers 
 produced in the great Commonwealth of Virginia. When 
 hostilities ceased Major Otey returned to the duties of private 
 life with the earnestness, energy, and zeal always characteristic 
 of him. At one time in the insurance business, at another the 
 cashier of the leading ba'nk in his city, and at another the 
 president of the Lynchburg and Durham Railroad Company, 
 which was planned and organized by him, he always commanded 
 the respect aud enjoyed the confidence of the best business 
 interests in his State. 
 
 While engaged in the active pursuits of business, and seek- 
 ing no political preferment for himself, his devotion to his State 
 and his unfaltering conviction that the interests of his country 
 would be best promoted by the principles of the Democratic 
 party, he contributed generously of his time, his thought, and 
 his means to the State and national campaigns of his party. 
 In 1894, f° r the first time, he became a candidate for an office. 
 He announced himself a candidate for Congress in the Sixth 
 Virginia district, and was easily nominated and elected. He 
 served in the Fifty-fourth, Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty- 
 seventh Congresses, and died after a very brief illness in his 
 native city on Sunday the 4th day of May, 1902. 
 
 In his Congressional work he was essentially practical. No 
 detail was too small to be worthy of his attention; no problem 
 was so complicated or so profound that he did not aid in its 
 elucidation and solution. He was one of the wisest aud most 
 reliable and conservative counselors in his party. 
 
Addms of Mr. Martin, of Virginia. 77 
 
 He was not an orator in the ordinary acceptation of the term, 
 but he was an able debater, a strong, forcible, and logical 
 speaker, and able to use, and in the habit of using, on proper 
 occasion, most effectively, not only the embellishments of rhet- 
 oric, but wit, humor, invective, and anecdotes. He was a man 
 of marked ability and of great usefulness in the public service. 
 In his death, not only his friends, but his State and the coun- 
 try suffered an irreparable loss. 
 
78 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. GALLINGER, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 Mr. President: My acquaintance with Mr. Otey was not 
 intimate, but I knew him well enough to respect him highly 
 and to regard him as a very valuable member of the House of 
 Representatives. He was a kind-hearted, cordial, sympathetic 
 man, whose companionship was delightful and whose friendship 
 was well worth possessing. He seemed always to look on the 
 bright side of life and was full of anecdote and charming 
 reminiscence. To him sunshine was better than cloud and 
 laughter more desirable than gloom. He was the kind of man 
 who stands for what is best in life, intent upon leaving an 
 impress for good on the communitj" in which he lived. 
 
 Others who knew him better than I will tell the story of this 
 man's life. Military student, soldier, engineer, railroad man, 
 banker, and Representative in Congress, he acted well his part 
 in the varied positions which he occupied. A successful busi- 
 ness man, he brought to the discharge of his duties in Congress 
 the same industry, method, and executive ability which made 
 him successful in business pursuits, and thus he achieved 
 success as a legislator and endeared himself to his constituents 
 by promptly and cheerfully responding to the multitudinous 
 calls that in these busy days come to men in public life. 
 
 Mr. President, 1 shall never forget the large concourse of peo- 
 ple that gathered in the church in the beautiful and picturesque 
 city of Lynchburg on the occasion of the funeral of Congress- 
 man Otey. It was not a gathering of people attracted by curi- 
 osity or of those who perfunctorily responded to what might 
 seem to them a neighborly duty. Rather it was an outpouring 
 
Address of Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire. 79 
 
 of men and women who were anxious to pay the last tribute of 
 respect to a man whom the}" deeply respected and loved. There 
 were many eyes wet with tears in the assemblage, and a solemn 
 hush fell on all when the good priest, in simple words, told of 
 the generous qualities and kindly deeds of the deceased. He 
 said that Mr. Otey had left to his family the heritage of a noble 
 life, which was infinitely better than stocks and bonds or silver 
 and gold. How fortunate will it be if, when the final summons 
 comes, the same thing can truthfully be said of us. 
 
 Mr. President, I need not say more. This man illustrated 
 in his life the thought that Ruskin has burned into the very 
 souls of many of his readers: "Think you," says Ruskin, 
 "that judgment waits till the doors of the grave are opened? 
 It waits at the doors of your houses — it waits at the corners of 
 your streets. We are in the midst of judgment — the insects 
 that we crush are our judges — the moments that we put away 
 are our judges— the elements that feed us judge as they minis- 
 ter, and the pleasures that deceive us judge as they indulge. 
 Let us, for our lives, do the work of men while we bear the 
 form of them, if, indeed, those lives are not as a vapor, and do 
 not vanish away." 
 
 Peter J. Otey lived up to high ideals. The world was the 
 better because of his having lived in it; and so to-day those of 
 us who knew him gladly pay tribute, however humble and 
 incomplete it may lie, to the memory of a loyal friend, a true 
 man, and a faithful public servant. 
 
8o Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 Address of Mr. Perkins, of California. 
 
 Mr. President: The State of Virginia is more than the 
 mother of Presidents. It has reared and sent forth into public 
 life so many other men of the highest intellectual attainments 
 and moral character that it seems to me it has as much reason 
 for pride in that fact as it has in that it has placed so many 
 distinguished men in the seat first occupied by Washington. 
 Of these natives of the Old Dominion Peter J. Otey was one, 
 and his death presents the opportunity to give voice to that 
 acknowledgment of the high qualities with which he was 
 endowed — that is, I fear, neglected too often during the life of 
 those we respect and love. 
 
 Mr. Otey possessed in a notable degree those ingrained Vir- 
 ginian qualities of courage, loyalty, and devotion which have 
 always been the distinguishing marks of the sons of that great 
 State. He was educated in her schools, and in her military 
 institute received that training which in after years enabled him 
 to win distinction on the field of battle. When the civil war 
 arose he abandoned all private business and entered the ranks 
 of the defenders of the Southern cause. Throughout that great 
 struggle he devoted all his strength, all his energy, all his time, 
 and all his means to the great movement to which he had given 
 his heart. There was never a sign of faltering or weakness. 
 He went on to the end with that indomitable courage which 
 characterizes the true soldier. But when the end came, he 
 recognized it to be the end, and that his work on battlefields 
 was done. Not one of the hundreds of thousands who accepted 
 the solution of the great struggle was more sincere than he. 
 
Address of Mr. Perkins, of California. Si 
 
 He had given his love and loyalty to a union of a part of the 
 American States; but when it was determined that there could 
 be no dividing line, this love and loyalty embraced the whole: 
 and after the smoke of battle had cleared away there existed 
 no man ready to dare more for the United States of America 
 than Peter J. Otey. Though he had broadened his allegiance, 
 however, and had buried forever the cause for which he fought, 
 he did not forget his old comrades in arms. Brave men who 
 have fought side by side in war must ever stand shoulder to 
 shoulder in peace. 
 
 So it was that when Mr. Otev entered public life there 
 were behind him the men who had, in times of stress, learned 
 to know what manner of man he was. That they judged cor- 
 rectly that he would act as a legislator as he fought as a sol- 
 dier is known to all members of the House of Representatives 
 who served with him. In his capacity of Representative from 
 Virginia he manifested the same courage, the same tenacity, 
 the same kindness, consideration, and manly affection that 
 had endeared him to his soldiers. Xo one who knew him 
 well could escape the recognition of these gentler qualities. 
 They showed themselves in the dry routine of legislation, 
 where there was a chance to give the benefit of a doubt to 
 the weaker party. They showed themselves in the considera- 
 tion of measures affecting the material interests of sections 
 or of individuals. They were ever manifest in his relations 
 with his colleagues, and their sincere sorrow at his death is 
 the measure of his worth as a man. 
 
 With all his seriousness of purpose, his devotion to duty, 
 and his unwearying labor, he possessed a lightness of heart 
 and a fund of humor which kept him young and in sympa- 
 thy with the present and all that the present holds. None of 
 H. Doc. 714 6 
 
82 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 those who were fortunate in his companionship will forget the 
 mirth and joy which he so often caused. And in the House 
 itself not infrequently his genial humor brought back to a 
 reasonable basis a discussion that earnestness and passion had 
 carried beyond bounds. His wit was of that rare kind which, 
 though sure of its mark, never left a rankling wound, but 
 rather soothed and pacified. It was a gift which had not a 
 little to do with the personal affection with which he was 
 regarded by all those who knew him, and which commanded 
 the respect of those who were not within his intimate com- 
 panionship. 
 
 While Mr. Otey was a most earnest and loyal member of 
 his party, none of his political opponents have ever been able 
 to charge him with any of the questionable acts which some- 
 times are laid at the doors of public men. He secured and 
 held the respect of Republicans as well as of Democrats, and 
 the former as well as the latter in his Congressional district 
 were proud to be represented in Congress by him. In his 
 work for his constituents he was indefatigable, and his sin- 
 cere desire to serve them in whatever way was proper 
 made him one of the hardest working of the members of the 
 House of Representatives. It was his greatest pleasure to 
 secure some measure of relief, or some little benefit, for a 
 worthy and needy constituent, for his sympathy went out to 
 such as had missed much of the good fortune of the world. 
 Hence his loss was felt among his constituents as a personal 
 loss, and when his body was taken to its last resting place 
 there was evidence that he had attained the supreme honor 
 of a successful life — the sincere and unselfish love of his 
 people. 
 
Address of Mr. Clay, of Georgia. 83 
 
 Address of Mr. Clay, of Georgia. 
 
 Mr. President: Shortly after I became a member of the 
 Senate I formed the acquaintance of Hon. Peter J. Otey, 
 late a member of the House of Representatives from the State 
 of Virginia. I often met him and conversed with him up to 
 the time of his death. But a short while before he died I 
 enjoyed a most pleasant and agreeable conversation with him 
 in this Chamber. Apparently he was in good health, and I 
 was shocked when I heard of his death. I had no personal 
 acquaintance with him until after he became a member of 
 Congress, but often saw him and conversed with him during 
 his public career. I can scarcely now realize that he has 
 passed forever from our fellowship. Conversation with the 
 distinguished dead convinced me that he was a man of 
 thought, and that his abilities were directed in advancing the 
 best interests of his country. 
 
 Reared and educated at the Virginia Military Institute, 
 from which he graduated in i860, he early acquired that 
 breadth of mind and honesty of purpose which so well 
 equipped him for the duties and responsibilities of life. He 
 never held a public office until he was elected to Congress, 
 taking his seat upon the assembling of the Fifty-fourth Con- 
 gress, and was reelected to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and 
 Fifty-seventh Congresses. Had he lived, doubtless he would 
 have been renominated without opposition and reelected to 
 the Fifty-eighth Congress, for he was highly esteemed and 
 greatly beloved by the people of his district. The deceased 
 was a brave Confederate soldier, gave tour years of his life 
 
S4 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 to this service, and his record as a soldier is without a blot 
 or blemish. He fought under Breckinridge, Longstreet, and 
 Early, and his companions in arms testify that he was 
 always found in front of the battle discharging faithfully and 
 courageously the duties of a soldier. 
 
 When the civil war ended he accepted the result in good 
 faith and went to work to rebuild the fortunes of Virginia 
 and to bring about a fraternal feeling between all sections of 
 our common country. He soon demonstrated that the success 
 which he had achieved as a soldier was destined to mark his 
 career as a business man. He won the confidence and the 
 esteem of the good people of the city of Lynchburg, where he 
 resided, and was nominated and elected to represent his dis- 
 trict in Congress. The distinguished dead never lost his devo- 
 tion and enthusiasm for his companions in arms and was 
 universally loved by them at the time of his death. 
 
 My limited acquaintance with the deceased convinced me 
 that he was an industrious and thoughtful legislator, a tender 
 and loving husband and father, a kind, just, and considerate 
 neighbor, a broad-minded and patriotic American citizen, always 
 ready and anxious to discharge, in an intelligent way. his 
 public duties, keeping in view the preservation of our free 
 institutions, hoping to advance in every honorable way possible 
 his country's good. 
 
 He was incapable of cherishing malice, and charity was one 
 of his crowning virtues. He worked constantly and effectively 
 for the people of his district and was candid, courageous, hon- 
 est, and full of sympathy for his fellow-man. As a friend he 
 was interesting and delightful, always carrying with him sun- 
 shine and happiness. 
 
 Those who knew him as a student, as a soldier, as a private 
 
Address of Mr. Clay, of Georgia. 85 
 
 citizen, as a husband and father, as a member of Congress, bear 
 testimony that he was faithful in the discharge of every duty. 
 He was just such a Representative as might be expected from 
 the Commonwealth of Virginia. No State in the Union has 
 done more to give to the world the best Government ever 
 established for the liberty and happiness of man than this great 
 Commonwealth. On Virginia's soil and through the influence 
 of Virginia's sons opposition to British tyranny was first 
 planted. It was the immortal Patrick Henry who kindled the 
 flame that united the American colonies in favor of American 
 independence. 
 
 It was Thomas Jefferson, Virginia's distinguished son, who 
 drafted the Declaration of Independence, uniting the colonies 
 and constituting a republic that in a little more than a hundred 
 years has outstripped all the nations of the earth. Nowhere 
 among the family of nations will be found that happiness and 
 liberty and equality of rights which the American citizen 
 enjoys. The Declaration of Independence which Thomas 
 Jefferson drafted, separating us from the mother country, 
 brought to the infant Republic a revolution that lasted for 
 eight years, and which threatened our extermination. Our 
 chieftain in this sanguinary struggle, which resulted in Amer- 
 ican independence, was Virginia's son. When the Federal 
 Constitution was under discussion it was Mr. Madison who 
 was its ablest champion, and he will always be accorded in 
 histon- the place he deserves in connection with the formation 
 of our fundamental law. When we seek to know the origin 
 and history of the Monroe doctrine, that no foreign govern- 
 ment should cross the waters and establish governments on the 
 Western Continent, we find this doctrine came to us through 
 one of Virginia's distinguished sons. 
 
86 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 It is not necessary to trace the birth, the education, or the 
 private life of our dead friend in order to estimate his pure 
 worth. 
 
 The fact that the people of Virginia, of the Sixth Con- 
 gressional district, elected him to Congress for four consecu- 
 tive terms is the highest evidence that he was a man of 
 ability, possessing the highest integrity, the broadest patriot- 
 ism, the kindliest nature, a lover of liberty and constitutional 
 government. Virginians are a brave, chivalrous, and gentle- 
 manly people, and are proud of the records made by their 
 public servants. They watched with pride the career of our 
 dead friend. They loved him, they trusted and honored him, 
 and he was in every way worthy of that trust and honor 
 which they so freely bestowed upon him. 
 
 In his intercourse with others he was always considerate, 
 even tender with the lowly and the humble. He was a sincere 
 friend of the poor, a man of unswerving integrity, and all who 
 knew him bear testimony to the goodness of his heart in all 
 of his relations with his fellows. We can only judge a man 
 by the life he lives. His everyday walk preaches the most 
 forceful sermon. Deeds and acts are more forceful than words. 
 Those who knew him pay beautiful tribute to his memory — 
 that Pktkr J. OTEY lived a life of integrity, benevolence, and 
 charity, and he taught these virtues to all with whom he came 
 iu contact. His manly qualities of heart and mind made him 
 universally popular with his colleagues in the House regardless 
 of politics. 
 
 I have often heard it said that he never at any time failed to 
 remember the slightest wish of any of his constituents; always 
 plain, modest, unassuming, loyal, and friendly! 
 
 He died in the very prime of his usefulness and while his 
 
Address of Mr. Clay, of Georgia. 87 
 
 influence was widening and increasing, and his death was a 
 serious loss to the public, as it was a source of irreparable grief 
 to his large circle of friends; but the example which he left us 
 will long be remembered for the instruction and encouragement 
 of those who now survive him. The benedictions of those 
 who knew him intimately and who loved him so well, and who 
 were the recipients of his many generous acts, will keep his 
 memory fresh and unfading forever. 
 
88 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey, 
 
 Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. President: The commemorative exercises that are now 
 transpiring had been appointed for yesterday afternoon. When 
 the hour approached the pressure of the public business of the 
 Senate was such that those who had charge of it appealed that 
 it might be given the right of way. The friends of the late 
 Peter Johnston Otey believed that had he been alive he 
 would have been the first to waive any personal consideration 
 for the affairs of the country, and, acting as they believed the 
 living would have acted, they consented that these exercises 
 should be postponed until to-day. 
 
 The late Peter Johnston Otey was the Representative 
 of the Sixth Congressional district of Virginia. He was born 
 in Lynchburg, Campbell County, Va. , on the 22d of December, 
 1840, and he died there on May 4, 1902. His death occurred 
 in the house of his birth, whose roof had sheltered his lifetime 
 and five generations of his ancestors and their descendants. 
 
 This old homestead, erected by his maternal grandfather in 
 the early part of the nineteenth century, is a large, substantial 
 brick structure of the plain rectangular fashion so common in 
 old England and in the Atlantic coast States of the American 
 Union. In its dignified simplicity and solidity it is typical of 
 the sterling people who erected and lived within its walls, and 
 while modern architecture presents many features more alluring 
 to the fanciful, I doubt if there be any specimen of it that pre- 
 sents so striking an ideal of durability or worth or kindles so 
 readily the associations of family and of home. 
 
 John Otey, the grandfather of Peter Johnston Otey, was 
 
Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 89 
 
 a soldier of the Revolution of 1776, and long represented the 
 count} - of Bedford in the general assembly of Virginia. His 
 father, Capt. John Mercer Otey, was a soldier of the war of 
 18 1 2, and locating in Lynchburg when the war ended, he 
 became a leading citizen — the president of its common council, 
 an officer of a bank, and a successful business man whose judg- 
 ment was much sought and always respected by his neighbors 
 and his friends. He was a man of majestic personal aspect and 
 of character and ability befitting his appearance, and he had 
 that commanding intelligence and influence to which men bend 
 by instinct. Had you looked upon him without knowing who 
 he was you would have surmised from his sagacious face and 
 commanding form that he was some great public official, such 
 as Secretary of the Treasury or Chief Justice of the United 
 States. 
 
 Capt. John M. Otey was wedded early in life to Lucy W. 
 Norvell, whose family, like his own, had made its mark in the 
 Colonial and Revolutionary days of our State, and she was as 
 remarkable for intellectual, social, and executive abilities as was 
 her husband. She identified herself with religious and chari- 
 table works. During the civil war she herself established and 
 superintended a hospital in the city of Lynchburg for the 
 wounded and sick soldiers. She directed its administration 
 with an efficient energy that was universally recognized and 
 with a sweet heartedness and charity that made her name as 
 proverbial in our community as that of Florence Nightingale is 
 throughout the world. 
 
 When our sectional troubles became acute in i860 the Otey 
 family, of the old Whig stock — and, indeed, a large majority 
 of the Lynchburg people — identified themselves strongly with 
 the cause of the Union. The whole State of Virginia was 
 similarly disposed, giving its electoral vote to Bell and Everett, 
 
9<3 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 and still later, after secession was organized, Lynchburg and a 
 majority of the Virginia constituencies sent Union representa- 
 tives to the State convention. There, led by Alexander H. H. 
 Stuart, Jubal Anderson Early, Robert E. Scott, Robert Y. Con- 
 rad, John B. Baldwin, Samuel McDowell Moore, and others not 
 less able and distinguished, they fought a sturdy fight to avert 
 the disaster of dissolution and civil war. 
 
 When President Lincoln called on Virginia to furnish men to 
 march against the seceding States the sentiment of the body 
 instantly changed. This was war, call it by whatsoever name 
 you will, and while Virginia was opposed to secession she still 
 less favored the idea of forcing States by the bayonet into un- 
 willing political association. It was against the teachings of 
 those of her founders whom she most revered and against the 
 legendary and traditional principles of her people. The Union 
 localities in Virginia indorsed this view, and the Otey family 
 and all their neighbors fell into the ranks of forming war. Thi_- 
 Hon. James G. Blaine, in his Twenty Years in Congress, and, 
 more recently. Gen. Charles Francis Adams, in a memorable 
 essay, have eloquently referred to the history and integrity of 
 Virginia's convictions and to her stern obedience to her faith. 
 
 I am relating a fact of our history and not discussing it, for 
 the discussion has long since eventuated in tragedy and in res- 
 toration after tragedy. The fact simply illustrates that when 
 revolution comes it sweeps in its headlong currents those who 
 are opposed to it in common with those who favor and advance 
 it, and our domestic experience, conforming to that which all 
 history confirms, utters its warning against those of any and of 
 every side who kindle the sparks of sectional strife. 
 
 The children raised by Capt. John M. Otey and Lucy W. 
 Otey were eight in number. The eldest, a daughter, Mrs. 
 Lucy Walker, alone survives. This noble matron is the widow 
 
Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 9 1 
 
 of a brave soldier, Maj. John Stewart Walker, who fell in the 
 battle of Malvern Hill. The rest of those children were sons. 
 They all volunteered when war came, and were noted for their 
 modest valor and their patriotic spirit of self-sacrifice and 
 
 devotion. 
 
 One of them, Capt. Van Rensselaer Otey, who had been a 
 lieutenant in the Mexican war. served on the staff of the 
 famous cavalry general, J. E. B. Stuart, until ill health neces- 
 sitated his assignment to post duty. 
 
 Lieut. Dexter Otey, another, was injured, as the war began. 
 by being thrown from a horse and disabled from military duty. 
 
 Col. Kirkwood Otey commanded the Eleventh Virginia In- 
 fantry, a regiment of ironsides, and was wounded in Pickett's 
 charge at Gettysburg and again at Drurys Bluff. 
 
 Capt. George Gaston Otey commanded a battery of light 
 artillery and was mortally wounded at Lewisburg. 
 
 Walter Hayes Otey was adjutant of the Fifty-sixth Virginia 
 Infantry, and bravely shared the dangers and hardships of pro- 
 tracted war. 
 
 John M. Otey became colonel and adjutant-general for Gen. 
 
 P. G. T. Beauregard. 
 
 Peter Johnston Otey was the youngest and the last sur- 
 vivor of this brave brotherhood, a race of manly men whose 
 breasts were little stirred by the vanities of ambition or the 
 ostentations of life, but rather by the finer impulse to render 
 manhood's true account. 
 
 I knew this man of whom I speak to-day, and his memory is 
 dear to me. From his earliest childhood we were neighbors, 
 kinsmen, comrades, and friends, and I know of no man who 
 ■ more adequately met all the obligations which life imposed 
 upon him, who attempted more things and better did them, 
 and none who at the age of 62, at which he died, could look 
 
92 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey, 
 
 back upon a life more honorably or more usefully spent, or 
 could have less in its record that he would wish to regret. 
 
 Graduating at the Virginia Military Institute in i860, he 
 entered at once upon his chosen profession as a civil engineer. 
 He was scarcely initiated in it when the war drums were 
 sounding. He volunteered, of course, and served for a time as 
 a lieutenant in the Virginia forces, and fired, it is said, the first 
 cannon shot of the war on Virginia soil, from Sewells Point, 
 near Norfolk. We find him again soon in the battles of Fort 
 Donelson and Shiloh, and presently he becomes a major in the 
 Thirtieth Virginia Battalion of Infantry. His war service was 
 arduous in Tennessee, west and southwest Virginia, and in the 
 Shenandoah Valley, and especially during the last year under 
 Breckinridge and Early. 
 
 At Newmarket, in May, 1864, he was stricken down with a 
 broken arm in a charge upon a battery which withered the 
 assaulting line, when General Breckinridge, the Confederate 
 commander, sent to the rescue his only available reserve in the 
 battalion of cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, where 
 Major Otey had been educated. These boy soldiers of the 
 corps to which he had belonged swept the field with a precision, 
 steadiness, and compactness of movement that won the admira- 
 tion of both armies, passing over Otey's fallen body, accom- 
 plishing their purpose, and winning a reputation which remains 
 a glorious reminiscence. 
 
 Curious it might seem, and yet it is consonant with the best 
 things in human nature and with the invariable character of a 
 sensible and magnanimous people, that soldiers of the Union 
 Army who witnessed the exploit of these boys in action have 
 sent their sons to the Virginia Military Institute to be educated, 
 because they saw its worth tested in the test of fire, and a just 
 return is found to-dav by our reunited countrv in the fact that 
 
Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 93 
 
 many of its younger army officers have been drawn from the 
 graduates of this excellent academy and who are sons of both 
 those who wore the blue as well as those who wore the gray. 
 
 The wounds of youth soon heal, and Otey was soon back 
 with his soldiers. He commanded his brigade at Cedar Creek. 
 His character as a fearless fighter became more and more estab- 
 lished. The War Records attest it by the frequent compli- 
 mentary notices made of his gallantry and skill by his superior 
 officers, and had the fortunes of war gone otherwise than they 
 did, he was iu close reach of the highest honors of rank that 
 can crown a soldier's deeds. But he was not the kind of man 
 to ask a medal for gallantry, or stars and wreaths for his collar, 
 and in the chance medley of war they came not to him unasked. 
 He was content with the supreme reward of duty done. 
 
 At Waynesboro, March 2, 1S65, with a remnant of his band, 
 he was captured, and when the war ended he was a prisoner at 
 Fort Delaware. He was ere long at home again to begin life 
 anew, and to build up from the bottom. To one of his com- 
 rades in a similar situation Thomas Carlyle, the great writer 
 and philosopher, wrote this advice: " Go ahead and do the 
 thing that lies next to you." This was always Major Otey's 
 intuitive wisdom, and he lived closely up to it. 
 
 A clerkship in an express office he gladly accepted. He 
 became successively a clerk in a railroad office, an engineer of a 
 railroad line, teller, and then cashier of a leading bank, the 
 founder of a large insurance business that yet continues and 
 prospers, and then the president, financier, and builder of the 
 Lynchburg and Durham Railroad. 
 
 Never a money lover but always scrupulous as a handler, 
 user, and earner of money, he exercised such fine discretion 
 and rigid honesty- in all of these employments, and exhibited 
 such rare faculties of administrative tact and skill that his 
 
94 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 fame as a successful and reliable business man spread far and 
 wide, and he was looked up to, and justly, as a model and an 
 exemplar. 
 
 While system and discipline were manifested in their best 
 forms in his business practices, he had beyond them the ripe 
 mentality of clear and just judgment. To these were added 
 in him an automatic integrity that never debated a question- 
 able point of honor, but instantly decided it rightly, and 
 a firm purpose that could say "No" with alacrity, however 
 specious, alluring, and beguiling might be the temptation to 
 say ' ' Yes. ' ' 
 
 It is of such mettle as this that great men are made. We 
 often see in our American life some modest man but little 
 known suddenly projected into great places of peace or war, 
 and the multitude is astonished that he so readily and roundly 
 fills that place with all of its complexities and resonsibil- 
 ities. 
 
 Peter Johnston Otey was a man of this class, and it is 
 my conviction, from an intimate knowledge of his principles, his 
 characteristics, and his methods, that there is no executive 
 office of our Government that he would not have ably filled in a 
 manner that would have given satisfaction to all who trusted 
 him and redounded to the renown and welfare of his countrv. 
 
 Major Otey indeed possessed a great variety of talents. He 
 was a mathematician who could quickly solve any problem of 
 figures, a draftsman who could give you the model of a steam 
 engine or in a few strokes of his pen the characteristic features 
 of a face or landscape, a musician whose ear for music made 
 him at home touching the keys of a piano or the strings of a 
 banjo, or in leading the chorus of a happy song. With the 
 fishing rod, shotgun, or rifle he was on easy and familiar terms, 
 and when he dropped business no one I ever knew entered more 
 
Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 95 
 
 heartily or innocently into the spirit of sport or amusement, 
 or extracted from it more of pleasure and refreshment. 
 
 Calm and decisive in all serious affairs, he was so concen- 
 trative in his work and so imperious in pushing it to its proper 
 result that men sometimes thought him cold and indifferent, 
 but no man was warmer or more generous in his feeling, none 
 responded more readily to an}- call of friendship, patriotism, or 
 charity, and none was more alert to do good things for their 
 own sake without thought of reward or regard for personal 
 consequence. 
 
 When Major Otev had reached the mature age of 54 years, 
 the railroad of which he was president underwent the experi- 
 ence usual with small interior lines and was absorbed by a 
 great trunk line, leaving him without employment. He had 
 never held civil office of any kind, either State or Federal, and 
 had probably never made a public speech. His business 
 occupations had been such as tended to withdraw him from 
 rather than prompt him to political ambition. But he had 
 always been a public-spirited citizen. He had served for years 
 in the common council of his town, like his father before him. 
 He had performed many other unremunerative labors as a 
 part} - committeeman and as a citizen, attentive to the concerns 
 of the common weal and of his neighbors and friends, and he 
 had won the confidence and good will of all who knew him. 
 
 He determined in 1894 to become a candidate for Congress, 
 and went at it with the directness which characterized all of 
 his methods, publishing a brief card stating that candidates 
 often stated to the public that they yielded to the solicitations 
 of friends, and would serve if elected, to the sacrifice of per- 
 sonal interests; whereas in his case he was thoroughly satisfied 
 that his own interest would be subserved by election, and he 
 asked his fellow-citizens directly to vote for him. The people 
 
96 Life and Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 always and justly love plain candor, and this candid presenta- 
 tion reenforced their favorable disposition. He was nominated 
 by the Democratic party, and elected a Representative in the 
 Fifty-fourth Congress. 
 
 Without experience in public speaking, he rapidly acquired 
 that art, and soon became an able and interesting advocate 
 upon the hustings, knowing his subject in every detail, pre- 
 senting his views with clearness and force, and adding to the 
 attractiveness of his utterances by a play of natural wit, humor, 
 and fancy that was singularly engaging. 
 
 In the House of Representatives he made his mark upon 
 the floor as well as in the committees of which he was a mem- 
 ber. So attentive was he to his constituents in all the details 
 of their wants and needs that it was soon commonly said 
 throughout the district that ' ' Major Otey is the best Represent- 
 ative we have ever had." The very humblest of them, as 
 well as the most influential and powerful, commanded his 
 instant attention and care. His popularity became so firmly 
 established that no one in his party thought of opposing him, 
 and his political rivals entered the campaigns without hope 
 and came out with ever-increasing majorities against them. 
 
 He was successively chosen a Representative to the Fifty- 
 fourth, Fifty-fifth, and Fifty-sixth Congresses, and came here 
 as a member of the Fifty-seventh Congress, not only honored 
 and beloved by his home people, but also with the hearty 
 welcome of his colleagues of whatever party in the House of 
 Representatives. Limited time forbids me to recount his 
 sen-ices in that body, and this, indeed, has already been better 
 done by his colleagues there. 
 
 His services were assiduous and numberless in the mass 
 of minor measures and minor matters that make a vast sum 
 in the aggregate, and yet are of nc little importance to the 
 
Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 97 
 
 localities and persons chiefly concerned, while they cut no 
 great figure in public history. They were also important 
 and weighty in many public questions of the first magnitude 
 and in administrative concerns of large consequence. 
 
 So much was he esteemed that he was made a member of 
 the State Democratic executive committee and of the national 
 Democratic committee as well. 
 
 He was the propouuder of the measure to provide dentists 
 for our Army, which became a law, to the gratification and 
 betterment of our soldiers in the field; and President 
 McKiuley graciously appointed, as one of the dentists to 
 fulfill the terms of the act, Dr. R. W. Morgan, of Lynch- 
 burg, who had been a private soldier of Pickett's division, 
 and who was wounded at Gettysburg. This gentleman had 
 conceived the measure providing for a dentists' corps, which 
 is now established. It had been suggested to his mind by his 
 own experience as a soldier, and he is now suffering illness 
 brought upon him by his service as a dentist with our forces in 
 Cuba. This great reform is simply another instance in which 
 the experiences of one generation redound to the betterment of 
 another, and in which experiences sometimes acquired in 
 hostility are woven into the web of a stronger and more 
 enduring friendship. 
 
 It was in his home life that Major Otey was most admirable, 
 and it was there that he found the rich and exceeding great 
 reward for the hardships and dangers that he had passed and of 
 all his faithful labors. Married in early manhood to Miss Mol- 
 lie Floyd, of a distinguished and intellectual family, the chil- 
 dren and grandchildren of their union brought to them the 
 fullness of domestic blessing. Mrs. Otey was his constant com- 
 panion and helpmate; and in her good judgment and ready 
 hand he found that genial comradeship which was to him "a 
 H. Doc. 714 7 
 
98 Life and Character of Peter f. Otey. 
 
 very help in time of trouble," while the many friends who 
 shared their fireside warmth and hospitality beheld the charms 
 of domestic felicity exemplified in every form of home happiness 
 and comfort. 
 
 In the qualities that command respect and that attract and 
 endear friendship Major Otey was as richly endowed as in 
 intellectual gifts and in moral attributes. Every circle wel- 
 comed his sunny presence. He was the best of boon compan- 
 ions, whether in a stern fight or in a hunt or upon any scene of 
 recreation. His disposition was that of redundant healthful- 
 ness, which makes the best of everything that is and hopes and 
 strives for the best that may be reached for. 
 
 As no difficulty discouraged him, so no mishap cast him down 
 or deterred renewal of endeavor. He was optimistic in all 
 things, and his optimism sprung from the true-heartedness and 
 clear-sightedness that realizes the unceasing endeavor of the 
 Divine Spirit to work out all things for good. 
 
 He dealt but little in attempts to unravel and explain the 
 mysteries of our present and future state, which, by their 
 infinity, must be inscrutable, but he looked upward to the 
 good God in hope, faith, and charity, with a conscience that 
 loved right and hated wrong, and with dependence and confi- 
 dence as strong as those of a child that looks trustingly into 
 its mother's face. He put his creed into his deeds, and his 
 life was such that any church in Christendom might have been 
 content to point to him as a worthy and exemplary member. 
 
 To this strong, brave, good, and useful man death seemed 
 to come all too soon, and yet it gave its forewarning. A 
 mouth or so before he died he told me that he had a heart 
 trouble, which he felt might take him off at any moment. I 
 had never suspected it, nor would anyone who looked upon 
 him be likely to do so. His eye was keen and bright; his 
 
Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 99 
 
 cheeks were rosy with the flush of health; his indomitable will 
 and his cheerful spirit bore him along in the constant and 
 efficient discharge of multitudinous duties. The week before 
 he died he left Washington for his home, feeling badly. A 
 few days later I wrote him at his home a letter, to which, by 
 the next mail, according to his punctual custom, I received a 
 full reply in his own handwriting. Two days later, Sunday, 
 came a telegram stating that Major Otey had died that 
 afternoon. 
 
 The morning he died he called for his wife and his check 
 book, wrote a check and handed it to her, stating that she 
 might need the funds in the affairs of the household; then 
 turned to sleep, and awoke only to say "Farewell" to those 
 around him, and so his thoughtfulness of others that had been 
 the good genius of his life threw their love-lit halo over his 
 dying pillow. 
 
 Had he worked less than he did or thought as much of him- 
 self as he thought of others and of his duties, his life on earth 
 might probably have been prolonged. But as it was, he died 
 with the harness on, while all his faculties were bright, and ere 
 infirmity had sapped the foundation of his usefulness and the 
 happiness of his being. Who can chide that Providence which 
 strives unceasingly for the least of evil and for the best of good ? 
 The State of Virginia had a true citizen and soldier in the 
 person of Peter Johnston Otey, and one who would have 
 suffered anything and done anything that became a man to 
 serve her. 
 
 The Sixth district had in him a Representative who followed 
 what was highest and best in his predecessors and made himself 
 an example of fidelity and utility for those who shall follow 
 him, a shining example which will inspire their best ambitions 
 and sound the bugle call to their best exertions. 
 
ioo Life a »d Character of Peter J. Otey. 
 
 The United States had in him a faithful and zealous servant, 
 who, discounting no true instinct and no manly attribute in his 
 breast, did render to them all that their highest ideals could 
 dictate of a patriot's duty. 
 
 So he sleeps well and a happy memory remains in the track 
 that he pursued, like the light that fills the sky when some 
 serene and wholesome planet has departed. 
 
 The President pro tempore. The question is on the adop- 
 tion of the resolutions submitted by the Senator from Virginia 
 [Mr. Martin]. 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously agreed to, with the 
 exception of the resolution relating to adjournment. 
 
 O