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I FMlBtThe Glarion-Ledger /Upckson Daily NeWfe.B SuntfeyjJarHaryft, 1989
Reagan praised Stennis’ integrity in public service
The Associated Press
President Reagan and Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia, right, applaud at a dinner honoring Sen. John C. Stennis in Washington on June 23, 1988.
, The following are excerpts from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan at a June 23 Washington dinner honoring Sen. John C. Stennis.
“While we’re all sorry to see Senator Stennis leave Washington, I want you to know that I have a special reason. You see, Senator, you’re one of the few fellows left in this town who can call me “Kid.”
“But, Senator Stennis, honored guests, and ladies and gentlemen, this gathering tonight truly is a celebration. And the man we honor is no ordinary individual. The life and career of John Stennis are legendary in his home state of Mississippi and here in Washington where he has served, as you’ve been told several times tonight, with quiet dignity for 41 years.
“Forty-one years. Consider that if you will. Senator Stennis has served in the Senate for one-fifth of the life of this nation. Probably half of the people in this room tonight had not even been born when John Stennis came to Washington
—	and I suppose there are plenty in the other half who would hardly care to admit it. 'Over four decades of service in the United States Senate — a period during which this great country has undergone tremendous challenge and change.
“The humble man who came to Washington from a small town in Mississippi has made an impression on American government that is difficult to measure and hard to fully describe. He has demonstrated for all of us that one man, committed to God and country, willing to work hard and sacrifice personal gain and comfort, can make a difference. Mississippi can take pride in the accomplishments of John Stennis, but he is a United States senator, so we celebrate his contribution to all of America.
“Tangible evidence of the difference Senator Stennis has made abounds. Our strong and able military, represented so splendidly here tonight, owes much of its strength to this man who has always been an unwavering advocate of peace through
strength. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the seventies, Senator Stennis led some of the most crucial legislative battles in history on behalf of our national defense.
“Back home in Mississippi, the economic opportunities that Senator Stennis has helped to bring about are beyond counting. Today, there’s room for even more economic growth in Mississippi, as there is in all the 50 states. But now Mississippi fully shares in the economic life of the nation.
“And yet, perhaps John Stennis’ greatest contribution to American government has been his abiding example of integrity in public service.
“From the time he was elected to represent the people of Kemper County in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1928, until this moment, six decades later, Senator Stennis has been under the oath of public office. And for these six decades, he has done that oath constant honor.
“Here in Washington, John Stennis es-
tablished his reputation early in his Senate career, always recognizing that the effectiveness of the Senate is harmed when members fail to uphold the highest standards. It’s no wonder that the Senate looked to John Stennis as a leader when the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct was formed in 1965.
“And now, if I might, I’d like to add a personal note.
“Life has not always been easy for Senator Stennis. We all recall his remarkable recovery from gunshot wounds in 1973. His sense of purpose, his commitment to duty, would not allow him to stop, or even to slow.
“Then there was heart surgery in 1983.
“And then in 1984, there was more surgery, radical surgery. I can remember visiting Senator Stennis at Walter Reed Army Medical Center just days after the removal of his left leg. I admit, I felt great pain for him — this fiercely independent man, forced to undergo such a life-alter-ing operation.
“I went to Walter Reed to encourage
Stennis says:
On his 1982 vote in favor of extending the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Stennis told The Washington Post that year:
“I didn’t want to go back to all the days of misunderstanding. I didn’t want to turn around and go back.”
Senator Stennis, but when I left, it was I who had been strengthened. For even then, from his hospital bed, John Stennis talked of the future of this nation. Determination to return to his post was evident in everything he said.
“It was December 4th when I made that visit to Walter Reed. And just over a month later, I stood inside the Capitol to take the oath of office for a second term as President — and yes, there was John Stennis in the front row.
“Senator, when I consider your career, there’s a certain comparison that comes to my mind. In troubled places, you’ve brought calm resolve — like one of the many great fighting ships you’ve done so much to obtain for the Navy. Serene, self-possessed — but, like a ship of the line — possessed of a high sense of purpose — that is John Stennis.
“And, Senator, if you think I’m leading up to something, I am. Senator Stennis, and ladies and gentlemen, it’s my honor to announce tonight that, as an expression of the nation’s gratitude for the public service of the man we honor tonight, the Navy’s next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier CVN-74 will be christened the USS John C. Stennis.
“Senator, you have devoted your life to the service of our nation. I can do no more tonight than say, on behalf of the American people, thank you for your dedicated service. Godspeed in your further endeavors. And God bless you.”
Remembrances from:
Edd Jussley
In elementary school in the 1950s my teachers actually taught me that Sen. John Stennis was one of the most respected and powerful men in fhe nation.
Later, working as a journalist for several years made me cynical about political matters. I controlled my awe of the man.
Before moving to Washington,
D.C., to become his press secre- Jussley tary, I convinced myself that the senator could not be all that his reputation said he was.
I was wrong.
His reputation in Mississippi, albeit lavish, was totally inadequate. He was, I quickly discovered, the most respected man in the Senate. His influence was so immense that he refused to test its limits. Since he t£sed his power infrequently and judiciously, it increased.
As his press secretary, one statement he made to me was very special: “I always try to conduct myself in such a way that I would not be ashamed if a full account of what I did was to appear on the front page of The New York Times.”
The statement is typically John Stennis. A simple idea, but one packed with great significance when you study it.
Imagine all public officials conducting their public and private lives in such a way that they would be proud if an account of their activities were to be published in an influential newspaper. What if businessmen, professionals, clergymen and everybody else conducted themselves likewise?
The results of having a personal philosophy based on a willingness to be openly accountable are obvious in the senator’s case.
His integrity was so unquestionable that a speech he made condemning fellow senator Joseph McCarthy’s activities (“He has poured slush and slime onto the Senate.”) torpedoed McCarthy’s witchhunts for communists and effectively ended one of the most sordid chapters in post-World War II politics.
His eerily prophetic 1955 speech opposing U.S. involvement in Vietnam (“Inch by inch, step£y step, we are being drawn into a war which we cannot win and which the American people will not support,”) will forever haunt the halls of Congress.
Senators who heard him decry the hypocrisy of Northern civil rights activists (for “forcing upon the Southern states standards of conduct they are unwilling to accept for themselves”) knew up front the words were sincere and not the grandstanding political ranting of a demagogue.
Being his press secretary was often frustrating. He routinely deleted self-promoting paragraphs in news releases. Use of the pronoun “I” in his personal correspondence was carefully avoided.
He was stern when rejecting the wording of articles I wrote for his bi-monthly newsletter. "This is meant to inform the people of Mississippi, not for self-aggrandizement,” he would say in a manner that made me feel the way I did as a child when my father spanked me.
Invitations to appear on the national television interview shows were usually declined, invitations other press secretaries would kill to obtain for their bosses.
Despite his humility, Mississippians, to their credit, sensed he was special; and his career was never seriously threatened by political considerations.
So secure was he, that on the Friday before his re-election to the Senate in 1970, no one at a routine weekly staff meeting could recall the name of the opponent he was facing the following Tuesday.
There are no more like him. The Senate will miss his awesome presence.
■
Edd Jussley Jr. is supervisor of public information and media for Mississippi Power and Light Co. He was Stennis’ press secretary from 1970 through 1973.