sition that we pair on all matters of legislation. I assented, and then asked him why he had made that proposal to me. His reply, I think, was characteristic. He replied:

You are a consistent Republican on party measures and I am a consistent Democrat. Therefore it is a fair arrangement.

Of all the men I have known in Congress I can not think of one who had a more dominating personality. His record as a party man in the councils of his party clearly justifies this statement. Kentucky has been represented by a large number of men of national importance, many gifted orators, and, considering its population, has had an almost unequaled number of men prominent in national politics. This fact makes it all the more remarkable that Senator JAMES was the chairman of his State delegation at a national convention when he was but 25 years of age, and from that time-1896-to the last national convention of the Democratic Party no man in his party occupied a more prominent or influential position than did he.

I never had the pleasure of hearing him in a political campaign, but the testimony from his State is universaland that might be extended to include the entire country— that no man in his day—and this is extreme praise when you think of the gifted men who have been active in Kentucky during the last 25 years-exerted a larger influence on the stump than he. His very presence was one of authority and dominating influence. Not only was this true in his State and in national party councils but it was true in the Senate. His ability was recognized on both sides of the Chamber. Although very partisan in his activities, he never failed to be fair in his relations with his political opponents. Indeed, he may be described as a square man in his dealings with friend and foe alike. He struck hard, but never below the belt.

His passing at the early age of 47 has removed from the stage of national affairs a man who would have been a leading figure in this country in some capacity for a generation. If my information is correct, he was impregnable in his political position in Kentucky; and his return to the Senate-in fact, his continued returns-would have added more and more to his influence and importance as a political leader.

The country can ill afford to spare any man who has aptitude for public service, well-defined conviction, and a courage to stand by them. It would much better have among its public servants men who are wrong in many of their conclusions than to have in their place timeservers who base their actions on passing whims and whose main purpose is to maintain and augment their own political importance.

I assume from its past history that Kentucky will continue to be brilliantly represented in the Senate, but I am confident that it will be many days before that State will send to Washington a man who will exert a more important influence than did Senator JAMES or a man who will be more jealous of the interests of the people of his State. To secure his interest and his effective aid it was only necessary to be a resident of Kentucky or even to have been by birth a Kentuckian. This undoubtedly was a characteristic which had much to do with the strong hold he had and maintained over the people of his State.

I pay Senator JAMES this brief tribute with great pleasure, and notwithstanding the fact that we were antagonistic in our views on many important public questions I most sincerely regret that the career of this remarkable man has ended.

ADDRESS OF MR. ROBINSON, Of Arkansas

Mr. PRESIDENT: Formerly the membership of the Senate was composed largely of elderly men. During recent years that rule seems to have been modified and many comparatively young men have entered this body. Notwithstanding this fact, the death rate among Senators appears to be increasing.

Since March 4, 1913, if my memory is accurate, 25 Senators and ex-Senators have died, 9 of them having returned to private life.

The roll of Senators who have died within this period of less than six years is not confined to the feeble and the aged; it embraces also many who have been stricken in the prime and vigor of manhood. The high death rate among Senators may be accounted for in part by the fact that many have entered the Senate at advanced ages and after arduous labors elsewhere have reduced their vitality. This does not account for the increasing mortality in our membership. Congressional duties have multiplied in number and increased in importance during the last decade. The outbreak of the war and its progress brought many new problems of vital importance to the Nation and to the world, and also created new labors of a quasi official nature sufficient in number to overwhelm the most vigorous Congressman. The physical and mental strain incident to labors in Congress during the war now closing accounts for the loss of some of our ablest and most influential Members.

The Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Gallinger, passed away at the ripe age of 81 years, retaining his mental vigor and comprehensive grasp of public questions until the end.

Senator Stone died at an advanced age after long public service. Senator JAMES died in the prime of life, at the high noon of his usefulness and influence. Prolonged service in the House of Representatives familiarized him with the details of national legislative procedure and afforded him with accurate knowledge of the many difficult problems connected with the progress of our country. When Senator JAMES began his career in this Chamber he enjoyed, in addition to this knowledge of legislative problems and procedure, an intimate friendship with many Members in both Houses of Congress which contributed to his influence here.

It may be said that some of the most striking characteristics of his public service are epitomized in the phrases "Party loyalty" and "Responsiveness to the will of the people."

Senator JAMES was a partisan; passionately, but not blindly, attached to the Democratic Party. His partisanship was frank and aggressive. He was recognized throughout the Nation during the present administration as a powerful factor in its councils.

He believed that virile political organizations are indispensable to the proper administration of government under our Constitution. He supported the platforms and nominees of his political party with unhesitating fidelity. During 15 years of intimate association with him in the House of Representatives and in the Senate I never knew him to expressly or impliedly repudiate a platform declaration to which he was committed or to fail to champion, when occasion arose, the administration or organization with which he was allied. Senators present will recall his eloquence and impetuosity in debate. His striking personality, forceful manners, and fluency of speech gave him a degree of power on the platform equal to that of any speaker who has appeared

during this generation. He was, perhaps, with the exception of Mr. Bryan and the late former President Roosevelt, the most popular campaign orator of his day.

Notwithstanding the marked attachment which Mr. JAMES always manifested to the Democratic Party, his attitude on public questions was marked by a responsiveness to the will of the people rarely evinced by men in public life. He was not ashamed to avow his readiness to effectuate the public desire in legislation. He believed that the people are the source of all political power under our form of government and that they can be safely trusted to govern. In political debates, both here and when speaking from the stump, he frequently appealed to public opinion as the supreme political tribunal. This practice was not the outgrowth of demagogy or of political cowardice. It was the natural development of an abiding faith in the integrity and intelligence of the people.

In spite of partisan views and utterances, Senator JAMES enjoyed many intimate friendships-friendships of the enduring kind, not to be accounted for by the simple rules alleged to govern human relationship but having their origin and growth in the indefinable but nevertheless powerful laws of human nature. One of the most valuable compensations of service in Congress is the associations Members enjoy with one another and the lasting friendships thus formed. Neither politics, religion, nor similarity of habits form a standard by which our friendships are established or maintained. This fact, unimportant as it may appear when first suggested, is of tremendous importance in giving elasticity to our social and political institutions. It enables us to witness the passing of political control from one party to another with calm assurance that the fundamentals underlying our civilization will be preserved and safeguarded, because we know