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 DOLPH 
 
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 (Late a Representative 
 
 from Lou 
 
 isiana) 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 Sixtieth Congress 
 First and Second Sessions 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 May 10, 1908 
 
 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
 February 27, 1909 
 
 Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 
 
 WASHINGTON : : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : : I'^O'^ 
 

 n. nr n. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTvS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Proceedings in the House 5 
 
 Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 5, 7 
 
 Memorial addresses by — 
 
 Mr. Ransdell, of Loui.siana 9 
 
 Mr. Foss, of IlIinois_ - - . I'i 
 
 Mr. Clark, of Missouri -i 
 
 Mr. Broussard, of Louisiana 24 
 
 Mr. Kahn, of California -8 
 
 Mr. Pujo, of Louisiana - .'ii 
 
 Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 3.S 
 
 Mr. Olcott, of New York 4° 
 
 Mr. Lamb, of Virginia — 4- 
 
 Mr. Spight, of Mississippi 49 
 
 Mr. Watkins, of Louisiana .S^ 
 
 Proceedings in the Senate , .S7 
 
 Prayer by Rev. Edward E. Hale .S8 
 
 Memorial addresses by — 
 
 Mr. McEnery, of Louisiana 60 
 
 Mr. Clapp, of Minnesota 66 
 
 Mr. Perkins, of California 68 
 
 Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire 73 
 
 Mr. Foster, of Louisiana 76 
 
 3 
 
KOM-J^X 
 
Death of Hon. Adolph Meyer 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 
 
 Monday, March 9, igoS. 
 
 The House met at 12 o'clock m. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offeree! the 
 following praver: 
 
 Our Father in heaven, once more under the dispensation of 
 Thy providence we are brought face to face with that mvstery 
 of mysteries which we call death, in the removal of a Member 
 of this legislative body who for many years served with dis- 
 tinction in his fidelity to dutv as a statesman. 
 
 We mourn him, but not as dead, since we have been taught to 
 believe that in the Father's house are many mansions; that 
 death is not an extinction of being, but the passing from one 
 room to another. 
 
 Be with his colleagues and friends, the bereaved wife and 
 daughter to comfort and sustain them, that they may look for- 
 ward with hope to a meeting under more favorable circum- 
 stances, where the love tie shall never again be broken. "For 
 I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
 principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
 come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be 
 able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, 
 our Lord." Amen. 
 
 Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, it is mv painful 
 duty to announce the death of my colleague, Gen. Adolph 
 
 5 
 
6 Proceedings in the House 
 
 Meyer. At some future time I will ask the House to designate 
 a day when suitable addresses to his memory may be made. I 
 now ask that this resolution which I have prepared be presented. 
 
 The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resohed, That the House has heard with profound regret of the death 
 of Hon. Adolph Mever, a Representative from the State of Louisiana. 
 
 Resohed, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized ani.1 
 directed to pay the necessary expenses in connection with the funeral of 
 said Representative. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
 and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now adjourn. 
 
 The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the resolutions. 
 
 The (|UL'Stion was taken, and the resolutions were unani- 
 mously agreed to. 
 
 Accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 12 minutes p. m.) the House 
 adjourned. 
 
 Wednesday, April 8, igo8. 
 
 Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
 consent for the present consideration of the following resolution, 
 which I send to the Clerk's desk. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives shall meet at 2 o'clock 
 p. in., on Sunday, May 10, 1908, for the purpose of having eulogies on 
 the life, character, and public services of the Hon. Adolph Meyer, late 
 a Representative in Congress from the First District of Louisiana. 
 
 The resolution was agreed to. 
 
 Saturday, May q, igoS. 
 
 The Speaker. If there be no objection, the Clerk will read 
 
 the order for to-morrow. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 On motion of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana, by unanimous consent, 
 "Reiolved, That the House of Representatives shall meet at 2 o'clock 
 p. m. on Sunday, May 10, 1908, for the purpose of having eulogies on the 
 
Proceedings in the House ~ 
 
 life, character, and public services of the Hon. Adolph Meyer, late a 
 Representative in Congress from the First District of Louisiana " (Reso- 
 lution agreed to in the House April 8, 1908.I 
 
 The Speaker. The gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Pollard] 
 
 is hereby designated to act as Speaker pro tempore to-morrow. 
 
 Sunday, Mny 10, iqoS. 
 
 The House met at 2 o'clock p. m. and was called to order by 
 Mr. Pollard as Speaker pro tempore. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the fol- 
 lowing prayer; 
 
 Our Father in heaven, center and source of all our longings, 
 hopes, and aspirations, we gather here to-day in response to a 
 pure and holy desire which springs from the deeps of our being. 
 
 Death has claimed for its own one who ser\'ed for many years 
 with distinction and fidelity his iState and Xation upon the floor 
 of this House and left behind him a memory which shall not 
 fade while those who knew him shall live. 
 
 We come to thank Thee for what he was and what he did, to 
 recall the quaUties of mind and heart which made him attract- 
 ive and lovable, and we most fervently pray that his life and 
 character may be an inspiration to those who knew him and to 
 those who shall come after us. We thank Thee that Thou dost 
 live and reign; that love and affection, faith and hope, are 
 immortal. Comfort us all, especially those who were bound to 
 him bv the ties of kinship — wife and daughter — by the blessed 
 promises of our Lord and Master, "and songs of praises we 
 will ever give to Thee," in His name. Amen. 
 
 Mr. RaxsdELL, of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I offer the reso- 
 lution which I send to the Clerk's desk. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended that oppor- 
 tunity may be given for tributes to the memory of the Hon. Adolph 
 Meyer, late a Member of this House from the State of Louisiana. 
 
8 Proceedings in the House 
 
 Resolved, That, as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
 deceased and in recognition of his distinguished public career, the House, 
 at the conclusion of these exercises, shall stand adjourned. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the family 
 of the deceased. 
 
 The resolutions were agreed to. 
 
 Mr. DavEY, of Louisiana, took the chair as Speaker pro 
 
 tempore. 
 
Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 
 
 Mr. Speaker : I rise to pay a tribute of respect to the mem- 
 ory of my deceased colleague, Hon. Adolph Meyer, late a 
 Representative in Congress from the First District of Louisi- 
 ana, who died at New Orleans on the 8th of March, 190S, and 
 is honored and mourned by his State and nation. 
 
 General Meyer was bom at Natchez, Miss., October 19, 1842, 
 and spent his childhood in that State. He matriculated in the 
 University of \'irginia, and before graduation left that famous 
 training school of the South to enter the Confederate army 
 in 1862. During the trying times of the greatest civil war the 
 world has ever seen General Meyer played an active, honor- 
 able part, ser\'ing on the staff of Brig. Gen. John S. Williams, 
 of Kentucky, and holding the rank of adjutant-general when 
 the war closed. In 1879 he was elected colonel of the First 
 Regiment, Louisiana National Guard, and in 1881 was appointed 
 bv Governor Wiltz brigadier-general of the First Louisiana 
 Brigade, embracing all the uniformed militia in the State. In 
 connection with the organization of the State Militia his serv- 
 ices were very efficient. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Cuban war General Meyer was urged, 
 on account of his military experience and ability, for a posi- 
 tion as either brigadier or division commander of southern 
 volunteers. The following was written by Gen. John S. Wil- 
 liams, of Kentucky, upon whose staff General Meyer served: 
 
 To titc President. 
 
 Your Excellency: I beg leave to recommend to your favoraljle con- 
 sideration Mr. Adolph Meyer, of Louisiana, for position of division or 
 brigade commander of southern volunteers. 
 
lo Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Mr. Meyer served on my staff during almost the entire civil war. He 
 was preeminent for soldierly qualities, the loftiest courage, fidelity, and 
 endurance. In fact, he seemed a natural-born soldier and commanded 
 the confidence and admiration of the entire command. 
 
 I know of no young officer who manifested more military aptitude; 
 his resourcefulness in emergencies and quickness to avail himself of every 
 possible advantage and devotion to duty were unsurpassed. 
 
 Mr. Meyer's experience in actual war has been supplemented by com- 
 mand in the Louisiana Militia and National Guard. 
 
 I know the appointment would be a good one and highly acceptable 
 to the southern people. 
 
 With sentiments of the highest regard, I am, 
 Most respectfully, yours, 
 
 John S. Williams, 
 Brigadicr-< 'rcncral , Afterwards Cownianding Kentucky Division. 
 
 May 2, 190S. 
 
 At the close of the civil war General Meyer engaged largely 
 in cotton planting on the Forest plantation, in Concordia Par- 
 ish, La. Later he entered the cotton factorage and commission 
 house of Meyer, Weis & Co., of New Orleans, and afterwards 
 was a member of the big cotton firm of V. & A. Meyer, which 
 went out of business some years ago. The other member of 
 this firm was his twin brother, Victor. There was the deepest 
 love and devotion between them, and the General was never 
 the same after Victor's death two years ago. Indeed, another 
 brother, Cassius, also died within three months of \'ictor, and 
 the double loss was a crushing blow to one so fond of his fam- 
 ily and so warm-hearted as the General. I could see how 
 deeply he was affected and predicted at the time that he would 
 not survive his beloved brothers many years. 
 
 In the fall of 1868 General Meyer married the beautiful and 
 accomplished Miss Rosalie Jonas, daughter of the late Abraham 
 Jonas, of New Orleans, and sister of ex-United States Senator 
 B. F. Jonas, who sur\-ives him. Their onlv child is a daughter, 
 ]\Irs. Louise .M. Swift, widow of the late Capt. Franklin Swift, 
 of the United States Navy. Mrs. Meyer was very popular in 
 congressional circles and entertained delightfully in her ele- 
 
Address of Mi. Ransdcll, oj Louisiana ii 
 
 gant home on Q street. W'liile not much of a society man, (".en 
 eral Meyer was very fond of his friends, and nothing jileased 
 him better than to have a small party of intimates around I In- 
 hospitable board over which his cultured wife presided with 
 such grace and dignity. 
 
 In 1890 General MevER was elected to the Fifty-second Con- 
 gress, and was reelected every two years since down to and 
 including the term beginning in 1907. The Fifty-second Con- 
 gress was the Democratic successor to Reed's "billion-dollar" 
 Congress, and he has ser\ed eight full and successive terms 
 and one-half of the ninth, ranking eighth in length of service, 
 those older than he being Speaker Cannon, sixteen terms; 
 Bingham, of Pennsyhania, fourteen; Payne, of New York, 
 eleven; Dalzell, of Pennsylvania, and Hepburn, of Iowa, ten; 
 and Sherman, of New York, nine. Representative Jones, of 
 Virginia; De Armond, of Missouri, and Livingston, of Georgia, 
 are the only other Democrats who entered the Fifty-second 
 Congress with General ilEYER. 
 
 Speaker Crisp assigned General Meyer to the Committee on 
 Naval Affairs, and he has held an important place there ever 
 since, serving under two distinguished Democratic chairmen, 
 Hon. Hilarv A. Herbert, of Alabama, who became Secretary of 
 the Navv during President Cleveland's administration, and 
 Hon. Amos Cummings, of New York. His intimacy with these 
 gentlemen and with Chairman Boutclle, of Maine, as well as 
 with Mr. Metcalf, of California, who left the committee to 
 reenter the Roosevelt Cabinet, and at length to become Secre- 
 tary of the Navy, together with the assistance given by Senator 
 McEnery, on the Naval Affairs Committee of the Senate, ac- 
 counts for his success in getting large appropriations for the 
 New Orleans naval station. General Mever made it his serious 
 business on entering Congress to have a naval station erected 
 on the reserve at Algiers, and to have a floating dry dock tied 
 
12 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 up there for the accommodation of the heaviest battle ships. 
 He Hved to see these things accompHshed, and was ever hope- 
 ful of witiK-ssin,:.; the construction plant in full operation, either 
 building or repairing battle ships. 
 
 During his second term in Congress, the Fifty-third, General 
 Meyer held the chairmanship of the Committee on Militia. 
 Ha\ing had large experience in matters pertaining to the 
 National Guard, Speaker Crisp picked him from among several 
 to take charge of all militia bills that were introduced. 
 
 The Fifty-fourth Congress being Republican, he lost this 
 chairmanship, but was glad to trade his membership on Militia 
 for a place on the District of Columbia, which gave him both 
 social and political prestige in the city of Washington, where 
 he subsequently purchased a home. These three are practically 
 the only committee assignments which General ^Ieyer cared to 
 hold during his seventeen years in Congress. He was faithful 
 in the performance of his duties and labored diligently in the 
 interest not only of New Orleans, but of Louisiana in general. 
 
 The services performed by General Mever, while not notably 
 brilliant, as one might speak of the services of Reed, Randall, 
 and Carlisle, of recent years, or those famous statesmen. Clay, 
 Calhoun, Hayne, and Webster, of an earlier period, were sub- 
 stantial and will not soon be forgotten. He spoke occasionally, 
 perhaps once or twice during a session of Congress, in behalf 
 of some measure or committee report, but he never engaged in 
 partisan debates, in bickerings over parliamentary rulings, or 
 in the vaporings which have made some statesmen notorious, if 
 not ridiculous, because their purpose was simply to make read- 
 ing matter for their own districts. 
 
 General Mever spoke pleasingly and well, but he had not the 
 voice that could be heard above the ordinary din of the House. 
 His powers of conviction, therefore, lay in what was printed 
 and read in the Record, rather than in what was heard on the 
 
Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 13 
 
 floor, and in his very ])ersuasive presentation of matters in 
 personal intercourse and in committee rooms, where the real 
 work is done. 
 
 His work as a member of the Committee on \aval Affairs 
 was of considerable importance. As he was the minority 
 leader, he was always one of the conferees on the naval appro- 
 priation bill to settle difTerences between the two Houses over 
 amendments. In this position he occasionally felt the em- 
 barrassment of acting contrary to the wishes of his party, as 
 expressed on the floor, but he was a firm believer in the great 
 advantage that is to be derived from the state of readiness 
 for war and fearlessly supported every recommendation from 
 the White House for more vessels, more stations, or more men. 
 
 General Meyer's special pride was the naval station and dry 
 dock in New Orleans, the largest in the South and equal to any 
 in the country. The State owes this great work to the com- 
 bined efforts of Senator McEnery and himself, ably seconded 
 by his New Orleans colleague, Judge Davey. He was abso- 
 luteh- tireless in working for this station and never lost sight 
 of it under any circumstances. 
 
 He was an expert on naval matters, made many strong 
 speeches on that subject, and his loss will be keenly felt by 
 the Naval Committee. 
 
 He took most intelligent and active interest in the appro- 
 priations for the levees of the Mississippi River, the 35-foot 
 channel at vSouthwest Pass of the .Mississippi, the New Orleans 
 post-office, the maintenance of the New Orleans mint, the immi- 
 gration station bill, and everything pertaining to Louisiana. 
 Always at his post and always watchful, applying to his legis- 
 lative work the fine business training and acumen acquired by 
 his long commercial career, he was very successful in getting 
 results and bore a prominent part in all legislation affecting his 
 State during the last seventeen years. One of his characteristics 
 
14 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 was his care and attention to requests and suggestions from the 
 
 people of Louisiana, whether residents of his district or not. 
 
 All matters received his personal, prompt, and cheerful attention. 
 
 His last public work, performed during the closing davs of 
 
 the Fifty-ninth Congress, was to secure $25,000 for the Chal- 
 
 mette monument. He had labored long and hard for this most 
 
 worthy object, and was delighted when success finally crowned 
 
 his efforts. In recognition of this service to our nation's historv, 
 
 the Louisiana Historical Society, at a meeting held April 15, 
 
 passed the following resolution: 
 
 New Orleans, Af>n/ 75, iqoS. 
 To the members oj tlu- Loimiana Historieal Society: 
 
 Vmir undersigned committee appointed at the meeting of March i8, 
 190S, to draft suitable resolutions out of respect to the memory of our 
 deceased member, Gen. Adolph MevEr, beg leave to report the following: 
 
 " Whereas Divine Providence has removed from our midst our fellow- 
 member, Gen. Adolph Meyer, who died on March 8, 1908: Therefore be it 
 
 "Resolved, That in the death of Gen. Adolph Meyer this society lost 
 one of its most zealous and valued members, whose wise counsel and 
 advice were very beneficial to the society, and tended in a considerable 
 degree to the success of our celebration of the one hundredth anniversary 
 of the transfer of Loui.siana from France to the I'nited States, on Decem- 
 ber 20, 1903: Be it further 
 
 "Resolved, That by the death of General Meyer the State of Louisiana 
 has lost a Memeber of Congress whose place will be hard to fill; that in 
 the seventeen years of his service in the National House of Rfepresenta- 
 tives he made a record of which anyone might be proud, and the great 
 dock at New Orleans and the new post-office building, both of which 
 were obtained largely through his efTorts, evince in a high degree the 
 work he did and the influence he exerted in the halls of Congress; that 
 his many and steady efforts to procure the completion of the Chalmette 
 Monument on the battlefield of New Orleans, just below the city, were 
 finally crowned with success, when on March 4, 1907, immediately before 
 the adjournment of Congress, the President signed the bill making the 
 necessary appropriation for the purpose: that this particular work was 
 made by General Meyer a work of love, and it was, owing to his failing 
 health, the last public work in which he was engaged, and it is a source of 
 deep regret to all that his life was not spared that he might see in the 
 completion of the monument the culmination of his efforts: Be it further 
 
 " Resolved, That in all walks of life, whether as citizen, soldier, or states- 
 man. General Meyer measured full to the responsibilities imposed upon 
 him, and all in all we soon shall not see his like again: Be it further 
 
Address of Mr. Ra>isdell, 0/ Louisiana 15 
 
 " Resolved, That these resolutions be sprea<i upon the minutes of tlie 
 society upon a page specially devoted to that purpose; that an engrossed 
 copy be sent to his bereaved wife and daughter, to whom our heartfelt 
 sympathies are extended; that a copy be sent to his colleagues in Con- 
 gress, with the request that same be used when memorial services are had 
 in his honor, and that copies be furnished to the press of this city and of 
 Washington." 
 
 Respectfully submitted. 
 
 W. O. Hart, Chairman. 
 . N. C. Blanchard. 
 H. M. Gill, 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I was very fond of General MEYER and deeply 
 deplore his untimely death. He was only 65 years of age, and 
 with his regular habits and good constitution otight to have 
 lived many years longer. He was always affable, kind, and 
 considerate; ever ready to accommodate a colleague, whether 
 one of the leaders or the most obscure Member of the House. 
 I frequently called on him during the early years of my service, 
 and never in vain. He was a methodical, careful business man; 
 carried those qualities into his legislative work, and, knowing 
 thoroughly what he was about, was able as well as willing to 
 give efficient aid. In his death this House has lost one of its 
 most useful Members, and it is not flattery to say that Loui- 
 siana will find it very difficult to fill his place. 
 
 Long may the memory of Adolph Meyer live in these halls 
 and in the State and nation he served so well. I earnestly 
 hope and believe that the good work done here by him entitles 
 General Meyer to a happy and honorable position in his pres- 
 ent home — that undiscovered country from whose bourne no 
 traveler has ever returned. 
 
1 6 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Foss, of Lunois 
 
 Mr. Speaker : The Committee on Naval Affairs, of which 
 General Meyer was so long a member, at a meeting soon after his 
 death unanimously adopted the following resolutions, which I 
 will read : 
 
 Whereas the Hon. Adolph MevER, a Member of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives from the State of Louisiana, and the oldest member in point of 
 service on the Committee on \aval Affairs, died in the city of New Orleans 
 on the 8th day of March, 1908: Be it therefore 
 
 Resolved, That, holding his memory in affectionate regard, we, the 
 members of the Committee on Xaval Affairs of the House of Representa- 
 tives, mourn his untimely death. 
 
 Resolved, That as Representative and a member of the Committee on 
 Naval Affairs he exhibited splendid gifts of statesmanship, true patriotism, 
 stainless integrity, and great wisdom in council, and that in his death the 
 country has lost a faithful public servant. 
 
 Resolved, That his private life was as pure and gentle as his public 
 career was noble and distinguished, and that we tender to his family the 
 sympathy that flows fr(jm hearts which are deeply moved with a great 
 personal sorrow. 
 
 Resolved, That a co|jy of these resolutions be presented to his family 
 and be spread upon the records of the committee and be printed in the 
 Congressional Record on the day set aside for eulogies in the House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I myself desire to pay a brief tribute to the 
 memory of him with whom I have been so long associated in 
 the work of building up the Navy. And, first, I desire to speak 
 of his loyalty to his own constituency, for no man, I think, was 
 more industrious and anxious to serve the people who elected 
 him than he, and the many things which he obtained for his 
 city testify to the zeal and success with which he labored at all 
 times for it. The establishment of the navy-yard at Algiers 
 was due entirely to his effort, and I am sure that the great city 
 of New Orleans will always treasure in fondest memory the man 
 who so tirelessly worked for her interest. 
 
Address of Mi . Foss, oj Illinois 17 
 
 But General Meyer's greatest work consisted not so much in 
 ser\-ing the constituency which elected him as it did in serving 
 that greater constituency which extends from the Atlantic to 
 the Pacific and from the Gulf to the Great Lakes. It was his 
 labors in the upbuilding of the American \avy for which he will 
 be longest remembered. He was the oldest member of the Com- 
 mittee on Naval Affairs. He had ser\-ed for seventeen years, 
 and no man was more familiar with the great subjects pertain- 
 ing thereto than himself. The many and able reports on naval 
 subjects which he has written will stand as a monument to his 
 faithfulness, ability, and industry. When he became a member 
 of the Naval Committee we had not a single battle ship in com- 
 mission and the tonnage of our new Navy was less than 200,000, 
 whereas now, when the pending naval bill shall have become 
 a law, the tonnage of our Navy will reach 850,000. General 
 Meyer can rightfully be called one of the legislative builders of 
 the new- Navy, because during the seventeen years of his service 
 upon the committee more than three-fourths of the new Amer- 
 ican Xavy has been built 
 
 I may say that no Member was more intimately acquainted 
 with General MevER than myself. I saw a great deal of him in 
 the committee room and outside of the Capitol, and I came 
 to know him in a personal and intimate way, and as the years 
 rolled on I came to appreciate his splendid worth. He was the 
 gentlest and kindliest man I ever knew. He seemed to be full 
 of the milk of human kindness. I never knew him to offend 
 anyone, and if he did he would have been the first man to make 
 immediate reparation, and if one offended him he was eager to 
 give to him the consolation of a happy reconciliation. There 
 was no room in his heart for even the slightest resentment. 
 
 There is no place, perhaps, where men are more accurately 
 measured than in this forum, but the measure which we give 
 78130 — H. Doc. 1517, 60-2 2 
 
1 8 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 men here is largely the world's measure, and we attribute to 
 them aljility as we may note their generalship in handling some 
 measure upon the floor or by their eloquence in debate. In- 
 deed, we are apt to measure men here as they appeal to us, on 
 what might be called "tlie public scale of human action." But 
 the true measure of a man is recorded elsewhere. It is writ- 
 ten that "he that overcometh himself is greater than he that 
 taketh a city." It is written, also, that meekness, charity, 
 long suffering, patience, forbearance one with another shall be 
 the instruments of man's measurement in the great hereafter. 
 These are the Master's all-conquering instruments of power. 
 
 General Meyer won his way and accomplished the things 
 which he did through the gentleness of his manner, the sweet- 
 ness of his character, the [persistency of his efforts, the geniality 
 of his disposition, the persuasiveness and logic of his position. 
 
 He never won his contests by a brilliant dash or charge, 
 although as captain in the confederate army he had made 
 them on the field of battle, but here in this forum he won his 
 victories through kindliness and benevolence. If one gave him 
 his ear, he soon had possession of his heart. Such was this 
 gentle and kindly man. 
 
 General Meyer, as I have above stated, was a captain in the 
 confederate army. He was a follower of what is sometimes 
 called the "lost cause." And yet the bravery and courage dis- 
 played by the soldiers of the South, no less than that of the 
 soldiers of the North, the Gray as well as the Blue, will be a 
 common heritage to our children and our children's children 
 through all the ages yet to come. We are not far .enough re- 
 moved from the war to mea.sure its full meaning in its just 
 proportions. All must realize that we are but the instruments, 
 of the Almighty's plan and purpose in the development of 
 civilization and the liberty of mankind. Liberty is a mighty 
 stream. It reaches back through all the ages that are past. 
 
Address of Mr. Foss, of I Hi no is 19 
 
 and rushes on through all the ages yet to come, until its mighty 
 current loses itself into the boundless ocean of the Creator's 
 love. 
 
 When a century shall have rolled by and the historian of the 
 future comes to write the story of that great war in which so 
 many thousands were engaged on both sides, where so much 
 blood was spilled, where brother fought against brother in 
 fratricidal strife, and where untold misery and suffering has 
 been dragging its weary length all these years down in the deep, 
 dark valley of humiliation and despair — I say, when the his- 
 torian comes to write the history of that great conflict in the 
 mellow light of history, he will, perchance, simply say, "The 
 North and the South, two brothers, sitting on the lap of the 
 Infinite; one struck the other, and the other returned the blow; 
 vet all the while the tender, loving arms of the Almighty Ruler 
 of nations were around them both." 
 
 General Meyer had been tried in the old faith. He was true 
 to the old gospel, and yet he preached the new, the gospel of 
 brotherly love and reconciliation between the two great sec- 
 tions of our common country. He believed that whereas the 
 old North and the old South had crossed swords in war, the 
 new North and the new South should henceforth clasp hands in 
 peace. And so would we all advance this sentiment, in the name 
 of all the dead who sleep upon the hillsides of the North and 
 those as well who sleep where they fell along the banks of many 
 a southern stream, whose slow and sluggish current seems to 
 murmiu- a solemn requiem to the dead; in the name of all the 
 living, whose scars give to modest lip the "voice of eulogy; " 
 in the name of Lee, who, at the close of the war, stated that 
 he willingly would have sacrificed all that he had sacrificed in 
 order that this blessed consummation might be brought about; 
 and lastly, in the name of Grant, whose patient suffering on 
 Mount McGregor made the "couch glorious like the cross," 
 
20 Memorial Addtesses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 where he reiterated again and again those words which he had 
 spoken at the close of the war, "Let us have peace." So 
 say we all of us, a perpetual peace in the everlasting arms of 
 American brotherhood. 
 
 Soldier, statesman, legislative builder of the new American 
 Navy, reconciler of the North and South, lover of mankind, 
 husband, father, friend, associate, thou hast earned thy rest. 
 Sleep on until the angel shall call thee on resurrection morn 
 before the great white throne to receive thy eternal reward. 
 
Address of Mr. Clark, oj Missouri 21 
 
 Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 
 
 Mr. Sfeaker: Louisiana was the first State carved from the 
 magnificent domain which Jefferson bought from Napoleon for 
 a song, and Missouri was the second. This close kinship, to- 
 gether with their intimate commercial relations, has from the 
 first caused them to entertain deep and abiding sympathy for 
 each other — deeper and more abiding than the average — in 
 every joy and sorrow, in prosperity and in adversity. Being 
 for a long time the only States beyond the great river, they 
 formed the habit of fighting in pairs, and habit at last becom.es 
 second nature. 
 
 Louisiana has been a member of the Union ninety-six years. 
 There are persons yet living who were old enough to walk and 
 talk when she w^as admitted into the rare and radiant sisterhood. 
 In the years of her statehood the world has made greater 
 progress in the utilitarian arts and sciences than in any three 
 preceding centuries. To this bewildering progress Louisiana 
 has contributed her part, and of the fruits thereof she enjoys 
 her full share. Her position at the mouth of the Mississippi 
 has from the first given her a prominence greater than her 
 acres, her population, and her wealth entitle her to. The de- 
 sire to possess the island of Orleans was really what made us 
 a continental power — a world power, for let it never be for- 
 gotten that we have been a world power ever since the 30th 
 day of April, 1803. Until we acquired the Floridas, Louisiana 
 was the southernmost of all our possessions, and so different 
 in climate and productions from the rest of our country that 
 she was enveloped in romance to an extraordinary degree, and 
 became the pet theme of ])oets, orators, and novelists. 
 
22 Memorial Addresses: Adolpli Meyer 
 
 The cosmopolitan character of her population has added a 
 perpetual charm to her history. 
 
 When I entered 'Congress, in 189J, Louisiana was represented 
 in the Senate by Donelson Caffery and E. D. White; and in the 
 House by N. C. Blanchard, Robert C. Davey, H. W. Ogden, 
 S. M. Robertson, Adolph Meyer, Andrew Price, and C. J. 
 Boalner. Of that goodly company Judge Davey is the only 
 one left with lis. vSenator Caffery, Mr. Ogden, Judge Boatner, 
 and General Meyer have joined the great majority; Senator 
 White is now Mr. Justice White of the Federal Supreme Court; 
 Mr. Robertson and Mr. Price are now in retirement; Mr. Blan- 
 chard, after being a Senator of the United States and supreme 
 judge of Louisiana, is now lieutenant-governor. This brief 
 recital of facts shows with what startling rapidit\- the dramatis 
 personae change here. 
 
 To be elected to this House once is a high honor, but to he 
 elected nine times, as was General Meyer, is not only a hic^h 
 honor, but an exceptional one. To prove this it is only neces- 
 sary to state that of our membership of 391 Members only 4 
 men have served the same length of time as General Meyer — 
 Judge DcArmond, of Missouri, Governor Hull, of Iowa, Mr. 
 Jones, of Virginia, and Colonel Livingston, of Georgia. Only 6 
 have served longer — Mr. vSpeaker Cannon, General Bingham, 
 of Pennsylvania, Mr. Payne, of New York, Mr. Dalzell, of Penn- 
 sylvania, Colonel Hepburn, of Iowa, and Mr. Sherman, of New 
 York. General Meyer serv^ed his constituents faithfully and 
 successfully. His constituents recognized that fact and would 
 probably have kept him here till his death, no matter how long 
 his life. 
 
 He was a modest, unassuming gentleman, but a most persist- 
 ent worker. The suaviter in niodo was developed in him to a 
 remarkable extent and enabled him to accomplish much with 
 little noise and with little friction. While representing a great 
 
Address of Mr. Claik. of Missoioi 23 
 
 city gives a Member exceptional prestige, it imposes exceptional 
 duties and exceptional labors. General Meyer enjoyed the 
 exceptional prestige and also seemed to enjoy the exceptional 
 duties and labors. He exercised eternal vigilance in looking 
 after the interests of Louisiana in general and of her great 
 metropolis in particular. 
 
 He was educated at the Universit\- of \'irginia; in his vouth 
 he served in the Confederate army on the staff of Cren. John S. 
 Williams, of Kentucky, popularly called "Cerro Gordo" Wil- 
 liams. General Meyer rose to the rank of assistant adjutant- 
 general before his beard was grown, and in Congress he rose to 
 be the ranking Democrat on two great committees — Naval 
 Affairs and District of Columbia. 
 
 General MEYER died in his sixty-sixth year, worn out in the 
 service of his city, of his State, and of his country. 
 
24 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Broussard, of Louisiana 
 
 Mr. vSpeaker: In addressing you to-day I bear my last 
 tribute to the memory of one with whom I held associations 
 of peculiar intimacy, social, political, and official, for a period 
 of more than ten years — the late Adolph Meyer, of Loui- 
 siana. I only wish to say a few simple, honest words of the 
 life, character, and public services of this friend and colleague 
 who has gone to the peaceful slumbers of his tomb. 
 
 When my people saw fit to honor and send me here some years 
 ago, it was General Meyer who first extended me a cordial 
 greeting and bade me welcome. From that time he was my 
 friend, and as the years passed on our friendship ripened and I 
 learned to regard him as an able, scholarly gentleman, devoted 
 to the service of his State and country. His longer legislative 
 experience and kindly nature made him at once mv preceptor, 
 and as time passed I sought more and more his counsel and 
 advice. 
 
 General MeyER w-as the possessor of a sunshiny, genial 
 nature, as well as a forgiving disposition, that never harbored 
 revenge. He was a plain, simple man who loved mankind. He 
 was small in stature and his bearing was quiet and unpretending, 
 but his step was steady and firm and was the expression of 
 great will power. Habitually social and kindly disposed, alwavs 
 affable and active was he. Much of his activity was the result 
 of that good nature which prompted him to readilv respond to 
 any call of his people; and while his generous, easy nature and 
 pleasing address made his presence especially desirable, his 
 willing kindness emboldened desire to almost demand. Many 
 of his fellow-citizens seemed to consider his ser\'ices a sort of 
 
Address oj Mr. Broussard. of Louisiana 25 
 
 common property, and this notion he never appeared disposed 
 to change or modify. As a worker he was untiring. For him 
 labor was not a task, but a pleasure. His ambition was to 
 represent his people properly and conscientiously. In com- 
 mittee, on the floor, at all times he was keenly alive to their 
 interest, and never let an opportunity to ser\-e them pass 
 neglected. 
 
 Sixty-five years ago, on the banks of the great Mississippi 
 River, at the city of Natchez, General Meyer was bom. There 
 he passed his childhood and boyhood days, a part of the time 
 in school, so that when he had attained the age of 18 he w^as 
 readv to enter the University of \"irginia. For two years he 
 zealously confined himself to intellectual ]3ursuits in that famed 
 old institution. But in 1862, unable to longer restrain that 
 enthusiasm which stirred within him for the defense of his 
 countrv, he was impelled to join the confederate ranks and 
 fight for country's sake. It is needless to dwell on his record, 
 other than to say it was an enviable one. On enlisting he was 
 assigned to the staff of Gen. John S. Williams, of Kentuck3\ 
 There he served through the years of war, at the end of which 
 he held the rank of assistant adjutant-general. Not many 
 vears ago his old commander, General Williams, testified to the 
 young soldier's worth in these words: 
 
 He was preeminent for soldierly qualities — the loftiest courage, fidelity, 
 and endurance. 
 
 His history in ser\ice is linked and written with that of the 
 
 armv of Lee; its history is his history, and its fame his fame; 
 
 its valorous deeds are the sum of the many brave deeds of the 
 
 thousands of gallant men who, with him, went forth at the call 
 
 of his country to battle for her defense. When the cause for 
 
 which he had contended was lost and his country's flag forever 
 
 furled in gloom and glory, he turned his face to the South and 
 
 took for his new home no less a place than Louisiana. 
 
26 Memorial Addresses: Adolpit Mever 
 
 There he stood with other Confederates through all the dark 
 days of reconstruction — days more trying than war, more 
 humiliating than defeat. Ever hopeful, he strove with untiring 
 might and effort to redeem the vSouthland from shameful mis- 
 rule and political strife and to rebuild that shattered land. 
 
 For several years General Meyer lived for the most part on 
 a plantation not far from New Orleans, and about the year 
 1870 he became a resident of that city. There he followed 
 commercial pursuits, and by his thrift, ability, and honest 
 efforts quickly found success. Even while he was busiest in his 
 own work General MevER was ever ready to respond to the call 
 of his fellow-citizens in city, State, or nation. To reorganize 
 and build up the vState militia he deemed essential. Enlisting 
 in this work, he unsparingly gave to it his time and the fruits 
 of his confederate service, and just prior to his election to 
 Congress he was made commander of all the Louisiana troops. 
 It was duty rather than desire that promjjted General Meyer 
 to accept this charge, for of war he had had sufficient. 
 
 Eighteen years ago the people of New Orleans, appreciating 
 the sterling worth of Adolph Mever, saw fit to send him to this 
 House as one of their Congressmen. So well, so faithfulh- did 
 he serve them, guard and protect their interests, that his service 
 here has been unbroken for all these eighteen years. The 
 fruits of his labor are many, notable, and worthy. Largelv 
 to his energetic efforts and tireless work are due the establish- 
 ment of the great naval station in New Orleans; the svstem 
 of jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi, as well as levees to 
 hold in check the waters of that great river; the maintenance 
 of the New Orleans mint; and the appropriations for a new- 
 federal building for that city. His last good deed, his last 
 work in this House, and in which I had the privilege and pleas- 
 ure of being closely associated with him, was the securing of 
 an appropriation of $25,000 at the past session for the com- 
 
Address of Mr. Broussard. of Louisiana 27 
 
 pletion of a monument to the soldiers who fell in thi- haltK- of 
 New Orleans in the war of 181 2. 
 
 To Mrs. Richardson, president of the United States Daughters 
 of 1776 and i8i2, and her splendid organization of patriotic 
 women is due the happy consummation of this plan to i)lace a 
 fitting shaft to the memory of those fearless men of Jackson 
 who saved the day at New Orleans. This organization of ladies 
 raised much of the money expended in the partial erection of 
 this monument. They interested me in their work, and when 
 Representative Story, of Louisiana, introduced a bill in the 
 State legislature to donate the grounds and unfinished monu- 
 ment to the United States, I went to the State capital and, with 
 Mr. Storv, secured the passage of his measure. Besides this, 
 the Daughters have obligated themselves to assume the care of 
 the monument and contiguous grounds, relieving the Govern- 
 ment of all expense and responsibility. 
 
 This battle, this monument, was the theme of General 
 Meyer's last speech in this House. It was on the anniversary 
 of the battle, January 8, 1907, that he appropriately, eloquently, 
 and forciblv urged his fellow-Members to memorialize this bat- 
 tlefield commensurately with the splendid deeds enacted there. 
 
 Such achievements as this; his great work for his people and 
 his State; his generous soul; the righteousness of his daily life; 
 his sympathetic nature; his deeds of kindness, charity, and 
 generosity will rear a monument to his memory more lasting 
 than stone, more enduring than bronze. 
 
28 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Kahn, of California 
 
 Mr. vSpeaker: We have met to-day to pay a last sad tribute 
 of love and respect to one whose voice was heard for many 
 years in these legislative halls, but who now sleeps the sleep 
 everlasting 'neath the balmy skies of his well-beloved Louisiana. 
 
 I first met Gen. Adolph Meyer during the Fifty-sixth Con- 
 gress. He was then serving his fifth term in this House. He 
 had acquired an enviable position among his colleagues. He 
 was regarded as a man of great industry, possessing the soul 
 of honor. He knew the right and always dared maintain it. 
 
 One of our American poets has said : 
 
 So many Gods, so many creeds, 
 
 So many roads that wind and wind, 
 While just the art of being kind 
 
 Is all this great world needs. 
 
 Our lamented colleague knew "the art of being kind." I do 
 not think that he had it in his nature to speak a harsh or un- 
 kind word. He was always courteous, affable, companionable. 
 He would not knowingly have wounded the feelings of the imm- 
 blest of his fellow-creatures. Indeed, it well can be said of him 
 
 that— 
 
 None knew him but to love him. 
 None named him but to praise. 
 
 He had been ailing for many months when the final summons 
 came, and it was a matter of deep regret to all of his friends 
 that illness prevented his presence in the Sixtieth Congress. As 
 the ranking minority member of the Committee on Naval 
 Affairs he had taken an active interest in the upbuilding of the 
 American Na\\ He was proud of all the traditions that at- 
 tached to that branch of the Government's service. His ambi- 
 tion was to see the American Navy the equal of any in the 
 world. He was particularly solicitous for the welfare of "the 
 
Address of Mr. Kalni, oj California 29 
 
 men behind the guns." and was ever ready to give liis xoice 
 and his vote to better their condition 
 
 Coming, as he did, from the city of New Orleans, the nR-tn)])(>- 
 hs of the South, he was especialh well qualified to sit upon the 
 Committee on the District of Columbia. As a member of that 
 committee he readily championed any measure that tended to 
 make the city of Washington the most magnificent capital in 
 the world. 
 
 His colleagues on both committees will miss his genial pres- 
 ence, will listen in vain for his words of counsel. 
 
 His was a busv life during the sixty-five years he was per- 
 mitted to walk among men. Born in 1842, he was scarcely 
 come to man's estate when the great struggle of the civil war 
 commenced. He naturally followed the fortunes of his beloved 
 State of Louisiana during that momentous period, and as an 
 officer on the staff of Gen. John S. Williams, of the confeder- 
 ate armv. he rendered signal ser\'ice to the cause which lie 
 believed to have been right. But with the coming of peace he 
 gladly returned to the pursuits of ]5eace. He did not mourn 
 for the lost cause, but immediately set to work to upbuild the 
 industries of a reunited country. 
 
 As a planter and as a business man fortune smiled upon him, 
 and he reaped the reward of industry in his commercial enter- 
 jirises. In these days of high finance, when men of large alTairs 
 ill the business world are not alwa\s overscrupulous as to the 
 methods employed in accumulating wealth, it shall always be 
 said to the everlasting credit of General Meyek that his busi- 
 ness career was both honorable and creditable. 
 
 His people, recognizing his sterling qualities as a citizen and 
 as a man, his splendid abihties, his honesty, his probity, his 
 integrity, his patriotism, elected him as their Representative to 
 the Fifty-second Congress, and wisely continued him in that 
 position till the day of his death. In lia\iiig thus honored him, 
 thev honored themselves; for if e\er a Representative sought 
 
30 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Ad ever 
 
 to serve his constituency faithfully, zealously, patrioticallv, 
 Gen. Adolph Meyer did. And his people recognized his great 
 worth — for when the news spread among them that the Grim 
 Reaper had cut down their friend and neighbor when he was at 
 the very fullness of his powers there was universal sorrow in 
 his city and his vState. 
 
 In the closing years of his life he was especially interested in 
 the improvement of the Mississippi River — the great Father of 
 Waters — whose improvement is especially important to the city 
 of New Orleans. One of his last utterances on the floor of this 
 House was in relation to this subject. He had the matter close 
 at heart, and it must have been a great solace to him during 
 the long, trying days of his suffering and illness to have learned 
 that the question of the improvement of the great waterways of 
 our country had grown to be one of the vital issues and was 
 engaging the attention of the progressive men of the entire 
 nation, regardless of politics or partisanship. 
 
 General Meyer was an optimist. During his long public 
 career he had faced many problems, he had participated in 
 many debates, he had helped to solve manv great questions of 
 national policy; but during all of that time he had marched 
 forward and never backward. There was never a pessimistic 
 note in any of his speeches. He realized that the world was 
 advancing, that mankind was growing better and better. He 
 went about among his fellow-men with a smile and not with a 
 scowl. He was a man of high ideals, and in his own life he tried 
 to live up to those ideals. 
 
 It is these qualities that made him a gentle, a devoted hus- 
 band, a loving father, and a faithful and loyal friend. He is 
 no more. He has gone to that long sleep that knows no wak- 
 ing, and all is well witli liim. And we, who were permitted to 
 know him in his lifetime, who loved and honored and respected 
 him, will always cherish his memory. 
 
Address of Ml . Pujo. of Louisiana 31 
 
 Address of Mr. Pujo, of Louisiana 
 Mr, Speaker: 
 
 * * * The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the stning, neillu-r 
 yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet 
 favor to nifti of skill; but time and chance happeneth tn them all. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, this great philosophic truth, uttered nearly 
 three thousand years ago by the wisest of nien, was well exem- 
 plified bv the traits of character and life efforts of our late 
 colleague, Gen. Adolph Meyer, of the First Louisiana District, 
 of whose memory we have met to-day to accord words of 
 commendation and regret. 
 
 Our late colleague was of Semitic origin, and his conduct in 
 life furnishes evidence of the traditional virtues of his great 
 race — love of countrv, love of family and home, patience, thrift, 
 industry, and application. 
 
 Others have spoken of the principal episodes of his life, and 
 of his political and legislative achievements; however, I do not 
 consider it amiss to deal more in detail with what his best 
 friends know to have been the pride and ambition of his life — 
 the dry dock and naval station at New Orleans. 
 
 Nearlv eighteen years a Member of the Congress of the United 
 States, he benefited his constituents, his State, and his country 
 bv his tenure of service, and the history of his legislative life 
 confirms the wisdom of the adage that — 
 
 The race is not always to the swift * * * 
 
 Although well educated and possessing a splendid command 
 of language, his success was attributable more to the fairness 
 and strength of his arguments and the persuasive manner and 
 persistency of his advocacy of an)' cause espoused by him than 
 to eloquence and oratory. 
 
32 Memorial Addresses: Adolpli Meyer 
 
 He never became discouraged at any temporary setbacks, nor 
 vainglorious or intolerant with success. 
 
 As an instructive lesson to those who may chance to read 
 these words, I have collated and condensed into a few lines, 
 which I now insert, the epitome of his legislative labors, which 
 will endure long after temporary monuments will have crumbled 
 to their original substance: 
 
 March 3, 1S93, Fifty-second Congress, second session, for 
 
 dry docks $2,5,000.00 
 
 July 26, 1894, Fifty-third Congress, second session, for dry 
 
 docks 2.3 , 025 . 03 
 
 May 4, i8g8. Fifty-fifth Congress, second session, for drv 
 
 docks 850, 000. 00 
 
 Jtine 7, 1900, Fifty-sixth Congress, first session, for dry 
 
 docks (3^0, 000. 00 
 
 Total I, 548, 025. 03 
 
 For naval station ■ 145, 000. 00 
 
 March 3, 1901, Fifty-sixth Congress, second session, for naval 
 
 station 330, 000. 00 
 
 July I, 1902, Fifty-seventh Congress, first .session, for naval 
 
 station 339, 000. 00 
 
 March 3, 1903, Fifty-seventh Congress, .second session, for 
 
 naval station iii, 800. 00 
 
 April 27, 1904, Fifty-eighth Congress, second session, for 
 
 naval station 271, 500. 00 
 
 March 3, 1905, Fifty-eighth Congress, third session, for naval 
 
 station 95,000. 00 
 
 June 29, 1906, Fifty-ninth Congress, first session, for naval 
 
 station 213, 500. 00 
 
 March 2, 1907, Fifty-ninth Congress, second session, for 
 
 naval station 156, 300. 00 
 
 Total I, 664, 100. 00 
 
 The construction of a dry dock and the establishment of a 
 naval station at New Orleans were projects dear to the heart 
 of General MevER, and the results of his efforts write the story 
 of a life well spent and devoted to the interests of those to whom 
 he was so faithful. 
 
Address oj Mr. Ptijo, of Louisia)ia 33 
 
 It will be noted that the first appropriation made hv tlie 
 National Government for a dry dock was on Jlarch 3, 1893, 
 and that the amount was very small, $25,000. But total ap- 
 propriations through the efforts and ability of the late First 
 District Congressman for the drv dock only aggregate at th's 
 time 51,548,025.03. 
 
 Well knowing and realizing the necessity for a naval station 
 on the Mississippi River at New Orleans and the advantages to 
 accrue to the public service from its construction, his energies 
 were next directed to the establishment of such a station, and 
 we find the result of his work in the naval appropriation bill 
 adopted June 7, 1900, Fifty-sixth Congress, frst session, carrv- 
 ing an appropriation of $145,000 for that purpose, followed b\ 
 an approjiriation on March 3, 1901. second session, with an 
 appropriation of $330,000; and the work was begun. And 
 annually thereafter the naval bill carried appropriations for 
 the naval station with unfailing regularity until March 2, 
 1907, aggregating $1,664,100. 
 
 The great ships of our navy and vessels of foreign countries 
 have been and can be at any time repaired with facilit\- and 
 restored to commission. Many thousands of dollars are dis- 
 tributed among the officers and emplovees stationed there. The 
 construction of the dock and the establishment of the naval 
 station have resulted in material benefit to New Orleans and has 
 enhanced her importance as a great port and strategic base. 
 
 I recall when I first came to Congress that I was slightly dis- 
 appointed with the unfavorable action of a committee on a 
 measure in which my constituents were interested, and so 
 expressed myself to my colleague. General Meyer He stated 
 to me that he considered he had accomplished a few things for 
 the people of his district since his election to Congress, but the 
 result had been attained h\- repeated efforts, although at first 
 78130 — H. Doc. 1517, 00-2 3 
 
34 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 riDt entirely successful or satisfactory. He said he well remem- 
 bered in his campaign for Congress in 1891 that his advocacy 
 of a dry dock and naval station at New Orleans was almost 
 treated with derision and that he was charged by his opponents 
 as advocating a measure which he well knew would never be 
 enacted into law. Vet, he remarked: 
 
 I have lived to see both of these projects — charged as being merely 
 electioneering schemes — approved by the Congress of my country and 
 my people. 
 
 Were the people of his district to estimate his services merely 
 from a financial point of view, his account would show a large 
 balance to his credit; theirs a large debit in his favor. 
 
 His achievements in the great field of human endeavor 
 entitle him to the commendation accorded by the greatest of 
 cvnics to those who accomplished something, that — 
 
 Whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow 
 upon a spot of ground where only one grew before would deserve better of 
 mankind and do more essential ser\'ice to his country than the whole race 
 of politicians put together. 
 
 Yet, Mr. Speaker, "a man's life * * * is neither here 
 
 nor there in the destiny of a nation. " General Meyer fulfilled 
 
 his mission; he performed his duty; he accomplished his task; 
 
 and, in the last analysis, we exclaim with the Latin poet, 
 
 "Finis coronat opus!" 
 
Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 35 
 
 Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 
 
 Mr. Speaker : We are here to-day to endeavor to pay a 
 tribute of respect and of love to the memory of our late col- 
 league and friend, Gen. Adolph MevER, of Louisiana; not 
 in the extravagance of language or in fulsomeness of praise, 
 but in sincerity and truth to speak those things which our 
 love would prompt and to testify to those virtues which we 
 know. I wish sincerely, Mr. Speaker, that I possessed that 
 richness of language which would enable me adequatelv to 
 pay a just tribute which his merits and life would warrant, 
 but I find comfort in the thought that those who have pre- 
 ceded me have paid a tribute more deserving and more com- 
 mensurate than I can hope to do. I first met General JMeyer 
 when I became a Member of the Fifty-seventh Congress. I 
 was not then associated with him other than as a Member of 
 the House, meeting and being associated with him, but dur- 
 ing the Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth Congresses we were together 
 in our work upon the Committee on Naval Affairs, and there 
 I learned to know him well and to love him more. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I speak truly when I say the Committee on 
 Naval Affairs and the Congress in his death suffered a loss. 
 The Congress, as a representative of the whole countrv, his 
 State, and the Union had in General Mever a faithful, efficient, 
 and competent public servant. Great crises, it is said, pro- 
 duce great men, or it is sometimes debated that great men 
 produce great crises. Perhaps we are not able to give a cat- 
 egorical answer to that question or a dogmatic solution to the 
 inquiry, but the young manhood of General Meyer came into 
 activity in a great crisis, during the civil war from 1861 to 1865. 
 
36 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 In lliL- year 1862, when in the University of \'irginia as a 
 student, he felt the call of duty which his country made upon 
 him and he responded to that call. He allied himself to the 
 cause of the Confederacy, and while it is not my purpose to 
 attempt to repeat what has already been told of his services 
 and his distinguished career, his fidelity in that service was 
 such that when the war was over it could be and it has been 
 said of him he was faithful to every trust and faithful to every 
 duty. 
 
 No more could be said of any man. Faithful in the environ- 
 ments in which we find ourselves, faithful in the duties which 
 present themselves to us in our station and our surroundings, 
 whether large or little, whether great or small, ever to be 
 faithful and efficient in the discharge of the duty that is 
 before us is the highest, the noblest, and the best tribute that 
 can be paid to mortal man. Mr. vSpeaker, it is not my purpose 
 to recall the incidents of that crisis. The soldiers of the 
 North and the soldiers of the South, the soldiers who wore 
 the blue and the soldiers who wore the gray, who met upon 
 the field of battle and of blood, of destruction and death, 
 were men in the highest, noblest sense when they faithfully 
 discharged their duty. Those were times that tried men's 
 souls, and a man who was faithful as he saw his fellows die, 
 who was brave in blood and carnage and death, deserves the 
 tribute of commendation and merits the esteem and the love 
 of his countrymen. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, whenever I stand at the grave of a man who 
 wore the blue or of a man who wore the gray, there comes to 
 me the memory of the words that were spoken to the prophet 
 of old as he stood in the presence of that burning bush, "Take 
 thy shoes from off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou stand- 
 est is holy ground." Sir, as I stand at the grave of a federal 
 or a confederate soldier, I take mv hat from my head and bare 
 
Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 37 
 
 it to the blue- of luavcii and my soul lestilits that these are our 
 country's heroes; and from my heart ascends the prayer that 
 our children and our children's children may ever be as noble 
 and as brave as were these men who wore the blue and the gray 
 in the discharge of their duty to the call of their country. Mr. 
 Speaker, the courage and bravery and heroism of the soldiers 
 of the North and of the South in that great struggle is the 
 grandest, the noblest, the best exhibition of courage and patri- 
 otism ever displayed on the field of battle and challenges the 
 admiration of the world. 
 
 But, sir, it was after the close of that war, when the Southern 
 soldier returned to his home in desolation and ruin, where fire 
 and sword had made desolate the land, and faced the ])roblems 
 of rebuilding his country, rehabilitating its industries, reinstat- 
 ing its institutions, and to meet and to solve aright the many 
 problems that presented themsehes to him, that the manhood 
 of the South exhibited its highest inspiration and its noblest 
 aspiration and achievement and reached the high-water mark 
 of patriotic accomplishment. 
 
 It was in this work that General Meyer entered heartily, 
 patriotically, and successfully as a citizen of his State and of 
 the Nation. For laying hold of the new problems which pre- 
 sented themselves to him, for his wise and judicious considera- 
 tion of them, and for their rightful solution he received the 
 approbation of his people, and they gave to him a commission 
 for years and years as a Member of Congress. Others have 
 spoken more eloquently than I could hope to do of the faithful- 
 ness and the efficiency of his labor and his achievement here. 
 I need not say more than to say that here, as elsewhere, he was 
 faithful and efficient. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, when we come to consider General Meyer per- 
 sonally our admiration may prompt us, unless we be careful, 
 to extravagant expression. He was a noble man. He was a 
 
38 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 gentle man. There was one attribute of his character that was 
 prominent and commended itself to all — his modesty. I wish to 
 emphasize that modesty is not and should not be a virtue lim- 
 ited and confined to the female sex. There is a modesty which 
 commends itself to men and which challenges the" admiration of 
 noble men ; and General Meyer possessed in a high degree that 
 modesty. General MeyER was personally honest; no man ever 
 questioned his personal honesty or his personal honor. But, 
 more than that, Mr. Speaker, he was politically honest. By 
 that 1 mean that in his convictions of political duty he was 
 sincere and earnest. He had convictions; he was not afraid 
 to state them. Those convictions were politically honest with 
 him, and he had the courage to maintain them. He was 
 honest in his purpose. 
 
 No man ever questioned the honesty of the purpose of General 
 Meyer in any effort he undertook; and it was the conviction and 
 the sincerity and the honesty of his purpose that commended 
 itself to his associates here and gave him power in this body. 
 He was not only honest in his purpose, but he was honest in his 
 action; for his conduct was such that no man ever stopped or 
 thought to question or to examine into the integrity of his pur- 
 pose or the honesty of his action, because it was apparent in his 
 life and his conduct. But one may be honest and still not rise 
 to the highest level of manhood. We can pay our debts, we may 
 discharge the duties that commonly and ordinarily address 
 themselves to us, and still there is a higher plane of manhood 
 than that. General Meyer was a man of integrity. He was 
 pure iu his thought. I ask you to let }'our minds run over the 
 history of this body, and can you find where anyone has ever 
 been purer in his thought or cleaner in his life than General 
 Meyer? The purity of his thought and the cleanness of his 
 life marked him as a noble man, and won for him the respect 
 of his colleagues. 
 
Address of Mr. Pndqrft, of Tennessee 39 
 
 He was faithful in service. Others have amplified that fact, 
 and I shall not detain you for it. The faithfulness of his 
 service was marked in this House and among his people. 
 
 It is said that there are larger and smaller cycles that mark 
 the movements of the heavenly bodies. The sun has its orbital 
 cycle and the stars have theirs. Some are small, some are 
 larger, and some larger still. iSome of the bodies move them- 
 selves within our visions for only a little while as they pass by, 
 and we see them but little. It seems to me that this life is 
 such. In the great cycle of eternity, as we conceive it, what 
 a small cycle of life there is to us here. The life and light of 
 the cycle of his life here has passed away from us, only to move 
 in that larger cycle which we call eternity. We hope, we 
 expect, yes the intuitions of our souls tell us, and we know, 
 that in that hereafter the friendships begotten here shall ripen 
 into the full fruition of love over there; and it is a comfort 
 and consolation to know that in the richness, the fullness, and 
 the completeness of that life we shall be satisfied. 
 
40 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mk. Olcott, of New York 
 
 Mr. Speaker: It is probably unnectssary for me to add 
 anything to what has been so well said of the life and services 
 of Adolph Mever, but it seems to me fitting, and it certainly 
 is an honor, to join with you who knew him so well in a few 
 words of mv appreciation of his services i:i the District of 
 Columbia Committee, where 1 met him in the first session of 
 the Fifty-ninth Congress. That committee is probably in- 
 fluenced less by political opinions than any other. The acer- 
 bities of partisan activities hardly enter into its deliberations. 
 The question as to who is a Republican and who is a Democrat 
 need hardlv be considered. All who do their work there are 
 actuated bv the simple desire to do what is best for the city 
 of Washington. General Meyer brought to the work rich 
 experience and good judgment. He was tenacious in his views 
 on any civic subject, but equally tolerant of divergent views 
 of others. His work was ahvays valuable, and his expressed 
 opinions alwa\s told and did much to enable the committee to 
 act wisely. There was no matter so trivial or detail so small 
 that was not worthy of and did not receive his strict attention 
 and his honest judgment. Much of what is good in the bills 
 reported from that committee originated with him or received 
 his cordial support. .\nd of his personal relations with the 
 members of the committee nothing can be said but good. My 
 acquaintance with him soon, I am honored to say, became a 
 friendship, and the friendship quickly ripened into genuine 
 affection; and so when the sad news came on March S that he 
 had passed away, it was the loss to me of a real friend. I had 
 looked forward to seeing him again, not only in the old com- 
 
Address of Mr. OlcoU, of New York 41 
 
 mittee but in the Conuuitt (.•<.■ on Xaval Affairs, but, alas, it was 
 not to be. General MevEk had many friends, and closer ac- 
 quaintance invariably increased the friendship. In the remarks 
 which he made at the memorial ser\'ices of Amos Cummings 
 General Meyer closed in the following language: 
 
 I do not suppose that he left on this floor a personal enemy tiehind 
 him: certainly there is not one of us who in this hour does not mourn 
 his untimely end. 
 
 Surely nothing truer could be said of this brave soldier, 
 faithful public ser\-ant, warm friend, and courteous, modest, 
 and gentle man. 
 
42 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginu 
 
 Mr. Speaker : The frequent eulogies in this House Sunday 
 after Sunday, remind us of the solemn and serious fact that in 
 the midst of life we are in death. A visitation of this grim 
 monster has prevented my making as full and complete a eulogy 
 on our departed friend and comrade as I had hoped to make, 
 for no longer ago than yesterday I was called to witness the 
 funeral of a splendid Virginia woman who met a sudden and 
 tragic death by a runaway accident. I only left the city of 
 Richmond this morning after a very early breakfast, in order 
 that I might reach this House in time to comply with the request 
 of my colleagues from the State of Louisiana to unite in this 
 tribute to the life and character of our deceased friend. 
 
 I have, perhaps, seen more of death in war than any other 
 man in this presence, and as much in peace. Only this morning 
 I came through the historic city of Fredericksburg, where in 
 December, 1863, I counted on a surface no larger than this 
 room the bodies of 285 of the dead men of Mears's brigade, in 
 that conflict of which I was an eyewitness. All I have here to 
 say has been written on the train between Fredericksburg and 
 this city. As my mind ran over the battlefield of old Virginia 
 I thought of the apostrophe to death I have heard so often 
 quoted on this floor: 
 
 Come to the bridal chamber, Death. 
 
 Come to the mother's, when she feels 
 For the first time her first-bom's breath! 
 
 Come when the blessed seals 
 That close the pestilence are broke, 
 And crowded cities wail its stroke! 
 Come in consumption's ghastly form, 
 
Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 43 
 
 The earthquake shock, the ocean storm; 
 Come when the heart beats high and warm 
 
 With banquet song, and dance and wine' 
 And tliou art terrible! — the tear. 
 The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier. 
 And all we know, or dream, or fear 
 
 Of agnnv, are thine. 
 
 We look upon death as the greatest of mysteries; but to my 
 mind, accustomed as I have been in war a:id peace to this dread 
 monster, I regard what we call life as even more mysterious 
 than death itself. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the life of Adolph Meyer was eventful and 
 distinguished. Louisiana may well mourn and this House well 
 honor this soldier, patriot, business man, and statesman. 
 
 In him was combined those qualities of sterling character, 
 rare fidelity, courage, and faithfulness in the discharge of every 
 diitv which justlv entitles hiiu to live in the hearts and memo- 
 ries of his countrymen. 
 
 Modest, unassuming, and genial, liberally educated, of broad 
 business experience, he gave to his public duties that sound judg- 
 ment and untiring effort which won for him the affection, re- 
 spect, and confidence of his colleagues. 
 
 Adolph Meyer was a native of Natchez, Miss., born in Octo- 
 ber, 1842. Educated at the University of Virginia, he left that 
 institution while a student to enlist in the confederate army, 
 serving with distinction under Brig. Gen. John S. Williams, first 
 as captain, then by promotions until at the close of the war he 
 held the position of adjutant-general. 
 
 After the close of the war he returned to IvOuisiana, became 
 the head of a firm largely interested in the production of cotton 
 and sugar; later he became a cotton factor in New Orleans, and 
 was prominent and successful in commercial and financial 
 pursuits. 
 
 He was elected and served as colonel of the First Regiment 
 Louisiana National Guard, and was appointed in 1881 brigadier- 
 
44 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 general to command all of the uniformed corps of the State of 
 Louisiana. 
 
 At the outbreak of the war with Spain, Gen. John S. Williams. 
 his old commander, wrote the President as follows: 
 
 Jo the President: 
 
 I beg leave to recommend to your favorable consideration Mr. Adolph 
 Meyer, of Louisiana, for position of division or brigade commander of 
 Southern volunteers. 
 
 Mr. Meyer served on my staff during almost the entire civil war. He 
 was preeminent for soldierly qualities, the loftiest courage, fidelity, and 
 endurance. In fact he seemed a natural-bom soldier, and commanded tlie 
 confidence and admiration of the entire command. 
 
 1 know of no young officer who manifests more military aptitude. His 
 resourcefulness in emergencies and (|uickness to avail himself of every 
 possible advantage and devotion to duty were unsurpassed. 
 
 Mr. Meyer's experience in actual war has been supplemented bv com- 
 mand in the Louisiana Militia and National Guard. 
 
 I know the appointment would be a good one and highly acceptable to 
 the Southern people. 
 
 With sentiments of the highest regard, 
 1 am, most resiJectfully, yours, 
 
 John S. Williams, 
 Briqadict -Ceneral , Kentucky Dhision. 
 
 This letter makes comment on General MeyeR'^ record in the 
 war between the States unnecessary. The highest praise by his 
 superior officer, under whom he constantly served during almost 
 the entire war, is glory enough for one ex-Confederate. 
 
 Adolph Meyer was first elected to the Ffty-second Congress 
 from the First Congressional District of Louisiana in 1890, and 
 was successively reelected until the Sixtieth Congress in Novem- 
 ber, 1906, at which election he received 9,158 votes to his Repub- 
 lican opponent's 791. 
 
 Ex-Speaker Crisp assigned General Meyer to the Committee 
 on Naval Affairs, where he held an important place, serving 
 under two distinguished Democratic chairmen — Hon. Hilary A. 
 Herbert, of Alabama, and Hon. Amos Cummings, of New York. 
 
 It w'as on this committee that his greatest services were ren- 
 dered his .State and his beloved Southland. 
 
Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 45 
 
 It was chiefly to his active, untiring, and intelhgenl work that 
 the largest naval station and dry dock in the South was estab- 
 lished in the port of New Orleans, large enough for the heaviest 
 battle ships and comparing favorably with any other station in 
 this country. 
 
 Largely to him is due the construction of the jetties at South- 
 west Pass, placing New Orleans on a footing with the best and 
 greatest ports on this continent. It was largely to his strong 
 and earnest plea on the floor of the House in the Ffty-ilfth 
 Congress that the retention of the mint at New Orleans was 
 secured after it had been stricken out by the Appropriations 
 Committee. 
 
 For this ser\-ice, as well as many others of like character, Gen- 
 eral Meyer endeared himself to a loyal constituency, who re- 
 turned him to Congress for nine consecutive terms. 
 
 The letter of General Williams that 1 have quoted is a just 
 tribute to General Meyer. If our deceased comrade watches 
 these exercises to-dav from the spirit land, as he may do for all 
 we know, he takes the most interest in the references here made 
 to his Confederate record. Everything touching the history of 
 the heroic struggle his people made for constitutional liberty 
 was of deep interest to him. I shall never forget the simjile 
 and unvarnished story he told of the part he bore in that con- 
 flict at a meeting of the ex-Confederates of the House and 
 .Senate during a banquet held at the Metropolitan Hotel in this 
 citv several years ago. 
 
 At that time we numbered fifty in both Houses. We are now 
 reduced to eighteen. Soon the last of these heroes will have 
 passed from the scenes of earth. While their names, for the 
 most part, will perish and their memories fade away, their deeds 
 of valor and chivalry will stir the hearts of future generations 
 while the stars shine and the tides ebb and flow. 
 
46 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Their self-sacrifice and devotion to duty will feed the patriot- 
 ism and fire the souls of men as long as valor has a votary or 
 virtue a shrine. 
 
 Not since Cromwell established the English Commonwealth 
 has there been on earth an army more devoted to principle nor 
 freer of vices. To their everlasting honor stands the fact that 
 in their march through the enemy's country they left behind 
 them no ruined homes, no private houses burned, no families 
 cruelly robbed. 
 
 They were, with one solitary exception, and that perhaps a 
 righteous reprisal, careful with fire, and they were never known 
 to borrow jewels of gold and silver with no thought of returning 
 the same. They would divide the last morsel of food and the 
 last drop of water with the hungry and thirsty prisoners that 
 they captured by the thousands. 
 
 With the rarest exceptions they never cherished bitterness 
 and ill feeling for the rank and file of the men they met in 
 deadly combat. They were soldiers from necessity, not choice, 
 and only fought as their Revolutionary sires did, for home and 
 liberty. They knew then and know now that they were abso- 
 lutely right in their contentions, and the last one will die, as 
 our colleague died, with the proud satisfaction that impartial 
 history will pronounce judgment in their favor and rank them, 
 with a large number of their leaders, as the most heroic and 
 least selfish of all in the tide of time who fought for their homes 
 and firesides. 
 
 Our deceased comrade was also a striking type of the Con- 
 federate soldiers who returned to their homes after an unsuc- 
 cessful conflict with a majority of their own countrymen, assisted 
 by foreigners gathered from the four corners of the earth. 
 Historians are to-day giving the Confederate soldier full credit 
 for the purity of his convictions and the courage with which 
 he defended them. 
 
Address of Mr. Lamb, of ]'irginia 47 
 
 In due time they will tell of his achievements in peace that 
 were not suq^assed by his exploits in war. The territory that 
 he defended with unsurpassed valor, containing one-third of 
 our population, has for years contributed 40 per cent of our 
 exports to foreign lands. Receiving no pensions save a pit- 
 tance from Commonwealths that had been despoiled by war 
 and robbed by reconstructive laws, he has, with the toil and 
 enterprise of himself and the sons sprung from his loins, fur- 
 nished from his taxable values fully one-third of the revenues 
 that have gone to pension the survivors of the mixed hosts, 
 speaking every language of the earth, who overran with lire and 
 sword the fairest land ever given unto man to hold and defend. 
 
 The members of the Naval Committee have told us of the 
 splendid services our colleague rendered as a member of that 
 committee. To show the breadth of his view and his noble, 
 generous spirit, I quote the closing paragraph of the very last 
 speech he made in this House: 
 
 The time has gone by when voice of faction or party spirit could cavil at 
 a liberal policy of encouragement of this arm of our national defense. 
 Therefore in any steps we may take in this direction we will respond to the 
 ardent aspiration of the American people by providing adequate means to 
 defend our rights in peace or in war. 
 
 We old soldiers intend before we are transferred to another 
 sphere of action to establish the justice of our cause in the eyes 
 of mankind, and we wish to leave our good name and fame in 
 the keeping of the young men of our country. Ask yourselves 
 these questions, young men: Does the fact of failure prove 
 that the South was wrong and the North right in that struggle? 
 Was Providence on their side, and were we fighting against the 
 fiat of the Almighty? 
 
 If America had to suffer the penalty of violated law, was the 
 South sinners above all others? In the conduct of that war 
 which side exhibited most of the Christian and the least of the 
 brutal character? To ask these questions is but to answer 
 them. 
 
48 Memorial Addresses: Adolpli Meyer 
 
 The North succeeded because they liad the world to draw- 
 supplies from and mustered 2,500,000 men for the conflict. 
 
 The South failed because she could only raise 550,000 all 
 told and was confined to her own resources for supplies. 
 
 THE CONFEDER.XTE SdI.DIER. 
 
 In a few short years now the last one of these old soldiers 
 will have answered the last roll call. They are falling more 
 regularly than they fell in battle, notwithstanding they gave to 
 the grim monster 25 per cent of their fighting men during the 
 four years of strife. Soon, very soon — 
 
 We'll bear our last old soldier 
 
 To his quiet place of rest. 
 And we'll guard his mound of verdure 
 
 As the eagle shields her nest; 
 We'll deck his grave with violets, 
 
 And we'll keep it green each day, 
 And we'll carve upon his headboard, 
 
 " Lieth here the last Old Gray." 
 
 We shall love to teach our children 
 
 Of our heroes who are dead. 
 Of the battle scars they carried 
 
 Marching to a soldier's tread; 
 Of their loyal hearts so tender, 
 
 All aglow in truth's array. 
 And the many recollections 
 
 Of the hoys who wore the gray. 
 
 And as long as time speeds onward. 
 
 And there is a heaven of love, 
 God will watch the silent sentinels, 
 
 Sleeping, from a world above ; 
 He will guard the precious memory 
 
 Of the old Confederate gray, 
 Througliout Time's eternal pages, 
 
 When the last one's jjassed away. 
 
Address of Mr. Spiglit, oj Mississippi 49 
 
 Address of Mr. Spight, of Mississippi 
 
 Mr. Speaker: When I became a Member of the House of 
 Representatives of the Congress of the United States, about ten 
 years ago, one of the first Members, outside of my own state 
 delegation, with whom I became acquainted was Gen. Adoi.pii 
 Meyer, of Louisiana. From that time imtil his death our rela- 
 tions were cordial. We were drawn together more closely 
 because for four years we fought under the same flag, and each 
 felt a pride in his record as a confederate soldier. Another 
 reason, perhaps, why we were attracted to each other was that 
 we were both natives of the proud State of Mississippi. 
 
 For almost seventeen years, commencing with the Fifty- 
 second Congress, General MEYER represented in this House the 
 first district of Louisiana, the greater part of which is in the 
 city of New Orleans. That a man of the Hebrew race and faith 
 should have so long represented this cosmopolitan district is 
 one of the highest tributes to his worth. 
 
 General Meyer was genial, courteous, and open-hearted. He 
 was as modest as a woman, but proud of his good name and 
 loved his honor better than his life. At the time of his death he 
 was the dean of his state delegation by virtue of long service, 
 which exceeded by two years that of his distinguished colleague 
 of the second district. Judge DavEy, and he had the confidence 
 and esteem of all. 
 
 As before stated, General Meyer was a gallant confederate 
 soldier, and this he justly regarded as a badge of honor, and 
 yet, like the truly brave men on both sides of that fearful con- 
 flict, when the war ended he stopped fighting and became as 
 loyal to the Government of the United States as he had been 
 to the Confederacy. While we all deplore the death of our 
 78130 — H. Doc. 131 7, 60-2 4 
 
50 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 friend, I, as a confederate soldier, am glad of the opportunity 
 to pay a feeble tribute to his memory and worth. When I 
 think of the changes which have occurred in the ten years since 
 I have been in Congress I am forcibly reminded of the fact that 
 in a few more years the last of the soldiers of the civil war will 
 have passed off the stage of action. 
 
 In our boyhood or young manhood we wore the blue or the 
 gray, as our environments and convictions led us. Each did 
 what he thought was right, and the men who made American 
 history in those bloody days, ask no apologies from those who 
 fought against them. We are all proud of our achievements. 
 The one helped to presence the Union; the other saw his flag 
 go down in defeat, but has lived to see the indestructible doc- 
 trine of States rights, for which he fought, recognized in every 
 section of our great domain and in every department of our 
 Government. Side by side and hand in hand the confederate 
 soldier and his sons are marching on with the federal soldier 
 and his descendants to make our reunited countrv the proudest, 
 richest, most powerful nation on earth, and with the confident 
 hope that it may be the freest and happiest under the necessary 
 limitations of a beneficent Constitution. 
 
 In speaking of the rapidity with which the ranks of the vet- 
 erans of the civil war are diminishing, it may be of interest to 
 say that in the Fifty-sixth Congress there were fifty confed- 
 erate soldiers in the two Houses — more than there were of fed- 
 eral soldiers. To-day there are nineteen in all, and only eight 
 in the House. Alabama and Mrginia have two each, and 
 Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, and Tennessee have one each. 
 There are now thirty-two federal soldiers of the civil war in 
 the two Houses, only two of whom are Democrats. The only 
 confederate soldier I have ever known as a Republican Mem- 
 ber of Congress was Hon. C. vSlemp, of Virginia, who died 
 since his election to the Sixtieth Congress. 
 
Address oj Mr. Spighl, of Mississippi 51 
 
 I mention these tilings only as a hit of interesting information 
 and to show how fast the men who wrote history in the smoke 
 of battle more than forty years ago are crossing the "great 
 divide" which separates time from eternity. I am glad that 
 no bitterness remains in the hearts of those who took part in 
 that great struggle, but meet now as friends, and trust that in 
 the few remaining years we may be brought still closer together 
 for the welfare and glory of our conmion country. 
 
Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Watkins, of Louisiana 
 
 sir. vSpeaker: It is no ordinary task to be a faithful Repre- 
 sentative in the halls of Congress. To represent the interests 
 of a Congressional district is an onerous undertaking, but to 
 faithfully and intelligently represent all the interests of this 
 great Government requires natural endowments, supplemented 
 by training of the severest kind. 
 
 Gen. Adolph Meyer entered the Congress of the United 
 States after a training so wide in its scope as to enable him to at 
 once grasp the trend of his work and to have his labors finally 
 crowned with success. He bore his honors so gracefully, his 
 manner was so quiet and unassuming, that one would not deter- 
 mine that in him was comljined the cultured scholar, the fiery 
 warrior, the hardy yeoman, the skilled financier, and the pol- 
 ished statesman. But the eulogies to which we have listened 
 this afternoon show that he was endowed with these attributes. 
 He was a kind and affectionate husband, a loving and indulgent 
 father, an amiable companion, a staunch friend, an elegant 
 American gentleman. 
 
 It is related of him that he was diligent in his studies at the 
 University of Virginia, from which institution he graduated at 
 the beginning of the civil war. He had selected the law as his 
 profession, but abandoned it to enter the Confederate armv. ' 
 
 In lieu of enumerating his many engagements and the indi- 
 vidual acts of heroism which marked his career in that long 
 and bloody conflict, I will only cite his record as it is summarized 
 in the letter of his superior officer. Gen. John S. Williams, of 
 Kentucky, whicii he directed to the President of the United 
 States, and which has already been read. 
 
Address of Mr. VVatkins, of Louisiana 53 
 
 This gives the record as a soldier of the one of whom we 
 speak; but when the strife was over we find him engaged in 
 the peaceful and honorable pursuit of agriculture in the parish 
 of Concordia, La., near the beautiful city of Natchez, Miss., 
 where he had spent his boyhood days. LUit he yearned for that 
 field of commercial enterprise which had afforded opulence to 
 so many of his race, and New Orleans, the great metropolis of 
 the South, was selected as a suitable site for the mercantile 
 business in which he engaged. 
 
 But it is with his Congressional record we are more directly 
 concerned. It would not be just to the memory of a man who 
 had serv'ed for seventeen years in Congress to condense in a 
 few words the more prominent acts of his accomplishment and 
 lea\'e to inference the nuiltitude of minor transactions, which 
 in the aggregate show a task performed which would tax the 
 credulitv of the most confiding casualist. 
 
 When we reflect that from the great city of New Orleans there 
 are only two Representatives in the lower House of Congress 
 to represent her interests in the navigation of the Mississippi 
 River, in her levees, her wharves; to represent the great ship- 
 ])iiig interests on the Gujf and to foreign ports, the inland 
 traffic, the manufacturing, the banking, the mercantile inter- 
 ests, the exchanges, the boards of trade, the progressive unions, 
 the labor organizations, and the myriad of other interests in a 
 city of more than one-third of a million people, we are astounded 
 to learn that in addition to these duties great outside plans are 
 originated and carried to a successful conclusion. To-dav we 
 sec the great dry dock an accomplished fact in New Orleans; 
 the Chalmette monument; the new government building, cost- 
 ing millions of dollars, provided for; the naval station and the 
 immigration statif>n in New Orleans all testify to the meri- 
 torious efforts of our deceased brother. 
 
54 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 When any question would arise affecting the Passes at the 
 jetties or the government mint at New Orleans, or which af- 
 fected the quarantine regulations, General Meyer was always 
 ready to protect the interests of the city, but no less the inter- 
 ests of the State. 
 
 General Meyer dearly loved his adopted vState, and was fond 
 of the poem, Louisiana, which was sung by Miss Nores, United 
 Daughters of the Confederacy, and whicli, by request, I will 
 recite : 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 Land of the brave, aye, the gallant and bold, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Home of tlie lads with hearts as good as gold, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Unequaled in beauty the wide world o'er: 
 The names of thy sons reach from shore to shore, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Blest are the mortals whose feet touch thy strand, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Home of my childhood, inijierial land, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Thy rich fertile soil is forever renowned: 
 Thy forests in numerous trees still abound: 
 Thy inelodious song, unsurpassed, aye, in sound, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Mild are the winters that visit thy shore, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Beautiful liirds through thy balmy air soar, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Leader of all, bright and glorious land, 
 Pray tell me the country which with thee can stand ^ 
 For, surely, thy fields have been touched by Hod's hand, 
 
 Louisiana. 
 
 This poem breathes a spirit of patriotism which made it 
 congenial to his nature, for his soul was fired with patriotic 
 emotions and he loved his whole country. 
 
 Who does not love a patriot ? 
 
 In commemoration of those who have suffered in their coun- 
 try's cause the bard has awakened the slumbering chords of his 
 
Address of Mi . Watkins. of Louisiana 55 
 
 noble Ivre and called forth the beatific strains which still float 
 upon the tide of time. The grandest monument which can com- 
 memorate the deeds of men is that which the patriot erects in 
 the affections of his countrymen. 
 
 The drifting sands are slowly submerging the Egyptian 
 pyramids; the Colossus of Rhodes, that brazen monument of 
 a great city's gratitude, has tottered from its lofty pedestal; the 
 tawny Tiber creeps mournfully through a marble wilderness of 
 deserted fanes and decayed temples; but there is a monurrtent 
 more durable than brass, more indurated than adamant. To 
 the departed spirits of the small band of patriots who immo- 
 lated their lives on the altar of their country at the Pass of 
 Thermopylae the dulcet symphonies and voices sweet of the 
 poet's lav still whisper words of consolation and of cheer. 
 
 When the monastic gloom of medieval times had been refted 
 from the mental sky; the sun of knowledge had dissipated the 
 threatening clouds of superstition which lingered around the 
 horizon; the Pierian fount had hidden its crystal flood beneath 
 the funeral pile of Grecian glory, and the muses, deserting the 
 beautiful woodlands and vaulted grottoes, where they were wont 
 to hold high carnival, had sought refuge among the magnolia 
 groves and rosy bowers of the Hesperian shore, and the star of 
 patriotism, vanishing from the Old World, shone resplendent in 
 the New, then Washington, like some meteor from yon distant 
 sky, flashed upon the world in patriotic fire. vStill", while mas- 
 ter spirits have entranced the world, feebler souls have been 
 deeplv stirred and added their accordant notes to swell the 
 patriotic song and send forth the wild, weird pccan of victory 
 found amid the pulsations of the great human heart for love 
 and hope and joy. 
 
 Adolph Meyer was one of these. 
 
 l^ut, alas! his peaceful soul has taken its immortal flight to 
 sunlit climes of peace and lo\e, over whose supernal planes that 
 
56 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 unwritten music, the "music of the spheres," sweeps in voice- 
 less and unbroken strains, and whose billowy tide shall flow 
 along until it breaks in crystal spray around the millennial 
 
 throne. 
 
 The Speaker pro tempore. In accordance with the order of 
 the House, and as a further mark of respect to our deceased 
 colleague, General Meyer, I now declare the House adjourned 
 until to-morrow at 12 o'clock noon. 
 
 Accordingly (at 4 o'clock and 12 minutes p. m.) the House 
 adjourned. 
 
Proceedings in the Senate 57 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 
 
 Monday, March g, igo8. 
 
 A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. \V. T- 
 Browning, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Senate the 
 intelligence of the death of Hon. Adolph Meyer, late a Repre- 
 sentative from the State of Louisiana, and transmitted resolu- 
 tions of the House thereon. 
 
 Mr. McEnery. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before 
 the Senate the resolutions of the House of Representatives 
 announcing the death of Hon. Adolph Meyer. 
 
 The \'icE-PrESIDENT. The Chair lays before the Senate the 
 resolutions of the House of Representatives, wliich will be read. 
 
 The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 
 
 In the House of Represent.-\tives, 
 
 March g, igoS. 
 
 Resolved, That the House has heard with profound regret of the death 
 of Hon. Adolph Meyer, a Representative from the State of Louisiana. 
 
 Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and 
 directed to pay the necessary expenses in connection with the funeral of 
 said Representative. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
 and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now adjourn. 
 
 Mr. ilcENERV. Mr. President, at some other time I will ask 
 the Senate to set apart a day to commemorate the life, services, 
 and character of General Meyer. I now offer the resolutions I 
 send to the desk. 
 
 The Vice-President. The Senator from Louisiana offers res- 
 olutions which will be read. 
 
 The resolutions were read and unanimously a^^rced to, as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the annoimce- 
 ment of the death of the Hon. .\nOLPH MevER, late a Representative from 
 the State of Louisiana. 
 
58 Proceedings in the Senate 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House 
 of Representatives, and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the 
 deceased 
 
 Mr. McEnERY. Mr. President, I submit the additional reso- 
 lution which I send to the desk. 
 
 The Secretary read the resolution, as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased 
 the Senate do now adjourn. 
 
 The resolution was unanimously agreed to, and (at 4 o'clock 
 and 30 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, 
 Tuesday, March 10, 1908, at 12 o'clock meridian. 
 
 Monday, February 8, i^og. 
 
 Mr. McEnery. Mr. President, I desire to give notice that on 
 Saturday, the 27th of February, I shall ask the Senate to con- 
 sider resolutions commemorative of the life and character of 
 Adolph MeyeR; late a Representative from the state of 
 Louisiana. 
 
 Saturd.\y, February 2j, jqoq. 
 
 The Senate met at 1 1 o'clock a. m. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rev. Edward E. Hale, offered the following 
 prayer: 
 
 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me. to give every 
 yuan according as his work shall be. 
 
 Blessed are they that do His comviandments , that thev may have 
 right to the tree of life, and may enter in through Ike gale'i into the 
 city. 
 
 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabertuicle were 
 dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Father, Thou hast taught us this by Thy word in all ages by 
 Thy well-beloved Son. To-day we are to go back in memory 
 to those who have served Thee here and are now serving Thee 
 ill the larger service of that other wcjrkl. 
 
Proceedings in the Senate 59 
 
 God, be with us when we interpret history. Be with us 
 Thou, when we look into the future to see what our own duty 
 may be in these days that are before us. Show Thy servants in 
 the Congress, show all persons in authority in the Nation, what 
 it is to serve the living God and to bring in Th)- law for our 
 law, Thy rule for our passion, Thy strength for our weakness, 
 and Thy love to be with us always, that we may bear each 
 other's burdens, that we may find the duty that comes next 
 our hands, that we may enter into that service which is perfect 
 freedom. 
 
 We ask it as Thine own children. 
 
 Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy 
 kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 
 Give us this da>- our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as 
 we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into 
 temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom, 
 and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 
 
 Mr. McEnERY. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which I 
 send to the desk. 
 
 The Vice-President. The resolutions will be read. 
 
 The resolutions were read, considered by unanimous consent, 
 and unanimously agreed to as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate expresses its profound sorrow on .account of 
 the death of the Hon. Adouph Meyer, late a Member of the House of 
 Representatives from the .State of Louisiana. 
 
 Resolved, That the business of the Senate be suspended in order tliat 
 fitting tributes may be paid to his memory. 
 
 Rcsoked, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these resolutions to 
 tlie House of Representatives and to the family of the deceased. 
 
6o Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 Address of Mr. McEnery, of Louisuna 
 
 Mr. President: During each session of Congress we are called 
 upon to pay tribute to the memory of distinguished Members 
 who have passed away. 
 
 Of them who wrapped in earth are cold 
 
 No more the smiUng day shall view, 
 Should many a tender tale be told, 
 
 For many a tender thought is due. 
 
 One of the most lovable and tenderest of men, Gen. Adoi<ph 
 Meyer, a Member of the Sixtieth Congress, died in the State of 
 Louisiana at his home in the city of New Orleans on the 8th 
 day of March, 1908. Of him many tender tales can be told, and 
 many tender thoughts suggest themselves as due to his cher- 
 ished memory. He was born October 19, 1842; was a student 
 at the University of \'irginia until 1862, during which year he 
 entered the confederate army, and served until the close of the 
 war on the staff of Brig. Gen. John S. Williams, of Kentucky. 
 At the close of the war he returned to Louisiana and had been 
 engaged largely in the culture of cotton and sugar since; was 
 also engaged in commercial and financial pursuits in the city 
 of New Orleans; was elected colonel of the First Regiment of 
 Louisiana State National Guard in 1879, and iit 1881 was 
 appointed brigadier-general to command the First Brigade, 
 embracing all the uniformed corps of the State; was elected to 
 the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth, Fifty-fifth, Fifty- 
 sixth, Fifty-seventh, Fifty-eighth, Fifty-ninth, and Sixtieth 
 Congresses. 
 
 To this short sketch from the Congressional Directory I may 
 add that as a merchant he was universally respected, and as a 
 
Address of Mr. McEnery, of Louisiana 6i 
 
 planter he was Known and adraiR-d for his progressiveness ; 
 and as a soldier for undaunted skill and courage, receiving the 
 highest encomiums from his commanding general, on whose 
 staff he served during the war. As brigadier-general of the 
 National Guard, he was in service lor more than eight years, 
 and added b\- Iiis jK-rsistent efforts, under the guidance of Gen- 
 eral Beauregard, to the deserved ]joi)ularity of the organization 
 and to its admirable discipline. As a Representative in Con- 
 gress from Louisiana he was always diligent in ser\'ing his 
 State, and no interest affecting it escaped his attention. To 
 the welfare of his constituents individually he was devoted, and 
 dav after day he was at the departments looking into their 
 condition and their wants. 
 
 I quote from the eulogy on General MEYER of Mr. Foss, 
 chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, of the House of 
 Representatives, who knew him more intimately than any 
 Member of that body. 
 
 But General MevEk's greatest work consisted not so much in serving the 
 constituency which elected him as it did in serving that greater constitu- 
 ency which extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Gulf to 
 the Great Lakes. It was his labors in the upbuilding of the American Navy 
 for which he will be longest remembered. He was the oldest member of 
 the Committee on Naval Affairs. He had served for seventeen years, and 
 no man was more familiar with the great subjects pertaining thereto than 
 himself. 
 
 The many and able reports on naval subjects which lie has written will 
 stand as a monument to his faithfulness, ability, and industry. When he 
 became a member of the Naval Committee we had not a single battle ship 
 in commission and the tonnage of our new navy was less than 200,000, 
 whereas now, when the pending naval bill shall have become a law, the 
 tonnage of our navy will reach 850,000. General Meyer can rightfully be 
 called one of the legislative builders of the new navy, because during the 
 seventeen years of his service upon the committee more than three-fourths 
 of the new American Navy has been built. 
 
 While his education was interrupted during his long service 
 in the armv, the training there was useful, as he had learned 
 discipline, self-control, and self-denial, and, in the privations 
 
62 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 and dangers of army life, human nature in all its phases. For- 
 tunately his habits were studious and his tastes scholastic. He 
 had good judgment and unfailing tact. No circumstance, how- 
 ever embarrassing, disturbed the evenness of his temper, and 
 what he had to do was done at the right time and in the right 
 way, and his words were suitable on all occasions to the matter 
 under discussion. With his self-possession there was in his 
 manner modesty and dignity With his many attractions, it is 
 not to be wondered that he had ardent admirers and devoted 
 adherents among all classes of people in, his" district. 
 
 When the Fifty-ninth Congress adjourned, which he had 
 attended, General Meyer was apparently in full health and 
 vigor. No Member of it had brighter hopes for the future and 
 none had a clearer conscience for "having done his duty well and 
 faithfully. It was expected that he would be returned here for 
 many years to come, so well, so faithfully, and ably had he rep- 
 resented his district. 
 
 The day preceding his death he was hopeful of life, bright, 
 and cheerful, expecting to attend the opening of the Sixtieth 
 Congress. We have so often been called upon to pay tribute to 
 the memory of those who have left here in perfect health, but 
 who have been suddenly called, that we must be impressed with 
 the uncertainty of the hour of death. 
 
 Determined are tlie days that fly 
 
 Successive o'er thy head; 
 The numbered hour is on the wing 
 
 That lays thee with the dead. 
 
 While the hour may have come at an unexpected time, Gen- 
 eral Meyer was not unprepared for the dreaded ordeal of pass- 
 ing into the unknown — 
 
 .Across that ebbing tide which has no flow. 
 
 His entire life had been a preparation for the conflict with 
 death. He was in no fear of its near approach. W^hy was 
 
Address of Mr. McEnerv, of Louisiana 63 
 
 there no cloud on the soul of one who had passed through life 
 pursuing professions and callings that carried with them strong 
 temptations? 
 
 The unbroken testimony of all who knew him from early 
 manhood is that he had strong convictions of right; that he had 
 the highest order of moral and physical courage; that he had 
 to the fullest measure generous sympathies and impulses, which 
 went out into active work among the poor and afflicted. Pos- 
 sessing such qualities, he filled every office to which he had been 
 called with honor, ability, and fidelity. In war he was a val- 
 iant soldier; in peace, a good citizen, an able and conscientious 
 legislator. He loathed the gross sensualisms now so common 
 and deplored that excessive lu.xurx which commercial i)ros- 
 perity has developed. Apart from the emphatic testimonv of 
 his friends, the slightest acquaintance with him was enough to 
 show that his heart was right, full of love and sympathy, and 
 that he was in full fellowship with his Maker, and that he had a 
 clear ^'ision and passionate hatred of all wrong. He never 
 stooped to flatter popular prejudice. He was independent in 
 his political actions, while he gave steady support, so far as they 
 harmonized with his convictions, to party policy and discipline. 
 Fortunately, his opinions and temper harmonized with the pro- 
 gressive spirit of his constituents. The connnercial, industrial, 
 agricultural, and professional people rallied around him with 
 their energy and self-confidence, their pride and their patriot- 
 ism, to the support of a statesman whose aims were lofty and 
 unselfish, whose life was pure and full of kindly feeling for all 
 conditions of humanity and of tender and affectionate love for 
 wife and child. He loved his adopted vState with enthusiastic 
 devotion. The splendor of her history, the vast extent of her 
 domain, the manifold resources of her wealth, the learning of 
 her jurists, the character of her people, unsurpassed for energy, 
 intelligence, and hospitality, her strength, and her power. 
 
64 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 His glowing patriotism was tlie spell which bound his people 
 to him. His successful career is remarkable for the abnegation 
 of all selfishness, the sacrifice of personal consideration to a 
 sense of duty so well performed in every station, that his 
 public virtue is to be more admired than anv particular act 
 which he did or any particular faculty which he possessed. 
 The personal popularity of General Mever was such as might 
 be expected from a man who was modest, candid, and affable 
 without any pretense to genius or great superiority over his 
 fellow-man. His generosity and charity were boundless, lim- 
 ited only to his means of giving. He believed that he who with- 
 held his generosity until death gave nothing at all. A great 
 part of his income went for the relief of the poor and for the 
 support of his faith. In his religious and moral character there 
 is much to admire and imitate. He was a firm believer in his 
 faith, yet he was too firmly imbued with the spirit of the age 
 to judge harshly of those who differed with him. But all 
 forms of vice and all irreverence for religion and impuritv in 
 expression were steadily condemned. 
 
 There was for his acceptance further preferment and higher 
 reward. The world held out to him ])romises for greater use- 
 fulness and great distinction. But how uncertain is the reali- 
 zation of the hopes and rewards of an earthlv career. His 
 untimely death is a warning. 
 
 But he had hopes beyonil earthlv promise. His life was one 
 
 of continuous endeavor, and to him the promise of eternal life 
 
 and glory, a trust in God — 
 
 To whose eternal doom 
 
 Must bend the sce])tered potentates of earth — 
 
 was of greater value than the flattering and ephemeral honors 
 
 of life. He had learned from his sublime faith — 
 
 'Tis to tlie vulgar death too harsh appears. 
 The ill we feel is only in our fears; 
 To die is landing on some silent shore 
 Whose billows never break nor tempest roar; 
 Ere well we feel the friendly stroke 'tis o'er. 
 
Address of Mi . McEiiery, of Louisiana 65 
 
 In this short sketch of General .Mevf.r I have not been hhnded 
 
 by the clouds which gather round the dead, but I have given an 
 
 impartial though an inadequate description of his character. 
 
 He had pleasing and elegant manners, was j)ossessed of large 
 
 general information, and his society was much courted, and 
 
 those who enjoyed his esteem and confidence learned that each 
 
 day found him prepared — 
 
 To hold his course unfaltering while Ihe voice 
 Of truth and virtue up the steep ascent 
 Of nature calls him to his high reward — 
 
 for in his studied efforts to perfect himself he had — 
 
 Summed the actions of the day 
 Each night before he slept. 
 78130 — H. Doc. 1517, 60-j 5 
 
66 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Clapp, of Minnesota 
 
 Mr. President: As we advance into the years the shadows 
 gather about us. One by one those of our own generation pass 
 beyond. General MEYER fell in the full prime of his strength 
 and his achievements. His long service, faithful and successful, 
 might well have been taken as a warrant of additional and still 
 more valuable service and of still greater honors had his life 
 been spared. There is an immutable law which decrees that 
 real honor is intertwined with true achievements. Obedient in 
 his very nature to that law, General MeyER combined with 
 valuable service to his country the gathering of honors to 
 himself. 
 
 It has been suggested here this afternoon that these services 
 bear but little fruit unless we consider the lessons which they 
 teach. The chords which reach from the living to the dead, 
 while mystic, silent, and unseen, are vibrant with immortal 
 truths. Of the truths thus borne to us upon this occasion I 
 shall only dwell upon one, and that is the lesson of life, for 
 whatever there may be of immortality, whatever there may be 
 in that which lies beyond, this much is certain: This life is the 
 vestibule of the life to come. 
 
 A short time ago in this Chamber I listened to the prayer of 
 
 one of the great divines of his age, and 1 heard these words 
 
 fall from his lips: 
 
 We know, O Lord, that Thy omnipotence is our omnipotence if we but 
 be one with Thee. 
 
 I believe, sir, that to-day that sentiment would awaken a 
 
 responsive echo in every pulpit in Christendom; and yet, simple 
 
 as it is, it reverses the thought and the experience of ages. 
 
 That simple statement sweeps awa\ the cobwebs of dogma and 
 
Address of Mr. Clapp. oj Mi>2nesota 67 
 
 creed that reach back through the corridors of nineteen cen- 
 turies to the hour when the Master in turn shook the ritualism 
 of fourteen centuries with the simple statement, "The kingdom 
 of heaven is within you." This reversed all that had gone 
 before. This thought, sinking into human consciousness, sup- 
 plants the gospel of word with the gospel of action. 
 
 This thought takes from the old creed the constantly reiter- 
 ated prohibition "Thou shalt not" and in place inserts the 
 injunction "Thou shalt." It substitutes now for hereafter. In 
 this concept of the Infinite, human effort becomes a factor as 
 never before; while it lessens not our thought of immortality, 
 it deepens our appreciation of this life and its opportunities; 
 while it detracts nothing from our worship of the Infinite, it 
 cjuickens our appreciation of our own powers to reach toward 
 the Infinite. 
 
 This is the difference between creeds which, barren of fruit- 
 age, barren of blessings to humanity, have passed away, leaving 
 that old, but new, thought of to-day, rich in its blessings, chief 
 of which is the insjjiration to human effort, a thought wliich 
 brings man to a truer and a closer relation with Deity; and 
 in that relationship -must be found the truer relationship of 
 man to man — a broadened brotherhood of man. With that 
 truth sinking deeper into our consciousness, we will no longer 
 "remember the dead and forget the living," but while we will 
 still bring our tribute and strew flowers over the grave of the 
 dead, abating nothing of our tender memory of the departed, we 
 will appreciate our duty to those about us and thus reflect 
 sunlight along and strew with flowers the pathway of the living. 
 
68 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Perkins, of California 
 
 Mr. President: The Congress of the United States lost a most 
 useful Member in the death of Representative Alxjlph Meyer, 
 and the State of Louisiana a most faithful servant. States 
 which send here men of the high character and great ability 
 that he possessed have reason to be proud, and Louisiana fulh' 
 appreciated the worth of her distinguished son. In all posi- 
 tions which he occupied — in the army, in agricultural pursuits, 
 and in business enterprises — he exhibited those great qualities 
 of sincerity and unselfishness which endeared hiui to all who 
 knew him. These qualities quickly caused hini to occupy a 
 prominent position when he was first elected one of the Repre- 
 sentatives of Louisiana in the Fifty-second Congress, and he 
 added materially to the strength of that State's delegation in 
 the House until his death. 
 
 For several years he was the ranking member of the Com- 
 mittee on Naval Affairs of the House, and as members of con- 
 ference committees on naval bills we became well acquainted, 
 and that intimate knowledge of him thus gained excited in me 
 admiration for his ability and profound respect for his charac- 
 ter. He was always most courteous and conciliatory in the 
 consideration of the most vexed questions which arose in the 
 consideration of naval questions in conference counnittee, and 
 at all times showed himself to be most earnest and energetic in 
 the work of building up a great navy. 
 
 When he first took his seat in Congress we had launched only 
 one battle ship, the first Maine, whose destruction in the harbor 
 of Habana was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American 
 war. We had authorized construction amounting to only 
 $43,000,000, and the total cost of the entire naval establishment 
 
Address of Mr. Pi'rki)is, of California 69 
 
 for the vear 1891 was only $25,000,000. The enlisted force of 
 the navv at that time was only 8,250 men, whose pay amounted 
 to $7 300,000. Since that time our navy as it stands to-day, 
 the second in the world in point of fighting strength, has been 
 built uj). What went before was simply the establishment of 
 the foundation. 
 
 Mr. Meyer voted for the authorization of practically all but 
 4 of our 31 battle ships, for all of our 12 armored cruisers, for 
 most of our large fleet of protected cruisers, gunboats, and so 
 forth, for all of which we have up to this time appropriated 
 $344,904,298, of which he voted for over $300,000,000. The 
 total yearly cost of the entire naval establishment has grown 
 from $25,000,000 to $129,000,000 for the fiscal year of 1908. 
 The number of enlisted men has increased from 8,250 to 44,500 
 and their pay to $30,000,000. As we became Members of Con- 
 gress at about the same time. Representative Mever and I have 
 voted in favor of the bills which have made our navy what it is 
 to-day. I found in him the same earnest endeavor to create 
 a strong naval force that I myself had, and which prevailed 
 among the Naval Committees of the two Houses. 
 
 At the time of the Spanish-American war no one was more 
 active and energetic in all that related to naval affairs than Rep- 
 resentative Meyer, and he was always ready to cooperate for 
 the best interests of the service and of the Nation. In one 
 of the debates on the naval bill in the House Representative 
 JIeyer expressed his attitude toward this important arm of the 
 public ser\icc thus: 
 
 I do not think the navy a subject for partisan discussion. It is one to 
 hft a man above the rancor of a partisan. I should be very sorry to believe 
 that the American people are willing to have the subject of the navy con- 
 sidered in this way. In my service on the Naval Committee I, together 
 with my Democratic colleagues, have ever held this object of preparing 
 the navy for national defense above party, and sought beyond party to 
 develop our strength to the highest degree commensurate with our great- 
 ness and safetv. I l)elie\e that now is the time to build ui) our navy. I 
 
70 Memorial Addresses: Adolpli Meyer 
 
 ask the House to give it careful, patriotic consideration, and, in the words 
 of Lawrence, who in Boston Harbor fought his glorious light, as he fell, 
 maintaining the honor of his country, "Don't give up the ship!" 
 
 These are the sentiments of every loyal American, and have 
 inspired the efforts of all the members of the Naval Committees 
 of both Houses in their work of upbuilding the navy. They are 
 the sentiments which animate both committees to-day, and I 
 know that the words of the late honored Representative from 
 Louisiana will inspire all future committees in the great work 
 which they will have to do. 
 
 We have just seen return to the port from which it sailed over 
 a year ago the most powerful fleet of war vessels which has 
 ever made an extended voyage, and this one has carried the 
 American flag around the world on a course aggregating 42,000 
 iniles. Not one of the 16 battle ships was in the service at the 
 outbreak of the vSpanish-American war. In fact, only two had 
 then been launched, and that hardly a month before the out- 
 break of hostilities. This great modern fleet is nearly five times 
 greater in displacement than was our fighting force in Cuban 
 waters, while the offensive power — the weight of metal that can 
 be fired in a given time — has increased 2,000 per cent, and in 
 striking force the broadsides of the Atlantic Fleet are thirty 
 times that of the fleet which destroyed the Spanish vessels. 
 Besides this, the marksmanship has increased from an average 
 of 5 per cent of hits at the battle of Santiago to about 70 per cent 
 as developed by the practice of the fleet which has just made 
 the circuit of the globe, and the tremendous power which resides 
 in our fleet of modern battle ships will be used, should there be 
 occasion, with the same resistless energy which has always 
 characterized our engagements on the sea, and in time of vic- 
 tory will be held in check in accordance with the humanitarian 
 spirit which actuates the bravest men whose calling is to fight 
 upon the ocean, and which called forth the command of Capt. 
 Jack Philip when Cervera's ships had been riddled and had 
 
Address of Mr. Perkins, of California 71 
 
 been run ashore: "Don't fire, boys. Don't \ou sec the jjoor 
 fellows are drowning?" 
 
 The victory won, mercN' took the place of battle fury, and the 
 spirit of peace went abroad beneath the clouds of smoke from 
 hostile guns. Such has always been the American Nav\-, and 
 such it will always be; and for such the man whom we honor 
 here to-day always exerted his strongest efforts. With such 
 men in the councils of the nation, and such men on the decks of 
 our battle ships, the Republic need have no apprehension as to 
 a foreign foe. 
 
 No one would have been more enthusiastic at the record made 
 by the Atlantic Fleet, which has just returned from its world- 
 encircling cruise, than Representative Mever were he alive to- 
 day. No one would appreciate more than he the value of the 
 lessons learned, the experience gained, and the vast increase 
 given to the efficiency of our sea-fighting force through this gear's 
 training that it has received. Officers and men are more fit for 
 any duty on the ocean, and problems that twelve months ago 
 would have sorely troubled them have now been solved. The 
 year's cruise has demonstrated that no navy in the world is the 
 superior of our own. It has shown that no better warships are 
 afloat than ours, which fact is due to the ability of our designers 
 and to the skill and faithful workmanship of our mechanics. 
 No machinery has ever better stood the test of use; no vessels 
 ever proved more seaworthy. 
 
 And, above all, the men of the fleet have, by their discipline 
 and manliness exhibited in the four quarters of the globe, won 
 the profound respect of all nations. They have exhibited the 
 characteristics which have made, and which will always make, 
 the men of the American Navy the best who ever trod the decks 
 of a man-of-war — self-confidence, self-respect, intense loyalty to 
 the flag, a spirit of self-sacrifice, and a bravery which knows no 
 fear. Officers and men of the Atlantic Fleet have, by the exhi- 
 
72 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 bition of these qualities, quadrupled the effectiveness of the 
 American Navy, for the world knows now and knows it thor- 
 oughly that the American flag floats above fighters whose ideal 
 is John Paul Jones and whose example they will follow in time 
 of stress. The immortal words, "I have not begun to fight yet," 
 will be their inspiration, and men so inspired can never be de- 
 feated. Such is the navy that Representative Meyer assisted 
 in creating, and his work is the most important that Members 
 of this body can perform, for it creates the strongest assurances 
 of peace that the Nation can possess. 
 
Address of Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire 73 
 
 Address of Mr. Galunger, of New HAwrsfflRE 
 
 Mr. President: Others who knew him better than I, have 
 spoken and will speak of the public services of the distinguished 
 man whose memory we all cherish. Mine will be but a few 
 words of heartfelt appreciation. 
 
 Adolph Meyer entered the House of Representatives at the 
 same time that I became a Member of this body, and he was 
 honored with eight successive elections, representing the dis- 
 trict in which New Orleans, his home city, is a part. It was 
 my privilege to become acquainted with him shortly after he 
 entered Congress, and I soon learned to highly value his friend- 
 ship. He was a man of large business capacity, belonging to the 
 class of men who have built up the great industrial and com- 
 mercial interests of our country. He was a dilligent legislator, 
 among other things, taking a great interest and pride in matters 
 pertaining to the navy, serving with distinction on the Com- 
 mittee on Naval Affairs. 
 
 General Meyer was a courtly man — dignified and self-poised 
 under all circumstances. Neither the trappings and follies of 
 ostentatious display nor the common and vulgar things of life 
 appealed to him. He was a genuine knight, with lofty views 
 and pure ambitions, devoted to his friends, and true to the ideals 
 that distinguish the high-minded and honorable public servant. 
 
 He was a genial and lovable man, always acting the part of a 
 gentleman of the old school. Courteous, companionable, and 
 sincere, it was a pleasure and delight to meet him, and the 
 memory of his gracious and gentle qualities will long remain with 
 those of us who were privileged to know him. His life was a 
 useful and valuable one, and in his death the State of Louisiana 
 and the Nation sustained a great loss. 
 
74 Memorial Addresses: Adolpb Meyer 
 
 Mr. President, it has been said that ' ' the tomb is but the gate- 
 way to an eternity of opportunity." If that be so, death is 
 robbed of its- terrors, and the future Ufe is to be welcomed rather 
 than dreaded. If that be so, we can think of our departed 
 friend as having simply passed out of mortal sight to enter upon 
 a higher and happier life beyond. We miss his genial presence 
 here, but his memory will be a benediction and a blessing to the 
 community in which he lived and to the larger constituency 
 which, as a public man, he represented with rare fidelity and 
 ability. 
 
 Such men are needed in our national life, and their loss can 
 not be overestimated. But the inevitable fiat came to him, as 
 it will, sooner or later, come to all of us, and fortunate, indeed, 
 will it be if, when the summons comes, we are as well prepared 
 to meet the change as was he of whom we speak to-day. 
 
 Mr. President, if our faith in the future life is well founded, 
 how beautifully appropriate are the lines of Rudyard Kipling: 
 
 When earth's last picture is painted, 
 
 And the tubes are twisted and dried. 
 When the oldest colors have faded. 
 
 And the youngest critic has died. 
 We shall rest — and, faith, we shall need it — 
 
 Lie down for an aeon or two, 
 Till the Master of all good workmen 
 
 Shall set us to work anew ! 
 And those that were good shall be happy, 
 
 They shall sit in a golden chair; 
 They shall splash at a ten-league canvas 
 
 With brushes of comets' hair; 
 They sliall find real saints to draw from — 
 
 Magdalene, Peter, and Paul; 
 They sliall work for an age at a sitting 
 
 And never get tired at all! 
 And only the Master shall praise us, 
 
 And only the Master shall blame; 
 And no one shall work for money. 
 
 And no one shall work for fame; 
 But each for the joy of the working. 
 
 And each to his separate star, 
 Shall draw the thing as he sees it 
 
 For the God of things as they are. 
 
Address of Mi . Ga/linger, of \cw Hampsh 
 
 lie 
 
 /^ 
 
 And so I will content myself by placing this simple wreath of 
 afifectionate remembrance on the grave of my departed friend, 
 whose memory will be an inspiration to all who knew him, and 
 whose life work points us to high ideals and noble purposes. 
 "May he rest in peace." 
 
76 Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 Address of Mr. Foster, of Louisiana 
 
 Mr. President: Twice within the year just ended death 
 has called from Congress a Representative from the State of 
 Louisiana. 
 
 On each occasion it was the dean of the delegation to be sum- 
 moned, and while in an elective body which renews its member- 
 ship every two years rank does not always mean long tenure, 
 yet in these instances two Members of unusual length of service 
 went to their reward. 
 
 In the case of Gen. Adolph MeyER, of the First District, but 
 three of his party then in Congress could claim a longer period 
 of membership in the House. 
 
 General Meyer was born at Natchez, Miss., on the banks of 
 the Father of Waters, sixty-five years ago. It would seem that 
 fate decreed all the activities of his life, private and public, should 
 center about the mighty river which cleaves this continent as it 
 flows, unceasing, to the sea. 
 
 Whether as a bov upon its banks; as a planter behind the 
 barriers built to keep out the annual flood that sweeps down 
 like the torrent of the Nile; whether as a factor in New Orleans 
 and the consignee of argosies freighted with the staples that line 
 its shores, his name and labors are inseparably connected with 
 the great stream; and his crowning public service in Congress 
 was his effort to create a naval station and a haven at its mouth, 
 where not onlv vessels of war, but those of peace, from the seven 
 seas might come and make repair. 
 
 He received a careful early training, and being of a refined, 
 studious nature, with the means to indulge any bent, it seems 
 
Address of Mi . Foster, of Louisiana 77 
 
 but natural that in the selection of a life work his preference 
 should have been the law. The bar of Natchez in that day was 
 famous. Sergeant S. Prentiss was his fellow-townsman, and 
 the meteoric career of that great man could not fail to impress 
 and lire to emulation an ambitious youth. 
 
 With the purpose of perfecting himsell for a career at the bar 
 young Me\^R matriculated at the University of Mrginia at the 
 age of 18. He was an apt student, and, with the earnestness 
 and thoroughness that remained his most noble attributes until 
 the end, was preparing at the institution founded by the immortal 
 Jefferson for the battle of life when the tocsin of war in reality 
 sounded. 
 
 Exchanging the classic shades of the academy for the camp, 
 he displayed soldierly qualities of a high order. He was early 
 promoted to the rank of captain, and given an important staff 
 assignment; and at the close of the war held the post of 
 assistant adjutant-general under Gen. John S. Williams, of Ken- 
 tucky. The mettle he displayed as a soldier was illustrated vears 
 afterwards, when war was declared between this countrv and 
 Spain. His old commander, in indorsing him for one of the 
 commands of the volunteer forces, wrote to President McKinlev 
 as follows : 
 
 He was preeminent for soldierly qualities, the loftiest courage, fidelity, 
 and endurance. In fact, he seemed a natural-born soldier, and commanded 
 the confidence and admiration of the entire command. 
 
 The Senate is familiar with the fate of the confederate soldier, 
 when, bowing to the arbitrament of war, he returned home. 
 Many of that gallant host were subsequently sent to Congress 
 by a grateful people, and on occasions like this their valor, 
 fortitude, and privations have been so often and eloquentlv told 
 that they need be but reterred to now. 
 
 When the young captain returned to Natchez after the unequal 
 struggle, it was to put liehind him all dreams of preferment at 
 
78 Memorial Addresses: Adolpli Meyer 
 
 the bar, to cross over the great river into Concordia Parish, La., 
 and begin hfe anew as a cotton planter. 
 
 While thus engaged he acquired much practical knowledge 
 of the levee system and other needs of the alluvial country 
 that was subsequently used here to the advantage of his State. 
 He was by temperament, however, adapted to and longed for 
 an urban rather than a country life, and after a few vears of 
 planting moved to New Orleans and engaged in the cotton 
 factorage and commission business. 
 
 Those were stirring times in Louisiana. It was the period of 
 reconstruction, and a condition frequently existed amounting to 
 civil war. It was a time of peril, especially to the white people 
 living in the outlying districts, and their chief reliance lav in their 
 militia. 
 
 While this condition prevailed. General Meyer was called 
 upon, by reason of his experience in the confederate army, to 
 reorganize the stale troops, and under his command the Louisi- 
 ana Militia became efficient to a high degree. 
 
 In 1890 he was elected a Representative to Congress, and at 
 once demonstrated a peculiar fitness for the place. He was 
 ever watchful of the interests of his State, painstaking and 
 energetic in his efforts to serve his people, and broad and liberal 
 in his treatment of all public questions. He was at all times 
 affable and easy of approach and ever readv to listen to the 
 appeal of the humblest as well as the highest who might seek 
 his aid or counsel. 
 
 These qualities in time became proverbial, not only in his own 
 district, but throughout the State. He thus established a place 
 for himself in the confidence and esteem of the people, and was 
 renominated and reelected practicall}' without opposition during 
 his long sers'ice in the other branch of Congress. 
 
 His career in that body as one of the hardest workers and 
 leaders of his party is familiar to most Senators. While making 
 
Address of Mr. Foster, of Louisiana 79 
 
 no pretense at rhetorical effect, he gave to every subject dis- 
 cussed the thorough consideration of the student, and when he 
 addressed the House his speeches were noted for their thought 
 and literary excellence. 
 
 His best work, however, was done in council — in committee — - 
 where his prudence, fairness, conservatism, and wisdom were 
 early recognized and highly valued to the end. 
 
 On entering upon his duties in the House he was assigned to 
 the Committee on Naval Affairs, and he was the oldest-ranking 
 member at the time of death. When he became a ^Member there 
 was not a battle ship on the naval list, and our tonnage was less 
 than one-quarter of what it is to-day. Xo one labored more in- 
 dustriously to have our sea force grow and wax strong, and in 
 the language of the chairman of the House committee: 
 
 General Meyer can rightfully be called one of the legislative builders 
 of the new navy, because during the seventeen years of his ser\-ice upon 
 the committee more than three-fourths of the new .\nierican navy has 
 been built 
 
 But it is with the naval station at Algiers that his name will 
 be most enduringly connected. His efforts in the House in con- 
 junction with the labors of the senior Senator from our State in 
 this Chamber resulted in the establishment of a floating dock 
 where the largest ships may be repaired. More than a million 
 six hundred thousand dollars have already been expended on this 
 great work, and while not yet completed, it stands a monument 
 to his foresight, persistency, and untiring zeal. 
 
 So likewise must his name be connected with much other 
 notable legislation affecting his district and State. He labored 
 for years to secure the completion of the shaft which marks the 
 field of Chalmette, just below New Orleans, where General Jack- 
 son won his immortal victory over the British legions fresh from 
 their laurels at Waterloo. 
 
 He was ever active in securing the needed appropriations for 
 his State. With his colleagues he worked assiduouslv and 
 
8o Memorial Addresses: Adolph Meyer 
 
 successfully to obtain the necessary funds for the building and 
 maintenance of our levees; for deepening and widening the 
 mouth of the Mississippi River; for the retention in active oper- 
 ation of the United States mint; for the construction of the 
 post-office building in his city; and for the river improvements 
 in front of New Orleans — all works of vast importance to the 
 general public. 
 
 His efforts, however, were by no means confined to Louisiana. 
 He was connected with the Committee on District Affairs almost 
 as long as he served on the Naval Committee, and labored as 
 zealously to make this the most beautiful capital in the world 
 as he did to restore the American flag to its proud position on 
 the sea. 
 
 Personally, General Meyer had many charms and attractions. 
 He was always kind, gentle, and considerate in his daily asso- 
 ciations, a loyal and stalwart friend, and never forgot a kind- 
 ness. He was a devoted husband, a kind parent, and affection- 
 ate brother; ever bright, cheerful, and thoughtful of the happi- 
 ness of each and every one in the family circle, and never per- 
 mitted the duties of his public life to mar or distract the har- 
 mony and happiness of his home. 
 
 Few men have sacrificed at the altar of public ser\dce more 
 liberallv than he. To give the best that was in him to the 
 State, with an unstinted hand, and keep no reckoning; to labor 
 in the public vineyard from the early morn of life until an end 
 that came just as twilight greeted the evening star; to ser\'e in 
 camp or council as chance and duty might decree, and then to 
 lie down to rest with the consciousness of work well and faith- 
 fully performed is a record of which Louisiana is justly proud- 
 
 O