59th Congress I 
 1st Session I 
 
 SENATE 
 
 I Document 
 I No. 534 
 
 Orville Hitchcock Platt 
 
 I Late a Senator frorn Connecticut) 
 
 Memori?i Addresses Delivered in the 
 Senate and House of Representatives 
 
 First Session of the 
 . 5, Fifty-ninth Congress 
 
 Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 
 
 WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFnCE :190b 
 
AUG ::. 1906 
 D.of'j. 
 

 
 1% 
 
 ^ 
 
J-J '£J >J . £J PiVi htS. M . P'U^rt 
 
TABLK ()]• COXTI'XTS. 
 
 rriiL'cc-cliiiys in tin.- Siii.iti.' 5 
 
 I'rayc-r by Rev. Kduanl l-;. I lak' 9 
 
 Address of Mr. Bulkcley, of Coiiiurliiiil 1 1 
 
 .•\ddress of Mr. .\llison, nf Iowa 24 
 
 .Vddrcss of Mr. Mori^.ui, .if .Mal.aiiia 32 
 
 Address of Mr. TilUr, of Colorado 37 
 
 .\ddress of Mr. .\ldri>h, of Rhode Island 40 
 
 Address of Mr. I.odi^r, of Mas.s.ichuseU.s 43 
 
 .\ddre.ss of Mr. Daniel, of \ iri,nnia 5" 
 
 .•\ddress of Mr. Perkins, "i California 61 
 
 Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 67 
 
 .Address of Mr. r.everid.'.;e. of Indi.m.i 73 
 
 .\ddress of .Mr. Ke.in, of New Jersey 82 
 
 .■\ddress of Mr. I'.randeyee. of Conneelienl S4 
 
 Proceedings in the House 95 
 
 Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden 97 
 
 Aildress of Mr. Sperry, of Conneelienl 99 
 
 .\ddress of Mr. I.illey, of Coniieetieut 104 
 
 .address of Mr. Henry, of Conneelieut I07 
 
 .•\dilress of Mr. Hi,a;gins, of Coniieelient 112 
 
 .\ddress of Mr. Hill, of Conneelieut 1 14 
 
 .\ddress of Mr. I'.iym-, of New York 117 
 
 Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 122 
 
 Aildress of .Mr. Shennan, of New York 12S 
 
 Address of :\Ir. Crosvenor, of Ohio 131 
 
 3 
 
Death of Senator Orville Hitchcock Platt 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 
 
 Dkckmbkk 4, 1905. 
 
 Mr. lUi.Kiu.iCV. Mr. President, it is iiissad duty to announre 
 to the Senate the death, since tlie close of tlie hist session of 
 this Iiod\-, of the .senior Senator from Connecticut, Hon. 
 OrvillK Hitchcock I'l.vtt, who died at his summer resi- 
 dence, Washintjton, Conn., April Ji, 1905. 
 
 I desire, Mr. President, to olTer the following resolutions for 
 the consideration of the Senate. 
 
 The \"ick-Pkksii)K\t. The Senator from Connecticut otTers 
 resolutions, which will he read. 
 
 The resolutions were read, as follows: 
 
 /yfso/zrt/, That the .Senate with ileep regret has listened ti> the an- 
 nouuceineiit of the deatli of the Hon. Orville Hitchcock PlaTT, for 
 more than a quarter of a century a member of this body, a period marked 
 b}' five consecutive elections, as a Senator from the State of Conneitieiil. 
 
 A'esolz'cd, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these resolutions 
 to the House of Representatives. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
 deceased the Senate <lii now adjourn. 
 
 The \'iCH-PKKsrnKXT. The ijuestion is on agreeing t(.i the 
 resolutions suhmittetl li\' the Senator from Connecticut. 
 
 The resolutions were agreed to unanimously; and the Senate 
 (at 12 o'clock and 25 minutes \.. ni. 1 adjourned until to- 
 morrow, Tuesday, December 5, 1905, at 12 o'clock meridian. 
 
 5 
 
6 Proceedings in the Senate 
 
 FkhRTAKV 2S, 1906. 
 MEMORIAL AOnRESSKS OX THK I.ATK SKNATOK I'l.ATT. 
 
 Mr. lUi.Kia.KV. Mr. I'resideiil. I desire to g;ive notice that 
 on April 7. ininicdiately after the routine niorninj^ business. I 
 shall a.sk the Senate to consider resolutions in commemoration 
 of the life, character, and public .ser\-ices of my late colleague, 
 Hon. OkviiJ.i-: Hitchcock Pi.att. 
 
 Tile X'icic-Pkksidkxt. The notice will be entered. 
 
 M.VKCii 23, 1906. 
 
 MKMORI.M. ADDRKSSKS OX THK I..\TK .SKX.\TOR O. H. I'l.ATT. 
 
 Mr. Bri.Ki:i,KV. Mr. President, some time ago I gave notice 
 that on April 7 I would ask the Senate to consider resolutions 
 commemorative of the life and sen-ices of my late colleague, 
 Hon. Orville H. Pi,.\tt. On account of engagements of se\- 
 eral Senators who desire to speak on that occasion, and of other 
 public exercises that are to take ]ilace on that day, I desire to 
 change the date to Saturday, April 14 — one week later. 
 
 The \'iCK-PRnsii)i;NT. Notice will be entered. 
 
 KXKCrTIVE SKSSIOX. 
 
 Mr. Penrose. I move that the Senate proceed to the con- 
 sideration of executive business. 
 
 The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to the 
 considoiation of executive Inisiness. After five minutes spent 
 in executive session the doors were reopened, and (at 5 o'clock 
 and 25 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Monday, 
 March 26, 1906, at 12 o'clock meridian. 
 
]'rou('(/i//i; s in llii' S(>iati' 7 
 
 Al'KU. (1, Iyo6. 
 
 M];m()Kiai, addrhssks ox thk i.atk skxator cjkvii.ij-; h. 
 
 I'LATT. 
 
 Mr. Allison. Mr. President, I tlesire to call the atteiuimi 
 of the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. I?i:i.Kia,Kv] to the fact 
 that the 14th of April had lieen selected at his reijuest f(.)r 
 memorial .ser\'ices on <mr late coUeagne, the former Senator 
 from Connecticut, Mr. 1'i,.\tt. I iniderstand that on that day 
 there is another service to take ]>lace on the House .side of this 
 Capitol, I therefore think it would he well, if the Senator be 
 willing' to do so, to 11 x another da\ , a week from the time 
 heretofore selected, on which the memorial .serAaces .shall take 
 place. 
 
 Mr. BuLKELEv. Mr. President, the .Senate will rememljer 
 that I originally requested that the 7th of April be selected for 
 eulogies on my late colleague, Senator Platt; but on that day 
 ceremonies were to take place in connection with one of otir 
 buildings. I therefore asked the Senate to change the date for 
 the meniijrial services until the 14th da_\- of April; and now, in 
 accordance with the suggestion of the Senator from Iowa [Mr. 
 Allisox] , which I think is entirely proper, I will ask the 
 Senate that the memorial services over my late colleague take 
 place on Saturday, April 21. 
 
 The \'ice-Pre:sidext. The Senator's notice will be entered. 
 
 April 16, 1906. 
 
 message; from the: hoi'se. 
 
 A message from the House of Representatives, l)y Mr. W. J. 
 Browxixg, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House had 
 pas.sed resolutions commemorative of the life and public serv- 
 ices of Hon. Orville Hitchcock Platt, late a Senator from 
 the State of Connecticut. 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 
 
 vSaTI'mijav, .Ipnl ji, uji>6. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rc\-. IvinvAun Iv Halk, oiTtTcd the followiiiii 
 prayer ; 
 
 Lit us now piaisi' /ai>i(>iis inoi and our fatluis thai bii^ot us. 
 The Lord hath wrought threat glory by thriii through His great 
 power from the beginning . Leaders of the people by their eounsels 
 and by their knowledge of learning meet for tlie people, wise and 
 eloquent in their instruetions. 
 
 Let us pra>-. 
 
 Father, we thank Thee for the fathers who founded this nation, 
 and we thank Thee for tho.se who went liefore the fathers who 
 founded the colonies and made these States; for the men who 
 knew God and believed in God, and planted their State on the 
 everlasting foundations; who knew no kiiii; but the Kin^^ of 
 kings, and no lord but the Lord of lords. We thank Thee 
 that such men and their children live to-day, that they are with 
 Thee in bringing in Thy kingdom, and we ask Thee that the 
 spirit that was in the fathers may be with us to-day, even in 
 our calamities; that we may bear calamity as the children of 
 the living God; in our prosperity that we ma>- gi\-e Thee the 
 praise and not take it for ourselves. 
 
 Be with the Congress, Father. Be with all the States. Be 
 with the President. Be with all the nations, to bind all men 
 together in one. We ask it in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy 
 kingdom come. Thy will be done ou earth as it is done in 
 
 9 
 
lO fjfc nnd Character of Oriille II. Plait 
 
 Heaven, (iive us tliis day our daily hread. Forjjive us our 
 trespasses as we forjjive those wlio tresj)ass against us. Lead 
 us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. I'or Thine is 
 the kinjidoin. and the jiower, and the >i;lory, forever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 MKMOKI.M. .VnOKK.SSKS ON THE I..\TF. SEN.\TOR ORVII.I.E II. 
 
 PL.VTT. 
 
 Mr. Ihi.KKi.KV. Mr. President, some weeks ago I gave 
 notice that after the close of the routine morning business this 
 day I would ask the Senate to consider re.solutions in regard to 
 the life, character, and public service of my former colleague, 
 Hon. Okvii.le H. Pl.vtt. I send the resolutions to the desk 
 and ask that they may be read. 
 
 The X'ick-Pkesident. The Secretarx- will read the re.solu- 
 tions submitted by the .senior Senator from Connecticut. 
 
 The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 
 
 Ri-solvfd, That the Senate has heard with profounil .sorrow of the death 
 of Hon. Orvili-K Hitchcock Pi..\tt. late a Senator from the State of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Rtsolvfd, That a.s a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the 
 hu.siness of the Senate be now suspended to enalile his associates to pay 
 proper tribute to his high character and distinj^uished ])ubHc services. 
 
 Rfsolvrd, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
AtMrcss oj Mr. /iii/k('/i-\\ of Connecticut 1 1 
 
 Address of Mr. Bulkeley, of Conneqicut. 
 
 Mr. lin.KKLKY. Ml. l'n.-^i(kiil , siiux' the clusi.- of tin- last 
 ses.sioii cif tiu; Ccini;r<-ss CoiiiiL'Ctictil lia.s liec'll (lt-]iii\-t.-(l li\ lU-alli 
 uf the .scr\icc (if its iHstiuijuishccl citi/L-ii ,iiul Senator, ()k\'ii,i.k 
 Hitchcock Pi..\TT, whose htV. eliaracter, and piihUe serx'iee 
 we here recognize, and this da\- connneniorate. For ^wk: con- 
 secutive terms hi.' liad been cho.sen with rare iinaniiiiitx- to re]>- 
 reseiit his nati\e State in this great legishitive l.ioch-. 
 
 .Senator Pi,.\TT was a profound sttnlent of colonial history, 
 especialh' as coiniected with the Connecticut colony and vState; 
 an enthusiastic admirer of the exalted t>i)e and high eliaracter 
 of the men that were instrumental in its early settlement and 
 development, and a lo\al devotee of the representative form of 
 government which tlie>- conceived and established. He was a 
 firm believer in the inspiring and godl\- faith which led them, 
 without love of adventure or hojie of worldh- gain, to .sever 
 the ties of h(.ime and country and faiiiih-, and to seek in a new 
 and unknown land an abiding place where they might worship 
 their God in their own way and according to the dictates of 
 their own conscience. 
 
 " vSinall time had they then for the mere ideal; 
 Their love was truth, their present life all real. 
 They walked the world, faith'.s vision never dim; 
 Saw not God's works, they only tjazed on Him." 
 
 These men. Pilgrim and Puritan alike, were well equipped 
 for the Ma.ster's work which they had undertaken and to which 
 they had devoted their lives. Their religious enthu.siasm and 
 their unbounded faith inspired them with undaunted courage 
 to struggle with jirivations and adversities, to conquer the 
 
12 Life and Charactir of Orvillt II. Plait 
 
 wiUk-rness ami tlic treacherous foes with wlioiu they were 
 siirroiiiided and constantly contending in their new settlements. 
 The love of lilx;rt>'. strengthened I)\ the renienil)rance of the 
 tyrann\- from which they had escaped, actuated them to con- 
 cei\c and inaugurate a goverinnent of the jK-ople, so beneficial 
 in its character, so ideal in its simple mechanism, so perfect 
 in its workings that it has been handed down from generation to 
 generation, modified in its organization, but its i)rinciplcs and 
 its integrity pn-served. 
 
 The compact signed in the cabin of the Mayfloicer^ followed 
 by the written constitution framed l)y the founders of the 
 Connecticut colony, and confirmed t)y royal charter, was the 
 fiiiuidation of written con.stitutional government throughout the 
 world, and under these governmental concessions Coiniecticut, 
 both as a Colony and a State, lived for nearly two centuries. 
 
 The religious element in these new-founded .settlements for 
 a long time naturally predominated in public as well as in 
 churchly affairs; church and state were clo.sely allied through- 
 out the formulative jx:riod of colonial life, and the influence 
 of the pastors was almost luiliniited; they were the teachers 
 as well as the ministers, supervised the educational privileges 
 of their several connniuiities — simjile though the>- were in the 
 early days — and frequentlj' filled the place of the good phj\sician 
 and counselor. 
 
 The meetinghouse was the active center of the conununil\- 
 life. Within its doors all public interests were discus.sed and 
 action determined. It was often u.sed as a place of refuge for 
 protection and defense, and on the Sabbath for a place of 
 worship; the meetinghouse and the schoolhou.se grew uj) side 
 by side, and o\-er l)oth the j)astor ordinarily presided. 
 
 Of the men of the times of which I have spoken it is appro- 
 priately written on a memorial tablet erected to conunemorate 
 
Address of .\/r. l!iilL-fh\\ of Ciiinuiliiiit 13 
 
 the lives of Ihc first settlers of one of our ancient Connecticut 
 towir;, anioui; whom were nuiuhereil Richard I'latt ami Mar\-. 
 his (le\-oteil wife, the ancestral heads of the faniil\ in America: 
 
 Coil sifted .1 whiilr ii.itinii that he miylit send ilidice )iy.\\\\ iiili> llu- 
 wiUlenifss. 
 
 Men of such character and abilities, founding; such institu- 
 tions as they estahlished, religious, f;o\ernn\ental, and educa- 
 tional, could not fail to leave the ini])ress of their lives upon 
 their own times and upon the si^nerations of men that were to 
 follow them. I venture the thou.t;ht that from the colonial life 
 and works of these men our great vSenator gathered the ins])ira- 
 tiou and power which controlled his own long and useful life. 
 In an imjiressi\-e historical address, delivered on the occasion 
 of the one hundred and .sevent\--fifth anniversary of the first 
 church of the town in which he lived, having in mind the 
 earh' days and their intluence upon the jirfe.seut, he spoke these 
 words ; 
 
 " There is one word in our language of wonderful significance, which no 
 definition that has been written completely expresses; that is ■infiuence.' 
 I like to believe, and do believe, that no good deed was ever done, no 
 good word was ever fitly spoken by any human being that is not to-day a 
 living force and power in the world; that the world is what it is because 
 of the deeds done and the words spoken by those who have gone before, 
 not onlv bv the remembered great, but the humble, unremembered souls 
 sleeping in unknown graves. If man is unmortal, he as truly lives in the 
 past as he will in the future. We bury the body, but the unbound spirit 
 lives and labors. Thoughts are forces; words are agencies; deeds are 
 power." 
 
 Of the life of the settler-immigrant and his inunediate de- 
 .scendants written historx- gives hut little record, but we find 
 that Richard Piatt, with his wife Marw with their children, 
 arrived from England and located in the New Hax'en colony. 
 It is reasonable to assume that he was dissatisfied with govern- 
 mental or religious condition.s — in this cidon\- they were closelj- 
 
14 /-./'/<■ i^iid Character of Oriillr 11. Plait 
 
 united — for in \hy) he, with sixl\' others, organized a new 
 church society and removed to and settled tlie town of Milford, 
 where he lived throughout liis life. It is well to remember 
 that differences in doctrine and practice led generally to the 
 formation of a new church society and eventually to the settle- 
 ment of a new town, to which the di.sagreeing element woidd 
 remove. 
 
 Richard Piatt and his descendants were prominent factors in 
 the connnunities in which they lived; served their fellows both 
 in civil and church office, and were often lionored with military 
 rank in the local train-band. Dnriui;- the war of the Revolu- 
 tion father and son fought .side by side in the Continental 
 Army. At the clo.se of the war John Piatt .settled in Washing- 
 ton, Coini., and here David Ooukl Piatt, the father of the future 
 Senator, was born, and in 1^17 married Almyra Hitchcock. 
 
 Their home can be ])ictured as one common in Connecticut 
 
 rural communities. I find its inmates described as "plain, lui- 
 
 a.ssiuning, good farming j)eople of the sturdy New Ivugland 
 
 type, in whose home were fo.stered intelligence and piety." 
 
 Another writes: 
 
 " I wa.s at lioiiie iu your father's house. He is one aiiionj; the early abo- 
 hlionists who is silhoucUoil on my meuiory most vividlj-. Your mother 
 was a heroic soul — one in Ifii thousand." 
 
 Slavery had existed in Connecticut since early in the .seven- 
 teenth century: misuited to New P'ngland surroundings, it was 
 gradually disappearing from the State: the antisla\'erv senti- 
 ment was just beginning its struggles, and tlie home of Piatt 
 and his a.s.sociates were the centers in which the leaders gath- 
 ered to forward the cause in which they had enlisted. They 
 were denoiuiced from the pulpit, ostracised in society, and jjer- 
 -secuted in their business; ])ui>ils were withdrawn from the 
 academy on account of the \iews of its teacher until its num- 
 bers were .so depleted that its doors were closed, and as a final 
 
Adiircss of Ml. Unlkcl, \\ of i'oiniii/iiitt 15 
 
 ])iini>liinciil I'l.ATT, Uk- leaclicT ( '.unn, and Uiu^l- inUrc.slL-(l in 
 tlu- new nidVL-uient w ithdiL'w or wx-ic dismissed t'ii>ni the 
 church. 
 
 Okx'ii.i.k HiTciiCdCK I'l.ATT was l»irnjnl\- iij, iSjy, in the 
 town iif \\'ashins;ton, Conn., in tlic home to wliich I have 
 alhuU'd. The traditions of the .State, tlie li\-es and example of 
 its foiiiidfrs of colonial and revoliitionar\- times, the ;.;(idl\ inlln- 
 ence of the home life, and the daybreak of the awakened strni;- 
 gle for libert}' were his priceless herita.s.je. 
 
 His early education was in the primiti\e district scIkjoI. from 
 which he j^raduated to enter the academy, tau,i;ht \i\ his father's 
 abolition friend, for instruction in the liigher branches, and later 
 became associated with Doctor Gunn as assistant. It was tliis 
 close association as pupil and teacher with this cotiraj;"eoiis, 
 heroic spirit that ijave the directing motive to and marked out 
 his ftiture career. 
 
 Witli the closing- of the academ>-, Doctor Gunn. with his 
 assi-stant, Platt, renuned to Towanda, I'a. , the home of I)a\'id 
 Wilmot, the author of the W'ilmot provi.so, and where to be an 
 aljolitioni.st did not subject a man to obloipiy, and reentered 
 their work. After a few months Pl.vtt returned to Connecticut, 
 entered the law office of Gideon H. Hollister, at Litclifield, 
 Conn., and in 1850 was admitted to practice. Returning to 
 Towanda, he completed his le.gal studies in the office of the Hon. 
 Ulysses S. Mercur, afterwards cliief justice of the supreme court 
 of Pennsylvania, and w'as likewise admitted to practice in that 
 State. While residing at Towanda he was married to Miss 
 Annie lUdl, who died in iSy^v lu April, 1.S97, he married 
 Mrs. Jeannie P. Hoyt, nee Smith, daughter of the Hon. Tru- 
 man Smith, his early friend and adviser. 
 
 Retaining his love for his native vState, he determined to 
 again locate there and make it his future home, and, acting on 
 
1 6 Life and Character of Orzille JI. Plall 
 
 the advice of his friend, Hon. Truman Smith, a member of the 
 Senate, and whose successor he proved to be in later years, the 
 youn^ attorney .selected one of the stru^jjlinjj industrial com- 
 munities !Us a promisinjj field for his future work, and made the 
 then town of Meriden, Conn., his lifelong home. Tlie profes- 
 sional life of the countrx' attorney at this period failed to yield 
 even a rea.sonable pecuniary reward, as clients were few and 
 fees necessarily limited; but these conditions did not di.scourage 
 the young lawyer : he had determined to be a master of his 
 profession and to win his way to the confidence and supjwrt of 
 his fellow-lownsmen. 
 
 His leisure hours furnished ample time for study and to par- 
 ticipate in the various intere.sts of the developing town. He 
 was known as a public-.spirited citizen, and everything that yy&x- 
 tained to the general welfare received his enthusiastic inves- 
 tigation and merited support. He was cons])icuous in the 
 organization of nearly every industrial corporation that came 
 into existence; he perfected the charter and set in motion the 
 municijial governnient of the city of Meriden. He connected 
 him.self with the l'"irsi Congregational Church and became 
 interested in all its work. A pupil in his class in the Sunday 
 school has written me : 
 
 "Oftentimes he woulil become so intensely interested in his subject 
 that lie would seem almost inspired." 
 
 Amid the hours of his busy life he found time to gratify his 
 love of nature acquired in his boyhood days, and a tramp 
 through the woods, or a day on the brook, or with his gun, 
 gave him ample hours for recreation: and these pastimes were 
 his delight through his life. 
 
 The educational interests of the town were his constant 
 study, and to their broader and modern developmet he gave the 
 benefit of his resourceful miud and enthusiastic .support. In 
 
.■li/i/r,.s\ ol Mr. liiilL-(li\\ of Cmnh'ttinil \~ 
 
 kilcr \cars lit- ,L;a\T L-xpro^inii lo Uic suci-i-ss of llu- <.-ilucati(inal 
 swsteni that had hceii f<)Stcr(.-il in ConiiL-oticiit in an address at 
 the dedication of a free inibUc hlirary: 
 
 "\Vf have been wont lu glorify the common school as the foundation 
 and means of our common growth. Our nation could never have been 
 what it is to-day, nor what by faith we perceive to he its future, uitliout 
 its rare development i>f the educational spirit. Kilucation in its widest 
 sen.se is the corner stone or our n.itional temple. The free ])ublic librarv 
 is but the advanced connnon school. Its opportnnilv is not a |;ri\ ilege ; 
 it is a connnon right. True men and women continiu- to aci|uire knowl- 
 edge while they live. When education is finished growth ceases, decav 
 commences. The soul is ilead th.it shnnliers, the living is the onlv grow- 
 ing .soul, and without books the soul would starve and die." 
 
 The moral atmosphere of the town fell the elevating influ- 
 ence of his iiersonal life. He was an open and coii.sistent 
 adherent to the cause of temperance, which throtighotit his 
 h.ino- life he ne\'er ceased acti\'ely to advocate and encottrage, 
 Ixith in jirivate, and in pttblic legislation. 
 
 His political jarinciples and party affiliations were alread>- 
 firmly e.stabli&lied ; his associations in his earl\- home with the 
 leaders of the antislavery agitation had inspired him with a 
 love for his fellownien and their inalienable right to life, lib- 
 erty, and the pursuit of happiness with which they were 
 endowed. He recognized the effective power of principle as 
 successfully exercised by the infant antislavery or liberty part>- 
 in a Presidential campaign, its first appearance as a political 
 factor. He had seen new territory acquired wliich gave fresh 
 impetu.s to the .struggle between freedom and sla\-ery. In the 
 Presidential election of 1S48 he cast his first vote, and identi- 
 fied himself with the Free Soil Party and gave his influence 
 and support to its candidates. 
 
 Gradually but surely the young attorney had succeeded in 
 winning the confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen, 
 S. Doc. 534, 59-1 2 
 
l8 Life a>id Character of Orvillc 11. Platl 
 
 which was his chosen standard by which to measure the suc- 
 cess of liis work, and naturally he became a leader in the re- 
 ligious, busitiess, and social life of the community. 
 
 Mr. Pl.vtt was not an avowed candidate for public office, but, 
 accepting a nomination in 1.S53, was for three succes.sive terms 
 chosen judge of probate, and in 1855 clerk of the Connecticut 
 senate, and in 1857 secretary of .state. He was prominent in 
 the organization of the Republican party, and was closely asso- 
 ciated with its leaders, and to its princples and purposes he was 
 a devoted adherent the remainder of his life. Repeatedh- se- 
 lected to represent his town in the general assembly of the 
 State, serving in the .senate 186.1-1862 and in the house of 
 representatives 1864 and 1869, he was accorded the party lead- 
 ership, and as speaker and chairman of the judiciary committee 
 conducted the legislatiiin with conser\atisni and marked abilil\-. 
 Profes-sioual demands were now more requiring; his extensive 
 law practice called for his constant personal supervision, and 
 had for him greater attractions than public office, and for a 
 time he declined to accept further political honors. In 1877 he 
 was appointed to the responsible position of State attorney for 
 New Haven Comity, which office he held until his election as 
 United States Senator in 1879. 
 
 Mr. Pl.\TT was nominated and chosen Senator by the General 
 Assembly of Connecticut January, 1879. One of the leading 
 contestants for the jxjsition was his old-time abolition friend. 
 Gen. Joseph R. Hawley, who two years later he welcomed as a 
 Senator, and for twenty-four years they remained as colleagues 
 in this tody. 
 
 The results of the caucus came as a surprise to the people 
 of Connecticut, but recognizing the alnlities displayed in the 
 .sen-ice of the State by the newly elected Senator, justified the 
 choice. The citizens of his home town, gratified at the new 
 
Ac/drrss of' Mr. Ih(lk(-lr\\ <i/' ('didiii/i'ih/ 19 
 
 hoiKirs which liad cihik- Ici tlicii" lY-llow tow nsiii.in. joiiR-d re- 
 .^■ardless ot faclioii cir ])art\- in a uniai kalik- (k-nioiistratinii nf 
 their achiiiratiun I'm the man. In H'S]>(insi' to the- tjrt-i-tinys of 
 his townsmen, hi- annonnceil the simjiU piineiple that would 
 guide his action: 
 
 "Just iiiiw iviivtliiiiv; is iR-w .nicl srcMTis unreal. I e;ni seareelv a|)])re- 
 ciate the future. How I .shall walk iu the new ]iart iu wlneli I .nil set time 
 will .show. I ilo knew tliat I shall try to do riijhl .is I s, e the rii;lit." 
 
 And this itile was the magnetic needle that directed and 
 marked otit the conrse of his Senatorial career. 
 
 He took his seat at the e.xtra session of the Congress, March 
 iS, i.Sji). well equijipeil f<ir the new obligations which had so 
 unexpectedl)- lieeii thrnst tipun him. Connecticut institutions 
 in town and State organization were a .school of political edti- 
 cational life; in the .school district, chtirch .societw and town 
 meeting the people were accustometl to di.scnss and to direct all 
 local affairs and interests, and in the general court of the 
 colonial and the a.s.sembly of modern times the representatives 
 of the people fitted themselves for advanced legislative work in 
 the council chambers of the nation. 
 
 He found as colleagues the master spirits ol legislation of 
 both Hotises of Congress throughout the war period, who had 
 been joined by the .great militarx' leaders, transferred from the 
 field to the forum, to a.ssist through peaceful legislation the 
 great work of recon.struction. and to work out the intricate 
 problem of the future of the Republic. 
 
 A generation nearl\' has pas.sed; one by one the names that 
 illumined the roll of the Senate ha\-e l)een eliminated, and to- 
 day but three of its then members remain to respond to its roll 
 call and participate in these memorial exercises. 
 
 Determined to be a master in his work, he entered upon 
 it with the same enthusiasm and spirit that enabled him to win 
 
20 Li/c luid Cliaractcr of Orvillc H. Plntt 
 
 his way in liis early professional career. Accepting an assign- 
 ment ujion the Committee on Patents, on which he remained as 
 member and chairman for nearl\- the whole period of his Sena- 
 torial service, he was enabled to render material assistance to 
 his inventive and ingenions constituency in perfecting and 
 strengthening the laws which to them were of so great material 
 interest and the groundwork of a large degree of their pros- 
 ])erity. As chairman and member of the Connnittee on Terri- 
 tories, he familiarized himself with the needs of the great 
 developing sections of the country, and was an active partici- 
 pant in the legislatiim fur the admission into the Tnion of the 
 States of Montana, Washington. North and South Dakota, 
 Wyoming, and Idaho. As chairman of the Connnittee on 
 Culian Relations, he formulated the initial work that carried 
 the blessings of liberty to the oppressed, and in what is now 
 known as the " I'latt amendment." cemented friendly relations 
 with the newborn republic. He gave his be.st thought and 
 untiring industry to all matters of legislation and gradually 
 won his own ]ilace in the front rank. He had high ideals of 
 the duties and responsibilities of governments, and in an earn- 
 est di.scussion of the currency cjuestion, involving, to his mind, 
 the honor of the nation, uttered this .sentiment: 
 
 ■■rioveriimcnts, like imiividual.s, have- characters; and if tlicrt i.s any 
 grander sight in this world to behold than the character of an upright, 
 hone.st man, built up by acts of integrity and honesty and uprightness, it 
 is the character of a government built U]) from its beginning by acts of 
 inttgrity and honor and honesty, with no blot on its record; and if there 
 is anything sadder in this world than to see a man who has achieved .such 
 a character throw it to the winds by a .single ilishonorable act, it is to see 
 a great government that has built up a name for hone.sty, integrity, and 
 nobility of character throw it to the winds by a single dishonorable act. 
 God grant that that blot may never be i)ut upon the character of our 
 Government." 
 
 Senator Pi..\TT was not a great orator. I wunld ralliLi liken 
 lim to and recall him as the Roger Sherman of our own times, 
 
Ai/i/nss of Mr. Hiilkrlrw of Coinu'cticut 21 
 
 as I find Sln."nium (lescril)c-(l in a ^lowini; liisl(ir\ of tlu- Cun- 
 tiucntal Coii.uivss: 
 
 " No mail siiriia-.M-il him in ca|i.ii'ily, iiilliKiuT, ami slniii^'lli. 1 h- was 
 neitlier (.IikiiuiU nor iinpassionccl. As of St. I'anl, it mij^lit have ln'cn 
 said of him, 'liis s]tf(.'ch ' was 'of no aci'ounl," ami \(_l. likt.- St. I'aiil, 
 his wcinls cairiiil wai^lU far surpassiiin thosr of tin- mrri- (■rator — word.s 
 that will gnick- ami insjiirr mankind to tlu' latest titiii'. 
 
 "There was in him kind-heartedness and industry, ]Kiietr.itioii and 
 close reasoning, an unclouded intellect, superiority to passion, intrepid 
 patriotism, solid judgment, and a ilirectness which went .straight to the end. 
 
 " He lacked magnetism, but though he did not possess genius, he had a 
 gift of accomplishment, which is greater than genius. He never triim]>ted 
 his own praises. He seemed to be indifferent to the applau.se of his 
 fellows, and to have never thought that his own work entitled him to 
 credit or praise. One act done, he proceeded quietly to the doing of 
 another. Common .sen.se, integrity, lofty purpo.se, unfaltering persistence, 
 supplemented by wide knowledge and intense patriotism, .seem to have 
 been his distinguishing traits. He took up his life as a humble (shoe- 
 maker) attorney; he laiil it down as (our) Connecticut's national lawgiver." 
 
 His confidence in the ^reat nia.ss of the jieiiple to niaintain 
 our representative form of government was alisohite. He 
 appreciated the sacrifices which the fathers endured to estabHsh 
 and the enthusiasm with wliich their descendants ralHed to 
 preser\'e and perpettiate its lilessings. In liis own words: 
 
 " Liberty meant in revolutionary days, as it means now, all that men 
 hope for, either for themselves or for posterity, and the self-governed 
 stale meant an enjoyment of all the blessings of liberty. Remember, too, 
 that in all ages lines of human liberty have b en advanced by the poor 
 and lowly." 
 
 The Senator's presence and participation on puhUc and 
 historical occasions was eagerly sought, and to such requests 
 he willingh' acceded so far as his official duties and strength 
 would permit. His addresses were word pictures and reali.stic 
 delineations of the historic men and their times and the heroic 
 acts and generotis lives of the founders and jiatriots of colonial 
 and revolutionary days, the intinence of whose life and acts, he 
 felt, was ever inspiring. 
 
22 Life and Character of Orville II. Plall 
 
 The dignity of his presence always ga\e an added interest to 
 the gatherings of the people, the earnestness of his manner 
 commanded the close attention of his hearers, and the moral 
 lessons which he never failed to inculcate, and the influence of 
 a godly Christian character, which he deemed so essential to 
 the welfare of society and for which his own j)ersonal life was 
 so conspicuous, furnished ample food for thought and reflection. 
 
 The jieople of Connecticut never failed in their confidence or 
 loyalty to their Senator. His whole public life of untiring 
 industry, sterling integrity, and devotion to duty realized their 
 expectations when they selected him from their own ranks to 
 represent them in the council chamber of the nation, and con- 
 firmed his own declaration at the outset of his Senatorial life — 
 
 "I sh.ill try to do rij;lit .is I st-e the rijilit." 
 
 Senator Pi.att rounded out his service in this body as chair- 
 man of the Judiciary Committee, of which he had previously 
 l^een a memljer, and as your presiding officer on one of those 
 rare occasions in the history ui our country that this Senate 
 has been called n])ou to exercise its constitutional judicial 
 functions. His work of accomplishment ended with the Fiftj-- 
 eighth Congress and the short executive session that followed. 
 He closed his great career with an unsullied record and repu- 
 tation, the jieer of the honored Connecticut Senators, Ells- 
 worth. Sherman. Johnson. Trumbull, Buckingham, and others 
 that preceded him. 
 
 His last public act was to particijiate in the legislative 
 memorial exercises at the State capitol, in Hartford, in mem- 
 ory of his long-time friend and colleague; friends when — 
 
 " creeds could not bind the con.sciences of such men. They found .1 law 
 lii^fher than creeds; Ihey inquired only their duty to T.od and man. and 
 did their dutv as thev saw it." 
 
.Ii/(/riSs oj Mr. lUilkilcw of Coiim-iticut 23 
 
 His iiuUL' tod ru<;>;x-il fraiiK- had wearied in its work, the 
 Ihrolibiiii; heart pulse was to iiini the inciphetie warning of a 
 near reunion and renewed aeti\'ities in the life beyond, as he 
 depicted in lovin.>j, tender words his j^raceful tribute to the life 
 and character of Connecticut's idol soldier and statesman that 
 had already entered into the new life; it was a "good-by" and 
 not a farewell. 
 
 The needed rest and recreation he sou.ijht in his home in his 
 native town, "little Washington," as he would designate it, but 
 the coveted rest never came until " he slept with the fathers." 
 
 He had honorably filled his own place both in private and 
 public life, and left behind an imperishaljle name to illumine 
 the annals of his State and nation. He had fought the good 
 fight and kept the faith; with an unclouded mind, with a 
 characteristic faith, and an undimmed eye he had seen in an 
 awakening vision — 
 
 "An angel, writing in a liook of sold ; 
 
 Exceeding peace had made him ( Ben .\dhem ) liold. 
 
 .■\nd to the presence in his room he said, 
 
 ' What writest thou?' The vision raised its lieail 
 
 And with a look made all of sweet accord 
 
 Answer'd : 'The names of those who love the Lord.' 
 
 '.\nd is mine one?' said he ( Adhem). ' Nav, not so,' 
 
 Replied the angel. He spoke more low. 
 
 But cheerily still, and said : ' I pray thee, then. 
 
 Write me as one who loves his fellow-men.' 
 
 The angel wrote and vanisherl. The next night 
 
 It came again, with a great wakening light. 
 
 And .show'd the names whom love of God had bless'd, 
 
 .\nd lo! his (Ben Adhem's) name led all the rest." 
 
 He fell asleep. 
 
 April twenty-first, nineteen hundred and five, 
 
 Washington, Connecticut. 
 
24 Li/c and Character of Orville H. Piatt 
 
 Address of Mr. Allison, of Iowa 
 
 Mr. Ai.i.isoN. Mr. President, I esteem it a jjreat privilege 
 to be permitted to pay a brief tribute to the life and character 
 of the late Senator Okville H. Pl.-vtt, who died one year ago 
 to-day at his home in Connecticut, where his birth took place 
 se\-enty-cight >-ears before. I regret that ni\- own dccupalioii 
 in matters of pressing public iUit>' has pre\'ente(l me from 
 making suitable prejiaration to speak in fitting terms of his life 
 and public services, but the portraiture of the senior Senator 
 from Connecticut [Mr. BrLKELEv] has so well delineated the 
 character of our late colleague that it seems almost unnecessary 
 for me to speak of any special trait. 
 
 Senator Pl.vJT came here on the iSth day of March, 1879, 
 and at that desk took the oath of office. Reserved until within 
 a few days of the lime of his death, including the entire extraor- 
 dinary .session of the Senate which conxened on March 4, 1905. 
 I was present when that oath was taken and .served with Sen- 
 ator Pi, .NTT during the twenty-.six years of his .service here. It 
 goes without saying that Senators who serve here for a long 
 period of time come to know each other well; and it was my 
 fortune to know Senator Pl.\TT intimately and to lo\e him for 
 his many beautiful traits of char.acter. 
 
 I shall not .speak of what he ditl or what he was before he 
 entered this Chamber; this story has been graphicall\- por- 
 trayed by the senior Senator from Connecticut to-day. I shall, 
 in a brief way, undertake to speak of his .services here and the 
 work he did here and the just fame he acquired here. 
 
.hfdri'ss of Mr. . U/isoii^ of Imca 25 
 
 Whilst there ma\ \\.\w hreii others more hrilhant ami more 
 eloquent in sjieech, nu Si'U.itor ilnrinij his term jierformcil a 
 larjjer measure of Ner\-ii'e in this licidy than did Senator I'l. \'rr. 
 I think the instanees are rare in our histor\' at an\' tinu- where 
 any Senator has serx'ed more faithfully, indnstriousl\-, elTei't- 
 ively, or more to the ailvantajj;e of his .State and his eountr\ . 
 
 I am not surprised that, in re^iK' to his fellow-townsmen at 
 Meriden, he slionld ha\e said, as jn>t i|Uoted, th.it he waN ahout 
 to enter U]ion his serviee in this l)o(ly with distrust of hi> own 
 ability to diseharge the new duties imposed upon him. I can 
 understand how one would so feel who had never before served 
 in either House of Cong're.ss ; but his ])le(lKe then j;i\en to his 
 fellow-townsmen, that he would tr\' to do the rii;ht as 1r- saw 
 the ri,y;ht, was fully redeemed in his twenty-six \ears of serviee 
 here. 
 
 It has been the rule in the .Senate, with few exceptions, from 
 the foundation of the (lovenmient that seniorit\- in service shall 
 govern in the selection of comnuttees. .So that, as has been 
 trul}' said by the Senator from Connecticut, when .Senator 
 PlaTT came here he found tlie positions on the most imjiortant 
 cr)nunittees already taken by .Senators who, bv rea.son of their 
 long service, had become prominent in this bod\' and in a .greater 
 or lesser degree prominent in the country, so that in his first 
 term of service conditions required that he should take positions 
 on minor connnittees. 
 
 During the early years of his .service he was a])])ointed on the 
 two important committees of Territories and Patents, and he 
 serv^ed on the Connnittee on Territories for twelve \ears con- 
 tinuously, and in 1.SS7 became chairman of the connnittee. 
 This connnittee had important work to do during; llie whole 
 period of his service, and especiall\- important during the \ears 
 of his chairmanshij). In i.S.Xi, four new States were brought 
 
26 Life and Character of Orvillc II. Plait 
 
 into the Union unck-r the leadership of Senator Platt. namely, 
 North and South Dakota— the old Territory of Dakota l)einK 
 divided in order to make two States — and Montana and Wash- 
 ington. During the following year, under his guidance as chair- 
 man, Idaho and Wyoming were also admitted. He had broad 
 views on the .subject of the admission of new States, l)elieving 
 that this great northwest country, then being rapidly developed 
 through railroad extensions, would become an imi)orlant por- 
 tion of our Union as respects its agricultural, industrial, and 
 mineral development. So that under his influence and guid- 
 ance twelve additional Senators were admitted here. This 
 expectation has already been abundantly realized by the rapid 
 progress and development of those States since their admission. 
 
 During his service on the Connnittee on Patents he brought 
 forward and .secured the passage of imiwrtaut measures affect- 
 ing the interests of inventors, and also secured a radical and 
 needed reform of our copyright laws. In the discussion of the 
 questions involved in these measures he displayed full and com- 
 plete knowledge of the hi.story of our copyright laws and the 
 necessity for their improvement. His work in revising these 
 patent laws, as well as his achievement in securing, during his 
 chairmanshij) of the Conmiittee on Territories, the admi.ssion 
 of the .six States I have named, merits for him high distinction 
 in the annals of the vSeliate. 
 
 It is well known to Senators, though not apparent often to 
 the general public, that there is a large amount of what might 
 be called "drudgery work" necessary to be done in the com- 
 mittees and in the Senate, which is very important but not of 
 such general public interest as to attract the attention of the 
 country. This work must be done by those competent and 
 faithful in the discharge of their public duties. 
 
 When the committees of the Senate were reorganized in 18S7 
 
Address of Mr. . U/isoii, of /o~ca 27 
 
 Senator Platt was, rallK-r ai;aiMst his will, as I rt- ineinhe r very 
 well, persuaded to take a ])lace upon the Committee on Indian 
 Affairs — a liard-workin,s;' eommittee with most important ihities 
 to ])erform affectin<; the Indian tribes and Indian reservations. 
 At eaeh sueeeeding Congress, tlioiigli anxious to retire from 
 the committee, because its work was exacting and iliffirult in 
 coiuiection with other committee a.ssignmenls, b\it the impor- 
 tance of the work was .so great, and his great abilitv was .so 
 recognized in its jierformance. that he was persuaded to con- 
 tinue in this important service for sixteen years, and was relied 
 upon to prepare and formulate important legislation relating to 
 these affairs. 
 
 He gave his attention to proposed legislation coming before 
 that connnittee with ab.solute fidelity, care, and industry. The 
 most important legislation was necessary during the most of 
 this period, affecting the relations of the Five Civilized Tribes 
 in the Indian Territory to each other and to the Government. 
 To this subject Senator Platt gave unremitting attention and 
 consideration, visiting the Territory on two different occasions 
 with subconnnittees. During one of these vacations nearly the 
 whole sinnmer was occujiied in the work of preparation of a 
 bill relating to the Five Ci\'ilized Tribes, which became a law 
 and is the basis of the final .settlement of the relations of these 
 tribes to the Govennnent. The.se questions were of the utnio.st 
 importance, requiring the best ability to .solve. His whole 
 service of sixteen years was arduous and freely given, though 
 not an attractive one. 
 
 ■ But the most signal service in Senator Platt\s career here 
 was performed in three committee rooms — those of the Com- 
 mittee on the Judiciary, the Connnittee on Finance, and the 
 Connnittee on Cuban Relations. Nothing better illustrates the 
 value of Senator FlaTT's laljors here than the fact that he was 
 
28 Life and Character of Orz'illc H. Plall 
 
 selected to deal with the ^reat public ijuestions coming before 
 those important cuniniittees. 
 
 He became a member t)f the Comniillec on I'inance in 1H95. 
 That was a period of monetar\- and industrial depression. It 
 was believed at that time that Congress shoidd attempt to do 
 something to alleviate those conditions; and Senator Pi,att 
 entered iiixm that work, in connection witli otlicr nienil)c-rs of 
 the Finance Connnittee. with a ])atient industry and interest 
 which finally resulted in the passage of what is known as the 
 " Dingley law." Whatever may be said of the fruits of that 
 law by its friends or its critics, it is certain tliat it was a most 
 important and valuable ]>iece of legislation, which occiqiied the 
 Finance Connnittee for many months and the two Houses for 
 the extra .session of 1S97, called by President McKinley for 
 that i)ur])ose. 
 
 At a later period Senator Pl..\'rT became a meml>er of the 
 subcommittee which prepared with great care the bill known 
 as "An act to define and fix the standard of values, to main- 
 tain the parity of all forms of money issued or coined h\ the 
 United States, to refinul the public debt, and for other ])ur- 
 poses." That act is, jierhaps, next to the resnmjnion act. the 
 ino.st imixjrtant law with reference to our finances that has Ijeen 
 pa.ssed since the close of the ci\il war. It undertook to make 
 permanent and effective our imperfect monetary s\-.stem as 
 respects metallic money and as resjjects our currencw making 
 effective provision for the convertibility of all paper money, 
 issued directly or indirectly, into gold. 
 
 Senator Platt, associated with Senator Ai.dkicii. chairman, 
 and (jthers, gave the sununer of 1.S99 practicall\- to the consid- 
 eration and preparation of that great measure, which iiassed 
 here, I believe, without an>- \ery .serious del)ate, although 
 there was criticism of it at the time as to its effectiveness to 
 
A(i<h-i-ss ot M) . . }/h\()ii, I'/ /oTca 29 
 
 acciiin]>li>h llu- piniiosr iiiUiKkil. I'.ut llu- six \-i';irs that 
 ha\L- clapst-(l siiux' thai im-aMiiL- hucaiiu- a law lia\x- rrrtainly 
 justified the wixlDiu of its ])assai;\-. 
 
 The iiiiist iinportaiit single statute, however, in whicll .Senator 
 Pl.A'i'T took a eonvpicuous ])art an<l of whicli he was tlie author 
 was that concerniut; om- relations with Culia after the close of 
 the war with ,Spain. After the close of the .Spanisli war it be- 
 came apjiarent in this hoily that our relations with Cnlia were 
 then, and were Iikel\- to continue to he, of snch consrcpience .as 
 to require a connnittee of this liod\' to deal with them. The 
 Senate in I S9i) pro\ ided for a Connnittee on Cuban Relations, 
 which committee was, in its personnel, coni])osed of the older 
 and most experienced members of the Senate. Senator I'l. ATT 
 bv common con.sent was selected as the chairman of that com- 
 mittee. How wiselx' and how faithfull\' those duties were ])er- 
 fornied b\' the connnittee and b\' its chairman is well known to 
 the people of this country and to the people of Cuba. 
 
 The Piatt amendment, st> called, which was placed upon the 
 Arm\- ajipropriation bill, was one of the most ini](ortant pieces 
 of leijislation which has been enacted in our ])arliamentary his- 
 tory, dealing, ;is it did, with our relations to another country, 
 with which we were associated, but which had not been taken 
 into full accord with our sxstem of government. New and 
 wholly novel questions were in\'olved. 
 
 Senator Pl.\TT and his connnittee prepared that measure, 
 and ofTered it in this bod\- to be jilaced on the arni>" a])]>ropria- 
 tion l)ill of lycii. I do not .i;;ive liini, and I think it would not 
 be quite just to ,i;ive him, the sole credit of oriijinatin*; that 
 measure. It ori,t,'^inated in the Connnittee on Cuban Relations, 
 of which he was chairman. His legal and analytic mind was a 
 potential force in its preparation, and he may be fairly con- 
 sidered its author. It is well to note that this le.ui.slatiou was 
 
30 Life and Character of Orvillc II. Piatt 
 
 considered so iiiiportaiil tliat. by uiuuiinious (.•oiiseiil, it was 
 placed on tlic army appropriation l)ill antl was not considered 
 as an indejxrndent nieasnre. Snch measures are only put ujwn 
 appropriation bills when imperative necessity so requires, and 
 when both, or all, ix)litical parties recognize the inii>ortance of 
 the measure. 
 
 These are some of the great measures which Senator Platt 
 originated or particij)ated in the framing of, and were placed in 
 our statutes. They will live in the history of our country so 
 long as that history shall survive. 
 
 Senator l'l..\TT was constantly in attendance here. lie was 
 faithful in the performance of every duty, whether in connnil- 
 tee or in the Senate itself. He was an able debater, although, 
 as has been said by the Senator from Connecticut, he was 
 not considered one of the orators of the body ; but if in deal- 
 ing with any subject plain, logical, and concise statement and 
 keen analysis are elements of oratory, then Senator Pl.vtt, by 
 their exhibition here on many occasions, was able to convince 
 the Senate that he had at least the (jualifications of an orator. 
 
 Mr. President, I have only brietly outlined the long-contin- 
 ued ser\'ices of Senator Pl.\tt in order to show that he well 
 merited the right to be named one of the leaders of the Senate. 
 
 In all his public service he was con.scientious in the exami- 
 nation of subjects committed to his care and in tlie preparation 
 of legislation brought before the Senate. 
 
 I knew him w'ell and served with him on .some of the com- 
 mittees I have named for months at a time. I learned to 
 appreciate his sim])le. nuiel character and to admire his acute 
 and di.scriniinatinK intellect and well-instructed mind. When 
 the annals of the Senate shall be written it will be found that 
 the name of Senator Pl.vtt will occupy a deservedly high 
 place. 
 
Address of J//-. . l///s<>//, of loiva 31 
 
 \\\- all niuuni his departure ; wc shall miss him imu'h as a 
 mcinln.-r of this body and in all the relations of life. 
 
 I regret, Mr. President, that I luue been unable to pay a 
 more tittino; tribute to the character of our departed colleague, 
 but could not allow the occa.sion to pass without a brief expres- 
 sion of appreciation of his great attributes as a legislator and 
 .statesman worthy of the first rank in the history of the vSenate. 
 
32 Life atid Chciraclir of Ori'illc H. Piatt 
 
 Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 
 
 Mr. M()K(;an. Mr. President, a.s one of the tliree Senators 
 reniainin.ij in this body who were the colleaj^iies of Senator 
 Pi..\TT in his entire career in the Senate, an opportunity is 
 aflforded nie that I never expected to have, and a melancholy 
 duty of recalling to the Senate and the country the wave of 
 national sorrow that followed his de])arture hence, and the 
 more afjreeahle privileije of jjointinj; to his excellent example 
 as a memento that is gratefully cherished by the iSenate. 
 
 The sorrow an. "gret of his personal associates who remain 
 when any good man dies is like a cloud that reflects in greater 
 splendor the higher lights that are above it and then di.ssolves 
 in tears, or is swept away. So our bereavement at the loss of 
 Senator Pl.vtt is compensated to the .Senate and the country 
 by the memory of his \irtues that we are now proud to record. 
 
 It is high eulogium to say of an\one who lias served in the 
 Senate that his moral worth, his loxalty to truth and justice, 
 his learning and abilities, his conduct and example are worthy 
 of a tribunal that is endowed with the broadest and highest 
 powers of constitutional government. It is no less praise of 
 such a man Ui sa> that, in cunnnon with American ])eople, his 
 love and devotion to the country, its institutions, and its or- 
 ganic law was pure, and was inspired with the single moti\'e of 
 patriotic duty. 
 
 PosteritN'. through coming generations, will say such things 
 without reserve or (lualification alxiut the ser\ice in the Senate 
 and in the councils of state of the great .Senator from Con- 
 necticut; and that is his fitting eulogium that uoue cau now 
 pronounce in its full meaning. 
 
Ac/dress <>/ Mr. Moi[^iui, of .Ua/nriiia 33 
 
 His great scr\'ices were not jierfoniied in some eonsjiinious 
 acts of the most \'ital imjiortance, though these are not waiitiilg 
 to accentuate a career that was still more excellent liecause of 
 his modest, earnest, and faithful observance of ever>- diitw His 
 forceftil, successful, and controlling- leadershiji in the vSenate, 
 without any manifestation of ambitious impulses or ])urposes, 
 signalizes Senator Okvii.LE H. Pi.att as being a model 
 American Senator, whose example, now that he is gone, is 
 w-orth nearly as nuich to the Senate and the country as his 
 unfailing labors were worth while he lived. 
 
 The examjile lives and will long li\'e in the Senate, like the 
 still small voice that is ever present in hone hearts, to whose 
 admonitions none can turn a deaf ear witho giving offense to 
 the public conscience. There is great and national reason for 
 congrattilation that his example in the Senate remains to us as 
 a priceless legacy. It is not always so conspicuous in its 
 grandeur as to attract public admiration with its splendors, but 
 it is alwa\'S true as a guide to such as are .seeking to contribute 
 their labors as honest and diligent workers for the general 
 welfare and for the .safety of a self-governing people. It is a 
 warning against excesses in the use of the authority of their 
 own laws in derogation of the true majesty of their own 
 sovereign powers. It is a remonstrance against overzealous 
 aggression that has often turned a good cause into a licentious 
 oppression. 
 
 Such tendencies are prevalent in many movements that are 
 called "popular demands" for the reform of our organic laws. 
 The memory of .Senators, among whom he was abreast with 
 the foremost, still fills the Senate Chamber with affection- 
 ate admonitions to their successors to guard with fidelit\- the 
 e.s.sential rights of the people and the States. These will not 
 .S. Doc. 534.59-1 3 
 
34 I-iff <^>t<'l Character of Onille II. Piatt 
 
 go unheeded, whatever may be the clamors or the traductions 
 against the Senate of the United States. 
 
 One voice thai is no longer audible in this Chaniljer, a voice 
 of sympathy and courage, still speaks to us through the voice- 
 less air, like the message from a distant .shore that was 
 telegraphed to our ships far out on the Pacific Ocean, and 
 called them to the rescue of humanity when San Francisco 
 peri.shed. 
 
 We hear and will obey the call to duty, whisjjered to our 
 hearts from the invisible shores of eternity, and the vSenate will 
 still stand steadfastly in support of the Con.stitutiim of the 
 United States, under our oaths to God. To Him we will bow 
 in submission, as our Pacific coast is kneeling in sackcloth and 
 a.shes; but no man's authority will be accepted as a release 
 from our vows, whatever may betide us. 
 
 Okvii.i.i-: H. 1'i..\tt, with a host of other great and noble 
 Senators who have pa.ssed away since I first took my .seat in 
 this body, is here in spirit, with the same words to encourage 
 us that were spoken in his every utterance and were true in 
 every act : "Be faithful to duty in the fear of God." 
 
 Senator Pl.vtt was, in outward seeming, to those who did not 
 know the shrinking modesty of his nature, a man of marble, 
 cold and polished in .statuesque dignity, with little love for his 
 kind. In fact, he was so tender a lover of all who were suffer- 
 ing affliction or were in danger of the visitations of wrong and 
 injustice that his chief joy in life was in giving them comfort 
 and strength, and in lifting their hopes above dispair. 
 
 As the great and i)roud race of Indians are disapjiearing 
 from their fatherland, which no Indian wouUl ever desert nor 
 Ixr driven from it Ijy forces that made death the j^^nalty of resist- 
 ance, none of them will forget the sympathy of Senator Pi..VTT 
 
Address of Mr. Mur^m/, of Alal>a))ia 35 
 
 in his jiatieiU, just, ami Iminaiie ilc\-()ticiu tu the ri;;hl^ that 
 rc-mained tu them after more than twci centuries i)f warfare for 
 tlie maintenance of their orii^inal inilepcmleiice. He proxiiled 
 for them in their uecessitoiis condition ahnost as a father would 
 provide for his family. His t;reat abilities and industrious 
 labors were always engaged in their service when needed, so 
 that none were neglected ; and the records of the Senate are a 
 history of his work that carries htjuor to his memory on every 
 page that relates to Indian affairs. 
 
 His only possible reward was the consciousness of dut}- well 
 and honesth- performed. 
 
 The proud and silent nod of the grateful Indian in appro- 
 bation of the equally proud and silent assistance of the great 
 Senator was the only token of friendship between men who 
 were sternly just in their actions, and neither of them asked 
 nor expected nor granted favors. 
 
 Old Geroninio, the Apache king of the desert, whose cotu'age 
 and blood has burnished the epaulettes of generals whom he 
 has fought from obscurity into distinction, is dving in his tepee 
 in Arizona. He has become a de\'out and faithful Christian 
 man, under such tutelage as Senator Pi,.\TT has encouraged. 
 
 When recently asked if he desired longer to live, he answered 
 "Yes; I am .still of some use here." He .said that he had some 
 battles yet to fight for his trilie under a new King; that his 
 enemy was no longer the white man, but the prince of darkness, 
 who had destroyetl many thousands of red men in wars with 
 white men. He said his trilie had gone on a new warpath, and 
 he wanted to lead them against the doer of all evil. ( )n being 
 assured that his death \\(.)uld lead them to the land of eternal 
 rest, where they woidd foll(_iw him, he said: "Yes; I will go to 
 that land of rest, where Christ is ex])ecting me, but a pour old 
 
36 Lijr and Cliaracltr of OrrilU- If. I'latI 
 
 Indian can serve Him betUr here, in fijiliting the evil one, than 
 he can in heaven, where he is not needed, and I hope God will 
 give nie a little more lime." 
 
 If there was one thought of regret in the mind of the great 
 Senator as he was passing from death into life it was like that 
 which inspired the jjctition of Geroninio when he prayed that 
 God would still give him greater length of days that he might 
 help his i>eople. 
 
 Honors like these, won in the path of duty, cluster about the 
 memory of Senator Platt. The\- proclaim his right to the 
 homage that the Senate now offers in memory of a man who 
 was truly great and good. 
 
 " Blessed are the Jead who <lie in the Lord; yea, saith the spirit, forever- 
 more, for their works do follow them." 
 
.!i/(/nss ii/' .]//: T,//,7\ of Colorado 37 
 
 Address of Mr. Teller, of Colorado. 
 
 Mr. Teller. Mr. L'resideiit, ni\' personal aciiuaintaiiCL- with 
 Senator Pl.VTT commenced when he entered the Senate in the 
 Forty-sixth Congres.s, March iS, iSjy, with a well-earned rep- 
 utation as a lawyer and Ie°:islator. He had .served the people 
 of his native State in the capacity of secretary of state, as 
 speaker of the house of representatives, and as a member of 
 the State senate. His executive and le<,nslative ser\'ice at home 
 and his legal al)ilit\- especially fitted him for the proper dis- 
 charge of his duties as a member of this Iiody. Modest and 
 unassuming in his intercourse with his feIlow-meml)ers, he im- 
 mediately secured their confidence in his al)ility and sincerity. 
 He was industrious, painstaking in his work, and when he had 
 secured the necessary facts on which to base his opinions he 
 was persistent in maintaining them, which he did with a logic 
 and force that usuall\- carried con\'iction, and thus he .soon 
 became an influential member of this body. 
 
 He was assigned to the -several committees with which new 
 members of this liod\- must be content. He accepted such 
 assignments without complaint, and innnediately interested 
 himself with zeal in the work of the connnittees to which he 
 had been assigned. His thorough examination of all matters 
 coming before the committees of which he was a member made 
 him at once a valuable member, not (.>nly of the committee tnit 
 of the Senate. His careful attention to matters before the 
 Senate and his positivene.ss of conviction as to matters he had 
 considered soon brought him to an active participation in the 
 
38 Life and Character of Orrillc H. Plall 
 
 work i)f the Seiialt. ;uul lie coiuimied lu hiihl thai relalioii to 
 the Senate up to the close of the last session in which he ])ar- 
 ticipated. a few weeks before his death. 
 
 lie was a jxarty man with a strong jjartisan spirit, because 
 he belie\ed his party was be.st calculated to secure the highest 
 degree of jjrogress and prosperity it was iM)Ssil)le for a nation 
 to attain. While he was a iwrtisini and defended the princi- 
 ples of his i)arty with intelligence and vigor, he recognized that 
 there were two jiolitical parties in this country, and that there 
 might be both wisdom and patriotism in those differing with 
 him. He was a go<xl type of Americanism, and his aspiration 
 for his couutr\' was for all jjarts and all the jieople within its 
 borders. 
 
 For a little over twenty-six years he represented the State of 
 Connecticut in this body, and during that time maintained not 
 only the confidence of the people of the State that .sent him 
 here but of all the people of other States, and he was recog- 
 nized as one of the leading members of the Senate. During 
 these many years of .ser\-ice in this body he stood for what he 
 believed to be right, and, whether losing or winning, was 
 always courteous and considerate of his opponents. 
 
 While he was a member of this • body .se\'eii States were 
 admitted to the Union, and, as he was a meniljcr of the Com- 
 mittee on Territories, he ]ire])ared three of the reports favoring 
 such action, and gave his cordial support to the admission of 
 each and every one. 
 
 His length of .service here was much be\ond that which 
 usually falls to those becoming members of this ljod>'. Only 
 few persons in our hi.story of over one hundred years have held 
 the distinction of serving twenty-six years in the I'nited States 
 Senate. I l>elieve the number is only twelve. 
 
Addrrss of Mr. T,-lh')\ of Colorado 39 
 
 Of the sevL-ntv-six Senators who were nieiuhers ot the Inst 
 session of the l'"orty-sixth Congress only three are new nienihers 
 of this body, and only thirteen others are living. 
 
 The death of one of our members who has so nian>- years 
 been an active and influential menibier may properly be said ti> 
 be a national loss, and I am sure every member of this body ni 
 his death felt that he had suffered a personal loss. 
 
 We can do nothing to add to his fame or reputation, Imt we 
 can bear willing and loving testimoiu' to his high character, 
 his many valuable services to State and nation, and express our 
 profound grief at his death. 
 
40 Life and Character of Orvillc II. Piatt 
 
 Address of Mr. Aldrich, oi- Rhode Island 
 
 Mr. Ai.DKicii. Mr. PresiciciU. l\vciily-fi\c years of intimate 
 and itnhroken friendship and of the clcsest a.s,sociatioii in the 
 public service :ind the examination of public questions gave me 
 ample oj^portunity to know and appreciate Senator Pi..\'n"'s 
 character and jniblic .services. When the history of our time 
 (an eventful period of remarkable national development and 
 exjxmsion ) is written, the historian must assign Senator Pl.\TT 
 a place in the \ery first rank of conslrucli\e statesmen. 
 
 His advice and counsel in the consideration of grave ques- 
 tions of public policy were invaluai)le, and nearly all of the 
 great legi.slative acts adopted during his service in the Senate 
 bear the imjiress of his mental vigor, construclixe ability, and 
 .strength of character. 
 
 In the presence of his as.sociates, and after the .statements to 
 which you have listened, it is not necessary for me to enter into 
 the details of his work in the Senate. That jiortion of his work 
 which was, perhaps, best known to the public, although not by 
 any means the most valuable to the country, was connected 
 with the .solution of^ the perplexing problems growing out of 
 the Spanish- American war, and especially the adoption of the 
 Plait amendment. 
 
 His valuable services as chairman of the Connnittee on Terri- 
 tories and as a meml)er of the Committee on Indian Affairs are 
 familiar to the Senate. Although Senator Pi..\TT was for many 
 years a leading member of the Judiciary Connnittee, and at the 
 time of his death its chairman, a l.irge ])orti()n of his more im- 
 portant work was u])on practical (piestions not coiniecled with 
 this committee. 
 
Address of Mr. .Mrlriili, of h'l/oo/r lsla)i,i 41 
 
 Re-prL-SL-ntinj; a (.■oiistilueiicN' with wideh- \-aric-<l imluxtital 
 interests, lit- iiaturallv took an active and inipcirtant part in tlic 
 preparation and discussion of tariff Ic-iiislation. In the deliate 
 upon the tariff act of iSS;; his wide knowledge of practical 
 affairs and sound judgment iinjiressed the Senate. He took an 
 even more prominent part in the tariff discussions of i,Si,i. and 
 1S94. 
 
 In 1S05 he l)ecame a member of the Senate Finance Com- 
 mittee, and was an active and influential member of the sub- 
 conunittee that prejiared the amendments to the act of 1.S97 
 which were adopted b_\' the Senate. No man gave to the coun- 
 try more valuable .service in coiuiection with the adojition of 
 tliese important legislative acts than the Senator from Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Senator Platt was a true son of Xew England, who.se teach- 
 ings and traditions were exemplified in his life and character. 
 He was conservative and at the same time fearless; he had 
 none of the arts of the demagogue, and ne\'er swerved from the 
 clear path of public dut\' on account of popular clamor. He 
 was a careful and conscientious student of all public questions, 
 and to \\\\ mind in ever>- respect an ideal vSenator. He was 
 simple and just b>- nature, able, intelligent, courageous, and 
 wise with the wisdom that dominates and controls. 
 
 Although he was by nature intensely practical and shrank 
 instinctively from anything like pretense and cant, >et in 
 thought and action he always adopted the highest jiossible 
 .standards and invarialih' followed the highest ideals. I \-en- 
 ture the assertion that no man ever held a menibershi]) in the 
 Senate who had to a greater extent the confidence and esteem 
 of his associates than the late Senator Pl.vtt. 
 
 I can not refrain from .saying a few words with reference to 
 our personal relations. The fact that we repre.sented adjoining 
 
42 /.//<• tind Oiariutir of Orvillf If. Piatt 
 
 States, wliosc industries and material interests were jiractically 
 identical, was not the cause, hut rather an incident to our warm 
 personal friendship. Throughout its existence there was, on 
 my part, a constant growth of admiration and affection for the 
 man. In every pha.se of my work here I found his counsel 
 most helpful. In his death I am conscious of the lo.ss of a dear 
 friend, who was, all in all, the l)est man I ever knew. 
 
Address of Mr. Lod^e, i>/M(issa(/insi/Ls 
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 
 
 Mr. LoDCiK. Mr. I'rcsident, aiiuni!; the rL-iiiarkablc iiicii who 
 framed the Constitution of tlie Ihiited vStates two of tlie nm^t 
 conspicuous were Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, ilele- 
 gates from the vState of Connecticut. To them, and jiarticu- 
 larly to the former, was due the .threat comjiromise which jire- 
 served the power of the States in the new s^-stem by securing 
 to them equality of representation in the Senate, to which was 
 due, more than to any other one condition, the succe.ss of the 
 Philadelphia convention and its complete, but narrf)w, escape 
 from failure and defeat. The provision thus adopted in regard 
 to the basis of representation in the Senate and the House was 
 known as the "Connecticut compromise," in honor of the men 
 whose skill, foresight, and ability brought it into existence. 
 Both Sherman and lUlsworth sub.sequently became Senators 
 and helped to organize the new Government which the Consti- 
 tution had called into being. To Ellsworth, who was after- 
 wards Chief Justice and one of the commissioners who made 
 the peace with Erance, we also owe the Judiciary act — a law 
 which has so long withstood the test of time and of changing 
 conditions that it seems to-day to possess almost the fixity and 
 sanctity of the Con.stitution itself. 
 
 Neither Sherman nor Ellsworth was a brilliant orator like 
 Patrick Henr\', nor a great administrator and leader like Ham- 
 ilton, nor a consummate party chief and political manager like 
 JefTenson. Thej' were public men of large ability and strong 
 character, preeminently constructive statesmen of the Haniil- 
 tonian school, who left enduring monuments of their wisdom 
 
44 I'ifr aud Character of Orvilh- //. I'InIt 
 
 and foresight in the Cdnstitiitioii. which they hel]K-d to frame, 
 and in the laws which they placed npon the statute lx)ok. 
 
 Men, however, of such unusual character and stronji; mental 
 qualities as Sherman and Ellsworth leave their mark not merely 
 upon the legislation and the history of their time, but upon the 
 minds of the comnuinities in which they live, a very lasting 
 memorial, for hahits of mind, although as impalpable as air, 
 are often more imperishable than stone or bronze. 
 
 " Not marble, nor the gil<lc<l nionuiiieiits 
 Of princes shall outlive the powerful rliynie" — 
 
 said the greatest of all poets. The rhyme of the ])oel is but 
 words, words are but the thoughts of men grown articulate, and 
 yet he who shapes and influences the thoughts and imagination 
 of men leaves in his due projwrtion a monument which will 
 endure when iron has rusted and marble crumbled away. 
 
 The connnunity which produced Sherman and I'llsworth was 
 naturally extremely apt to receive the impress of their inlluence, 
 and the.se two men stamped themselves deeply upon the modes 
 of thought and upon the instinctive mental attitude toward 
 great questions of the people of Connecticut who had given 
 them to the nation and to the public .service. Tho.se who came 
 after them insensibly followed the path their great predecessors 
 had marked out. and although questions changed and new issues 
 arose the habit of mind and mode of thought remained unaltered. 
 Nature, we are told, is careful of the ty]K-. no matter how 
 indifferent she may be to the individual, and certain it is that 
 in communities of strong character and .salient (jualities of 
 intellect habits of thought not only endure, but the type is 
 reproduced. The type may not be continuous, Init it is .ihnost 
 unfailingly recurrent. 
 
 It always seemed to me a.s I watched vSenator I'l.vtt, listened 
 to his speeches, and passed in \\\\ relations with him from 
 
.ItMrrss o/ A/r. /,ntfy(-^ of Massac//itsi//s 45 
 
 ac(|Uaintance to friendship that I rcconni/cil in him the- ([uah- 
 tics and tile statesnianshi]) of Roy;er Sherman and ( )li\er h'.lls- 
 worth. W'lien, a few years ago, I had occasion to make a stnd\- 
 of Kllsworth's career, I felt sure that I understood him and 
 realized what manner of man he was becau.se I knew vSenator , 
 
 Pl.ATT. 
 
 This type, which I had thus found in history and then met 
 in daily life, is as tine as it is strong, and comes out as admi- 
 rabh' in its modern exemplar as in those which illustrated the 
 great period of Constitution making and of the upbuilding of 
 the National Government. Senator Pl.ATT was cons]>icuousl>' 
 a man of reserved force and of calm reason. I have seen the 
 calmness disappear in the pre.sence of what he l)elie\'ed im- 
 ported either e\al to the Republic or wrong to man, liut I never 
 saw the wisdom of his counsels, no matter how nuich he may 
 have been moved, distorted or disturbed. Naturally a lover of 
 all the traditions of ordered liberty and obedience to law in 
 which he had been reared, and which were ingrained in his 
 nature, he was as far removed as possilile from the stagnation 
 and reactionary tendencies which too often injure and discredit 
 conservatism. Because he clung to that which was good was 
 never a reason with him for resisting change. On the contrar>', 
 he sought and urged improvement always. The service he ren- 
 dered in the case of the copyright law was but one instance 
 among many of his well-directed zeal in behalf of civilization 
 and of an enlightened progress which should keep pace with the 
 march of events. His mind was too constructive ever to be con- 
 tent with iunnobility or to accept the optimism satirized by \'ol- 
 taire, that " whatever is, is right. " He wished to make the world 
 better and the lives of men happier, and he knew this could not 
 be done by doggedly and unreasoningly resisting all change and 
 all advances merely because he revered the principles long ago 
 
46 Life and Character of Ori-ille II. Piatt 
 
 established and had abiding faith in the foundations of free 
 goveninient laid deep and strong by the fathers of the Repub- 
 lic. In nearlv all the important legislation which went to en- 
 actment during his long career of public service, those who will 
 take the trouble to study the records will find the sure trace of 
 his unobtrusive, but strong and shaping hand. One great 
 achievement of constructive statesmanship which is not only 
 fixed among our laws, but which has become part of the consti- 
 tution of another countrj- bears his honored name. Yet there 
 are many more like unto it and scarcely less important in which 
 he Ixire a leading part or which were due to him alone that 
 have no name attached ti> them and the true authorship of 
 which will only be revealed to the future student of history 
 when he is delving for material among the dry dust of dead 
 debates. 
 
 To be anonymous in his work was nuich more characteristic 
 of Mr. Pi,.\TT than to affix his signature where all men might 
 read it. He seemed to me not only to care less for .self-adver- 
 ti.sing, but to be more averse to it than almo.st any public man 
 I ever knew. He longed for results, and was finel\' indifTerent 
 when it came to the partition of the credit for obtaining them. 
 This is a phase of mind, a kind of personal pride and .self- 
 re.spect, not unworthy of consideration, for it if sufficiently 
 rare in the.se days of ours, so flooded with news and so over- 
 whelmed by easy jirinting. 1 do not think Mr. Pi..\TT ever 
 reasoned the matter out and then rested, .satisfied that lasting 
 fame and a place in the history of the time had no relation 
 whatever to the noisy notoriety of the passing hour, with its 
 deafening clamors ever ringing in our ears. It was simply part 
 of his own nature, because ostentation in all its forms was dis- 
 tasteful to him and because he shrank from exhibiting him.self, 
 his emotions, or his works as .sedulously as .some men strive 
 
* .Iti^i/rrss o/' J\/r. Lo<ii^i\ o/Mass(u//!ts('//s 47 
 
 to a\-oi(l an\thiiii; which rcseniljlts rctirL-iiiL-iil or ]iriv:K-\ . His 
 iiulustr\- was unllatii^ing', and, again, in small lliings as in .threat, 
 in defeating; a ilunlill'ul claim as in Imildint; v\\) a tjrcat law, he 
 souf^ht results and nothing elsci It he could pass the measure 
 lie desired, he was more than glad to dispense with making a 
 speech. If he could defeat an obnoxious hill 1iy an objection, 
 or throw out a bad amendment on a point of order, he wascjuite 
 content to avoid debate; but if debate was necessary he was as 
 formidable as a lucid, trained, legal mind, coupled with full 
 information and a power of vigorous, clear statement, could 
 make him. He was thorough in all he undertook — as effective 
 in the endless comjilications of a great tariff as in guarding 
 against the perils which beset our Indian legislation. Outside 
 this Chamber his ser\'ices to the Indians, and to the good name 
 and credit of the United vStates in its dealings with those difiicult 
 and helpless savages, performed during many years of inn-emit- 
 tiug toil as a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs, will 
 never be rightly valued or understood. It was the kintl of 
 hard, self-sacrificing work for the sake of the right and to help 
 others which must be in itself and in the doing thereof its own 
 great and sufficient reward. 
 
 I have tried to indicate very imperfectly tho.se qualities which 
 seem to me e.specially to distinguish Senator PlaTT as a 
 statesman, for a statesman of hi.gh rank he most certainly was. 
 But I am well aware that I have dwelt almost exclusivelx' upon 
 his effectiveness, his indifference to self-advertisement, and 
 his tniremitting pursuit of results, and have pas.sed by man>- 
 of the (jualities which went to make U]> the man and to account 
 for his large success. His great ability, his power of work, 
 his knowdedge, his sense of justice, his fearlessness in the 
 battle with wrong, his capacity for working with other men, 
 were all conspicuous in Mr. Platt, and all necessary to the 
 
48 Life ami Character of Orvillc II. IVat/ 
 
 distinguished achicvLMiients of liis life-. He possessed also 
 a very much rarer jjift in his coni])lete retention of that flex- 
 ibility which is so apt to diminish as men advance in life. 
 The mind, like the muscles, tends to stiffen as we grow 
 older, and only too frequently no effort is made to avoid the 
 consequent rigidity. Hoth mind and muscle will go on per- 
 forming most admirably the particular functions to which they 
 have been accu.stomed, but thev both alike recoil from a new 
 idea or an unwonted exertion. From all this Mr. Pl.vtt 
 was extraordinaril\- free. Neither his age nor his natural 
 conservatism hindered the nio\ements of liis mind or made 
 him shrink from a new idea or treml)le and draw back 
 from an unexpected situation. In the last ten years of his 
 life he saw sudden and vast changes in the relations of the 
 United States to the rest of the world and in our national 
 responsibilities. He did not hide from them <ir sliiu his eyes 
 and try to rejjel tlKui. He met the new conditions not only 
 with the flexibility, but with the keen interest of youth, while 
 at the same time he brought to the solution of the new prob- 
 lems all the wisdom of a long experience. He did not turn 
 away with dark forebodings from the startling changes which 
 the ru.sh of hurrying events swept suddenly njion us, l)ul con- 
 fronted tliem with a cheerful heart, a smile upon his lips, aud 
 a firm faith in the future of his people and of his countrj'. 
 
 " \\i- knew him not? .\h, wi-ll we knew 
 The manly soul, so brave, so true, 
 The cheerful heart that conquered age. 
 The chililhke silver-beardetl sage." 
 
 A very fine jjiiblic career ended when Senator Pl.vtt died. 
 In him we lost a statesman of a type which the country can ill 
 spare, a thorough American type which we may well pray to 
 have sustained and renewed among us. It is not a ty])e which 
 
Addri-ss of Mr. Loiioi-, of A/iis\tii////so//s 49 
 
 certain L-])hL-incial ik-lanicrs, ju^t now \-cr\- \'ncal, adiiiin-; Imt 
 it is to statcsiiKii ol this precise kiiiil ami stature that we owe 
 in largest measure the loundaliou and oruani/.ation of our 
 Cicjvernnieut and the ordered lilieilN and indi\idnal freedom 
 wliicli have made the United .States what it is to-da\ . .Senator 
 Platt was a man who was at once an honor to tile country 
 which he Served and guided and a \indication of our faith in a 
 governineut of the jK-ople wlio chose him as representatu'e of 
 themselves. 
 
 I have spoken of .Senator Platt onl>' as a pul>lic man. But 
 to us here his death is much more than a pnlilic loss. He was 
 our friend. Those who come after us will know of his public 
 services, of the work he did, of the large place he filled in the 
 history of the time; Ijut we also remember, and shall ne\'er 
 forget, the honesty of heart and mind, the simplicity and jjurity 
 of life, the humor, the love of books and sound learning, and, 
 above all, the kindness which ne\'er failed and the loyalt>- which 
 ne\-er faltered. Others may, with full faith in the destin\- of 
 the Republic, we can confidentls' sa>', (ithers will come to take 
 up and carry on the public work to wdiich his life was given, 
 but the place wdiich the tried and trusted friend has left emj)ty 
 in our affections can not again be filled. 
 S. Doc. 534, 59-1 4 
 
e 
 
 50 Life iTt(f Character of Orvillc H. Piatt 
 
 Address of Mk. Daniel, of Virginia 
 
 Mr. D.VNIKI.. Mr. President, member.s of small bodies of 
 fixed miinher, like the Senate, whose niaxinuiin is ninety, hav 
 shari)ly and painfully inii^ressed ujion them the passing away 
 of their fellows. In cities and in populous conununities the 
 death rate is about the same proi»rtion from year to year. 
 Gradually, silently, and yet with unerring regularity, almost 
 precise, the diniinutidu comes. The accretions of jxipulatiou 
 come, too, and in the order of nature in excess of those who 
 depart. So the main body of society generally presents the 
 appearance of health, vigor, and continuous progress. Here, 
 indeed, no chair is long vacant. Flowers that welcome the 
 newcomer have often marked the black-veiled seat where his 
 predecessor -sat. "The king is dead! Long live the king ! " 
 This .speaks the state of power where succession is instanta- 
 neous. Likewise, in all official lives the office and he who is to 
 fill it make quick connection. 
 
 Nevertheless, the .stroke that removes one who has long 
 interwoven his life in the work of a great public body, who has 
 bound himself in associations of friendship and cooperative 
 tasks with his companions, who has become a part of the bu.si- 
 ness of many constituents, who has stood forth as the repre- 
 sentative of a great State and as the champion of ideas, and, 
 indeed, has translated his Ijeing into law and doctrine — such a 
 stroke suddenly snajjs mauy ties and dissolves many vistas of 
 pleasant and in.structive contemplation. 
 
 It must be to many, and it seems to all, as if a landmark of 
 memory and hope and faith and affection had suddenly cnun- 
 bled to the dust. If we lift our gaze from the tomb of a single 
 
. Ii/t/rrss of Mr. Daiiii-l, of I 'in^iiiia c;i 
 
 one who has departed to sur\-ey the scene of desolation whicli 
 a few years make in the ranks of a body hke this, we are well- 
 nii;h appalled to realize how ■-wiftl\- and snrely death eonsnni- 
 niates its work of change and dissolution. 
 
 A short time since I heard the venerable ex-Vice-President 
 of the United vStates, who worthily filled from iSSg to iScj^ the 
 chair which \cju, Mr. President, now occu]iy, declare that since 
 he left this seat forty of those who were Senators during his 
 term of service had responded to the last roll call. We almost 
 seem to hear the voice that says; 
 
 " I am tliL- Reaper. 
 
 All things with heeciful licok 
 
 Silent I gather. 
 
 Pale roses touched with the spring. 
 
 Tall corn in summer. 
 
 Fruits rich with autumn, ami frail winter blossoms — 
 
 Reaping, still reaping 
 
 .\\\ tilings with heedful hook 
 
 Timely I gather." 
 
 To-day, Mr. President, is the anniversary of the departure 
 forever from the scenes of life of one who was long connected 
 with this body. That he is freshly remembered now is only 
 a token of that further remembrance which will follow. 
 Okville Hitchcock Pi,.\tt, the .senior Senator from Con- 
 necticut, has left us. He and Jo.seph Roswell Hawley were 
 for well-nigh a quarter of a century as.sociated here. They 
 were well mated — worked in uni.sou in the tasks connnitted to 
 their hands. 
 
 The former took his .seat March i8, 1S79, and was reelected 
 in 1885, in 1890, in 1897, and in 1903. The latter became a 
 Representative in the Forty-.second Congress to fill a vacancy, 
 was reelected to the Forty-third and the Forty-sixth Con- 
 gresses, became a Senator March 4, i.s.Si, and was reelected 
 in 1S87, in 1893, and in 1899. 
 
52 I.iti- nnd Charactfr of Orril/r //. P/nft 
 
 Both ft" iheiii well.- lioiicst. abk, and ii])rii;lil men, antl lioth 
 of theni were patriots devoted to their duties as citizens and 
 as Representatives. Uolh of them performed their dail\- drudge 
 work with i)atieut assiduity. Both of them were efficient and 
 constructive factors in the coniiwsition of measures, and both 
 were enlii;htened and powerful advocates of opinion upon the 
 floor. Botii of them were thoroughly imbued with the consti- 
 tutional and i)olitical views of their .State, their section, their 
 jiarty, and both were ihorou^hh- rejiresentative of the j)redomi- 
 nant national ideas which ha\e f(jr the most p:trt shajied the 
 destinies of this natinn through a lon.t4 and mighty era of stir- 
 ring conflicts and of ])rodigious changes and progressions. 
 Bolli of them rendered ]niblic .services of a high order, which 
 have woven the threads of their accomplishments into the tex- 
 ture of our national existence. Both were stimulated and 
 upheld b\- the sinceritv of their faiths and b\- the faithful 
 approl)alion of those whom the\' served and who sent them 
 here. Both of them at the end of long lives and great 
 careers t)f public usefulness sank to rest by all re.sjjected and 
 beloved, and deeply mourned by those who knew them best. 
 Most worthilv has the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. 
 Bulkele>] who succeeded Senator Hawley, and most wortli- 
 il\- have man\- of the a.ssociates of Senator Pl.vtt recounted 
 and detailed the public services and connneniorated his abil- 
 ities and \irtues. Others will follow me who will do likewise. 
 For mv part, I sh.ill not seek to repeat nnich that has been and 
 much that will be better said than by my.self. But I was the 
 contemporary of Senator Pi..\'rr through three terms of Sen- 
 atorial service. While I had not intimate a.s,sociations with 
 him. in the contact of connnittee work I did have opportunity, 
 both in the Connnittee on Indian Affairs and that of the 
 Judiciary, to observe his ])atient devotion to whatex'er ta.sk 
 
. li/i/riss i>/ Mr. DaiiitI, <>/ I 'ii^/in'ci 53 
 
 came fur him In clci. 1 hccanic faniiliar, also, with hi^ iii.iikcd 
 traits of characlL-r, and I kanicd to ajiprcciatL' his sturdy, 
 sinct-re, and stua<lfast nature. 
 
 Senator Pi.a'I'T was a serious-minded, brave, earnest, and 
 straightforward man. He helie\'ed liis creeds. To him llie\' 
 were not mere forms and citations. He was alwa\ s read\- to 
 stand foith to ])roclaim them and to share their fate. 
 
 He devoted liiin.seU' with tireless energy and with tile com- 
 pact and sulxlued enthusiasm of firm conviction to e\'ery 
 work of detail which he undertook. He illustrated a truth 
 which we sometimes o\-erlook amongst the cons])icuons and 
 stirring scenes of life — 
 
 " To know 
 That which before us lies in <Uiilv life 
 Is tile prime \\]s<loni." 
 
 He was typical of his State, of his section, and of his 
 party, and he w'as distincti\el\- a represeiitatixe man in all he 
 stood for. Most of the great prohlems that engaged his 
 thought and ciTort have found their solution through the 
 processes of time, and new sails are now .seen on the horizon 
 before us. 
 
 As we seek to measure justly the men of the past we do 
 not carry into our judgments the partisan feelings which in- 
 flamed them or their combatants in hours of conflict, for it is 
 the happy faculty of a wholesome nature to rate men accord- 
 ing to the circumstances which environed them and according 
 to the manner in which they dealt with their own obliga- 
 tions and duty. Abraham Lincoln said on one occasion that 
 he must confess that events had controlled him far more than 
 he had controlled e\-eiits; and if one who was at the head of 
 such might\' ])ower as he wielded could feel so sensiti\-el>' 
 how little an_\- one man can do in the great nio\-ements of the 
 
54 f'iff """' Character of Orrillc H. Piatt 
 
 human race, how iiiiicli more imist it Uc felt by those who 
 pla>- but minor jiarts in the drama that is in their time uixjn 
 tile stage. 
 
 It can not be ciouhted that such a character, such abilities, 
 such .services, and such devoted zeal as are presented in the 
 story of this distinguished Senator are and will be respected, 
 appreciated, and conunemorated by all his countrymen, whether 
 thev concur in his opinions or not. 
 
 I recall now, even as I seek to speak .something of his career, 
 how on one occasion I saw his fine, dark eye brighten and his 
 face light with enthusiasm when, with a deep feeling of admira- 
 tion and .satisfaction, he .spoke of the manner in which the men 
 of the South had gone to the front in the Spanish war. and I 
 saw then, as through a window in his soul, how it responded 
 to high and generous thought. 
 
 There is a chapter in Bancroft's Hi.story of the Con.stitution 
 which it would be well for many to meditate upon in forming 
 their opinions of the characters and events which have gone 
 to compound the history of this mighty framework of popu- 
 lar government. He points out the lines of the assimilation 
 of the American people, and traces them largely through their 
 connnon language, through the abstract truths which that lan- 
 guage communicated to their minds, and through its adapta- 
 bility for u.se as an instrument of the common law, for science, 
 for description, for the debates of public life, for every kind 
 of poetry, from humor to pathos, and from nature to the heart 
 and mind. 
 
 "But"— 
 
 He .says — 
 
 "the (lislinclive character of the new people a.^; a whole, their nalionalily, 
 so to .say, w.is the principle of individuality which prevailed anionji 
 them a.s it had nowliere done before. This individuality was strength- 
 ened by the stni^JKles with nature in her wil.lness, by the remoteness 
 
AiMrrss o/' J/r. Daniel, o/' ]'irs;iiiia 55 
 
 fruin the abodes of ancient iiistitutiniis, hy the war ai;ainst the tradi- 
 tions of absolute power and old superstitions till it developed itself into 
 the most perfect liberty in thought and action; so that the American 
 came to be marked by the readiest versatility, the spirit of enterprise, 
 and the faculty of invention." 
 
 No State better illustrates the truth of which the great 
 American historian spoke than that which was the birthplace 
 of .Senator Orvillk Hitchcock Platt; and none has pos- 
 ses.sed institutions better framed by the wisdom of man to 
 stimulate individuality of opinion, to spread enlightenment, and 
 to open the way for tlie operations of that combined action 
 through which alone the volumes of popular power can be 
 delivered. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson declared — thotigh I do not know that I can 
 with precision state his exact words — that tlie Xew England 
 town system was the best organization for the framework of 
 society the world has ever known. It had its beginnings in 
 collection of the earl}' settlers together in the simple stockades 
 in which they gathered to defend their families from the fron- 
 tier Indians. So, out of the heart of war, was taught a lesson 
 of peace, which has marched in triumph across the continent. 
 Church and school and town meeting hovise succeeded upon 
 the .spot of the rude fortification. The community took part in 
 their own affairs. Their selectmen exercised representative 
 power under the ej'es of their principals. Home rule intrenched 
 itself, and the masses strengthened their organic faculties by 
 continually exercising them in their own local concerns. 
 
 Ere the days when the railroads and telegraphs and the 
 methods of modern communication of intelligence came about, 
 the people who settled the American colonies formed their own 
 distinct societies, made up their own opinions, and were as dif- 
 ferent from each other in .some of their methods of thought 
 as are to-day the citizens of foreign nations. Fifty or .seventy- 
 five years ago you could almost tell from what part of the 
 
56 Lift- and Cliaractcr of Orvillc II. Piatt 
 
 countn- an Ann.-ricaii came. Something in voice, something 
 in dress, something in peculiarity of expression, or some other 
 mark — you hardly know how to describe it — indicated the geo- 
 graphical location of the person whom you met. But to-day, 
 Mr. President, through independent action and through the 
 powers of organic thought, the American people are fast mold- 
 ing themselves together in the most homogeneous .society that 
 ever was framed on so great a scale in the history of man- 
 kind. Men to-day, by the mechanism of traffic, may sit down 
 to a meal of the same food, no matter from what climate it 
 was gathered or in what cliiuale it !■- ])artaken of. Through 
 the genius of manufacture the humble.st and the richest are 
 clad so nearly alike that dress is no longer an indication of 
 .social rank, imless it be that one who is conspicuous therein 
 marks himself for peculiar animadversion. 
 
 The multiplication of Ixjoks and schools and newspapers has 
 l)rought before all minds much of the same thought; and to- 
 dav, as we stand to mourn the death of a great Senator from 
 New England, we realize in his career that manliness, that 
 openness, and that steadfastness which will find tributes of 
 jiraise and commendation in every township and in every ham- 
 let of the United States, men not caring whether they agreed 
 with him or not. but conteniplating with resj)ect the fact that 
 what he deemed right he stood for, and feeling that llurein he 
 offered unto them the most nol)le of human examples. 
 
 We are told, Mr. President, that offenses will come — and so 
 thev do most constantly — from nation to nation, from sec- 
 tion to section, from minorities to majorities, from majorities 
 to minorities, from cor])<)ration to corporation, troni eluucli to 
 church, and from societies and individuals of all kiutls to 
 each other. " Woe be unto them by whom offense conieth;" 
 but woe has never j-et been proclaimed against those who 
 
hoar lliL- burdL-u of utfcnses wIrii 11k-\ have i-oiir', ami tlu- 
 martyrs wlm suffci' and die for the cause for which they 
 stand are seldom the people who raise the \vraili,de out of 
 which came the olTense of war. 
 
 The world has not \et i^ot wise enoir^h, noble cuoul;!!, oi 
 ^reat enough to la\- aside the sword. I ma\- add that it 
 has not \'et sjjot safe enonL;h, for men will wear swords 
 until they ma\ lie down under their own vine and fii; 
 tree, with none to make them afraid, and the\' should wear 
 tlleni. 
 
 There has never yet been a Quaker nation; and h'ranklin, 
 the Quaker, tauyht that "we must h.ani; together or hang 
 separate!)'." The Quaker statesman and phihjsoplier ilhrs- 
 trated how the man of peace may be compelled to war, how 
 the statesman, like unto the soldier, though not a soldier, 
 must stand forth and share the burdens when offense Cometh. 
 Both sides amongst nations, amongst .sections, amongst majori- 
 ties, amongst minorities, amongst all bodies, and amongst all 
 individuals by wdiom offen.se cometh, generally share in the 
 wrong wliich brings it, directly or indirectly. K\'en as to 
 strife between man and man, each is apt to have some share 
 of the responsibility, and if it be not in the man or men 
 who be present there, it will lie surel\' found in some ante- 
 cedent of the history of them or theirs. The offense of one 
 generation de.sceiids, it may be, for another to pa>- for — so 
 united is man in his history, and so sure is wrong to find 
 soniewdiere its retril)Ution. 
 
 Such is man and such the infninit) of his nature, even in 
 its finest aspects. This is unix'ersal truth, and it warns 
 against him wdio sits in the seat of the scornful. It reminds 
 Us, too, of that otlier truth, that there is some goo.l in all 
 peoples, .some in all the mo\'enients of all the peoples, some 
 
58 Life and Character of On'ille H. Platl 
 
 ill all the- organizations of all the peoples, even as there is 
 some good in each indixidual creature. How to increase that 
 g;ood, which in itself displaces what is evil, is the problem 
 of mankind and the soul of the moral principle. That, too, 
 is the problem to which the world is all the time, with 
 unceasinjj constancy, bendinjj itself, directing; to it its loftiest 
 faculties and aims, whether they be exercised by the luuiible 
 workman, by the soldier, by the statesman, by the philo.so- 
 pher, by the preacher, by the teacher, by the poet, by the 
 scientist, or by the builder. Ivnthusiasm for the right and 
 the good is the mainspring of human endeavor, and in the 
 heart of the warmest and the .sternest partisan is that ideal 
 which stirs the puLse and drives the arm. 
 
 When the great laureate of lingland said, " I5est men are 
 molded of their faults." this great truth is realized. When 
 Christ said, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for .she 
 loved much," He showed not only "the quality of mercy 
 which is not strained," but He also showed that divine com- 
 prehension which knows that error often flows from the very 
 intensity of the highest and noblest attributes of man's 
 nature. 
 
 It has been said by several of Senator Platt's friends 
 here — and no man can ponder this strong man's long service 
 and constant devotion to his tasks of duty and fail to realize 
 it — that he was an idealist. Xot one witli thirst for the vain 
 shows and ])omps of life; not one with j)rurient ambition for 
 ostentatious title nor for place and power. Rather was he the 
 man of rigorous ideals of personal conduct and of public ends; 
 not a \isionary indeed, but one who kept realities in view and 
 steered his course to subserve them. A man who followed 
 those ideals j)atiently, sturdily, and steadily from month to 
 
AfMrrss n/ A//: Daiiiil, of I'lro/nia 59 
 
 iiKiiith, from yf:ir to year, from i;ciicralioii to ,n(.-iicr:ilioii, until 
 old atjt; oallfd him to rest from his labors l)L'S])oke !)>• his ik-rds 
 the sincerity that was in him and .U'l^c- hack to those who 
 nplifted him the best fruits of his toil. 
 
 It is in this character that I am pleased to think of him. 
 Men who flight the battles of a people, whether it be on the 
 bloody field or in the forum, or wheresoe\-er dut>' ma\- lie. learn 
 to consider and to respect the opinions and worthy actions of 
 others. If to-morrow there were one of us who sought to leave 
 a point of honor to men who would decide it with a firm desire 
 to decide it ri,i,dU, we would as soon select a cham])ion from 
 those to whom we are politically ojipo.sed as from man\- who 
 have been by our side. 
 
 So, Mr. President, it affords me a mournful .satisfajtion to 
 join with my collea;_;ues here in jiayin^' sincere respect t(.) the 
 niemor>- of this brave American citizen, this honest and faithful 
 American statesman. 
 
 It was my prix'ilege, as a member of the Senate connnittee, 
 to follow him to his .y;rave. When he died he lived in the 
 same town where he was born, amongst the grand and rugged 
 hills of Litchfield County, from which he went forth as a 
 farmer's boy, and to which he returned ere his da>'s had been 
 numbered, as a distinguished and widel_\' known American 
 statesman. 
 
 It must have been a solace to his heart to die at home, 
 amongst tho,se who had loved and cherished him, who had 
 watched his cour.se, and rejoiced in his succes.ses. His funeral 
 was conducted in the most simple and unostentatious form. 
 The people of the State whom he had ser\-ed, and the friends 
 that he had knit to him liy long years of companionshiii, 
 gathered together to see the last of him. They .showed e\'ery 
 
6o I.ifi- and Character of Orzillc 11. Plait 
 
 filtiiiK civility ami hospitality to the cominiltee of the Senate 
 who took part in the local exercises h\- its order. The serv- 
 ices were coiuliicted with reliRioiis rites, in which the old 
 prayers were said and the old familiar hymns were sun;; in 
 the village church. Then the procession filed to the village 
 cemetery, and he was laid to rest amongst the tombs of his 
 people and his kindred, whom he had served so long and well. 
 The sun was low in the west as "earth to earth and dnst to 
 dust " was sjwken: but the heavens were bright and the .skies 
 were blue above us, and the western hills were bathed in the 
 splendor of the gorgeous sun.set- Presently darkness and night 
 fell 111)011 the .scene. The light of a faithful life dies not with 
 him who lived it. Like the light of the departed sun it shines 
 on undimmed, and renews its cheering radiance as day bj' day 
 it is revived to the children of men. 
 
Address of Mr. /\r/ci//s, of Cn/i/oniia 
 
 Address of Mr. Perkins, of California. 
 
 Mr. Pi'KKiNS. Mr. President, (Hic of tliL- saddest iluties 
 which fall tn the lot of Members of tliis body is to express 
 their sense of loss at the death of one of their collea,L,nies. 
 In the death of < )KVli.l.i': H. Pl.ATT the Senate has met 
 with a loss whose ma.^nitnde will be the more fully real- 
 ized as time passes, for he was one of the oldest in service 
 here, and on Ins Ions experience in national affairs and on 
 his trained judt^nient we who came after him were accus- 
 tomed to rely. It is with the sincerity which is compelled 
 by long and familiar aciuaintance with a man simply honest 
 and upright that we recall the attributes of our deceased 
 colleague, and as he here said on a similar occasion: 
 
 "Thore is no business more important, no hours more wisely spent, 
 than those which we devote to the consideration of the services and 
 virtues of departed Senators." 
 
 Few of those who have been Members of the vSenate have 
 rendered equal services to their countr>-, or have exhibite<l .so 
 many and such lofty virtues as did Okville H. Pl.vtt. He 
 was born in a State whose founders transmitted to their de- 
 scendants the qualities which .stamped him as one of the strong 
 men of the nation. The early .settlers of Connecticut must 
 needs have had strength, indomitable courage, character of the 
 highest order, faith, i>er.severance, and determination to have 
 built up the Connnonwealth which has been so powerful a factor 
 in shaping the destiny of the RepiU>lic. The privations, diffi- 
 culties, dangers, and obstacles which were encountered and 
 overcome by the men and women of Connecticut's early days 
 developed those qualities of highest manhood and womanhood 
 
62 Life and Character of Orvillr 71. I'latt 
 
 which arc universally attributwl to New luiglaiul. The weak, 
 the vicious, and the dishonest could not withstand the cruel 
 experiences of those years of conflict with savage nature and 
 savage man. They of nece.ssit>- went to the wall, and there 
 sursnved that brave and sturdy stock whose influence has been 
 as a leaven throughout the length and breadth of the land from 
 the foiuidation of the Republic to the present day. We may 
 truly .say of Senator Pl.^TT, as he said of a decea.sed colleague 
 not many years ago: 
 
 "We are proud of our blood, a.s if it were blood alone to which we are 
 indebted, often forgettinjj that ance.stral character as tran.smitted to us 
 was built up little by little, slowly, steadily, but surely, by the surround- 
 ings amid which our ancestors wrought and fought and died, so that as 
 generation succeeded generation each took on something which it derived 
 from nature and the struggle with nature. * * * Henry Ward Beecher, 
 in speaking of the New England fanners, most truly said: ' Thev made 
 the farms, and the farms made the men.' " 
 
 And the manhood thus accjnired was, two hundred vears 
 afterwards, represented in and characterized Senator Pi..\tt. 
 In this same eulogy Senator 1'i..\tt referred to the need in the 
 United States Senate not only of men of commandiug intel- 
 lect, genius, eloquence, and brilliancy, but of those men of 
 strong sense, industry, and unswerv-ing de\otion to principles, 
 "whose general characteristics can be best described by three 
 grand words — sturdy, faithful, true;" and he then said that 
 he thought he would rather it .should be written on his tomb- 
 stone "He was sturdy, faithful, and true" than to have it 
 written "He was el(H|Uent, learned, and great." 
 
 That those words, so expressive of steadfast hone.sty, cour- 
 age, and high intention, will be his best epitaph no one can 
 dispute, for we who knew him here know that to the consid- 
 eration of every question he brought to bear all tho.se great 
 qualities which make a man sturdy, faithful, and true, h'rom 
 the lime he first held a political office in 1S57, Senator Pl.\TT 
 
Address of Mr. Pti-kh/s, of California 63 
 
 distiiiKtiislied hiiiiSL-lf ;is oiiu nf the men \vli<i approached all 
 imblic questions in a spirit utterl\- de\-oid oi all self-seekins; 
 and with a single desire of promoting the public good. It was 
 this spirit which gained for him the confidence, respect, and 
 love of the people of Connecticut and which led them to insist 
 that he should take an active part in shajiing the histor>- of 
 his own vState and of the nation. The qualities of mind and 
 heart which endeared him to his colleagues in this Chamber 
 and which compelled them to seek his counsel and rely upon 
 his judgment were those of a man sturdy in the maintenance 
 of the right, faithful to his high ideal of duty, and true to 
 the spirit of the Republic. 
 
 We all know the sitigleness of purpose with which he grap- 
 pled with all great questions. The patient study that he 
 devoted to them was for the sole purpose of arriving at the 
 trutli, for, like the trained scientist, he knew that truth alone 
 will make a stable foundation for legislation, and that without 
 truth at the bottom all legislation is worse than the falsehood 
 upon which it is based. This was the cause of that laliorious, 
 patient, unceasing study of financial, social, and political prob- 
 lems which come before us for solution, and was the means of 
 storing his mind with facts which .ser\'ed as signposts on the 
 road to that goal which he always sought — the best interests of 
 the people of the United States. It was this quality of thor- 
 oughne.ss which made him a guide in whom all could place 
 confidence and whom we could follow with the assurance that 
 we could not go far astray. I think ever}' Senator will say that 
 during his service here with Okvili.K H. Platt he has 
 obser\'ed no one of his colleagues who was .so vigilant in watch- 
 ing the course of le.gislation, so sure to discover dangers, and .so 
 prompt to appl}- remedies. In his treatment of measures, as of 
 men, he was absolutely fair and impartial, which commanded 
 
64 /-'/'• """' C/i(irai/,r of Or:///,- II. P/att 
 
 for liiiii llic IiIkIk-sI respect of Sciuili)rs of all parties, lor his 
 efforts were always for the f,om\ of all the peoi)le, and in them 
 partisanship had no place. At those times when lei;islatioii of 
 vital character was before the Senate, Senator I'l.ATT was 
 clearly seen to he far alxjve party and to be a statesman in the 
 truest sense of the term. To him the country owes some of 
 the most important lei^islation of recent years — lejjislation 
 alTectini< us as a nation — to which Democrats as well as Repub- 
 licans gave most hearty assent. I know that he had among 
 those who belonged to the opposite ])olitical jiarty as sincere 
 a<lniirers and as warm friends as among his colleagues on his 
 own side of the Chamber. His honesty, .sincerity, and i)atriot- 
 ism broke down the barriers of party, and he was acknowl- 
 edged here to be, as he .sought to be, a Senator of the United 
 States. 
 
 But Death wields his scythe here as elsewhere, and cuts 
 down the greatest and mo.st useful jniblic men as he does the 
 humblest citizen. The sentence which he executes impends 
 over all who live, and from it there is no escape. But in 
 those who have lived wisely. ]mreh . and unselfishly there is 
 no fear, and men like Okvillk H. 1'i..vtt go to their re.st 
 with the (juietude of those who retire to sleep after a day's 
 work well done. Others will come forward to lake the places 
 thus made vacant. Many will be elixjuent, many brilliant, 
 many learned, many strong and powerful, but none will have 
 a higher ambition, or attain it more completely than Okville 
 H. Pi..\TT, who in his life work developed tho.se great qual- 
 ities that he so revered in others, and which made him in 
 truth a man sturdy, faithful, and true. 
 
 It is such men as the late Senator Pi..\TT who set the high 
 .standard which every memljer of the United States Senate 
 should seek to reach, and none of those who have gone before 
 
Address of M'l-. P,t/c/ii.\ of Califoyiila 65 
 
 arc more worthy of eiuulation tlian lit- whose nieiuor\- we now 
 honor. His honesty and ahsohite fairness are obser\ahle in all 
 his work, and it is this quality which made his opinions i^uides 
 for le.t;islation, and (jften they were enacted into le>;;islation 
 itself. Not a siv^n of selfishness or self-seeking of an>- kind 
 ever appeared in what he said or did as a Senator. He oblit- 
 erated himself in the work he had to do, with the result that 
 that work is his greatest mommient. It was in the times 
 following the Spanish-American war that he showed hini.self 
 greatest, when he enunciated the policy which .should govern 
 our relations to Cuba, and placed that young nation beyond 
 the reach of the .selfish aggression of foreign or domestic foes. 
 The great Piatt amendment marks the time when the last 
 lingering desire to .secure Cuba for exploitation l)y Americans 
 became impossible of attainment, and Cuba was made abso- 
 lutely free and independent, with untranuueled opportunity to 
 work out her destiny- in her own way. We all know how 
 easy it would have lieen to have changetl entirely the future 
 of Cuba; how easy it would have been to allow selfishness to 
 dictate national policy at a time like that. But the innate 
 justice and broad charity of Senator Platt would countenance 
 no temporizing with national honor, and the Senate stood 
 with him on the high ground he hatl cliosen, and the result 
 is the admiration and respect of the world for the work 
 performed. 
 
 That Ijroad .statesmanship which characterized Senator 
 Pl.vtt, vSenator Hoar, and others of the great members of 
 the body who have ceased their labors here, .should be for all 
 of us an inspiration and a guide. No narrow views should 
 here dictate our action, no selfish ambitions should swerve us 
 from the straight jiath of duty to the whole people and to 
 the people as a whole. Domestic laws ami foreign policies 
 
 vS. Doc. 554, 59-1 5 
 
66 /-//;• and Character of Orvillf 11. Platl 
 
 should first K'> through such cruciblt purification as they were 
 accustomed to encounter at the hands of Senator I'LATT. As 
 he did. so should we consider without haste, deliberate with- 
 out passion, weigh in the scales of justice, and decide in the 
 spirit of great love all questions which come before us here. 
 The conservatism of such men as he is the crowning glorj- 
 of a great mind, and without such minds legislation in a txady 
 like the Congress of the I'nited States would present any- 
 thing but the orderly progress of republican government, 
 which we have, uj) to this time, been enabled to boast of to 
 the other nations of the world. It is from such minds that 
 come the words of warning that prevent the hasty adoption 
 of ill-judged measures or the subservient consideration of 
 novel policies. It is only such conservatism as was constantly 
 exhibited by Senator Pi.ATT and others who live on the same 
 high i)lane that will safely pilot the ship of state through the 
 shallows and among the rocks which lie in its course in the.se 
 times of mental stress and change. And until we have 
 .safely pa.s.sed these dangers. I do not think that any member 
 of this body — certainly not one of the older members who 
 worked long with Senator Pi.ATT^will cea.se to feel the great 
 loss of his guiding judgment and advice. And it was those 
 very qualities which he so admired in others, and which he 
 posses.sed in such marked degree, that made him one of the 
 strong men of the nation — one on whom the people could 
 rely to sink himself in his work fo.- them, for they knew 
 that he was in very truth a man sturdy and faithful and 
 
 true. 
 
 I would ask no higher tribute to be written as my epi- 
 taph—if it could be truthfully said of me, as it can of him 
 who.se memory we to-day honor — than "In whatever position 
 he was placed, he always endeavored to honestly do his 
 duty." 
 
AtMrrss oj Mr. Xtlsnii, o/ Miinu-sotn 67 
 
 Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota. 
 
 Mr. Nelsox. Mr. President, a year at;o to-day Senator 
 Pi.ATT, one of the veterans of this liod>-, closed his earthlv 
 career and entered the reahns of eternity, to join tlie ranks of 
 that ever-increasing phalanx of innnortals. 
 
 He was when he jiassed away not (jn!\' a veteran in years 
 and in public service, but he was also a veteran in all the 
 highest and best (pialities of a statesman and legislator. Few, 
 if any, excelled him as such. 
 
 He came of good English ancestors, who settled in his native 
 State during the first half of the seventeenth century. Gifted 
 with more than ordinary- intellectual abilities, he had the ad- 
 vantages of the training in one of the best of the famous New 
 England academies of the first half of the nineteenth century. 
 This training he supplemented with a thonnigh preparation for 
 the profession of a lawyer. He was an able, conscientious, 
 thorough, and successful law>er. 
 
 He entered the public sen.-ice of his State in an administrative 
 capacity at an early age. He served in both branches of the 
 State legislature, and .served one term as speaker of the lower 
 house. 
 
 In March, 1S79, he first took his seat in the United States 
 Senate, and he was four times reelected. His last term would 
 have expired March 3, 1^09. He was a member of this body 
 for upward of twenty-six >'ears, and during that time he 
 served eighteen years on the Connnittec on I'atents, eight of 
 these years as chairman. He was regarded b\' all as the best 
 authorit}- on patent law in the Senate. 
 
68 Lift- and Character of Orrillr H. Platf 
 
 For sixteen >ears lie was a member of the Committee on 
 Imliaii Affairs, where he rendered most valuable and efficient 
 Service. Xo one was better versed than he in all the intrica- 
 cies of Indian legislation, and no one was more alive than he 
 to the true welfare of the Indians — always on guard to j)r()tect 
 and defend them against open and insidious inroads on their 
 rights and interests, but never a block or impediment to the 
 opening and settlement of our vast public domain. His heart 
 Went out to the frontiersman, as well as to the Indians. He 
 had none of those hazy and transcendent notions of so-called 
 "Indian rights" or "Indian character" pos-sessed by a school 
 of clo.set reformers. He gauged the Indian at his true worth 
 and at his real aptitude and ability, and hence he was the most 
 practical and useful friend the Iiuliaii had. 
 
 For twelve years he was a member of the Committee on 
 Territories, .six years as chairiiian, and while such chairman 
 six States were admitted into the rnion, to wit: North 
 Dakota, South Dakota. Montana. W'asliingtoii, Idaho, and 
 Wyoming; all prosperous, growing, and progressive States. 
 
 For ten years, and up to the time of his death, he was a 
 member of the Committee on Finance, and as such was an 
 active and resolute participant in the enactment of the Dingley 
 tariff law. 
 
 For four years he was chairman of the Committee on Cuban 
 Relations, and was partly the author, and the father of the 
 noted Piatt amendment — that great bulwark and mainstay of 
 the Cuban Rejiublic against foes, foreign and domestic. 
 
 He was for twelve years a leading member of the Judiciary 
 Committee, and at the time of his death was the chairman of 
 the committee. On this great committee, on account of his 
 skill and learning as a lawyer and on account of liis indus- 
 trious, prudent, and conservative character, he was one of the 
 
Address of Mr. .Vidso//, of Miiiiusola 69 
 
 most active, useful, an<l safe iHeml)ei"s, fa\-oral)k- tn all reason- 
 able innovations, l)Ut sternly set against \'isionary, re\olutionar\-, 
 or doubtful schemes and measures. 
 
 The last .^reat service he rendered in thi> Chamber was in 
 presiding over the Senate as a court of impeachment in the 
 case of Judge vSwayne. The care, (Hgnit\-, and impartiality 
 with which he performed this great task is fresh in our mem- 
 ories and familiar to us all. 
 
 But all this is lint a scant outline of the man, his charac- 
 ter, his worth, and his work. For more than a quarter of a 
 century the Senate was the great field and forum of his task 
 and work. Here he wrought incessantly, thoroughly, and 
 most effecti\"el\'. He did n<jt shine with the meteoric splen- 
 dor of the ardent and finished orator. He never heralded 
 his speeches, nor posed for effect, nor kept his eyes strained 
 on the galleries. But in the hard, laborious, and oftentimes 
 thankless work of scanning and formulating legislation, and 
 in expoiuiding the merits and defects of measures, he exhilj- 
 ited a thoroughness and skill truly rare, and second to none. 
 He had the full confidence of every member of this Ijody, 
 and his opinion and judgment of measures was ahvaws re- 
 garded as a safe guide and well-nigh infallible. He was a 
 fairlv good debater, and could .give and take blows, though 
 there was nothing pugnacious in his makeup and nature. 
 He never talked for mere effect, but rather as a dut\ which 
 he owed to his subject, to himself, and to his as.sociates, and 
 hence his remarks were always instructive, alwa\-s c(.>nfined 
 to the real point at issue, and always listened to and heeded. 
 While he was always zealous to promote and press good 
 measures, he was equally zealous and firm as a rock in check- 
 ing and barring any scheme or measure which he deemed 
 bad, or detrimental to the welfare or best interests of our 
 countrv. 
 
■JO Life niiii Clinrnclcr of Orzillr 11. Pliilt 
 
 He was jiaticiil. thorough, and painstakiiij; at all times and 
 under all circumstances, and ever kept a vi):;ilant eye on the 
 whole field of lej^islation. Most of us are content and feel 
 that we ])erform our duties fairly well if we familiarize our- 
 selves with and keep track of the work of the conuniitees 
 of whicli we are members, hut lie, even though he excelled 
 us in this, was not content with such a limited sphere of 
 work. Like the late Senator from Missouri [Mr. Cockrell] 
 he had his eye upon and scrupulf)u.sly took the measure of 
 every important bill ujxjn the Calendar, so that when it was 
 taken up for consideration he was ])re])ared to intelligently 
 discuss it and point out its merits and defects, and if the 
 bill was a meritorious one it found in him a most valual>le 
 ally and sup]K)rter. but if in liis opinion the bill was unwise 
 or meretricious he ne\er hesitated to attack it and point out 
 with inflexible ])ersistence and clearness its defects. And 
 this he did, not throu<i;h a spirit of personal hostility to the 
 father of the measure, but through a strong sense of duty 
 which he conscientiously felt he could not shirk. And it 
 was this attribute anil characteristic of his that made him 
 .such a useful and influential member of this body. He was 
 trusted and relied upon in every great legislative emergency, 
 for his wisdom and conservatism were so pronounced and so 
 familiar to all. He was the fairest legi.slator I have ever 
 met. modest and without any personal pride. It sometimes 
 happened, though less often than with other men, that he, 
 in the first instance, might misjudge or misapprehend the 
 merits of a measure, but if he did. he was ever ready to be 
 corrected, and when convinced of his mistake he was not 
 merely content to acknowledge the mistake, but he became 
 zealous to make full amends, and this was a trait that 
 endeared him to so many of his associates, especially to new 
 
Addriss of I\rr. Nrhoii, of Miinu'sota 71 
 
 anil stnijLisl'";-^ UKMiilicis. He was never sni chari^ecl willi 
 that Senatorial ilit;nity su chillin>; ami iippressixe to a new 
 Hieinlier, Imt aUva\s met sueh a nieniher more than halfway 
 anil with a kind and helpfnl spirit. 
 
 We (if the i;reat and throwing States of the West, who 
 came here with im end of important and meritorious local 
 measures on mir hands to promcite and pass, which you of 
 the older States are not burdened with and have hut a scant 
 conception of. are hapjiN- indeed to meet with sdine uf our 
 older brothers here in the East wdro can appreciate our task 
 aiul wdio are willing to help and guide us in our efforts, 
 which to older and more experienced vSenators may oftentimes 
 seem crude and awkward. Such a brother and helper was 
 .Senator Platt. His kindl\-, sympathetic spirit was extended 
 to us in full measure in word and in deed. I kncjw how- 
 helpful he was to me on many an occasion in m>' earh" days 
 in the .Senate. Indeed, his helpfulness abode with me during 
 all my association with him in this body. He seemed my 
 friend from the very start, and so he always remained, with- 
 out cstentation, ever kind and helpful, to the end. He .seemed 
 to delight, not in exploiting his own merits, Init rather in 
 helping men and measures that were meritorious and needed 
 his help and assistance. x\nd this came in part from his mod- 
 esty and in part from his earnest and sincere zeal for the 
 public service. The merits of the cause rather than his own 
 glory .seemed uppermost in his thoughts. He took no pains 
 to exploit his own eminence and ability, and hence while here 
 in this Chamber and among his associates he justly ranked 
 among the very highest and the best, he had not as great a 
 reputation and was not as noted in the great w-orld at large 
 as man\- men of interior ability and of much less merit. But 
 while he ma\- not have figured ni the lime light of the public 
 
-2 Li/i- ami Character of Orvillc II. Piatt 
 
 I>ress as extensively as some other men in jjuhlic life, and 
 while no blowinj; of horns and heating of cymbals accom- 
 panied him or heralded his efforts and his work, yet lie 
 wroui^ht faithfidl.\-, heroically, and well and was content with 
 the consciousness that he had performed his duly and served 
 the j)ul)lic weal to the best of his ability, and thus he proved 
 a most instructi\e example to tho.se of less mode.sty and to 
 tho.se more disjKJsed to ,seek notoriety than substantial results. 
 
 The moral influence of Senator Pl.vtt was even greater 
 than his intellectual force and power. He impressed every- 
 one who came in contact with him that he was actuated by the 
 highest and noblest motives in all his efforts. No one ever 
 questioned or doul)ted his honesty, his inle.>;rit\', and the puritv 
 of his motives. There was a .serene calmness, coupled with 
 clearness and earnestness, in his deliberations and in his 
 speeches. He was no legi.slative specialist with only a single 
 hobby or a single line of work. He was ecjuipped for and 
 devoted to every great line of legislative work in a greater 
 mea.sure than most of his colleagues; and above all he gave 
 his entire heart and energy to the work in hand. All that 
 was his he gave to his couutrx' with a whole heart and without 
 .any reservation. He was f.iithful in small things as well as in 
 those of greater im])ortance. He left a vacuum in the Senate 
 that is hard to fill. His death was not only a great los,s and 
 bereavement to his family, to his .State, and to the nation, but 
 al.so to his a.ssociates here in this bod\', for no one shed a 
 brighter or clearer luster upon the tone, the spirit, and char- 
 acter of the Senate. 
 
 He is with us no more, but his life, his work, and his e.xam- 
 ])le will be a beacon and an inspiration to us in the days to 
 come, and thus, "though he be dead, yet he still liveth." 
 
Af/drcss of Afr. 7u-:'(Tii/oi\ a/' fndiaiia 73 
 
 Address of Mr. Beveridge, of Indiana. 
 
 Mr, liKVKKllxiK. Mr, President, I wish to siieak n<jt .so 
 niucli of the exalted eharacter and wonderful intellect of 
 this great man as of his fundamental juthlic principles. I 
 wish to speak of Okvillk H. Pl.vtt, of Counecticnt, as the 
 typical American statesman. Of Connecticut? Xo; of the 
 Republic. Xo State is .y:reat enoue;h to claim a man like 
 him exclusively as its own. He loved C(.)iniecticut with a 
 passion which lesser men could never understand; and \et 
 no man so earnestly denied the consequence of a State com- 
 pared with the nation as did Orville H. Platt. To him 
 the American people was everything; to him the glorv of 
 the people of Connecticut was that the_\- are citizens of the 
 great Republic. 
 
 For Senator Pl.vtt was a statesman of the nation. He 
 believed that a member of this liody is what the Constitu- 
 tion calls him — a vSenator of the I'nited States f>'oiii a State, 
 and not the Senator if a State, not the envoy of an inde- 
 pendent entity, not the anibas.sador of a separate power. 
 Moreover, he looked on all American industry and business 
 as so interlaced and interdependent that they are one and 
 the same. He regarded the present and future welfare of 
 the entire American people from ocean to ocean as his per- 
 .sonal concern and that of every Senator, And so it was 
 that he was the statesman of a people and not the politi- 
 cian of a locality. 
 
 And this is the first principle of American statesmanship. 
 For if vSenators are merely attorne\s for their State and .sec- 
 tion; if the welfare of one Conmionwealth is inconsistent with 
 
74 /-'/'■ i^"(f Characlir of Onillc If. Piatt 
 
 the welfare of other Cominoiuvealllis; if lefjislation is to be a 
 conflict of hostile interests, and policies a composite of war- 
 ring industries, our laws will he increasingly weak and incon- 
 sistent, and the ultimate di.s,solution of the Republic the 
 uece.ssary result of the ceaseless battle of irreconcilable forces. 
 
 15ut if Americans are one people; if the Mis.sissippi flows 
 through a common country and our transcontinental trains 
 whirl from Boston to Seattle, never once stopping at a foreign 
 boundary or pa.ssing under a foreign flag; if the welfare of 
 Maine and Oregon, of Georgia and Wisconsin, of Texas and 
 Xew York, is a common welfare; if it is imix)ssible that one 
 State or .section, one class or industry, can thrive by any policy 
 or law not good for the whole land; if the motto of the Re- 
 public be true that "United we .stand, divided we fall;" if 
 vSenators are statesmen of the Republic as a whole, sent from 
 States to hold council for the nation as a unit; if this be the 
 true i)hilosophy of our Government and the just conception of 
 our duty as Senators, then the Republic will be innnortal — 
 made so by the solidarity of the American i)eople. made so by 
 every American considering the welfare of all Americans and 
 every section the interests of all sections, in which alone is 
 found real wisdom for the individual man or section. 
 
 And this was Senator Pl.\TT's ruling principle. That Sen- 
 ators, and especially the newer Senators who did not know him. 
 may understand the great conception that guided him in all 
 his public work, I wish to read an extract from perhaps the 
 greatest speech he ever made. In his notable deliverance on 
 December 19. 189S, he said: 
 
 '■ Mr. Presidenl, this is a nation. It has been called by various names. 
 It has been called a Confederated Republic, a Federal Lnion, the Union of 
 States, a League of States, a rope of sand; but during all the time the.se 
 names have been applied to it it has been a nation. It was so understood 
 by the framers of the Constitution. It was so decided by the great judges 
 of the .Supreme Court in the early days of the Constitution. 
 
.'li/i/rrss <>/ Mr. /'irr/-/</o/\ of /ih/idi/it 75 
 
 " II is tiKi latt to ilfiiv it. .mil, Mr. ^r^■^ill^.■nl. it is iilsn tm. l:itc In a<lniit 
 it anil not have faith ill it. Intfllectual assent to tlie doctriins < .1 Chris- 
 tianit\- iloe.s not make a iiian a Christian. It is savin.i; faith that makes 
 the Christian. And a mere intellectual assent to the doctrine that we are 
 a nation does not make the true patriot. It is high time that we come to 
 believe without qualification, to believe in our hearts, in the exercise of 
 ]>atriotic faith, that the I'nited States is a nation. When we come to 
 believe that, Mr. President, many of the doubts and uncertainties which 
 have troubled men will disajipear." 
 
 By this principle he solved vexed <iiiestions, wrote wise 
 statutes, interpreted the fundamental law. He re.sjarded the 
 Constitution not as a compact between independent states, 
 liut, as Marshall called it, an "nrdinance of national life" 
 established l.iy an undivided and indivisible people. To him 
 the soverei.gn words of the Constitution are the first three, 
 "We, the people." And so, like Marshall, like vStory, like 
 Webster, like Jefferson (who. declaring; that we had no express 
 ciinstitutioual power to do so, yet made the Louisiana pur- 
 cha.se), like Jack.son, like Lincoln, like all American statesmen 
 great enough to be yet visible above the receding horizon ( aye, 
 and like the American people themselves). Senator Pl.vtt 
 believed that the Constitution grows — grows by interpretation, 
 grows by the use of implied powers not needed till emergency 
 calls them into action, grows by the larger meaning which 
 e\'ents and our advancin,g American civilization read into its 
 formal phrase, grows as the American people .grow. 
 
 H'^ had no fear of the results of such a constitutional phi- 
 losophy. He stood in no terror of the American people. He 
 did lujt believe that the strict construction of a formal word, 
 written four generations ago, when the Republic contained l)ut 
 4,000,000 souls, the nation was onh' in the beginnings of its 
 making, the uses of steam and electricity unknown, Pittsburg 
 farther from XewYork than Chicago is from the Orient to-day, 
 city congestions undreamed of, and the modern methods of 
 production and distribution unimagined — he did not think that 
 
76 Li/c and Character of Orvillf If. Piatt 
 
 rigid sentences written nntler such circumstances a hundred 
 and thirty years ago lia\e necessarily the same meaning now as 
 then, or that the safety and happineas of the nation's 90,000,000 
 of Americans to-day and 200,000,000 of Americans to-morrow 
 is to be found in the Constitution's Hfeless word so much as 
 in its living spirit giving intelligent meaning to its letter. 
 
 For Senator Platt lx;lieved in the American people. He 
 did not believe that they are or ever will be decadent and de- 
 generate. He ljelie\ed that the nia,s.ses are growing wiser and 
 purer: knew that this nuist be .so unle.ss our whole American 
 civilization is a failure. He realized that the nation is con- 
 stantly renewing itself, each generation facing with new 
 thought the new j)r<)blenis that the very progress of their 
 parents brought to thciu. Ik- went upon the theory that our 
 children will be abler, stronger, nobler than our.selves; knew 
 that if this is not true our schools and our churches, our free 
 institutions, and the whole of modern life is a tragic mockery. 
 
 And this is the necessary view point and attitude of .states- 
 manshij) under free institutions; we individuals grow old with 
 frightful speed; we retain our life's fir.st impression unmindful 
 of the profound changes in the world about us; we keep on 
 thinking the thoughts of our youth, long since grown ancient 
 to our children; we rea.son in the old formulas and speak a 
 nomenclature of a day that is gone. But all about us millions 
 of young men and j^oung women have grown up amid condi- 
 tions unlike those that we were reared among, and they arc 
 thinking thoughts and learning facts we never knew and speak- 
 ing a tongue we never heard. It is a new nation that sur- 
 rounds us; a nation of millions upon millions of fresh and vital 
 minds yea.sting with ideas; a nation of millions upon millions 
 of new and unexhausted he.urls ftdl of faitl; in Cod and the 
 Republic — aye, and full of the daring of that faith. 
 
The statesman of such a nation must have a miml and heart 
 of perennial youth, or he ceases to understand his people, begins 
 to (lonlit and then to fear them, and, without knowiui; it, he- 
 comes their enem.w And just such a mind and heart was that 
 of Senator Pi.att. 
 
 All who knew him intimately were agreed that the amazing 
 youthfulness of his mind was h\- far his nuist notable mental 
 characteristic. Old as he was. he attacked new proljlems with 
 the eager strength of young manhood's mental vitality, solved 
 them with young manhood's faith. He never doubted tlie wis- 
 dom, righteousness, and power of the American people. He 
 believed devoutly, unquestioningh' in their mission and destin\- 
 in the world. Who tliat heard will ever forget his instantane- 
 ous and unprepared reply to the venerable Senator from Ma.ssa- 
 chusetts on our duty in the Philippines and our certain future 
 in the Orient and the world? How like a prophet of the olden 
 time he seemed that evening, as with eyes glow^ing with reli- 
 gious fire and voice ringing trumpet-clear as the voice of youth, 
 he delivered with passionate earnestness that inspired .speech. 
 Here is the way he closed this extemporaneous address, 
 delivered about 6 o'clock in the evening: 
 
 "We art- uiKier the oliligation and direction of a higher powder with refer- 
 ence to onr chity in tlic Pliilippine Islands. The T'nited States of America 
 has a lH,y;li call to dnty, to a moral dut> , to a dnty to advance the canse of 
 free <'overnment in the world by something niore than example. It is not 
 enough to .say to a country over which we have acquired an undisputed 
 and indisputable sovereignty: 'Go your own gait; look at our example. 
 In the entrance of the harbor of New York, our principal port, there is 
 the statue of LiVierty Enli,i;htenin<4 the Worlil. Ijiok at that, and f..!li.w 
 our example.' 
 
 "No, Mr. President. U'hen the Anglo-Saxon race crossed the Atlantic 
 and stood on the shores of Massachusetts Bay and on Plymouth Rock that 
 movement meant something more than the establishment of religious and 
 civil liberty within a narrow, confined, and limited compass. It had in it 
 the force of the Ahnight\-; an.l from that d.iy to this it has been s|)read- 
 int;, widening, and exteuduig until, like the stone seen by Daniel in his 
 
78 Life and Oinnu/rr of Orri//,- //. P/,i/t 
 
 vision cut out of the niouiitaiu without haiuls. it lias filled all our borders, 
 and ever westwaril across the Pacific that influence which found its home 
 in the Mayjloufr and its development on I'lyinouth Rock has been 
 extendinj; ami is extending; its sway and its beneficence. 
 
 " I believe, ]Mr. President, that the time is coniinn, as surely coming as 
 the time when the worhi shall be Christianized, when the world shall be 
 converted to the cause 6f free government, and I believe the I'nited States 
 is a providentially appointed a}{ent for that purpose. The day may be 
 long in coming, and it may be in the far future, but he who has stu<lied 
 the history of this western world from the 22(1 day of December, i62u, to 
 the present hour must be blind indeed if he can not see that the cause of 
 free government in the world is still progressing and that what the Tnited 
 States is doing in the Philippine Islands is in the extension of that benefi- 
 cent purpose." (Congressional Record, February ii, 1903.) 
 
 I read tlii.s. Mr. President, not to show his particular opin- 
 ion njion this puhhc ipicslion, but to show the youthfnhies.s, 
 the hopefuhie.ss, and the ahnost projihetic nature of his aniaz- 
 inji; mind. It was with this yottthful vigor, vision, and un- 
 doubtingne.ss that Senator Pi,.\TT solved the Cuban tjucstion. 
 There was no precedent. He made one. I understand the 
 philo.sophy of the ])rece(lent, the ab.sohUe nece.ssity in a free 
 governnient of e.stabli.shed forms and methods. But it re- 
 quires no special ability to follow the blazed trail. Ordinary 
 intelligence can cite precedents and apply decided ca.ses to 
 like situations. It needs greatness to create by sheer thought 
 solutions of unheard-of problems. Antl that is what Senator 
 Pl.VTT did in the immortal Piatt atnendment, which, written 
 in our statutes and incorporated in the Cuban constitution, 
 established over that island the indestructible suzeraintx- of 
 the Republic — all for the good and safety of the Cuban and 
 the American people alike. 
 
 To those who a.sked where in the Conslitnlion such power is 
 given Congress, he answered V)y the cotmter (juestion, "Where 
 is such power doiied?" I-'or he believed that the United 
 States may do all that an\' other nation can do, luile.ss the 
 
Address of Mr. /'i:'rridoi-, of' //ii/niiiii 79 
 
 Conslitutioii fdiliids it. Here is what he said in a >j;reat de- 
 late in thi> Clianiher: 
 
 "I maintain that the United States /,s a nation; that as a nation it 
 possesses every sovereifin power not reser\eil to the States or the ]ieople; 
 that the right to acquire territory was not reserved and is tlu-refore an 
 inherent Mvereifi:n riglit ; * * * that in certain instances llie right 
 may lie inferred from specific clauses in the Constitution, but tliut it 
 exists indepeniieiil 0/ t/iese etaiises; that as the right to acquire is a so:'- 
 ereign and inhernit 1 ii^tit. the right to govern is it sovereign riglit not 
 limited in tlie Co)istitution ." 
 
 Whether all Senators agreed to these views or not, when it 
 came to adopting the Piatt amendment, so dee])ly wise, so im- 
 minently necessary, was that historic creation that althotigh 
 constitntional douhts filled the air and a single speech would 
 have defeated it, since Congress was expiring e\-en as it passed, 
 yet not one voice was openly raised against it. And thus 
 entered into the law and life of two peoples, and into their 
 intertwined histor\-, the fifth eternal writing produced by 
 American statesmanshiji — the first four being the Declaration 
 of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the 
 Ordinance of 17.S7, the Emancipation Proclamation, and, last, 
 this indissoluble boiul uniting forever the destinies of Cuba and 
 the American Republic. 
 
 An American statesman should be as brave and unquali- 
 fiedly frank as he is incorruptible. P'rankness — even aggres- 
 sive openness — is necessar}- in the public men of a free 
 people. Not only the penjile at large, Init the vast business 
 and financial interests, need to know at the earliest possible 
 moment the ojiinions and purposes of statesmen. He who 
 conceals his views is dangerous; he who has none is unwor- 
 tliy. vSenat(jr Pl.vtt was to his people and to all men a 
 speaking voice, an open liciok. On gra\-est industrial ques- 
 tions, which make the mere j)olitician who nias(juerades as 
 
8o Life aud Character of Orvillc II. Plait 
 
 a statesman tremble and pale with fear, Okvillk H. Platt 
 told where he .st(jod and then stood there fighting with the 
 courage of his wisdom. 
 
 For example, the farmers of Connecticut petitioned him to 
 support a certain bill; he refused, because he thought that 
 measure not good for the Republic. The laboring men of Con- 
 necticut asked for measures he thought unwise for the Nation; 
 he told ilKin so and then acted on his thought. Moneyed 
 interests in Coiniecticut demanded certain action; he declined 
 because he thought it hurtful from the view point of all the 
 people. All of the people and not some of the people, the ichole 
 country and not a section — this was the universal mea.surement 
 of his vision. Everybody knew where Okville H. Platt 
 stood on everything. All great statesmen are like that. They 
 remind you of the mountains — landmarks for the centuries. 
 "What will Nou have your representative be." said Kdmund 
 Burke in his speech to the electors of Bri.stol, in which all the 
 elements of .statesmanship are said to be defined — " what will 
 )-ou have your repre.sentative be, a pillar supjiorting the temple 
 of state or a weathercock upon its dome? " 
 
 The American statesman must be religious, becau.se the Amer- 
 ican people are the most profoundly and intelligently religious 
 people of the world. Senator Pl.vtt was intensely religious. 
 He was a man of daily pra\er. The li\ing God was to him a 
 personal realit\-, and to him ser\ice of fellow-man was wi.se 
 only as it was .service of the P'ather. He wrote a nation's laws 
 in the fear of the Lord. He believed absolutely in Providence; 
 believed that the American people are directed by divine wis- 
 dom. How splendid .such a conception of national de.stin\! 
 Tile Kuler of the tnii\-ersL- brought a new force into ]ihn- in the 
 evolution of the human race when he established on this new 
 
Address (dMr. Bci'vridi^r, of Iiiiii(Uia Ri 
 
 Cdiitiiiciit the American people, and of tliat peupk- ( )k\-iij.i.: II, 
 Pi..\TT was a saL;e and ]ir(ii)liet. 
 
 He is gone, this niiglit)- one. Not nianx' now renieniliei him 
 or his priceless services to the State. ( )nl\- one \-ast achiexe- 
 ment — the Piatt amendment — will jierpetnate his name. Snch 
 is olili\'ion's remorseless wisdom. There are so many swarm- 
 ing millions of luiman beings, such numberless events in the 
 lives of each, such flowing oceans of circumstance, that the 
 world can not, for long, remember any one. Time is a jinmipt 
 stage manager — he thrusts us on and calls us from this human 
 stage on the hour, and not one instant in our entrance or exit 
 may \i'e tarry. ;\Ien plan and speak and do — and think that 
 to-morrow other men will heed or remember: but the other day 
 an unknown and uidieard of cit>' was unearthed by accident, 
 which had a splendid history of great men and glorious deeds, 
 of wise laws and polite culture fu'e thousand years bef(3re 
 Christ. 
 
 vSo all that a man docs must be with ilitTerent motives than 
 to-day's applan.se or to-morrow's remembrance: vour deed 
 for the deed's sake — for the good it may do although utterly 
 unnoted like a single furrow among its million fellows. This 
 is the only conception of duty that makes man's best efforts 
 worth the while. And this was the conception that inspired 
 Senator Pl.vtt through all his years. It was nothing to him 
 that men should remember or observe what he said or did; it 
 was everything to him that his word and deed accomplished 
 .something for his country. And .so he was fearless and pure 
 and wise and brave; his life without stain, his cour.se without 
 variableness or shadow of turning. It was this conception of 
 duty, vitalizing and consecrating his great intellect, that made 
 him the ideal statesman of the American people. 
 vS.Doc. 534,59-1 6 
 
82 Life and Character of Orvillc //. I'latt 
 
 Address of Mr. Kean, of New Jersey. 
 
 Mr. Kkan. Mr. Prcsidt-iit, I can not let this occasion pass 
 without sayinj; a few words. 
 
 The .Services that Senator Pi..\TT rendered to his vState and 
 country have Vieen so well recoinited hv those who have pre- 
 ceded nie that I shall not do more than say a few words as 
 to the great loss .sustained by this body and the country at 
 large. Words can add nothing to the fame or virtues of the 
 dead. His actions alone are the highest jiraise — all other 
 eulogies fail. 
 
 It is true when lie came here twenty-six years ago he was 
 unknown to the nation, but when he died no Senator was 
 better known. Attention to duty made him thoroughly familiar 
 with all legislation. He gave great thought and care to all 
 the interests of the country. He had studied closely the his- 
 tory of legislation, and, possessing great legal attainments, 
 was alwa\s alert to achieve the best to be acconii)lished. 
 
 In his death we have lost a friend and companion always 
 ready to aid and assist those younger in years than himself, 
 and I can not fail to express my high appreciation and deep 
 re.gard for the kindness shown me as a new member of this 
 bodx and the great jiersonal loss I feel at his death. 
 
 He died at home, as every wise man should wi.sh to, in 
 the midst of tho.se who loved him, and is buried among the 
 hills of the Slate that knew and honored him and which he 
 loved. 
 
.liMrrss o/' Mr. Kriui, c/ AVri' Jersiv S3 
 
 I know no words more fitlini; to describe Senator I'i.att 
 than tliose of Robert lirownini; : 
 
 "One will) never Uinieil his back, l)ut niarelieil breast forward; 
 
 Never douljteil clouds would break, 
 
 Never dreamed, though right were worsteil, wmiiu; wniild tnuniiih; 
 
 Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight 1 letter. 
 
 Sleep to wake." 
 
84 Life and Charactir of Orvillc 11. Plait 
 
 Address of Mr. Brandegee, of CorwEaicuT. 
 
 Mr. I5kani)K<.i:i:. Mr. President, the traditions of the Sen- 
 ate direct that I should pronounce the final words in these sad 
 ceremonies. 1 realize that it is impossible to add anything to 
 what has already been so eloquently and sweetly said by the 
 score of sjseakers who have preceded nie. And yet, though 
 appreciating fully the difficulties of the situation, 1 should l>e 
 remiss in my duty to my State, to myself, and, most of all, to 
 him, should I omit to say those things which lie in my heart. 
 
 Mr. President, no man has ever solved the riddle of existence. 
 No man ever will solve it. Whoever shall will have ceased to 
 be mortal and will have become superhuman. From that time 
 in the mists of antiquity, when mankind assumed the upright 
 attitude and looked the heavens in the face, we have wondered 
 from whence we came and whither we go. Philo.sophers have 
 disputed, theologians have contended, physici.sts, archeologists, 
 p.sychologists, astronomers, prophets, mathematicians, poets, 
 orators, statesmen, physicians, and magicians have theorized, 
 written, argued, yearned, imagined, and prayed, and, in so far 
 as human knowledge and hum.m investigation are concerned, 
 we end where we began. We talk glibly of the categories of 
 time, .space, and eternity, but no man can conceive of them. 
 We pronounce the word "Infinity," and when we attempt to 
 define it the intellect sprawls helple.s.sly ! The my.stery of 
 existence, of chaos, of the primordial, and of the finality was 
 the mystery of the past, is the mystery of to-day, and will con- 
 tinue the m\ster>- of the future. It is inunutable, inexorable, 
 unfathomable! Mr. President, the two momentous words of 
 
Ai'/drrss of Mr. I^ra i/(it-i;i-(\ of Cinnncticut S5 
 
 Iniinan spL-ecli are " Wht-ncc" and " WhilliL-r. " TIk- hiain will 
 never answer these (jnestions. The liutnan heart maw W'e 
 know very little. We feel very much. Iltiw \ery little we 
 know! We distinguish life from death, but are in gross igno- 
 rance of the cause, the origin, or the termination of both. 
 
 Among mysteries one ine.xplicalile thing is no more remark- 
 able than another. One may affect our emotions more than 
 another, but fundamentally all are equally incomprehensible. 
 Why should a .seed sprout? Wh\- should like produce like? 
 Wli>- should nature be tmiform antl constant? Why should 
 matter attract matter according to the law of gra\-itation? 
 Why shotild opposite electric poles attract each other? What 
 is electricity? Why do certain forms of matter crystalli/.e in 
 certain shapes? What is chemical affinity? Why does the 
 human race exist, and what is its purpose and eniK-' Why 
 the universe? No one of these iiuiuiries is more or less 
 difhcult than the other. All nature is an impenetrable mys- 
 ter\'. Science may collate statistics, may observe and tabulate 
 phenomena, but it will never render a satisfactory respon.se. 
 But from the dawn of history we know that the heart has 
 answered that which the brain might not know. The heart 
 has faith to believe that, knowledge or no knowledge, if a 
 man be true to his own conscience he mav stand before his 
 Maker justified and without fear. .\nd to-day we speak of 
 such a man. How great he was! His character, like his 
 statue, should be delineated in heroic lines. Like Abraham 
 of old, Orville Hitchcock Pl.\tt stands out from the mul- 
 titude. He was a leader. He did not lead because he tried 
 to lead, but because the people followed him. He did not 
 lead because he pretended to lie the special friend of the 
 people, as demagogues are wont to do, but because he laid 
 his course by his own compass and that compass always 
 
86 Life and Character of Orzille If. Piatt 
 
 pointed to the true pole. In tlie lonj; run tlie people can 
 ahva\s he relied npou to distin^nish between a demagogue 
 and a patriot, and they always did so in the case of Mr. 
 Platt. Five consecutive times the |)eople of Connecticut 
 accredited him as their ambassador to this great conclave of 
 the representatives of the sovereign States of this Republic. 
 For twenty-six years he sat in this Chamber and fearlessly, 
 faithfully, and nobly discharged that trust. If that may truth- 
 fully be said of any man, it is. in my opinion, the highest 
 encomium that can be pronottuced iijion him. There is not, 
 engraved upon bronze nor carved in marl)le. in the Valley 
 of the Nile or of the Tigris or of the Euphrates or of the 
 Ganges, nor in the Pantheons of Rome, Carthage, or Greece, 
 an epitaph of achievement fraught with greater bles.sing to 
 humanity than a ([uarter of a century of able, courageous, and 
 conscientious work in this great parliamentary body. 
 
 Senator Pl.\tt consecrated one-third of his entire life to this 
 loftv ministry! Mr. President, how easy it is to .say that, and 
 yet how utterly hollow and unsatisfactory it is and how 
 meager and shallow it sounds! What a fullness and com- 
 pleteness there was to that great and lengthy service! With 
 what a multitude of events and cares and duties it was 
 crowded! With what perplexities, with how great anxieties, 
 with how innumerable responsibilities, always splendidly met, 
 it was filled! 
 
 It is beyond the power of speech, or pen, or art to epito- 
 mize such a career in the compa.ss of a few strokes of the 
 pen or in the brief period of time devoted to this occasion. 
 We all feel the inadequacy of mere words to express what 
 we to-day feel and what but yesterday he was. .\nd yet we 
 fain would strive to record somewhat of the love which we 
 his friends and associates bore for him and something of the 
 
.liMrrss of .]fr. /-trdinh'^tu^ of Cojtiicclii id 87 
 
 resjiL-et and veneratii)n in whicli the wliok- couiitiN lul<l him. 
 Mr. l'i..\TT entered this body in iSyy at the age of 5.' years, 
 lie had previonsly heen honored li\' the confidence and esteem 
 of the people of his State. He had lieeii the chairman of 
 the State central coniniittee of his party, the .speaker of the 
 Connecticut house of representati\'es, a State senator, the 
 secretary of the State, and the State's attorney of New Haven 
 County. He was a well-known and able lawyer, and had 
 devoted himself more particularh' to the law of patents, in 
 which he had attained a high proficiency. He therefore en- 
 tered upon his duties here, in middle life, equipjied with a 
 ripe experience in the law, in politics, in bu.siiiess, and in 
 public affairs. He devoted this fund of knowdedge to prac- 
 tical use in his legislative work. He was no theorist. He 
 was not a doctrinaire. He had none of the traits of the 
 visionary or the mystic. He dreamed no dreams and he pur- 
 sued no chimeras. He insisted upon the facts. He was 
 virile and powerful, mentally and physically. His appear- 
 ance was most impressive. He was cast in the patriarchal 
 mold. He towered to a height of 6 feet and 4 inches, and 
 his frame and head were as massive and rugged as the 
 granite ledges and crags of his native Litchfield County. 
 
 His features were large and somewhat furrowed, and to 
 those who saw him for the first time his countenance was 
 apt to convey a suggestion of austerity. But this effect 
 was relieved by the saving grace of a delicious sense of 
 humor and an inimitable twinkle of the eye. His matmer 
 was delilierate, and he was well balanced and at all times 
 perfectly self-contn.illed. He was patient, industrious, kindly, 
 cautious, and sound. He was preeminently .safe and sane. 
 His judgment was excellent and his gift of common sen.se 
 approached to genius. His temperament was judicial, and 
 
88 IJfi- and Character of Orvillc II. Platl 
 
 he clcarlx- perceived and carefully weighed every phase of a 
 question. With his clear \ision he penetrated the heart of 
 every problem and discriminated with unerring precision 
 between the vital principles upon which a correct solution 
 depended and the irrelevant and delusive matters which con- 
 fuse other minds. He was possessed of an intuitive .sense as 
 to the wisest cour.se to pursue, which was .so accurate as to 
 amount almost to prescience. He despised shams, hyp)oc- 
 risy, and pretense. He was straightforward, sincere, and 
 reliable. He was a man of sterling integrity, and was as 
 honest with himself as with his fellows. It was as impos- 
 sible to deceive him as it was for him to attempt to deceive 
 others. He was inspired with high ideals and was endowed 
 with a deep religious nature. His logical mind moved with 
 the mathematical accuracy of an adding machine, and the 
 most complicated questions were reduced and clarified in the 
 fervent crucible of his intellectual analy.sis. He was inten.sely 
 human and was always glad to cloak the faults of others 
 with the broad mantle of charity. He was passionately fond 
 of nature. The .sound of the brooks tumbling down their 
 rocky beds, the rustle of the leaves in the woods, the .songs 
 of birds, the voices of the wild things, the variegated tints 
 of the foliage, the otlors of flower and fern and moist glade, 
 the sunshine and shadow, the dying monarch of the forest 
 and the springing bud, the sunset skies, the majesty of the 
 snow-capped mountain, the abyss of the dark canyon, the 
 rolling prairie, the river sweeping away into the distance, 
 the vast and heaving ocean — all the.se sjwke to him in a lan- 
 guage of nuisic and poetry to which every fiber of his soul 
 was attuned and to which it responded with joy and gratitude. 
 Amcjng all the honors, the battles, and the triumphs of his 
 life, continued far bevond the three score vears and ten allotted 
 
.li/i/ri's.s of Mr. Ih-anth-v;ci\ of CtiiinrituKl 89 
 
 1)\- the Psalmist, the liniuc cif his IkinIidoiI and tlic wild sceiK-ry 
 and stalwart jK-oplc of his natixx- Litchfield Cmuit\- la\- closest 
 to his heart. In the free, ojien air of this beautiful section, as 
 he \vhiii])ed the brooks and hunted its game, he develojied that 
 ma<;niiicent character which never knew a stain and that splen- 
 did courage which never surrendered a principle. Here he 
 imbibed that wholesome nature, that childlike faith, that moral 
 standard and stamina, that indomitable will, that fine percep- 
 tion, that shrewd insight, that independence and love of f)er- 
 sonal liberty, which made him a tower of strength and a very 
 present helji in time of trouble. 
 
 Mr. President, in the death of vSenator Platt Connecticut 
 /^ lost her ablest and most distinguished public servant, this body 
 
 one of its wisest and most trusted counselors, and the nation 
 one of its soundest statesmen. He alwa>-s dared to act as he 
 believed. He never compromised with expediency. He was a 
 great man — in stature, in brain, in character, in influence, in 
 deeds, and in righteousness. Upon his first election to the 
 Senate, now twenty-seven years ago, at a reception gi\-en him 
 1)y his friends and neighljors in the city of Meriden, he spoke a 
 few simple words which can not fail t<i touch us deeply now, 
 and which formed the mainspring of his public and private life. 
 He said: 
 
 " I thank roil, my friends, for this kind reception. This is neither the 
 time nor the place to make a speech, and yet I think I would be lacking 
 in the common feeling of humanity if I did not express to you in some 
 wav the gratitude I feel for the respect you have ever shown me. It 
 touches me, coming as it does from you who have known me longest and 
 best -the men I have lived with these twenty-eii;ht years. I have lived a 
 somewhat transparent life. Vou know what I have done and what I have 
 failed to do. It is this that makes this demonstration the more acceptable 
 and touching to me. I think no man could have lived in a place so long 
 and have been more sensible of the kindly feeling entertained toward 
 him than I. I want to thank all my friends, but especially my iSIeriden 
 friends. They were not politicians, l)ut were full of love and devotion 
 
go Life and Character of Or-.'ille 11. Piatt 
 
 anJ labored for my welfari- willunil hopi' of reward, and such kindly fcel- 
 inj; and disposition touches me to the heart. Their faith makes me rejoice 
 more at their jjratification than my success. Just now everythinj; is new 
 and seems unreal. I can .scarcely appreciate the future. How I shall 
 bear my.self, how I shall walk in the new path in which I am set, time 
 will show, I do know that I shall try to do ri)j;ht as I see the ri);ht, and 
 I have faith to believe that this will brinj; me through to the end without 
 discredit to you, to my.self, or to the Stale. My friends, this is no place 
 for an announcement of my ]x)litical views. I have in the course of inv 
 life dealt and received many hard political blows, but I have alwavs tried 
 to act right and .shall so continue. I thank you again for your kindness, 
 and I trust that all your expectations with reference to me will not be 
 disappointed. Good night." 
 
 How clearly and beautifully hi.s character shines through 
 the.se sini])le and informal remarks to the friends and neighbors 
 will) had slathered to do him honor, and how abtnidantly and 
 splendidly he justified the confidence which had been reiX)sed 
 in him ' 
 
 Mr. l'i..VTT was a progressixe and constructive lejjislator. 
 He made no pretense to oratory, and yet his clear thoujjht 
 was couched in ter.se Saxon jihrase and delivered with an 
 earnest force which was closelx- akin to eloquence and carried 
 greater conviction. Whatever attitude he assmned upon a 
 public question was the result of his honest, deliberate judg- 
 ment, and this was e\inced in e\er\- tone, jesture, and look. 
 He IkuI an abiding faith in the institutions, the ])eople, and 
 the destiny of this comitry, and, in turn, he was loved and 
 tru.sted by the f>eople whose confidence he always retained. 
 He cared nothing for wealth, but everything for men. He 
 was liberal, tolerant, charitable, .sympathetic, and of infinite 
 patience and unflagging zeal. His influence tipon men and 
 measures was always helpful and salutary. The loss of such 
 a man is indeed a public calamity. But his character and the 
 lesson of his career are innnortal and in\aluable. We rexere 
 the memor>- of such men, not only for what the\- did but for 
 
Address of Mr. />rii'/dri;r<\ /'/ CainiCi lit id 91 
 
 what they were. We need nut wait tur po.sterity to look haek- 
 wanl throui^h tile vista of time for a jnst aI)prai^al of that 
 character or that life work. He was lonj; ago crowned with 
 the affection of his colleaj^ues and the admiration and Kr:^ti- 
 tnde of his constituents. Less than two _\'ears before his 
 death the peojile of his State, irres])ective of party or sex, 
 gathered at our beautiful capitol buildinv; iu the fair city of 
 Hartford and rivaled eacli other iu testifxing their affection 
 for him at a great reception g"i\-en in his honor. To-day we 
 have heard triljutes of respect and the loving words which 
 have fieen spoken by his friends and associates in this great 
 body, llncon.sciously we are carried back at this time to the 
 scene in that same capitol at Hartford just one month before 
 the death of Senator Pl,.VTT, when he stood by the bier of his 
 beloved colleague of a quarter of a century. Senator Joseph 
 R. Hawley. Senator Pi^att said: 
 
 " Is lie (lead? No. Hy our ino.st earnest hope.s, by all of our devoutest 
 failli, nil. He has but begun to live. In those subterranean cemeteries 
 under the ancient city of Rome — in the catacombs — there are thousands 
 and hundreds of thousands of inscriptions on the slabs which close the 
 resting places of those early martyrs, the faithful ones, or scratched rudely 
 in the plaster above them; but of all those inscriptions which tell of the 
 triumph of faith, of the beyond, one has always seemed to me most sit;- 
 nificant. It is this — these simple words — 'He entered into life.' That 
 is what General Hawley has done. We are not here so much to mourn 
 his death as, it seems to me, to celebrate his birth into a new and a I letter 
 life; into a field of greater, larger, and more spiritual activities. It is a 
 birthday, not a death day, after all, which Iirings us together, which knits 
 all hearts in love and sympathy. Henry Ward Beecher so often spoke of 
 death as a coronation. It is. He is crowned now, this friend and mui- 
 rade of ours — crowned, in the wonderful lanvcuaxe of inspiration, by the 
 Almighty "with glory and iiinuortality.' Why, llien, shmild we weep? 
 So we will not think of him as dead, but living, and ue will thuik of him 
 as we think of friends whom we sometimes go down to see as they sail 
 away in ships for foreign lands, never expecting to see them with nur 
 eyes again, but knowing that they are still in life and in other tiel<ls ex. 
 ertin,t; the activities of life. We will say farewell to-day as we comm!; 
 
92 Lift' ti)id Character of Orz'i/lc //. Piatt 
 
 him to tlic- uartli — no; not farewell, l)Ul that better \vor<l, 'jjood-by' — 
 Go<l he with you — j;(Kj<i-by. We will whisix-r that word 'good-bv,' for 
 the heart feels most, and the lips move not, and the eye speaks the gentle 
 'good-by.' " 
 
 Within a span he, too, had embarked, and we think of him 
 as he thought of Hawley. He liad spun Hfe's web to the 
 fiuisli; the fabric was complete. 
 
 " Let us take to ourselves a lesson. 
 
 No lesson can braver be. 
 Of the ways of the tapestry weavers. 
 
 On the other side of the sea. 
 
 .\bove their head the pattern hangs, 
 
 They study it with care, 
 The while their fingers deftly weave, 
 
 Their eyes are fa.stened there. 
 
 They tell this curious thing l>esides. 
 
 Of the patient, plodding weaver. 
 He works on the wrong side evennore, 
 
 But works for the right side ever. 
 
 It is only when his work is done. 
 
 And the web is loosed and turned, 
 That he sees the real handiwork 
 
 His marvelous skill has learned. 
 
 .\h, the sight of its delicate beauty! 
 
 How it pays him for all its cost! 
 No rarer, daintier work than his 
 
 Was ever done by the frost. 
 
 The years of man are nature's looms, 
 
 Let down from the place of the sun, 
 Wherein we are weaving alway. 
 
 Till the mystic web is done. 
 
 Sometimes blindly — but weaving surely, 
 
 Kacli for himself his fate; 
 We may not see how the right side looks; 
 
 We must often weave — and wait." 
 
 Mr. President, in the ripeness of a vast experience and in 
 the fuUness of earthly honors, with every duty performed and 
 every obligation redeemed, he has entered into the joys of the 
 
. li/i/rt'ss of Mr. Ih iiiiih\oc,\ <>/ Cmiuri lii ul 93 
 
 blessed. His ser\-iccs in tliis Senate will be treasureil ainonj^ 
 its ])iiin(lest nieiniiries, and bis fame and bis eareer will al\va\s 
 remain as a sacred legacy and an inspiring; example to the 
 people of his State. As we are in and of a world of m\s- 
 teries, who knows but that to-day, not afar olT, bnt \'ery near 
 anil in this \'er\- jnesence, the nii.t;bl> who ha\-e heretofore sat 
 within these walls are silent spectators of these solemn pro- 
 ceedings, having pnt on iminortalit\ in the effulgence and .glory 
 of the choir invisible? 
 
 Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the resolutions. 
 
 The Vice-Pkksidkxt. The question is on agreeing to the 
 resolutions submitted \)\ the senior Senator from Connecticut. 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 
 
 Mr. BuLKELEY. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect 
 to the memory of our former colleague, I move that the Sen- 
 ate adjourn. 
 
 The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 o'clock 
 p. m. I the Senate adjourned luitil Monday, April J3, 1906, at 
 12 o'clock meridian. 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 
 
 I )kci';mi!p:k 4, 1905. 
 
 imrssactK from the skxatk. 
 
 A message from tliL- Senate, by Mr. I'arkinson, its readiiisj; 
 clerk, announced thai the Senate lias ]>assed the followini; 
 resolution; 
 
 Rrsolz't'd, That tliu StnatL', with deep regret, has listened to the an- 
 nouncement of the death of the Hon. Orvii.le Hitchcock Pl.\tt, for 
 more than a quarter of a century a member of this body, a period marked 
 by five consecutive elections, as a Senator from the State of Connecticut. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these resolutions 
 to the House of Representatives. 
 
 Resoll'ed, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
 deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 
 
 DK.VTH Ol' SENATOR PL.\TT, OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 Mr. LiLi.EV, of Connecticut. Mr. Sjieaker, I offer the follow- 
 ing resolution, which I >end to the Clerk's desk: 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death 
 of Hon. Orvii,i.E Hitchcock Pi..\TT, a Senator of the United States, of 
 the State of Connecticut. 
 
 Resolved. That the Clerk connnunicate these resolutions to tlie Senate 
 and transmit a copy therecjf to the family of the deceased Senator. 
 
 The resolution was agreed to. 
 
 .\DJOt'RNlIKNT. 
 
 Mr. McKiNNEV. Mr. Sjieaker, as a further mark of the re- 
 spect which we hold of the memory of the deceased Senator, 
 Okville Hitchcock Platt, I move that the House do now 
 adjourn. 
 
96 ProciTdiiiiis ill the House 
 
 The motion was ajirccd to; accorcliiigly (at 3 o'clock and 
 37 minutes) the House adjourned until 12 o'clock niK)n to- 
 morrow. 
 
 Makcii 5. lyo^. 
 
 MKMOKIAI. SERVICES FOR THE I. ATE SENATOR I'l.ATT. 
 
 Mr. Sperkv. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following order, and 
 ask for its adoption. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Oiilinii, That ,S.itiinlay, .-\pril 14, at i o'clock, be .set apart for addresses 
 on the life, character, anil public services of Hon. Orville II. I'latt, late a 
 Senator from tlie Stale of Connecticut. 
 
 The order was adopted. 
 
 Mr. P.VYNE. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now 
 adjourn. 
 
 The motion was agreed to. 
 
 Accordinglj- (at 4 o'clock and 35 minutes p. m. ) the House 
 adjourned until to-morrow, at 12 o'clock noon. 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 Saturday, .lf>> il j_f, ujoh 
 
 The House met at \2 o'clock in. 
 
 The following prayer was offered liy the Chaplain, Rev. 
 Hknky N. Coudkn, D. D. 
 
 We lift np our hearts in gratitude tt) Thee, O God, our 
 heavenly Father, for that innumerable host of pure, brave, 
 noble, high-minded men who, susceptible to the heavenly 
 influences, have made themselves felt in the affairs (jf men to 
 the honor and glory of Thy holy name, and for that profound 
 regard which obtains for those who have wrought well and left 
 behind them a character worthy of enudation. That this 
 House will to-da\- memorialize such a man; one who served 
 his .State and natinn with integrit>' and honor, and for a quarter 
 of a century held a conspicuous place in the Senate of the 
 United States, a leader among leaders, faithful, honest, just, 
 pure in thought and speech. May his memor\' be an inspira- 
 tion to those who surx'ive him and a living example for the 
 generations to come; and Thine be the praise, through Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
 
 OKDKK (.)F Bl'SINKSS. 
 
 The Speaker. The Chair would call the attention of 
 Members to the fact that at i o'clock under a special order 
 to-day memorial services in memory of the late Senator Pi.att 
 will be held in the House. Since the order was made it has 
 been foiuid out that the probabilities are the House may 
 S. Doc. 534, 59-' 7 97 
 
gS Life ami C/mnuhr of Orvillc If. I'lntl 
 
 adjourn at about J. 15 o'clock to witness the laying of the 
 corner stone in the ofSce building. It has been suggested to 
 nie by some members of the Connecticut delegation that tl e 
 memorial services be expedited by fifteen minutes, and that 
 they start at fifteen minutes to i instead of at i o'clock to 
 enable the finishing of the order b\- that time. Is there ob- 
 jection to that rearrangement? [After a i)ause.] The Chair 
 hears none, and it is so ordered. 
 
 Ml•:M()K^• oi- HON. ()K\ii.i.K iirrcncocK I"I,.\tt. 
 
 Mr. Sl'icuKV. Mr. ,SjK-aker. the liuur having arrived for the 
 exerci.ses, I send to the Clerk's desk the following resolution. 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That in pursuance of the .special orilcr liLTclofure adopted, 
 the House proctc<l to pay tribute to the nieinory of the Hon. Orvii.le 
 Hitchcock Pi..\tt, late a Senator from the Stale of Connecticut. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the niimory of the de- 
 ce;ised, and in recognition of his distinj^uished career ami his ureal .ser\'ice 
 to his country as a fnited States Senator, the House, at the conclusion ol 
 the memorial ])roceedings of this day, shall stand adjourned. 
 
 Resolied, Thai the Clerk of the House communicate thesi- nsolutions 
 to the Senate. 
 
 Resoli'ed, That the Clerk of the House be, an<l he is hereby, inslructeil 
 to send a copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 
 
 The S1'1';.\K1':k. The (|Uestic)n is on agreeing to the resolu- 
 tions. 
 
 The question was taken; and the resolutions were iniani- 
 nicusly agreed to. 
 
Address of Mr. Sprrry, of i'oiiii(< /i( /</ (j<> 
 
 Address of Mr. Sferry, of Connecticut 
 
 Mr. vSpKKKV. Mi. vSpcakcr, dcatli dealt vt;r>- liai>lil\ willi 
 the State* of Cinniciticul lUiriiit; the \ear just passed. It re- 
 moved from us twcicit iiur noblest and truest men when Senator 
 Jo.seph R. Ha\vle\- and Senator ( )k\ii.i,k H. Pi..\tt were 
 called to that land " whence no man relurneth." The death of 
 the hrilliant soldier and statesman, tienera! Hawle>', was a 
 hard blow, but not unexpected. We were prepared for that. 
 But within a month of Senator Hawle\''s death our .senior 
 Senator was suddenly stricken down at the heii;ht of his 
 career and u.sefulness to the vState. The death of Senator 
 Pl.vtt, so unexpected, so sudden, and following so clo.sely the 
 death of Senator Hawley, cast a gloom over the entire State, 
 and they were mourned in almost every home. 
 
 The life and political career of Hon. Orvii.lk Hitchcock 
 Pi..\TT demonstrates what persistency, common sen.se, and Ikju- 
 esty will accomplish. When Senator Pl.vTT was first elected 
 to the Senate in 1879, he was not a national figure. Indeed, 
 his fame had hardly spread outside of his own State. True, he 
 had Ijeen honored by his fellow-citi/.ens with main' (:}ffioes. He 
 was known and respected as an honest, hardworking man of 
 recognized ability, but onl\- his nu.ist intimate friends dared to 
 predict that in time he would l.iecome one of the leaders of the 
 United States vSenate and of the whole country. 
 
 His growth in power and influence was not a sudden one. 
 It was steady, slow, but sure. For tweiitx- years of his Sena- 
 torial life he was unconsciously preparing liimself for the great 
 responsibilities that awaited him as chairman of the Committee 
 
lOO Life tJnti Character of OrvilU- //. Plait 
 
 on Cuban Affairs. By attending faithfully to liis duly, hy 
 never swerving one iota from the path he believed to l)e right, 
 Senator Platt gained the confidence and esteem of his col- 
 leagues in the Senate. More and more, with each passing 
 3'ear, his advice was .sought, until he was reckoned among the 
 leaders in the upix-r branch of Congress. 
 
 Still for the.se many \ears the country at large knew but 
 little of the .senior Senator from Connecticut. His nuxle.sty 
 and his retiring disposition .stood in his way. He cared noth- 
 ing for the transient fame that most men .strive for. He 
 sought and obtained the high regard of his own colleagues, 
 the be.st judges of his ability. So when the serious problems 
 growing out of the Spanish war confronted us, especially with 
 regard to the future of Cuba, it was no surpri.se to tlK)se who 
 had watched Senator Pi..\tt for twenty years to find that upon 
 him devolved the task of solving the complex question of our 
 relations with the island of Cuba. As chainiian of the Com- 
 mittee on Cuban Affairs Senator Pi..VTT made himself thor- 
 oughly familiar with the work in hand, as he always did. 
 The Platt aniendment, which practically insures to Cuba a free 
 and stable government, stands to-day as a monument to his 
 statesmanship and his skill as a legislator. 
 
 The passage of that amendment made Senator Pi..\tt a 
 famous man ihrou.ulu>ut the world. He had at last come into 
 his own, and the country- acknowledged him as one of its great- 
 est men. He seemed to grow from that time on with rapid 
 strides. Again the country heard of him as the presiding offi- 
 cer of the Swayne impeachment trial, last session. With dig- 
 nitv, with fidelity, and with impartiality he attended day after 
 day to this arduous duty, and the end of the long struggle 
 found him worn-out, ill, but brave to the last. Kven then no 
 one suspected that he would be called so soon. His devotion 
 
Address of Mr. Sprriw <>/ C'<)ini<f//i /// mi 
 
 t" ilut\'. his ;i\i(lit\' for work, tinall\ L;ot the heller ot him and 
 laid him low at the very /eiiilh nf his eareer. 
 
 While for raan\- \ears Senator I'i.att worked failhfnil\- as a 
 national lea;islalor wilhoul sectirini; the recognition due him 
 from the nation at large, we of Connecticut knew and honored 
 him. Indeed, he served longer than an>- other Conneetient man 
 in the Senate. His first election, in 1S71), was a long-drawn- 
 out struggle, but four times since then he was the unanimous 
 choice of the RepuVilicans in our legislature. It was indeed the 
 greatest tribute the people of Connecticut could ]>a>' him. Xo 
 matter who were elected to the legislature year after >ear, the 
 voters demanded the relention of Senator Pi..\TT. and none 
 dared, nay even wished, to oppose him. 
 
 Il wa,s no wonder that Senator Pi^.vtt was beloved and hon- 
 ored l)v the State in which he lived practically all his life. He 
 was distincth' a son of Connecticut. Born in Washington, 
 among the Ijeautiful hills of Litchfielil County, Jidy U), i''^-';, 
 he spent his entire life in the State, with the exception of a 
 few months in Pennsylvania. In 1851 Senator Pl.vtt opened 
 a law office in Meriden, and then began, b\- slow de.grees, his 
 growth and his political career, which finalh" culminated in 
 the United States Senate. In 1853 he was elected judge of 
 probate of Meriden, the first political office he held. He was 
 one of the founders of the Republican ]iarty in Coinieclicut, in 
 1S56, and in 1S57 was elected .secretary of state. In iS6i-^i2 
 he ser\-ed in the State senate. Two years later he was a mem- 
 ber of the lower house and chairman of the judiciary commit- 
 tee. Five years after that he was again a member of the 
 house and chosen its sjieaker. When he retired from that 
 office he was known and respected throughout the vState, and 
 even then he was looked upon as the coming statesman of 
 Connecticut. 
 
I02 Li/'i' and Character of Orrillc II. Plait 
 
 Ft)r SDiuc liiiR-, liowevtrr, Senator Pi.att retired from poli- 
 tics to devote liiiiiself to his increasiiij; law jiractice. It was 
 not initil 1S77 that he again held office. He was then ap- 
 pointed vState attorney for New Haven County, which posi- 
 tion he held until elected to the Senate. vSiich, in brief, was 
 the history of the jjolitical life of Senator I'i..\tt. In .ill 
 these \arious offices he displayed the wonderful energy, com- 
 mon .sen.se, and capacity for work which finally brought him 
 such renown and honor. Never a breath of scandal tainted 
 his life. His honesty was never questioned. What he be- 
 lieved to be right he did, and he never curried i>opular favor. 
 Throughout his busy life he continued the even tenor of his 
 way, looking always .straight ahead, never caring one iota for 
 public praise or censure. He knew he always did his duty 
 as he .saw it. and he felt confitlent the peo])le, who showered 
 jK)litical honors upon him, would rightl)' estimate the sjiirit 
 and value of his work. And they did. 
 
 To me per.sonally Senator Pi..\tt was ])articularl\- clo.se. 
 We were within nine days of the .same age, and for fift\- 
 years we had been together in all the struggles of the Re- 
 publican party in Connecticut. I was ])roud to call myself 
 one of his intimate friends, and to be on the .same .side with 
 him in our ])olilical battles. I loved liim, honored him, and 
 esteemed him. His lo.ss was to me a personal one, and he 
 left a vacancy in my heart that no man can fill. His mem- 
 ory will ever remain very dear to me, as it also will to all 
 who knew liim well. 
 
 The jirival.; life of Senator Pi..\TT was clean, straightfor- 
 ward, and honest. His habits were exemplary; yes, frugal. 
 He was a man who cared not for show. His tastes were sim- 
 ple, and he loved God's nature. W'hen rich in years .and 
 honors he still longed for the simple life of the little country 
 
.l(/<fris.s (>/ Mr. Spiiry, of Coiii/cc /ii 11/ 103 
 
 town anioni; the hilK where he was horn, and Id it hi- veluined 
 til Uw ami to die. Here in the early s]irin.i; he hreatlied his 
 last, almost on the \'ery spot where he hrsl saw the lij^ht of 
 day. How fittinj;" that a man of his temperament shotilil he 
 horn and die amont; the hills anil scenes he lo\ed so well! 
 
 To the ]ieoj)le of his native town he was alvva>s a neii;hbor, 
 not a distinguished Senator, and he took an acti\e interest in 
 their affairs, small as they were, comjiared to the (juestions 
 with which he was accustomed to deal. And here, on a beau- 
 tiful spring day, the last .sad rites were performed. Here he 
 was laid to rest in the jiretty little cemetery on the hill. It 
 was an impressive ceremony iu its simplicit>'. To the little 
 country church his remains were borne upon the shoulders of 
 his neighbors — farmers — who had known him all their lives. 
 Here there were no flowery funeral orations, no show, simph- 
 the devoted and silent tril)ute of friends and neighbors. Dis- 
 tinguished men from the United vStates vSenate and Hou.se, 
 high State officials, and members of the legislature all liowed 
 their heads in heartfelt grief as the sim])le words of the Go.spel 
 lesson were read. 
 
 \\'ith bared heads all followed in the procession to the ceme- 
 ter>'. A few more words of prayer and all that was earthly 
 of Okvillk H. Pl.\tt was laid to re.st. 
 
 Ma\' his memory ever remain fresli in our minds and in our 
 hearts! May his life teach to our young men a lesson of hon- 
 est}', of integrity, of devotion to duty, and of simplicity, for 
 all tlie.se made him a great and noble man! 
 
 Of him can truthfully be .said: "Well done, thou good and 
 faithful servant." 
 
104 /-//'■ "■""' Character of Orx'ill,- II. I'latI 
 
 Address of Mr. Lilley, of CoNNEcncur. 
 
 Mr. Lii.i.KV of Connecticut. Mr. SjK-akcr, .situated anionj^ 
 the lower ranges of the beautiful Oreen Mountains, in one 
 <5f the most charming spots of old New England, is the pic- 
 turesque town of Wasliington, in the State of Connecticut, 
 un.suq)a.s.sed for its scenic lieaut\', inhabited by descendants 
 of the Puritans. Here lies all that is earthly of our honored 
 and beloved statesman, .scholar, and jiatriot, Okvili.k Hitch- 
 cock Pl.\tt. 
 
 When his great spirit took its flight, not only did every 
 right-minded inhabitant of our ])rond Connnonwealth feel 
 that they had suffered an irreparable loss, but the people of 
 this great Republic, realizing that he belonged to them almo.st 
 as much as to Connecticut, mourned with us. We rise above 
 our sorrow with a quickening of mingled pride and pleasure 
 to recall this true son of the Puritans as he labored in our 
 mid.st, a man of the highest abilities, with a sterling, noble 
 character. 
 
 The high office to which our people, through llioir chosen 
 representatives, elevated him, and which he liad fdled with 
 so much grace and such marked ability, came to him un.sought. 
 At the expiration of his first and each succeeding term he 
 was the unanimous choice of his part>', the value of his life's 
 work lKi\ing been the more appreciated by his native State 
 as the years rolled by, the zenith of his power ever rising 
 without a wane until grim deatli halted the upward course. 
 
 Senator Pl.xtt was a .statesman in all that word implies 
 and in its fullest sense, po.ssessing that keen perspective 
 
.IMnws of M)\ l.iII(-\\ of C'oin/odii 11/ 105 
 
 facuU\- of Idokini; far into Ur- future-, foiL-lflliivj, with acou- 
 rac\' the result uf le.t;islatii)ii. Ahva\s with tht- liest interests 
 (if liis lieliiveil State jiaranionut, \\v iie\'er failed tn aecc>ril due 
 and careful consideratiou to everv issue of the Kepuhlii- as a 
 unit and to her e\-er>' citizen, lielie\-in,!; in legislation result- 
 in>,r in the .<;'reatest ;j.(iod to the .t;reatest numbers, ,ind when 
 he was called to that "land which is faiier than da\'" there 
 was left a \did in that .ijreat coordinate branch of this C.ox-- 
 ermnent which will not soon be filled. 
 
 His faith" in the people and in our form of t;o\-ernment was 
 remarkable and aliidinij;, especially in the Senate, where he had 
 devoted nearly a generation .so industriously, so assiduously, 
 so unceasingly. He believed that the Senate as at present 
 constituted contained as able, forceful deljaters, as jiowerful 
 orators, and men as fearless, as honest, and with as great intel- 
 lectual minds as it ever contained since the foinidation of the 
 Government. Calling upon him one e\'ening during the last 
 Congress, as was my custom, for instruction and inspiration, 
 I recall his .saying that he had just listened to a speech b\- one 
 of his collea,gues which, in his opinion, was the ecpial, it not 
 the superior, of any that had e\er lieen uttered upon the floor 
 of that Chamber. 
 
 His farsighted statesmanship was neither a gift of nature 
 nor a lucky stroke of chance, but the logical outcome of a mind 
 such as was his. analytical and constructive, devoted to thor- 
 ough investigation of facts and jirecedents. 
 
 The very life of Senator Pl.vtt all \-ies and blends with 
 his intellectual attaiinnents. His life was simplicit>- itself — 
 kind, gentle, unassunung. thoughtful onl> of others, never 
 of .self; ever doing good, loving his fellow-men, honorin,g God, 
 and servin.g his country with all his might, all his soul, all hi,s 
 strength. 
 
lo6 Life ami C/mnuhr of Orrillc II. Platl 
 
 Let us hojH; that this typical old Xew Ivuglaiid type of 
 manhood ina>- ever stand preeuiiiiently before our younjj men 
 of Connecticut and of our whole country as an ideal, attain- 
 ing^ which all the world will say, "His life was a success. " 
 
 I can not refrain ( if I may be pardoned for speaking of 
 mj'self > from expressing my keen personal loss, our relations 
 being of the most friendly character. Frequently I went to 
 him, as a child to his father, for advice and guidance, and 
 though oftentimes imjieding his constant laliors he always 
 welcomed me as a father his son. and never did I lea\L- with- 
 out feeling benefitted and inspired with a clearer under- 
 standing. 
 
 As we pay our last tribute to such a worthy life, there is 
 .sweet .solace in the thought that Connecticut loves and hon- 
 ors him, and will ever cherish and revere his memorj'. 
 
liidriss <i/' Mr. ffiiiry, «f Count liini/ 
 
 Address of Mr. Henry, oe Conneqicut. 
 
 Mr. Henry of Coiiut;cticut. Mr. .Speaker, wliuii the thir- 
 teen Knglish colonies in North America confederated to re- 
 sist the oppressive laws and unjust taxation impo.sed li>- the 
 nii.>ther country, the colony of Connecticut .sent Ro.i;er Sher- 
 man, vSilas Dean, and Eliphalet Dyer as Representatives to 
 the first Continental Congress. Subsequently the colony was 
 represented by Oliver Wolcott, Sanuiel Huntington, William 
 Williams, and Roger Sherman, signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence. After the adoption of the Federal Constitu- 
 tion the State was represented in the early Congresses by 
 C)liver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman, 
 and Jonathan Trumbull, historic names which still ha\-e 
 power to stir the hearts of all patriotic sons of Coiuiecticut. 
 
 In later years Connecticut has been .served in the Senate 
 of the United States by many brilliant and able men — Xiles, 
 Baldwin, Smith, Toucey, Gillett, Foster, Dixon, Ferry, Katon, 
 Hawley, PlaTT, all notable and distinguished names in the 
 story of American hi.story. 
 
 The last of these, whose memory we commemorate and honor 
 to-dav, surpa.ssed all his predecessors in length of sen.-ice, and 
 was the peer of any upon that roll of illustrious .statesmen who 
 for more than a century liave graced the Senate and honored 
 the State they represented. 
 
 Orviixe Hitchcock Platt was first elected to the United 
 States Senate in 1S79, and serA-ed continuously for twenty-six 
 
io8 Life and Oinnu/tr of Orzillc //. Plait 
 
 years; four times reelected without oppositiou witliiu his j)an\-, 
 lie was easih- the most i)opular statesman of his generation in 
 the State he loved and served. Always frankly expressing his 
 views upon pending political issues and current events, he pre- 
 ferred to lead rather than follow public opinion; sometimes 
 criticised by political opponents and less farseeing men, he 
 patiently awaited the vindication the future invariably brought. 
 His thorough comprehension of apparently difficult economic 
 and political problems, his faculty for forecasting and initiating 
 original definite policies (well illustrated 1>\- the amendment 
 bearing his name attached to legi.slation defining our relations 
 with Cuba) gave him high rank as a constructive statesman 
 and inclined other men of inferior perceptive faculties to defer 
 to his judgment and accept his leadership. 
 
 Perhaps no higher compliment can l)e jiaid to his superior 
 inductive powers than to say that his leadership was never a 
 disap[K)intment; his friends, his con.stituents, his colleagues in 
 the Senate, as well as high officials of the nation, ever found 
 in him a wise and safe adviser. 
 
 Senator Pi..\tt was of the best Puritan lineage. His paternal 
 ancestor, first settler Richard Platl, was, in 163S, one of the 
 founders of New Haven colony, his name being upon the first 
 assessment list of that colony. " Cioodman " Piatt, as he was 
 styled in the ijuaint language of the period found in the colonial 
 records, was in s\nipathy with the views of the Rev. John 
 Davenport, of mast pious memory, a Puritan of the strictest 
 faith, who, regarding the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and 
 Connecticut colonists as lax in civil and ecclesiastical methods, 
 led his followers to the founding of a new colony u])on the 
 shores of Long Island Sound, wliere he earnestly labored to 
 establi.sh a purely religious commonwealth, governed in accord- 
 ance with scriptural teachings, an ideal theocratic republic 
 
.lt/i//rss I'l }[)'. f/<iir\\ of C(iin/<(/ini/ 109 
 
 where church discijihue ami ci\ il i;i>\cniiuciit should remain 
 inseparable. 
 
 It is doubtful if history can afTord a hij^her hercditar>- title 
 of true m)bilit>' than is presented b\' the descendants cif these 
 iron-willed, sti)Ut-hearted, freedoni-lovini;-, stalwart Christians 
 of three centuries a.^o, who planted the bei;innin;_;s of emjiire 
 upon the inhospitable soil of New l'jij;laml. 
 
 Possibly influenced by inherited mental tendencies, \et such 
 Puritanism as Senator Platt possessed was broadened and 
 made tolerant by his Christian charitx and kindl\- regard for 
 all of C rod's creatures; he k)ved his fellow-men, and the>- repaid 
 his self-sacrificing devotion by nncinestioninj; confidence and 
 respect. 
 
 The .son of a ])lain Connecticut farmer, of a class to be found 
 in most New England towns, the best blood of the land, and 
 more than any other portion of our people, the founders and 
 builders of the Republic, young Okvili.k H. Platt encoun- 
 tered the difficulties attendant upon his humljle early environ- 
 ments, biU with \irile energy, transmitted through a long line 
 of sturdy ancestors, the Yankee boy fought his way to man- 
 hood, success, and ultimate fame. Triumphantly overcoming 
 all obstacles, he acquired a fundamental education equal to the 
 exigencies and re([uirements of a long and distinguished career. 
 Poor in pocket, but rich in a determination to make his wa\' in 
 the world, he entered upon the practice of his chosen profes- 
 sion, and almost immediately secured favorable recognition as a 
 .sound and able lawyer. Soon called to political preferment. 
 Senator Pl.vTT',s abilit\-, tact, and honestw in pulilic as in ])ri- 
 vate life, commanded the confidence not onl>- of his inunediate 
 constituents, but of the people of the entire vState. His wis- 
 dom grew and kejit pace with his experience, and ripened into 
 statesmanship which year after year more and more gained him 
 
no Life and Cliiuncttr of Oriillr //. I'loll 
 
 ]K)j)ular favor, increased his jxiwcr for good, and won him 
 national recognition nntil his fame and reputation was even 
 broader than our national boundaries. 
 
 In resolutions adopted by the Connecttcut general assem- 
 bly, innnediately after Senator Pi,.\tt's decease, it was accu- 
 rately stated; * 
 
 "Connecticut jjeople have with ever-increa.sing apprecia- 
 tion followed his course of steady and substantial growth 
 and development to the commanding position of influence 
 which he exercised at the seat of government, and the feel- 
 ing of our ]:eople toward Okn'ii.i.i-: H. Pi..\tt, as in his 
 advancing years he still bore the heat and burden of the 
 daj- in the di.scharge of his resjxjnsible duties, can not be 
 measured by mere appreciation and respect, but was and is 
 more akin to love, and the memory of his simple and win- 
 ning ]>ersonalit>', and his earnest devotion to the interests 
 of the .State and country will long linger in the memory of 
 a grateful people." 
 
 In this place and presence it is sujKTfluous to refer to 
 the well-known fact that few men possessed greater influ- 
 ence with the last and present national Administrations than 
 Senator Pl.vtt. President Roosevelt, alike with President 
 McKinley, fretpienlh- sought .and followed the advice of 
 Connecticut's senior Senator, at all times finding in him a 
 statesman of trained intellect and skilled experience, a coun- 
 sellor whose wi.sdom never failed. His frank, decisive man- 
 ner, clear-headed views, and comprehensive grasp of all 
 public questions inspired conviction and fixed the judgment 
 of all who sought his confidence or came within the .scope of 
 his influence. 
 
 I'pon occasion reticent with strangers, but afi'able and 
 approachable, Senator Pi..\TT was always genial to his friends; 
 
^-li///ri'ss (>/.]//. I lt)n\\ (>/ C'oinii c in 11/ ill 
 
 oflcn optiniislic, Ik- rarel\- iiululi;i.-il in pL'^sinii^lic \-ie\v^, and 
 wIilU other men of less firm faith in dod's jirox-idenee were 
 doubtful of the future, and inclined to despair of the Kc]iul)- 
 lic, he, with hoi)eful tiust in our eountry's destin>', remained 
 safely anchored to his positive altruistic convictions. 
 
 Fortunately hlessed with a loui; and untranuneled mental 
 development, he in the fullness of years, in complete posses- 
 sion of every intellectual power, with jiristine vitjor unim- 
 paired, passed to his reward. 
 
112 Life and Character of Orville //. Plat I 
 
 Address of Mr. Higgins, of Connecticut 
 
 Mr. Hii.Gi.vs. Mr. Speaker, following a long-established 
 practice, it is eniinentl\' fitting that this Ht)u.se pause at times 
 in its usual deliberations for reflection and ])ay just tribute 
 and t)fTer eulogy to those whose lives in this forum have been 
 spent in eminent service to their country. 
 
 So we this day .set aside the u.sual duties that would occupy 
 us to h(}nor the. memory of Okvillk Hitchcock Pl.\tt, for 
 twenty-six years an honored and distinguished Senator from 
 Connecticut. .\ service for more than a quarter of a centurx- 
 in the highest legislative body in the world speaks for it.self 
 of loyalty to State and fidelity to trust. 
 
 It was not my privilege to have known and associated 
 with Senator Pi..\tt as a colleague, but as one in his own 
 State, among his own people, by whom ho was greath' loved 
 and trusted. The jK-ople of Connecticut were justly jiroud 
 of him. 
 
 Senator 1'l.\TT j)ossessed the \irtues of integrit\-, industry. 
 and a fine sense of justice. Loathing .sham anil without jire- 
 tense, his abilities manifested them.selves in a broad and earnest 
 patriotism and devotion to his country, his family, and his 
 friends. He was jireeminent as a coun.sellor, and his judgment 
 was often .sought. Because of his capacity to look into the 
 future, his aliility to initiate, and his clear analysis of what 
 had .seemed intricate problems, the determination of great (jues- 
 tions often rested with him. 
 
 The history of our country records evidences of his luistiuted 
 labors and devotion to the highest and best interests of those 
 
.^(Mrrss of Mr. ffii^i^ins^i of Coinu-cticitl 113 
 
 wlioiu he had hecii cho.scn to serve. Tliis House honors itself 
 in the tributes of love and respect we this dav pa\' to the 
 uienior}- of Senator Pi.att. A knowleilge of his life's work 
 of service should he an inspiration to all men. Well may his 
 virtues and undainited courage cau.se us to strive for the 
 highest and be.st. 
 
 S. Doc. 534, 59-1 8 
 
114 f-'fi' '"'^ Character of Orville II. Piatt 
 
 Address of Mr. Hill, of CorwEcncuT 
 
 Mr. Hii.L of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, others have already 
 reviewed the details of the life and work of Senator O. H. 
 Pl.\tt. Let me refer to a bit of unwritten history with which 
 he was connected and show the result of the influence which he 
 exertetl. 
 
 When the Republic of Hawaii was organized, the first min- 
 ister to this country chanced to be a personal friend of mine. 
 Soon after his arrival at Washington he asked ine to pro- 
 cure an inler\-iew for him with the senior Senator from Con- 
 necticut. On Senator Platt's suggestion the inlLr\iew was 
 held in a closed carriage on that same evening, and, as the 
 driver wandered aimlessly for nearly three hours about the 
 streets of Washington, inside of that carriage questions were 
 put and answers given, policies discus.sed and conclusions 
 reached, whicli ultimately brought Hawaii under the sov- 
 ereignty of the United States as an organized Territory. 
 
 Leaving the minister at his home, I took the Senator to 
 his hotel, and as he stepped from the carriage he said: "I 
 guess the time has come when we nnist think about entering 
 upon .some form of a colonial system." From that day the 
 one ab-sorbing thought of his life was the relation which the 
 United States, the dominant jiower of the Western Hemis- 
 phere, should hold to the weaker continental powers and the 
 islands in the two oceans which wash our shores; and when 
 a little later the war with Spain had thrown upon us the 
 resixinsil)ility of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, and 
 .statesmen doubted as to the right of a representative republic 
 
.■Ii////yss (1/ Mr. 1 1 ill ^ o/ ('(niiurliiul 115 
 
 to Imlil tonlrcil ami m i\(.Tcii;iU\' cil inire|)ri.-M.-iUeil ]H-()|ik's, 1il- 
 (lcinonstratt.-(l hc-Ndiul cavil nr dispuU', in a sjierch of wcni- 
 dcrful siniplioitx- luit maiAL-lous sti"fn.i;th, Uiat the Unitfd 
 States possessL'tl iiiheriteiith', as well as under its Constitu- 
 tion, all of the ri.iilits and ])o\vers jiertainins' to an\' absolutely 
 independent S(>\ereiL;n natimi. Tlie I'latt anKiidnient to the 
 Cuban constitution was only a ])ractical aiijilication of the 
 principles enunciated in the earlier s])eech, and it is entirely' 
 safe to say, that as Abraham Lincoln demonstrated to the 
 world the ri;j;ht of the Republic to preserve its own life 
 a,t;ainst attacks from within, so it is due to ()k\'ii,i.I': H. 
 I'l.ATT, as nuich as to any other one man, that the United 
 States stands forth among the powers of the world to-day 
 the equal of any in every right, in every pri\ilege, in every 
 degree and kind of sovereignty, and lacking in n<i resjiect in 
 any prerogative enjoxed or claimed by any other. If he had 
 done nothing else but this in his twenty-six years of service 
 in the Senate, he would have left his imprint on the history 
 of his time. 
 
 He entered the .Senate in LSjy, an ordinary Xew England 
 country lawyer, Imt great enough to stick when flung up 
 against the chance of greater opportunities. For a quarter 
 of a century he studied and toiled for the welfare of a grate- 
 ful constituency — no want of theirs too small to escape his 
 notice; no demand too large or too frequent to exhaust his 
 patience — and yet through it all it is manifest, as we look 
 back over his life work, that he saw, as all nuist .see who in 
 the thick of things at the nation's capital see at all, that the 
 real welfare and enduring prosperit}- of his (jwn little State 
 was inextricably bound up and absolutely interwoven with 
 the larger national life. I do not belie\e that it ever entered 
 into the mind of Okville H. Pl.vtt that his efficiencv as a 
 
Il6 Lift- and Character of Orziilc //. Plait 
 
 representative or his greatness as a Senator would or could 
 be measured 1>\' llic number or size of the ai)i)ropnations 
 which lie niijjht secure from the National Treasury for 
 exf)enditure within the boundaries of his own State, for he 
 looked upon the States as " niemtiers of one body," whcse 
 general welfare was his highest concern. Whether as chair- 
 man of the Connnittee on Territories or Patents, creating 
 sovereign States in the then boundless West, or securing for 
 the individual the reward of inventive genius, he worked 
 just as patiently and devotedly in the one case as the other; 
 but his thought, his counsel, .-ind his vote were go\'erned 
 and controlled by the way in which he believed the interests 
 of the whole people were to l)e affected by his action. 
 
 He loved to stand ujxni the \ery hilltop of national affairs 
 and .sweep into one view llie whole horizon, and then retir- 
 ing into solitude and .seclusion work out to a wise .■-■olution 
 the jiroblems of our national life, over which other men with 
 selfish thoughts and narrower vision oftentimes stumbled and 
 fell. 
 
 He entered the Senate in iSji) literally a .State man, 
 unknown to the country at Large and probably unacquainted 
 with anyone there except possiblj- his own colleague from 
 Connecticut. Twenty-six years later he died in his country's 
 service a state.sinan in the true meaning of that word, a leader 
 among leaders, and during all that time no man can truth- 
 fully say but that he bore a character above reproach, serving 
 with fidelity and zeal his State, his country, and liis God. 
 [Applause.] 
 
A(i(fr(ss of .]fr. /\rvii,, c/ Xi:f York 117 
 
 Address of Mr. Payne, of New York 
 
 Mr. I'AVN'i':. Mr. Speaker, I first hecaniL- ac<iiiaintcil with 
 Senator <)K\ll,i.i': H. Pl.ATT when I entered the House, in 
 Deceniher, 1.SS3. He had then served four years in the .Senate 
 and was highly respected \)\ his colleag-ues. He had ah'eady 
 taken high rank as a Lawyer and as a wise counselor. 
 
 I l)ecanie more intimately acquainted with liim during the 
 passage of the McKinley tariff liill in 1S90. I found him hroad 
 and liVieral minded, with a thorough aciiuaintance with the 
 condition of the indu.stries of the coimtr\-. I did not fail t(.) 
 consult liini at that time upon man\- of the features of the bill. 
 Associated as I was on the Committee on Ways and Mear.s 
 with Mr. McKiule\- (afterwards President), with Mr. I'.urrows 
 (now a Senator from Michigan), with Mes.srs. Dingley, 15ayne, 
 and Gear, all of whom are now deceased, and with Mr. Mc- 
 Kenna, now a justice of the Supreme Court, and Mr. La 
 Follette, of Wisconsin, now a Senator, I still found it vet)' 
 advantageous to confer frequently' with Senator l'i,.\TT of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 During the preparation of the so-called " Dingle>- Act," in 
 1897, I learned still more to reh' upon the jud.gment and snund 
 sen.se of Senator Pi..vtt. He was most intimatel\' a.ssociated 
 with the late Charles A. Russell, then a Kepresentati\'e from 
 the State of Coiuiecticut, and a distinguished member of the 
 Connnittee on Wa>s and Means. 
 
 vSenator Pl..\T'r was gentle in his manner, modest, and retir- 
 in.g, a man never seeking ojiportunitN- to instruct or obtruding 
 
Ii8 /,//;• and Channlcr of Orvillr //. Plait 
 
 liis advice, hm \vli<i was iiuich soiijjlit after by his c<)Ile:if!^ies 
 on account of tlic soundness of his judj;inent. He was admitted 
 to the bar when 22 years of age, and was indeed learned in the 
 law. Hewasof the judicial temperament and not an aggressive 
 parti.san, although ever true to his convictions. He was not an 
 orator in the ordinary .sense of the term, but he had a way of 
 stating his case clearly and of marshaling his facts in logical 
 sequence so as to carry conviction to tho.se who heard him. He 
 never made a show .speech nor an advertised one. He spoke 
 o!il\- when lie had an object to be attained and seemed to shrink 
 from debate luiless he felt it his dut\- to inform the Senate u]>on 
 pending matters with which he was familiar. Therefore his 
 speaking ever conunanded the attention of tlie Senate. He 
 was a persevering and laborious student and his mind was well 
 stored with useful information and imjiortant facts. He went 
 straight to the point. In the true .sense of the word, on the 
 basis that a successful .speech is one that moves the minds of 
 men and forces conviction, he was an orator of rare ability. 
 He was honest, not alone in the sense that nt) dishonest dollar 
 ever polluted his hand — honesty of that character entitles a 
 man to comparatively little credit, though the lack of it even in 
 that sense is abhorrent to all right-thinking men, and the ac- 
 ceptance of a bribe can not l)e too .severely condemned as graft 
 ami theft — but Senator Pl..\TT liad a higher plane of integritw 
 He was hone.st in his work and iu his studies, in his search for 
 truth, and in the ])rocesses of his mind. He was careful to 
 work out the truth and was not afraid to stand upon it. 
 
 lie lived ill tile midst of industrial and ct)miiiercial activ- 
 ity. During all the years of his political life his State was 
 like a busy hive. He .studied industrial questions with zeal 
 and candor. The mutual and interdependent interests of 
 capital and lalwr were a matter of daih' observation. He 
 
AMrcss of Mr. Paviic, of New York 119 
 
 brought ti) tliL' stnil>- of these i|Uesti()iis that stroiit!, cDiniiioii 
 sense which was the most strikin^^ characteristic of his iniinl. 
 
 He served on the most important committees in the Sen- 
 ate, being for some years prior to his death chairman of the 
 Committee on Relations with Cuba, a member of tlie Com- 
 mittee on Finance, on Indian AtTairs, on tlie Judiciary, on Pri- 
 vate Land Claims, on the Five Ci\-ili/ed Tribes of Indians, 
 and on Patents. I am told that his committee work was 
 the most important of all his services in the Senate. In 
 the Senate or in the House the real work of the Legisla- 
 ture is done in committee. Here the great measures are 
 generally most thoroughly considered; great cjuestions are 
 worked out to their last analysis, and on such matters the 
 perfected l)ill in committee generally passes into law without 
 much amendment. In the quiet of the committee room his 
 indefatigable labor, his unerring judgment, and his concise 
 and direct speech, as well as his talent for constructive states- 
 manship, won for him the first rank. 
 
 The crowning work i}f his vSenatorial career is undoubtedly 
 what is known as the "Piatt amendments," introduced b\- him 
 in the Senate in 1901 as amendments to the niilitar>- appropria- 
 tion bill. These amendments were afterwards embodied in the 
 Cuban constitution and also in the permanent treaty with the 
 Cuban Republic. At the time these amendments were intro- 
 duced in the Senate there was much .sentiment on the subject 
 of our Cuban relations which had little foundation in rea.son. 
 We undertook the war for Cuba, disclaiming and foreclosing in 
 the declaration of war all thought or hope of national gain. 
 It was a war for humanity, undertaken in the spirit of friend- 
 ship for the relief of the suffering people at our very gates. 
 The story of our philanthropy toward the Cuban adorns the 
 l)rightest page in our histor\-. When the war was concluded, 
 
I20 Life and Character of Orrillc If. Piatt 
 
 in carn-ing out our promise as the guardian of the Cuban peo- 
 ple, and when we were about to gi\e them a separate and inde- 
 pendent government, there was danger that our philanthropic 
 feeling, our desire not only to merit the good opinion of llie 
 world, but ()Ur fear of criticism in the slightest degree in tlie 
 manner in which we should carry out our intention, would lead 
 US into the adoj)tion of measures not only unwise on our part, 
 but wliich wouUl prove disastrous to the Cuban Government 
 and sow the seeds of its downfall. It was at this point that 
 Senator Platt came forward with his amendments. The 
 propositions which he advanced were clearly in the interests of 
 the Cuban people and of their infant Republic. They restricted 
 the new Government from entering into any entangling alliance 
 with foreign powers which might impair or tend to impair their 
 independence or tt) ])erinit any foreign power from obtaining a 
 lodgment within its territory. They prevented them from 
 entering into any public debt the payment of which should be 
 beyond their means. This provi.sion cut off the greatest 
 menace to the stability of the Cuban (io\ernment. 
 
 The third amendment gave us the right to intervene for the 
 preservation of Cuban independence and in the defen.se of the 
 Cuban Government against internal as well as external foes. 
 
 The tourth amendment validated all acts of the I'nited ^States 
 in Cuba and all lawful rights aciiuired thereunder. 
 
 The fifth amendment exacted a .solenni promi.se that Cuba 
 should execute and, when necessary, extend our plans for sani- 
 tation throughout the island. 
 
 The sixth amendment left ()])en the vexed iiue.stion of title to 
 the Isle of Pines, to be adjusted by future treaty. 
 
 The seventh amendment ])rovided for coal and naval stations 
 at certain points for the protection of Cuba and the defense of 
 the United States against other nations. 
 
^-li^i-fj-i-s.s (if Ml. I\n'iii\ iif Neii' Yoi-k 121 
 
 Tliese anicniliiicnts were criticised soinewhat at the tiiin.-, anil 
 an endeavor was made to show that the\- would not lie lor the 
 l)enetlt of Cuba, hill for the aggrandizement of tlie I'nited 
 States. Although the>- have been hut five years in operation, 
 the results have successfullx- \indicated the wi.sdom and patriot- 
 ism of Orvii.LH H. I'i,.\TT and furnish an example of his 
 foresight and statesmanship. 
 
 He lived out almost fourscore years, which "hv reason of 
 strength" is allotted to few, and could look hack u])on a suc- 
 cessful and well-s])ent life. He rests now from his labors on 
 one of the lieautiful hills of his native vState. For more than a 
 quarter of a centur>' he had been a ]irominent figure in the 
 other branch of the National Con.gress. There lie had .served 
 his constituents with faithful toil, with jiatient zeal, with intel- 
 ligence, and patriotism. He had made their cares, their toils, 
 and their Inirdens his own. He had rejoiced with them in their 
 victories. His memory is graven on their hearts, a living moiui- 
 ment to the worth and true greatness of the man. [Applan.se.] 
 
122 Life and Charact,r of 0>"-i//f //. I'/a/l 
 
 Address of Mk. Clarx, of Missouri 
 
 Mr. Ci.AKK of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, up to the 4tli of last 
 March our Governiiieut liad existed one hundred and seven- 
 teen years under the Constitution. 
 
 Connecticut, being one of the thirteen original States, had 
 to that date two hundred and thirt\-four years of ser\nce in 
 the Senate of the United States at her disposal. By election 
 or appointment .she has sent thirty-six men to represent her 
 in tile less numerous branch of the Federal Congress, fre- 
 quently but iniprojierly denominated "the upper House:" Oli- 
 ver Ivllsworth, William .S. John.son, Roger Sherman, Stephen 
 Mix Mitchell. James Hillhou.se, Jonathan Trumbull, Uriah 
 Tracy^ Chauucey Goodrich, Samuel \V. Dana, David Daggett, 
 James Lanman, Ivlijah Boardman, Henry W. Edwards, Calvin 
 W'ilky, Samuel A. Koote, Gideon Tomlinson, Nathan Smith. 
 John M. Xiles. Perry Smith, Thaddeus Betts, Jaliez \V. Hunt- 
 ington, Roger vS. Baldwin, Truman Smith, Lsaac Toucey, Fran- 
 cis Gillette, I^afayette S. Foster. James Dixon, Orris .S. Ferry, 
 William A. Huckingham, Williatii W. ICaloii. William II. Bar- 
 num. James F. ICnglish, Okvii.i.k Hitchcock 1'l.vtt, Joseph 
 R. Hawlew Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, and Frank Bosworth 
 Brandegee. 
 
 Our well-beloved friend, the late Amos J. Cunnnings, was 
 wont to say that the average service of a Representative in 
 Congress is four years. As a matter of fact, it is about six, 
 and it is increasing steadily as constituencies fall inore and 
 more into the excellent habit of retaining faithful and capable 
 Representatives. 
 
.■lt/(/ri'ss !>/ .]//-. CIiirl\ o/MissDnri 123 
 
 The averatje vSenatorial service is im douht Itiiij^fr than the 
 avera.n'e Represeiitati\-e service, hut tile forei^oiuL;- fi.i;iires as to 
 Connecticut show that had the Senatorial service ot Messrs. 
 Bnlkeley and Drandev^ee closed on the 4th of last March 
 the a\'erai(e service of her vSenators would lia\-e been only 
 six and onedialf \ears, which is astonishini;l\- low when we 
 renieniher that her cunservatisni is so pronounced that one of 
 her popular sohriiiuets is "The Lanii of Steady Habits," and 
 when we recall the further fact that she has experienced few 
 political revolntions. 
 
 The brevity of the average ser\'ice of the Senators seems the 
 in(jre remarkable when it is remembered that it is in the East 
 in general and in New England in particular that length of 
 service is held to be the proper reward of fitness and fidelity, 
 though Missouri was the first vState to send one man to the 
 United States vSenate for thirty consecntive years. .She remains 
 the only vState to .send two men to the United States Senate for 
 tliirtx' consecutive years each — Col. Thomas Hart Benton and 
 Gen. Francis Marion Cockrell. 
 
 Of course the longer Senators Bulkeley and Brandegee serve 
 tlie more the average of Connecticut Senatorial .ser^■ice will be 
 increased. 
 
 It is apropos to .state in passing that their immediate prede- 
 cessors, Messrs. Pl.vtt and Hawle\'. .ser\-ed longer than anv 
 other Comiecticut Senators, Senator Pl.\tt's .ser\-ice of more 
 than twentj^-four years being greate.st of all. 
 
 Of Connecticut's thirty-six Senators, six resigned: Oliver 
 hnisworth, William S. Johnson, Jonathan Trumlnill, James 
 Hillhouse, Chauncey Goodrich, and Truman Smith. 
 
 They all resigned in the earlier days of the Republic, the 
 last of them, Truman Smith, resigning in 1854. The re.sig- 
 iiation habit appears not to be growing in Connecticut. 
 
I 2-1 /./A mill Characlcr of Orvillc //. I'latl 
 
 As it is so unusual a tiling' fur a Senator of tlii; United 
 States to resign, I have sought to discover the causes of their 
 action, and here are the results of my investigations: 
 
 Ellsworth resigned in 1796 to accept the Chief Justiceship 
 of the Supreme Court of the United States, which office he 
 resigned in iSoo by reason of failing health. He was then 
 appointed envoy extraordinary to P'rance to negotiate a treaty. 
 
 Johnson, a man of scholarly tastes, wearying of the hurly- 
 burly of politics, resigned to become president of Columbia 
 College, New York. \'ery recently we have seen a president 
 of that college, now a university, resign to become mayor of 
 New York. 
 
 Trumbull resigned to become lieutenant-governor of Con- 
 necticut. He was subsequently elected governor eleven times. 
 The re.signation of Trumbull to accept the humliler position 
 of lieutenant-governor seems inexplicable till we refre.sh our 
 memories with the fact that in the beginning, before the 
 Senate of the United States had practicalh- absorbed all the 
 functions of government, member.ship in that Iwdy was not 
 so much valued or coveted as it is now. l)e Witt Clinton, 
 one of New York's greatest statesmen, resigned a United 
 States Senatorship to become mayor of New York City — 
 that, too, at a time when everybody knew that he aspired to 
 the Presidency. 
 
 Within the last half century several I'nited States Sena- 
 tors have resigned to accept Cabinet po.sitions and places on 
 the Supreme Bench of the United States; but, ,so far as my 
 memory now serves me, the only man in our day to willingly 
 dofT the toga of a Senator to accejH an inferior position was 
 that immortal Texan — Judge John H, Reagan — who re.signed 
 from the Senate to become head of the newly created Texas 
 railroad connnissiou. 
 
At////yss (//' A/r. (lark, of Missouri 125 
 
 vStrany;er even than the case of 'rruuilniU is that nf James 
 Hillhiuise, whu resii^ned to become commissioner of the school 
 fund, which position he held for many years. 
 
 No reason is assigned in any book that I could find why 
 Goodrich resigned. He was subsequently lieutenant-governor, 
 but not inunediately. 
 
 No reason is given in the books why Truman Smith gave 
 up his curate chair, but as he removed to New York City it 
 may l)e fairly assumed that business matters furnish the clue 
 to his action. 
 
 Nine of Connecticut's Senators died while members of the 
 House of the Conscript Fathers: Roger Sherman, Uriah 
 Tracy, Elijah Boardman, Nathan Smith, Thaddeus Betts, 
 Jabez \V. Huntington, William A. Buckingham, Orris S. 
 Ferry, and Orvili.k Hitchcock Pl.vtt. 
 
 Three of her Senators were Presidents pro tempore of the 
 Senate; James Hillhouse, Uriah Tracy, and Lafayette S. 
 Foster. Strange to relate, two of them held that position 
 in one Congress — Uriah Tracy having been elected May 14, 
 iSoo, and James Hillhouse February 2S, iSoi. 
 
 Besides Oliver Ellsworth, who.se service as Chief Justice 
 renders his place in our annals secure for all time, two oth- 
 ers, at least, of Connecticut's three dozen Senators are great 
 historic personages — Roger Sherman and Jonathan Trumbull. 
 Roger Sherman, in addition to holding a multitude of local 
 and State offices, .served in the Continental Congress, being 
 one of the committee of five appointed to draft the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, the others being Thomas Jefferson, 
 John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert R. Livingston. 
 That great quintette appear together in the large painting. 
 The vSigning of the Declaration, now hanging in the Rotunda 
 of this Capitol. 
 
126 Life and Characirr of Orrillc If. I'latt 
 
 Sberinan was also a member of that great couveiUioii which 
 framed our Constitution. 
 
 Having jnit his sign manual to the charter of our liberty, 
 having aided in constructing the Constitution, he enjoyed the 
 good fortune, the thoroughh- merited honor, of serving in 
 both Houses of Congress under that Constitution. 
 - He was the progenitor of niunerous distinguished soldiers, 
 statesmen, and jurists. Two of his lineal descendants are 
 Members of the present House — Hon. Rockwood Hoar, of 
 Mas.sachusetts, and Hon. Henry Sherman Boutell, of Illinois. 
 Representative Boutell has a .son named Roger Shennan Bou- 
 tell. If that young man isn't a patriot, there is nothing in 
 name or blood. 
 
 The name Jonathan Trumbull stands for two illustrious 
 men — father and son. The father is the " Brother Jonathan " 
 whom Washington loved and leaned upon and whose name 
 stands for the pers(Miification of the typical American. The 
 son was the I'nitad States Senator from Connecticut and 
 Sj)eaker of the IIou.se of Representatives. 
 
 One other Connecticut Senator fixed for himself an endur- 
 ing place in the temple of fame by offering the famous 
 " Foote resolution," which precipitated the Webster-Hayne 
 debate, the most spectacular and momentous oratorical con- 
 test in the history of the Senate. Xolxxly can imderstaud 
 our history without reading that debate, and nolxidy can read 
 it intelligently without recurring to the Fcote resolution, 
 which renders Foote's reputation a.s lasting as Webster's or 
 Ilayne's. 
 
 All in all. it may l)e safely stated that from the beginning 
 to the present hour Connecticut's average of Senatorial 
 ability has lx;en as high as that of any of her sister States. 
 
 Men are prone to look, back to a golden age and to locate 
 
Address of Mr. (l(xrk\ of Missouri 127 
 
 all the jrreat men in nencratiDns jiast. If a man's ivpnta- 
 tion survives his own era at all, time becomes a threat mat;- 
 nifier of him. The plain, unvarnished truth is that this is 
 the world's period of greatest development. In man.\- re- 
 spects this is the golden age. The public men of to-day are, 
 on the average, equal to their predecessors in intellectual 
 equipment. Divers men who are ranked as mere politicians 
 now will be by the succeeding generations classed as states- 
 men. 
 
 To be a Senator of the United vStates even for one moment is 
 a high honor — an honor which comes to few; but to be elected 
 to the United vStates Senate for five full terms and to .ser\-e a 
 quarter of a century is an honor .so rare that it has come to less 
 than a score of men in our entire histor>'. This unusual honor 
 was freely and gladh' bestowed upon Senator Pi.att b\- the 
 good people of Connecticut. 
 
 He was a leader among his fellows — one of the ruling elders 
 of the Senate. 
 
 Judged by the standard of things done rather than by the 
 standard of things said, Senator Platt may fairly be denom- 
 inated a great Senator. He would have been a potent member 
 of any Senate. He was neither a voluminous nor an eloquent 
 speaker. He was a strong and luminous speaker. He pos- 
 sessed in an eminent degree the faculty of constructive states- 
 manship — which is the rarest sort. He was bles.sed with 
 unusual powers of generalization. By reason of thi.s faculty 
 and of these powers he fastened his name to many important 
 measures. He thus became a permanent historic figure. His 
 memory will sur^'ive so long as men concern themselves with 
 the great measures con.sidered in the stirring times in which 
 he was on the public stage, for he placed his indelible mark 
 upon most of the legislation of the last quarter of a century. 
 
128 Life niui Oninnttr of Orrillc II. Plait 
 
 Address of Mk. Sherman, of New York 
 
 Mr. SiiKKM.vx. Mr. Speaker, so il is that a brave, noble, 
 unflinchiim man blazes a way through life which others may 
 follow, confident that the ending will be beside waters that 
 are still and fields that are green, starred with daisies and 
 tinted with forget-me-nots and immortelles, where a haven of 
 rest, not made with earthly hands, is waiting. 
 
 Our friend has gone from among us, but the impress of his 
 character, his life, and his manly qualities abides with us. 
 He was brave, fearless not the bravery which at times .seems 
 to compel strong men to maintain a position once taken, to 
 refuse to modify jutlgment, to alter proix)sed action, but that 
 bravery which feared not to meet argument, to ct)urt investi- 
 gation, that welcomed additional light, and when convinced 
 of original error of judgment, or of action, to modify and 
 change it. 
 
 Senator Pl.\tt was truly a great man— great in thought, 
 great in deed, great in mind. He left an impress here which 
 will long endure. In appearance he might be descril)ed as 
 grizzled, tall, angular, not quick of movement, nor overalert 
 of thought, but hone.st and persistent of purpose, clear of dis- 
 cernment, accurate of judgment. His exterior contradicted 
 his interior. Not in look did he evidence the kindliness and 
 consideration of his nature. His voice had le.ss of the aus- 
 tere than his presence. He was firm in his own convictions, 
 yet con.siderate of the opinions of others. Ruggedly honest, 
 he accorded honesty of thought and purpose to others. Idle 
 prattle, passing rumor, moved him not. 
 
Adi/rcss (>/ Ml. SI/irii/(tii, of Nen' York 129 
 
 He was strdiii; in his rricndsliips, a j^odd luvcr, luit sn <;i)iiil 
 :i hattr. His conluleiiCL' shakt-ii, was not easil\- ix-t;ain(.(i, hut 
 he chfrislie<l nut anininsitx. He ne\ei looked for trouble, 
 \-et he ne\-er soni;lit exasion of lii-^ fidl share of lesponsihil- 
 it\'. His full, fair measure of the e\-er\-day work of piiMic 
 lite he did. He was not an orator, who stirred li\' eloquence 
 of word or beaut\ nf phrase, >et he made exceeding clear his 
 meaning, and 1)>- the siucerit\- of his bearing carried con\-ietion 
 to other minds. 
 
 The longevitx of his .ser\ice to his country was exceeded 
 <)nl>- by its \'alue. Almost a decade after pas.sing the limit 
 of man's allotted time, he served on. I never .saw evidence 
 of his knowledge of the weight of \ears, though I have heard 
 him express it. His erect form had not bent, his clear mind 
 did not give e\-idence of his ^•ears. 
 
 He had no failing period. Rugged and well he left us 
 here, neither he nor his friends aware that the might\- work 
 he had done had les.sened his vitality, so that he was an easy 
 prey to malady. Inill of >ears and of honors, ha\ing light- 
 ened many a burden, warmed man>- a heart, with the har- 
 ness on he dro])ped. He left no half-jierformed task. His 
 work was always current. In his death his country lost a 
 competent and true jiatriot, his vState an illustrious rejire- 
 sentative, his frieiuls a noble companion, mankind a fellow 
 whose living made all living more worth while. 
 
 As life's evening shadow becomes little 1>>- little more 
 ajipareut, as one's thought in the gloaming of a Sunda\' are 
 nujre and more of the retrospect, as we feel the enthusiasm 
 and the energy of life lessening, the more startling the fact 
 that human life is exceeding brief. vSo brief, indeed, that 
 the greatest wonder of human existence is that any single 
 indi\iilual may, even within its lengthened span, accomplish 
 • S r)oc. 534.59-1 9 
 
130 Life and Character of Orxille IF. Pla/l 
 
 eiioiijfh to iiiii)re.ss liis personality on his liviiij^ time, and 
 leave an influence to act after his takinj;; away. That 
 accoini)lishecl, a life has l>een well spent. Life's duties are 
 many, are varied, are weighty. To meet them manfully, 
 openly, without shrinking or evasion, to discharge them faith- 
 fully, bravely, and well, means a discharge of the human 
 duties divinity has placed upon man. 
 
 |, Life's trials, too, are weighty. Ivndnred with patience, 
 borne with fortitude, submitted to with resignation, they 
 add nnich to the lovable side of character, and make for an 
 impre.ss ujjou a cunnnuiiilx' which is ever felt. 
 
 It is comforting and pleasant to look back ujxjn the life 
 of one of our dear, good friends who has been taken away, 
 and mark how well he withstood life's buflfets; how uncom- 
 plainingly he bore its burdens, how meekly he accepted its 
 honors and delights. Now, we know the why of something, 
 perhaps, which he concealed or covered up during his .sojourn 
 with us, and the .solution of the ])roblem adds to our admira- 
 tion of his character and strengthens the lesson inculcated by 
 his life. [Applause.] 
 
^liM/fss i>l Afi\ (',ros:<cii(>i\ a/ Ohio iJi 
 
 Address of Mr. Grosvenor. of Ohio 
 
 Mr. Grosvenok. Mr. vSpcaker, it is dm; to tlie memory of 
 so distinguished a citizen that he who attempts liis eulogy 
 should lie better prepared for facts and details than I am at 
 the present moment. 
 
 I l.)ecame acquainted with vSenator Pl.vtt at the time of the 
 assembling of the Forty-ninth Congress, but m\' relation to 
 him was not of that intimate character that brought me in 
 close contact with him until several years after. He rejire- 
 sented in the vSenate in part my nati\e State, and I fell toward 
 him, as I do toward all the men of that vState, a great deal 
 of interest. He was a warm personal friend and coiuiselor of 
 the then Representative from the district in which I was born, 
 the Hon. Charles A. Ru.s.sell, one of the many distinguished 
 Representatives from Coiniecticut who ha\'e appeared upon 
 this floor since I came. 
 
 I v/as a Member of the House during the contest upon the 
 McKinley bill, Init not so intimately acquainted with the affairs 
 of that great measure as I was later, when the Dingley bill 
 became the contro\'ers>- here. After the bill as passed in the 
 House had gone to the Senate and been amended there very 
 largely, it came to a connnittee of conference of which I was a 
 member, and of \\iiich the Senator from Connecticut was ;dso 
 a member. And then I learr.ed a great deal of the fine elements 
 of his character in the long-drawn-out consultations in the 
 Finance Committee room of the Senate over that measure. I 
 learned this of his character; That he was a statesman who 
 
132 Lifr ami Cliaractir of Orvlllc If. I'latt 
 
 looked at tlic whole of ilie United States. He took in llie inter- 
 ests of the peo])le of tlic whole country, and while he carefully 
 saw to it that no discrimination was made against the local 
 interests of liis own Slate, he would have scorned to have un- 
 dertaken to do an injustice because it would put money into 
 pockets of his people. He was a bigger man than that. He 
 had a better representative character. He co\-ered more ground 
 than the State of Coiniecticut or any of the interests of New 
 Kngland. 
 
 I'pou the tarifT (juestion I considered him one of the l>est 
 trained and best learned of the statesmen of his day. He 
 did not champion the measures that he favored in the form 
 of the advocate, but he looked at the que.stioii involved from 
 the .standpoint of the statesman. I observed his career at 
 ver\- near the clo.se of his life, when he ]iresided in the 
 impeachment trial of Judge Swayne in the Senate of the 
 United States. It was a po.sition of high honor to him. The 
 requisites for the place were great legal learning and high 
 qualities of judicial mind. There were, of course, very able 
 men who appeared in the prosecution — some of the very ablest 
 of the Representatives of this Hou.se — and they were advo- 
 cates in the true sense of the word. A'arious questions arcse, 
 .some of considerable complication, and in no instance was the 
 ruling of the Presiding Officer negatived by any considerable 
 vote of the membership of the Senate. And when the trial 
 closed, as I was leaving the Senate after the final vote had 
 been announced, I congratulated the Senator n])on the suc- 
 cess that he had h.id in presiding in a controversy of such a 
 bitter character as that was. He .said— and I remember his 
 exact words — "Well, it is something to have the approval 
 of both sides, and I seem to have .secured that." He was a 
 man with a judicial mind. He was a fine lawyer and au 
 able one. 
 
Address of .}rr. CJrosm/or, of O/u'o 133 
 
 It is ail evriitful carcur that lirin^s a man ti) a luitalik- stand 
 ing and position in the Senate of the Tnited Slates. l,et car- 
 pers and critics say wliat they jilease, let men w lio li\-e and 
 breathe and grow fat and disagreeable in the realm of liliel and 
 slander and personal detraction harp ujion and criticise the 
 Senate of the United States, it will always be recognized initil a 
 mighty change takes place that the Senate oi the United States 
 is a great body of great men. It .sometimes moves slowly, 
 and we sometimes feel irritatetl at its conr.se in that behalf, 
 btit at last when it makes a deci.siou upon a great question of 
 politics, a great industrial question, a great legal question, the 
 opinion of the Senate of the I'nited vStates in dignity and in 
 m<iral effect upon the opinions of the world is .second to no 
 body of men in the world. Therefore, that Senator Pi..\TT 
 should have achieved high rank in the .Senate is evidence con- 
 clusive that he was a man of sujierior ability and superior 
 attainment. He was a gentleman who always appreciated the 
 opinions of his opponents. I never heard him complain of the 
 men he differed with. In the matters of legislation to which I 
 have referred he .stood with unyielding purpose in favor of cer- 
 tain local interests of hi,-, own State, but he fully appreciated 
 that where the interests of his State collided with and ran 
 again.st the interests of the great puljlic the minor interests of 
 the vState must .step aside, and it will not be forgotten by some 
 of us who were then active in the tarilT matters how gracefully 
 and wisely he yielded to the ma.ss of opini<-in as again.st the pri- 
 vate interests of .some of his own constituents. He was a 
 broad-minded state.sman. a man of unqualified integrity, a man 
 of high attainment in the walk of life in which he .ser\-ed. 
 Connecticut, a grand old State, historical all along the line of 
 our history-, has had no more fitting representative of her 
 patriotism, her wisdom, her statesmanship than she had in the 
 
134 I'if'' '^"'^ Oiarui/tr of Ot"-i//f //. Pin// 
 
 person of Okvii.lk II. Plati". lie carved his name modestly, 
 but inefTaceal)ly iij^wu the records of his country. His work 
 was well done and it was finished. He mi>;ht have iK-en useful 
 for many years, hut he had earned reward and has entered into 
 it. Honor to his name. His example to the men who knew 
 him and to the men who are to come after him was valuable 
 jK)liticall.v, legally, and patriotically. 
 
 Mr. SrKKKV. Mr. S[)eaker, the .vjentleman from Ma.s,sachu- 
 .setts [Mr. McC.\i.l] expected to lie present and address the 
 Hou.se, but was, unfortunately, called awa\-. There are al.so 
 several other Members who desired to sjx-ak on the charac- 
 ter, life, and services of the late Senator Pi,.\tt, but who 
 will not have the opportunity on account of the hour fixed 
 for adjournment. I therefore ask unanimous consent that 
 Meinl>ers who desire be permitted to print remarks relating 
 to this subject for the next thirty days. 
 
 The Spk.vkkk jiro tempore (Mr. Dicnbv). Without objec- 
 tion, the request of the gentleman from Connecticut will be 
 granted. 
 
 There was no objection. 
 
 The Si'EAKKK pro temiwre. The Chair is reijuested to an- 
 nounce that upon the adjournment of the House to-day the 
 Memljers will form in a bod\' in this Hall, march tliron,i;h 
 the east door of the Caj)itol, and proceed to the place of the 
 exerci.ses. 
 
 The hour of 2 o'clock and 15 minutes having arrived, the 
 Hou.se, in jiursuance of its jirevions order, stands adjourned 
 until to-morrow, at 12 o'clock noon.