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 MEMORIAL ADDRliSS 
 
 LIFK A\n ri'BUC SERVICES 
 
 SETH L. MILLIKEN 
 
 (Late a Representative from Maine), 
 
 DELIVKUED IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 BY 
 
 HON. EDWIN C. BURLEIGH. 
 
 SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1898. 
 
 W^^-SIIIXGTON. 
 
 1898. 
 
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ADDRESS 
 
 HON. EDWIN 0. BURLEIGH. 
 
 EULOGIES ON HON. SETH L. MILLIKEN. 
 
 Mr. BURLEIGH. Mr. Speaker, I asli for the present consid- 
 eration of tlie resolutions which I send to the Clerk's desk. 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That tho business of the House be now suspended th.at opportu- 
 nity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. Seth L. Millikex, 
 late a Representative from the State of Maine. 
 
 Tiesolvcd, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
 ceased and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a distinguished public 
 servant the House, at the conclusion of these memoi-ial proceedings, shall 
 stand adjourned. 
 C5 Resalved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
 ^ Resolved, That tho Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions 
 
 J to the family of the deceased. 
 
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 The question being taken, the resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted. 
 
 Mr. BURLEIGH. Mr. Speaker, in attempting to give some 
 expression to the affectionate regard entertained for our late friend 
 by the people of the district he so long and so ably represented in 
 this House, I am fully conscious of the inadequacy of mere words, 
 in times of deep bereavement, to voice the sentiments of the heart 
 and speak the language of sorrow. 
 
 One who for nearly fifteen years was a familiar figure in this 
 
 Capitol, whose potent and eloquent voice was often heard within 
 
 these walls, and whos3 warm sympathies and generous social 
 
 qualities endeai'ed him to his associates, irrespective of political 
 
 affiliations, has passed out through the dark shadows of evening, 
 
 and entered 
 
 That undiscover'd couutry, from whoso bourn 
 No traveler returns. 
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It is eminently fitting that tliese memorial services of national 
 character should be held in his honor, for though ever loyal to 
 his district and his State, Mr. Milliken long ago outgrew their 
 confines. His mind was broad enough to consider what he be- 
 lieved to be the welfare of the whole country, and his sphere of 
 usefulness was not confined to the service of any special interest 
 or section, but embraced, in its comprehensive scoj)e, a,ll interests 
 and all sections. 
 
 Tlie career of Setii L. Millikex vividlj'and forciblj' illustrates 
 the possibilities of American citizenship. The honored i^osition 
 he attained in the councils of the nation was due in no degree to 
 the accident of birth or fortuitoixs circumstances. From the early 
 age of 14 years, when he left his country home to secure an edu- 
 cation, with $3 which his grandmother had given him from her 
 Revolutionary war pension, the only contribution for this piirpose 
 he ever had, and walked 40 miles to save stage fare, he was v.'holly 
 the architect of his own fortunes. 
 
 To a youth of less resolute mold and tenacity of purpose the ob- 
 stacles in his way would have seemed insurmountable; but though 
 his financial resources were meager, he was not without capital. 
 He had inherited a vigorous constitution, and hard work in the 
 open air, amid the rugged hills of his native town, had given him 
 the buoyancy of good health, and taught him habits of industry 
 that he retained through life. When scarcely emerged from child- 
 hood he took up the burdens of life without experience in worldly 
 affairs, and with no resources save his ov/n untiring industry. He 
 had his own way to make in the world, and the detailed story of 
 his struggles and his triumphs might well serve as a source of in- 
 spiration to the youth of America. 
 
 In IS.jG Mr. Millikex graduated from Union College, in New 
 York, after having taken a three years' course at what is now 
 Colby University, in his own State. Six weeks later he was 
 elected to the Maine house of representatives, and was returned 
 the following year. Thus in early life he acqvared a knowledge 
 of legislative procedure which proved of great assistance and 
 value to him in later years. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Milliken was elected clerk of the supreme judicial 
 court for his native county. While serving in this capacity he 
 
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pursued the study of law with Hon. Nehemiah Abbott and Judge 
 Dickerson, of Belfast, two of the most eminent lawyers of Maine, 
 and was admitted to the bar in 1871. He early acquired a wide 
 reputation as a ready and effective political speaker, and his serv- 
 ices were in great demand in times of political emergency, both 
 in and out of his own State. Prior to his election to Congress he 
 had traveled nearly 30,000 miles in presenting the principles of his 
 party to popular audiences. The intimate acquaintance he thus 
 secured with public men and measures furnished an excellent 
 equipment for his subsequent duties as a member of this House. 
 
 During his long and distinguished service here he was a pains- 
 taking and conscientious Representative, thoroughly devoted to 
 the interests of his constituents; and that they fully appreciated 
 his labors in their behalf is evidenced by eight consecutive elec- 
 tions with constantly increasing majorities. 
 
 Mr. MiLLiKEN came of good stock. On the paternal side ho was 
 of Scotch descent; his maternal ancestors were the Counts of 
 Perrigaux, who were prominently identified with the early history 
 of France. He thus inherited the best characteristics of two 
 strong races — from his father, a strong Avill, tenacity of pui-pose, 
 and marked i^ower of analysis; from his mother, a poetical tem- 
 perameiit, innate courtesy, and a ready wit. It is to the combi- 
 nation of these qualities that we may trace his notable success as 
 a public speaker and his happy faculty of making and retaining 
 strong friendships. 
 
 During the later years of his life my relations with him were 
 close and intimate, and I had opportunity to know and appreciate 
 those indefinable attributes, that attractive charm of personality, 
 which make up the subtle quality we call magnetism. 
 
 He was a gifted and pleasing speaker. With a fine presence he 
 combined a strong, well-modulated voice and grace of diction. 
 He had an extensive vocabular j"- and spoke with fluency and ease. 
 He possessed the power of clear and cogent statement, and carried 
 his arguments home to his hearers with trenchant force. While 
 he clothed his thoughts, for the most part, in plain, strong words 
 of Anglo-Saxon origin, his broad culture enabled him upon occa- 
 sion to embellish them v.'iththe beauties of classical literature and 
 the graces of poetrj*. 
 
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His manner at all times was courteous and affable, and he was 
 never placed at a disadvantage in f)ublic discussion by irritability 
 of temper. He had a keen sense of humor and an apparently in- 
 exhaustible fund of anecdote, upon which he could always draw 
 to illustrate his points with happy eifect in gaining the good will 
 and holding the attention of his audience. He was quick ia 
 reijartee and yet one — 
 
 Whose wit in tha combat, as gentle as bright, 
 Ne'er carried a heart-staia away oa its blade. 
 
 Mr. MiLLiKEN was a natural scholar. He was impatient, it is 
 true, of the more laborious processes of intellectual acquisition. 
 He apparently had the povv^er of absorbing knowledge. His mind 
 was enriched with stores of information gleaned from a wide and 
 varied reading, especially in lines of historical research, for which 
 he had a strong liking. He had a faculty of mentally classifying 
 the facts he assimilated in their relations to other facts. He was 
 a close observer of events, and his wonderfully retentive memory 
 rendered constantly available for any emergency his stores of in- 
 formation. 
 
 All who knew Seth L. Milliken can bear truthful testimony 
 that he was a man of catholic spirit. His sympathies were broad. 
 He loved the society of his fellow-men and was tolerant in all 
 things. There was in his nature no trace of snobbery or affecta- 
 tion. He was always accessible, genial, and loyal. While he was 
 all Ills life a strong partisan, with a firm belief in the necessity 
 of party organization and discipline as a factor in republican gov- 
 ernment, he was singularly free from political rancor and never 
 permitted the intensity of his political convictions to affect the 
 amenities of his social relations with men of opijosing views. 
 While strongly tenacious of his own opinions and ever ready to 
 champion them upon all proper occasions, he was never lacking 
 in respect for the honest convictions of those who differed with 
 him on questions of public policy. 
 
 Few men in public life have ever i^ossessed a finer tact in deal- 
 ing with others or a more thorough mastery of the art of concili- 
 ation. It was not in hisnature to treasure resentments. Intensely 
 American in all his views, he blended prudence with patriotism 
 
Accustomod calways to look upon the bright side of life, be had an 
 abiding love for his country and profound faith in its future. 
 
 He died, as he had lived, in the harness. In the meridian of his 
 powers, and in the unimpaired possassion of all his faculties, ho 
 ■was called suddenly from the activities of a busy life, from its 
 duties, its hopes, its aspirations, to 
 
 Tho lone couch of his overlastiug sloop. 
 
 The sorrow at his untimely death was shared by all classes. 
 The pulpit and the press have united in giving expression to the 
 popular sense of bereavement and in paying eloquent tribute to 
 his memory. I was present at his funeral and followed his body 
 to its last resting place in the beautiful city by the sea, where he 
 lived during so many of the best years of his life, and which had 
 a deep and abiding place in his affections. It was a sad and sol- 
 emn occasion, the memory of v,^hich vrill always remain with me. 
 The whole city was in mourning. All classes of its people, the 
 rich, the poor, the old, the young, were moved with a common 
 grief. To one and all the death of their distinguished and warm- 
 hearted friend and fellow-citizen had come with the force of a 
 personal loss. Amid such sincere and loyal tributes to the quali- 
 ties that enshrine men in the hearts of their fellows his mortal 
 remains were laid to rest. 
 
 The death change comes. 
 Death is another life. Wc bow our heads 
 At going out, we think, and enter straight 
 Another golden chamber of the King's 
 Larger than this we leave, and lovelier. 
 And then in shadowy glimpses, discojinect, 
 The story, flower-like, closes thus its leaves. 
 The will of God is all in all. He makes, 
 Destroys, remakes, for His own pleasure all. 
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LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
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