Memorial services ... together with remarks presented in eulogy of Herbert C. Bonner







Herbert c. BonnerLate A Representative FromNorth CarolinaMemorial AddressesDelivered In Congress

















Photo of Herbert C. Bonner

Memorial ServicesHeld in the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States, together with remarks presented in eulogy of Herbert C. Bonner Late a Representative from North Carolina Eighty-ninth Congress First SessionU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEWASHINGTON:1966




Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing

Contents

Page
Biographyv
Proceedings in the House1
Announcement of death by Hon. Harold D. Cooley, of North Carolina1
Remarks by Representatives:
Albert, Carl, of Oklahoma6
Bennett, Charles E., of Florida25
Boggs, Hale, of Louisiana19
Broyhill, James T., of North Carolina14
Cooley, Harold D., of North Carolina1
Downing, Thomas N., of Virginia13
Edmondson, Ed, of Oklahoma16
Garmatz, Edward A., of Maryland8
Gross, H. R., of Iowa25
Harvey, Ralph, of Indiana11
Henderson, David N., of North Carolina2
Jonas, Charles R., of North Carolina10
Keogh, Eugene J., of New York4
Kornegay, Horace R., of North Carolina7
Statement by former Representative Hon. Carl T. Durham7
Lennon, Alton, of North Carolina9
McCormack, John W., of Massachusetts17
McMillan, John L., of South Carolina23
Mahon, George H., of Texas21
Matsunaga, Spark M., of Hawaii14
Mills, Wilbur D., of Arkansas21
Morgan, Thomas E., of Pennsylvania22
O'Hara, Barratt, of Illinois22
Philbin, Philip J., of Massachusetts24
Randall, Wm. J., of Missouri15
Scott, Ralph J., of North Carolina3
Stubblefield, Frank A., of Kentucky17
Taylor, Roy A., of North Carolina12
Whitener, Basil L., of North Carolina5
Resolution of respect1
Senate resolution of respect received25






Page
Memorial addresses in the House of Representatives27
Evins, Joe L., of Tennessee32
Fisher, O. C., of Texas35
Kelly, Edna F., of New York30
Mailliard, William S., of California31
Mosher, Charles A., of Ohio33
Pelly, Thomas M., of Washington29
Rooney, John J., of New York31
St. Onge, William L., of Connecticut29
Whitten, Jamie L., of Mississippi34
Proceedings in the U.S. Senate39
Address by Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., of North Carolina40
House resolution of respect received39
Message from the House of Representatives39
Remarks by Senator B. Everett Jordan, of North Carolina40
Resolution of respect39
Memorial tributes45
Cooley, Harold D., Representative from North Carolina47
Article from the Daily News, November 8, 196548
Editorial from the Daily News, November 8, 196547
Ervin, Sam J., Jr., Senator from North Carolina49
Articles from—
Greensboro, N.C., Daily News, November 10, 196557
Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer, September 28, 196564
Winston-Salem, N.C., Journal, November 8, 196571
Editorials from—
Asheville, N.C., Citizen and Times, November 8, 196549
Asheville, N.C., Citizen, November 10, 196550
Charleston, S.C., News and Courier, November 10, 196551
Charlotte, N.C., Observer, November 8, 196552
Charlotte, N.C., Observer, November 9, 196553
Durham, N.C., Sun, November 9, 196554
Elizabeth City, N.C., Advance55
Greensboro, N.C., Daily News, November 9, 196556
Los Angeles, Calif., Times, November 8, 196558
New Orleans, La., Times-Picayune, November 8, 196560
New York, N.Y., Times, November 8, 196561
Norfolk, Va., Virginia-Pilot, November 9, 196563
Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer64
Washington, D.C., Evening Star, November 8, 196564
Washington, D.C., Post, November 8, 196565
Wilmington, N.C., Morning Star, November 8, 196566, 68
Wilmington, N.C., Morning Star, November 9, 196569
Winston-Salem, N.C., Journal, November 8, 196569
Winston-Salem, N.C., Journal, November 9, 196572
Winston-Salem, N.C., Sentinel, November 8, 196573

Biography

HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER, Democrat, of Washington, N.C., born in Washington, Beaufort County, N.C., May 16, 1891; son of Herbert M. and Hannah Hare Bonner; married Eva Hassell Hackney, of Washington, N.C.; Episcopalian; Elk; Mason; Shriner; graduated from Graham School, Warrenton, N.C.; engaged as a salesman and in agricultural pursuits; during World War I served as sergeant in Company I, Three Hundred and Twenty-second Infantry, with oversea service in Eighty-first Division; secretary to Congressman Lindsay C. Warren, 1924-40; elected as a Democrat on November 5, 1940, to the Seventy-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Lindsay C. Warren, and on the same day was elected to the Seventy-seventh Congress; reelected to the Seventy-eighth and the 11 succeeding Congresses, and served from November 5, 1940, until his death; died in Washington, D.C., November 7, 1965; interment in Oakdale Cemetery, Washington, N.C.






MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER






Proceedings in the House

MONDAY, January 10, 1966.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, on next Wednesday I shall seek recognition for the purpose of paying appropriate tribute to our deceased colleague, the late Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER.

Mr. Speaker, I now send to the Speaker's desk a resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution as follows:

HOUSE RESOLUTION 632

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER, a Representative from the State of North Carolina.

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 resolution was agreed to.

Accordingly (at 1 o'clock and 1 minute p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Wednesday, January 12, 1966, at 12 o'clock noon.

WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1966.

Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, we pause to pay tribute to our beloved colleague, HERBERT BONNER, who has passed from the shores of sound to the realm of silence. He has answered his last rollcall.

By his intelligent devotion to duty, his great fidelity to truth, and by the honest and courageous manner in which he discharged all of the vital functions of high office, he endeared himself to his colleagues in Congress and to his countrymen. Modesty and simplicity marked his life; truth was his master; and his unblemished character was the






tower of his strength. HERBERT BONNER was a dedicated public servant and was held in high esteem by the Members of Congress with whom he served so long and so well and by all the Presidents of our Nation with whom he served. He was near and dear to the people of the district which he so well and ably represented, and all the people of our State and of our Nation owe him a great debt of gratitude. He made many great and grand contributions to the welfare and happiness of the people of his district, State, and Nation. As chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries he had jurisdiction over our merchant ships which sail the bosoms of the seven seas and visit all the ports of the world in the prosecution of peaceful and profitable commerce. The Coast Guard which has saved the lives of thousands of people is under the jurisdiction of his great committee. The Coast Guard never had a better friend, nor have merchant seamen ever had a greater champion than HERBERT BONNER. He was worthy of the faith and confidence of the thousands of friends who trusted him.

JUST BE GLAD

(By James Whitcomb Riley)

O heart of mine, we shouldn't worry so!What we've missed of calm we couldn't have, you know!What we've met of stormy pain,And of sorrow's driving rain,We can better meet again, if it blow!We've erred in that dark hour we've known,When our tears fell with the shower, all alone!Were not shine and shower blentAs the gracious Master meant?Let us temper our content with His own.For, we know, not every morrow can be sad;So, forgetting all the sorrow we have had,Let us fold away our fears,And put by our foolish tears,And through all the coming years, just be glad.

Let us be glad that we knew and loved HERBERT BONNER, and let us today pay tribute to the nobility of his soul. We cannot beautify his character, nor can we exalt his life. We can at this moment only commune with the spirit of our devoted friend.

Mr. HENDERSON. Mr. Speaker, during the 5 years I have served as a Member of this body, I have seen on many occasions the

flag over the Capitol flying at half mast. I recall when it was so lowered upon the death of President John F. Kennedy. I remember when the body of Gen. Douglas MacArthur lay in state in the rotunda. I have recollections of the death of such congressional giants as the late Sam Rayburn and Clarence Cannon, but none of them came quite so close to home as the recent death of my respected colleague, HERBERT BONNER.

Having served as a Member of Congress for 25 years and for some 15 years before that as secretary to Congressman Lindsay Warren, of North Carolina, who later became Comptroller General of the United States, HERBERT had been on the Washington scene far longer than the great majority of his colleagues. I never tired of hearing his accounts of Washington in general and the Hill in particular during the early twenties when life was simpler, problems less complex, but no less pressing or important.

But unlike many men of his years, he never lived in the past or failed to recognize the changes wrought by time. He kept constantly abreast of current problems—both those national in scope and nature and those of particular or peculiar interest to the people in his own congressional district.

No Congressman ever kept more attuned to the thinking and the wishes of his constituents, or worked any harder or more effectively to promote their interests and well-being.

I learned a great deal from HERBERT BONNER. Some of it came through verbal advice, but a considerable portion from observation of a skilled politician at work.

He will be sorely missed: by his colleagues here in the Congress, by governmental leaders and officials at all levels of government, but most of all by the thousands of common people who were his constituents and whose cause he ardently championed.

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, the State of North Carolina, the Congress, and our country have suffered a great loss through the passing of HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER on the morning of November 7, 1965.

I want to join our colleagues in paying tribute to our departed friend and express my deep sorrow that he has been taken from us. I was proud to number him among my closest and most cherished friends and will miss his easy and friendly good humor and his wise counsel.






Congressman BONNER was born in Washington, Beaufort County, N.C., on May 16, 1891. He came to Washington in 1940 as secretary to Congressman Lindsay C. Warren, a position he held for 16 years. Upon Mr. Warren's retirement from Congress and his subsequent appointment as Comptroller General of the United States by the late President Roosevelt, HERBERT BONNER announced his candidacy for Congress and was overwhelmingly elected on November 5, 1940, to the 76th Congress to fill the unexpired term of Congressman Warren. On the same day he was elected to the 77th Congress and was thereafter elected to each succeeding Congress up to and including the 89th.

No words of mine could add anything to the fine record Mr. BONNER has made as chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. The written record is an appropriate and eloquent eulogy to him and is replete with proof of his legislative contributions in all areas coming within the jurisdiction of his committee. Nor were his contributions confined to the work of his committee. He kept abreast of all of the more important issues coming before the Congress from time to time and has left a lasting imprint upon the legislative history of our country.

During the 9 years I had the honor and pleasure of being associated with him, I came to love, admire, and respect HERBERT BONNER for his high Christian character, his ability as a legislator, and his unflinching loyalty to duty and friends. His manner of life, his achievements, and his faithful service to his country will long serve as an inspiration to others. I extend to his lovely wife, Eva, and all of his family, my very deep sympathy. May the days ahead lighten the burden of sorrow occasioned by their sad loss.

Mr. KEOGH. Mr. Speaker, with the passing of HERBERT C. BONNER the House has lost a genuinely able and dedicated Member, and I have lost a warm friend. It has been my good fortune to know HERB BONNER for almost 30 years. When he was elected to the House in 1940, to succeed Lindsay Warren, we were already acquainted with each other through his service as the invaluable secretary to Representative Warren. That acquaintanceship soon ripened into real friendship, and it was my privilege to serve with him on the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries immediately after the enactment of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.

Upon becoming a Member of this House, he brought with him an experience that few Members have had as a result of his 16 years, beginning in the 69th Congress in the office of Representative Warren. As a member and chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, HERB BONNER has been the author and prime mover of some of the most important legislation enacted by the Congress in the past 20 years. His knowledge of shipping laws and problems was phenomenal. His efforts to strengthen the U.S. Coast Guard established him as one of the best friends of that great branch of the Armed Forces.

HERB BONNER was, first of all, a dedicated American. What was best for our country was his first concern and dominated all his actions. During World War I, he served overseas as a noncommissioned officer in the armed infantry with the 81st Division.

Through his many activities in his congressional district in North Carolina, HERB BONNER earned for himself the affection and regard of his constituents and proved himself to be a real humanitarian. We need men like HERB BONNER in the Congress and in every aspect of American life. We are all going to miss him. To his beloved widow and family, I extend my sincere condolences. I know that my colleagues share their grief.

Mr. WHITENER. Mr. Speaker, with the passing of the late HERBERT C. BONNER on November 7, 1965, the people of North Carolina and the Nation lost an outstanding Representative in the Congress. It is with a deep sense of sadness and personal loss that I rise to join my colleagues in paying tribute to this great American, who has laid aside the burdens of this life for a richer reward.

I was shocked and saddened when the news reached me that HERBERT BONNER had passed away. He had been in Congress for many years when I took my seat as a Member of the 85th Congress on January 3, 1957.

Prior to coming to Congress I had met HERBERT BONNER, and I was familiar with his great record of service to the people of his district, State, and Nation. During the years that I was privileged to serve with him in the House of Representatives I grew to love and admire the many fine qualities exemplified in his sterling character and in his devotion to his work in behalf of his district, State, and






Nation. I grew to respect his wise judgment and his views on matters affecting the national interest.

HERBERT BONNER had a rich background of public service. By experience and training he was superbly fitted to be an outstanding Congressman. Prior to taking his seat in the 77th Congress he had served as secretary to another great North Carolinian, former Congressman Lindsay Warren.

He measured up in every respect to the demanding duties and responsibilities of his high office. Yet in his approach to his work and in his contact with his fellow man HERBERT BONNER displayed a deep and abiding understanding and appreciation of human nature. This characteristic endeared him to all who had the privilege to know him and to work with him.

HERBERT BONNER was a patriot, a Christian gentleman, and a statesman. He was proud of the fact that he had served his country as a sergeant in World War I and had fought overseas with the 81st Division, U.S. Army. He was a strong and persistent supporter of national defense. As chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee he had an outstanding record of service.

His State and Nation will miss him in the trying days that lie ahead. All of us, however, can take pride in his many accomplishments. We can take renewed strength in the principles for which he labored.

A great oak has crashed to the earth and against the sky there is a blank space. To the members of HERBERT BONNER'S family Mrs. Whitener and I extend our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences on the great loss which they have sustained.

Mr. ALBERT. Mr. Speaker, I join my distinguished friends from North Carolina in their tribute to our late, beloved colleague HERBERT BONNER. Representative BONNER was a pillar of strength in this House for many years. Chairman of the great Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, he was a master in his legislative field. He was devoted to the cause of the American merchant marine. As much as any Member who ever served in the House, he understood its importance to our safety and our security. The last speech he made was a plea on behalf of the American merchant marine.

Congressman BONNER served with distinction. He served with rare dignity. He served with great credit to his district, his State, and his Nation. He was a constructive Member of the House. He was a conscientious Member, a studious Member. At every moment of the day he was a gentleman—kind, courteous, and considerate.

On more than one occasion I have been with HERBERT BONNER in his district. It was a joy to observe the esteem and affection in which he was held by the people he represented. They loved him. They trusted him. They looked to him for leadership in the great issues which confront our Nation. As for me, I shall miss him as long as I live. He was one of the best friends I had in this House. His death has left a great void not only in the legislative operations of this Chamber, but in the heart of every one of us.

I extend my deepest sympathy to his family, to all his host of friends and his loved ones.

Mr. KORNEGAY. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor, though a painful one, to join my colleagues in paying tribute to a friend and former associate—HERBERT C. BONNER.

Even as we meet now to pay our respects, it seems strange to me that he is not here among us—to share in the work and deliberations of this great body. For, he served here not only long—for a quarter of a century—but he served here with distinction.

With his death, the First Congressional District of North Carolina lost an able champion, the State of North Carolina lost a distinguished representative, the Nation lost a noble statesman, and the world's waterways lost a fearless pilot.

Mr. Speaker, my distinguished predecessor in the House, the Honorable Carl T. Durham, has sent me a statement to place in the Record in the memory of his lifetime colleague and close personal friend, the late Honorable HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER.

It is a pleasure and a privilege to comply with Mr. Durham's request, particularly in view of his intimate association with Mr. BONNER in the House and his personal affection and regard for him. Mr. Durham's statement follows:

I wish to extend to Mrs. Bonner and the people of the First Congressional District of North Carolina my deep and sincere sympathy in the loss they have sustained in HERBERT'S passing. For more than 40 years HERBERT and I were close friends, and I served with him in the Congress for more than 20 years. His personal popularity and the high esteem in which he was held






extended throughout the House of Representatives and the Senate as well. During the many years in which he served the First District he gave to his constituents a dedicated service. He will now take his place in the history of our State of North Carolina as one of the great and effective men to serve in the U.S. Congress.

But the canvass of his achievements was not restricted to his district and State, for, as chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, he made significant and enduring contributions to our national maritime policy which will long be remembered.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to Eva and the family in their great bereavement, which is shared by all who knew HERBERT and his sterling worth to his district, State, and Nation.

We shall all miss his wise counsel and diligent work in behalf of his district, his State, and his Nation. But those who were privileged, as I was, to know him personally will miss even more the warmth and sincerity of his friendship. There will always be a void which can only be filled by the memory of a man who was small in physical stature but big in heart and accomplishments.

I was proud to call HERBERT BONNER friend. I valued that friendship as I shall his memory. I extend my heartfelt sympathies to his family and many friends.

Mr. GARMATZ. Mr. Speaker, 2 months ago I had the sad duty and, yet, the signal honor, to be a member of the official congressional delegation to go to Washington, N.C., to attend the last rites for our beloved friend and colleague, HERBERT C. BONNER, who left us in the early hours of Sunday, the 7th of November.

I had the privilege of serving in Congress with HERB BONNER ever since 1947 when I first came to Congress. We served on the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, an assignment meaningful and dear to both of us, since 1949.

He was my friend.

For almost 11 years now, since HEBRERT C. BONNER became chairman of the Merchant Marine Committee, we have stood close together on the majority side of the committee. It was always a pleasure and a privilege to counsel with him. His views on committee matters were always fair and impartial. Though he had short patience with those who tried to dissemble, he was always patient with those who appeared before us in sincerity.

HERB BONNER was a statesman. He was a creator in legislative matters. He not only gave a ready ear to those who approached him

with proposals in accord with the constitutional right of petition, but he often vigorously took the initiative to advance worthy causes or explore fields which had otherwise been neglected or pursued too parochially.

As chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, he has been justly acclaimed for the leadership he asserted in the many fields under our committee's jurisdiction: safety of life at sea following the Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision, the Isthmian Canal studies, the transpacific and transatlantic superliners, the unique and highly successful Boating Safety Act, the maritime labor management studies of 1955 and 1962, the nuclear ship Savannah legislation, the atomic icebreaker legislation, his recognition of the significance of and action in the vital field of oceanography, the reorganization of the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, significant efforts in behalf of our ailing domestic shipping industry, the legislation to require authorization of major programs of acquisition, construction, and improvement in the U.S. Coast Guard, and many other things.

He was a broad and intense man who gave wholly of himself to the public service to which he was devoted.

Perhaps the most moving testimonial of all to the greatness of HERBERT BONNER was the splendid service rendered to him at his funeral in his hometown of Washington, N.C. The reverence and human respect in which he was held was everywhere evident, from the crowds of neighbors who filled the beautiful St. Peter's Episcopal Church to the outpourings of affection shown by the hundreds of schoolchildren who reverently lined the way to his last resting place.

We who knew him, are happy that our ways ran together for a while.

Mr. LENNON. Mr. Speaker, the State of North Carolina, the Congress, and this Nation of ours have lost a very distinguished and dedicated public servant. Those of us who are on the floor today have lost a very personable, winsome, lovable friend.

Before I became a Member of this House on January 3, 1957, it was my privilege, during 1953 and 1954, to visit rather extensively in the great First Congressional District of North Carolina, so ably represented by HERB BONNER. There I found the respect, the esteem






and the affection with which he was held by all the people of his district.

Mr. Speaker, since becoming a Member of this body in January of 1957 I have found that HERB BONNER was held in the highest esteem and respect and affection by the full membership of this House.

I have been privileged during the past 9 years to serve as a member of the committee chaired by HERB BONNER, the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

I have never known a more knowledgeable man and I never expect to know a more knowledgeable, interested or concerned man than HERB BONNER was with respect to our national maritime policy.

He was a man of great tolerance. He was tolerant of everything but intolerance. He was a man with a very keen sense of humor. He was a man with a deep sympathy for the problems and personal sufferings and conditions which existed in our world and with individuals.

I counted him a good friend. I have lost a good friend. My wife Kay and I want to join with his other friends on the floor today to extend to his beloved and attractive wife, Miss Eva, as I have always called her, our sincere sympathy for the loss of a man who will always be remembered for his great service.

Mr. JONAS. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy and sad heart that I join my colleagues today in paying tribute to the memory of HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER. Although HERBERT had been in declining health for most of 1965, his death came as a profound shock to Mrs. Jonas and to me.

For a number of years we had lived in the same apartment house with the Bonners. Hardly a day passed that Eva and Annie Elliott did not spend some time together. They corresponded during congressional recesses, frequently borrowed household items from each other, and exchanged gifts. I cannot count the times HERBERT would knock at our door to share with us something special Eva had prepared for supper, and frequently I carried something to their apartment which Annie Elliott had prepared and which we wished to share with them. We often visited back and forth and HERBERT and I often rode down to the Capitol together. Ours was therefore a close, personal friendship which ripened with the years, and through this close and intimate relationship I came to know HERBERT better

than would have been possible through mere association in the Congress. It is because of this close friendship that we felt such a sense of personal loss in his passing.

When I sat in the quiet church in Little Washington attending the funeral services for my departed friend, the words of John Donne, written about 350 years ago, expressed my feelings on that sad occasion:

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee (me).

And yet perhaps Angelo Patri best described the feeling I had when my friend died:

In one sense there is no death. The life of a soul lasts beyond his departure. You will always feel that life touching yours, that voice speaking to you, that spirit looking out to other eyes, talking to you in the familiar things he touched, worked with, loved as familiar friends. He lives on in your life and in the lives of others who knew him.

So on this sad occasion I speak not of this man's distinguished public career; that subject will be dealt with by others who were more closely associated with him in his congressional work. I speak not of the leadership he displayed as chairman of the great Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. That subject will be discussed by others who worked with him from day to day in the committee room. I speak not of the great loss suffered in his death by his district, State, and Nation; others will devote their attention to that subject.

I speak of the deep sense of personal loss my wife and I feel over the going away of a dear friend who will be sorely missed as the days and years go passing by.

To his grieving Eva, who was HERBERT'S constant companion through the years, Annie Elliott and I send our profound sympathy. She has lost a gentle, kind, considerate, and devoted husband. We grieve with her because we have lost a tried and true friend.

Mr. HARVEY of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much having the opportunity to participate in this eulogy to our friend from North Carolina, Mr. BONNER. When I first came to the House in 1947, it was my privilege to serve on the committee now known as the Committee on Government Operations of which Mr.






BONNER was a member. He became one of my first friends and I am happy to say also became one of my best friends during the intervening years.

My first experience in traveling with the committee came in 1949 when a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations made a trip to Europe to observe the operation of the Marshall plan. It was on this occasion that I had a real opportunity to observe the fine wisdom, tact, diplomacy, and understanding of HERBERT BONNER. Indeed, he steered our committee through very many troublesome experiences because Europe at that time was still in the throes of the aftermath of World War II and we were in a position of trying to determine what we could and should do to alleviate the situation.

So, Mr. Speaker, we have lost a fine friend and North Carolina has lost a fine Congressman. I would say that he was truly more than a Representative from the State of North Carolina, he was a representative of the people of the United States. It was my great privilege just to have known HERBERT BONNER and to have profited by his fine character. Mrs. Harvey and I join in extending to his widow, Eva, our sincerest and deepest sympathy in this hour of her grief.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I wish to join my distinguished colleagues in paying respect to our late and esteemed colleague, the Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER. The people of North Carolina and the Nation realize that in HERBERT BONNER they had a great and dedicated representative in the U.S. Congress.

Congressman BONNER was a man of the people. He served as a sergeant in World War I, and throughout life he was a soldier in the ranks. He remained humble and close to the people whom he served. He kept an open mind and a responsive heart to the needs of the people. Even though he walked with kings, he kept the common touch. He loved the Democratic Party and his loyalty to that party even during times of storm and stress was firm and consistent.

Congressman BONNER'S fairness and fine qualities of character made him a friend of Congress of both political parties. He established a standard of excellence in public service which all of us might well try to emulate. He added dignity, respect, and integrity to politics.

Mrs. Taylor and I also lived in the same apartment house with Herbert and Eva Bonner. We have never had better neighbors. When they would go home on weekends they would frequently bring us fresh fish from the North Carolina coast. Mr. BONNER did not miss an opportunity to do a favor for a friend and in turn he was held in high esteem and affection by the Members of Congress, by the people of his congressional district, and by his friends throughout the world.

As a Member of Congress for 25 years, Mr. BONNER never lost faith in the principles of duty and devotion to the causes of freedom. We can keep faith with him now by continuing to fight for fair play, and justice, and freedom, and Americanism—as he would have done. Mr. BONNER was a friend to Mrs. Taylor and me, and we shall miss him.

Mr. DOWNING. Mr. Speaker, it was my sad duty also to be present at the funeral of our beloved friend, HERBERT C. BONNER, in the beautiful little town of Washington, in his beloved State of North Carolina. At that funeral there were literally thousands of people, sad people, from all walks of life, who had come to pay a final tribute to a beloved friend. It was an impressive display of devotion and love for their fellow man. It was my great privilege to have known Mr. BONNER. It was another great privilege to have worked with him. I loved him as a man, I respected him as a colleague, and I shall cherish his memory forever.

Mr. Speaker, the domestic maritime industries have lost a close friend and a strong advocate.

For more than 10 years, HERBERT C. BONNER dedicated himself to the creation of legislation that would vitalize our Nation's maritime fleet and domestic fisheries. His chairmanship of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee spanned difficult years for the United States sea-based industries. But HERBERT BONNER'S patient legislative leadership has enabled our domestic maritime and fisheries interests to make progress—even in the face of harsh competition on the seas and hard economic ceilings on development.

My North Carolina neighbor—my First Virginia District and his First North Carolina District adjoin—have been good neighbors and






good friends for the nearly 7 years that we worked together on maritime and fisheries legislation. He helped me as a patient and thoughtful teacher and as an understanding House colleague. His passing has caused me real sorrow and I will remember the man all my life—not only for the warm friendship we knew but also for his contributions to our maritime industries.

HERBERT BONNER'S record in this body is a record of great dimension—encompassing safety of life at sea, the nuclear ship Savannah, the atomic icebreaker, oceanographic advancements, and fisheries research. His mark is on every major piece of maritime legislation to emanate from the Capitol. We are all able to take a measure of pride in his dedication to meaningful legislation for the industries he served. HERBERT BONNER served us well, Mr. Speaker, and he served his constituents well. He will be sorely missed.

Mr. MATSUNAGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in paying tribute to our departed colleague, the beloved HERBERT BONNER, and to extend my deepest sympathy and condolence to his widow and his family.

As a Representative of a State completely surrounded by water, I have had the occasion to seek the counsel and assistance of HERB on many occasions about Merchant Marine and Fisheries matters, he being the chairman of that great committee.

Mr. Speaker, HERB BONNER always lent a willing, and, what is more important, a cheerful and attentive ear and shared of his wisdom accumulated over the years.

Mr. Speaker, his constituents, his State, and the Nation, have lost a devoted and dedicated public servant. We will long reap the benefits of his toil. I, for one, can honestly state that my life has been enriched for having known HERB BONNER. I shall miss him as a friend and counselor.

Mr. BROYHILL of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in this expression of respect for the memory of our late and great friend, HERBERT BONNER.

When I came to this body just a few short years ago, Mr. BONNER was known to me as an able legislator and a key figure in the House of Representatives. I, and I believe all North Carolinians, respected him as a statesman who in his years of leadership had been an eloquent champion of causes for his State and his Nation. In a personal

way this man's ability, integrity, and wide-ranging knowledge was demonstrated to me in the early days of my first year of service here in the House of Representatives. And it was demonstrated as he extended the hand of friendship and help across the political aisle. He was one who was willing to give of his advice and counsel from his vast store of information and eminent good sense.

Mr. Speaker, HERBERT'S passing was a great loss to the State of North Carolina, and it was a loss to America. I was profoundly moved at his funeral services in November because of the fact that literally thousands of people in his hometown came out to pay respect to their friend and fellow townsman, HERBERT BONNER. In this way they were returning the unswerving devotion that had been so markedly obvious in HERBERT BONNER'S years of service to the people in his district.

Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Broyhill joins me in extending deepest sympathy to Mrs. Bonner. We shall miss HERBERT in the years ahead. We shall miss his mellow good humor, his friendship, and his inspiring example as a dedicated servant of his State and the American people.

Mr. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I could not permit these tributes to the late HERBERT BONNER to close without adding a few words.

Mr. Speaker, I was not a member of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and I do not come from the area represented by the late great HERB BONNER. However, I would like to relate to the Members of the House a pleasant experience which I had with this fine gentleman. A few years ago my family wanted to make a visit to the State of North Carolina. I spoke to Mr. BONNER about our anticipated trip. Instead of sending over some tourist brochures, he went out of his way to propose an itinerary through his district. He mentioned the important things to see. Also, he offered to make reservations. This demonstrated to me his spirit of unselfishness and his desire to be of service to any of his colleagues.

Then, Mr. Speaker, when we arrived in the district which he represented, I learned that everyone in that district was proud of their Congressman. When I mentioned that I was a fellow Member of the House of Representatives, they would say, “Do you know our Congressman?” I said, “Yes; not as well as I would prefer, but in the few years that I have had the privilege to know him, it has been a great thrill to be an associate of a man like HERB BONNER.”






Mr. Speaker, I feel that a few words should be said about his work on the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. This is a way of saying some of the things that he did for his country.

Mr. Speaker, HERB BONNER was not simply a proponent of a strong merchant fleet, or just another advocate. He was its champion. I am sure that his warning, again and again, will stand us in good stead. We are beginning now to wake up to the fact that not as much attention has been given to our merchant fleet as should have been given in the past. I know that the new chairman of the committee will follow in the footsteps of the late HERBERT BONNER to see that measures are taken to arrest the declining strength of our fleet and instead build up our merchant marine which represents such a great asset not only to our commerce but as an arm of our national defense.

Mr. Speaker, we have all lost a good friend. I know that as the years go by he will always be esteemed in the memory of his fellow Members of the House of Representatives.

Mr. EDMONDSON. Mr. Speaker, on the first day of my service in this body I met a quiet, soft-spoken, and sweet-tempered gentleman who performed an act of gracious neighborly kindness to a freshman Member of the House of Representatives.

For nearly 12 years after that I had the privilege of officing in close proximity to this fine American, HERB BONNER.

North Carolina has sent many outstanding men to the Congress, but a doubt that any Representative of that great State has ever been held in higher esteem or greater affection by his colleagues, than our dear friend, HERB BONNER.

A quiet, modest, and kindly man, HERB BONNER was both persuasive and powerful in his participation in debate. He handled the legislation of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, over which he presided as chairman, with outstanding ability and success.

A gentleman in the finest and broadest sense of the word, HERB BONNER contributed greatly to the constructive work of the House of Representatives, and won new friends with every day of his service.

He will be missed by a host of friends in this body, and every one who knew him well will treasure the memory of his friendship.

Mr. STUBBLEFIELD. Mr. Speaker, it is with a feeling of great personal loss that I join my colleagues in the House in paying tribute to the memory of the late Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER. In a broader sense, however, his untimely passing is a loss to every citizen of this great Nation. I was privileged to serve on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee under his capable chairmanship. I shall remember him as a highly dedicated legislator who served the public interest with all the strength and capacity at his command.

It goes without saying that HERBERT BONNER was a man of integrity and unquestionable character. He loved his native North Carolina and was continually alert to opportunities to be of service to the people of his district and State. His devotion to and love of country was unexcelled, as evidenced by his zealous efforts to uphold and defend those principles which have made this country great. HERB BONNER will be missed, not only by his devoted family and Members of this House, but also by countless people throughout the Nation who came to know and respect him.

I extend sincere sympathy to Mrs. Bonner and to the other family members.

Mr. McCORMACK. Mr. Speaker, the Congress and the country have lost a great man and a distinguished legislator. I have lost a dear friend. In HERBERT C. BONNER, of North Carolina, were combined the qualities that endear a man to friends, colleagues, constituents, and even to casual acquaintances. His life was a record of achievement worthy not only of praise, but of emulation as well.

He was born in Washington, N.C., on May 16, 1891, and completed his education in Warrenton, N.C. During World War I, he served as a sergeant in the AEF. In 1924, he became an aid of Hon. Lindsay C. Warren, then a member of the State assembly, but soon to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. HERBERT BONNER accompanied Mr. Warren to Washington, D.C., where he was employed by Mr. Warren as a congressional assistant.






When Mr. Warren was appointed Comptroller General of the United States in 1940, HERBERT C. BONNER, his faithful and dedicated assistant through the years, ran successfully to fill the vacancy. He was continuously reelected thereafter, and served in the halls of the House of Representatives for a quarter of a century.

As a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee of the House of Representatives from the time of his first election to this body in 1940, and as committee chairman from 1955, he was impartial in his criticism of the role of management, labor, and the Federal Government in maritime affairs. He believed that maritime labor demanded excessive wages, that management refused to cross the frontiers of automation, and that the Government was unwilling to broaden Federal aid. His efforts through the years were strenuous indeed as he sought to impose some order on what he once called the Alice in Wonderland world of the maritime industry.

After hearings by his committee, construction was authorized for the nuclear-powered commercial ship, the freighter Savannah. When the $50 million vessel was finished in 1962, and the crew specially trained, the vessel was struck, and demands were made for better accommodations, more safety precautions, and increased benefits. This incident and others convinced Representative BONNER that Federal arbitration might be necessary in the maritime industry.

He was thus an ardent proponent of modernizing the U.S. merchant fleet. He once wrote:

The inability of domestic shipping to revive or even survive with traditional means of cargo handling and traditional ships is painfully evident.

He called upon his congressional colleagues to find ways to get “new ideas and new life into water transportation.” He bent his every effort to this purpose.

He became convinced that an international agency to oversee safety standards on all ships was necessary after the collision of the vessels Stockholm and Andrea Doria in 1956. His committee held an investigation of that disaster which had occurred outside American territorial waters, off Nantucket Light, and had claimed 50 lives.

HERBERT C. BONNER'S interest in maritime affairs came naturally to him. His district spanned Pamlico Sound and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In the words of a friend, “He loved the water

and was a superb fisherman.” He even worked with pleasure-boating associations to promote water safety among small boat owners.

He initiated a congressional study of the present efficiency of the Panama Canal as a modern interocean waterway. A board of consultants, appointed at his suggestion, is studying the problems of modernizing the canal, and considering the feasibility of constructing alternate routes.

During his 25 years as a Member of Congress, HERBERT C. BONNER served on six committees. He was a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities from 1945 to 1947. As chairman of a Subcommittee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, he supervised an investigation of postwar profiteers who had bought U.S. surplus materials and then resold them to the Government at inflated prices. After this inquiry had been completed, Representative BONNER led a group of Members of the House on a 41-day worldwide examination of both efficiency and waste at American military establishments abroad.

Among his recorded votes were those which favored lend-lease and the Marshall plan. He was awarded the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts to strengthen the merchant marine. He was often called the father of the Savannah.

Last summer, when he returned to the House of Representatives after a painful operation and a long convalescence, he was greeted by applause on the floor of the House by his fellow Members. It was well that this accolade was given to him then, for he was lost to us on November 7, 1965.

He was soft spoken but incredibly hard working. His manner was retiring, but his popularity among the Members of this House was overwhelming. On this occasion, I join with all his friends here, throughout the country, and back in North Carolina, in mourning his passing.

Mrs. McCormack and I extend to Mrs. Bonner our deep sympathy in her very great loss and sorrow.

Mr. BOGGS. Mr. Speaker, the American merchant marine, beset by difficult problems today, owes its present strength and growth to our colleague, HERBERT BONNER, more than to any other man in






our country. By his passing last fall, our merchant marine has lost its stoutest defender, its greatest exponent, its strongest promoter.

Stricken though he was with a fatal malady, HERBERT BONNER continued to work in the best interests of our country until the end. He was planning to direct the conduct of thorough hearings into the present status of the merchant marine, the problems which it faces, with a view toward providing remedial, constructive legislation which would bolster our merchant fleet and give to it renewed vigor and greater world influence. HERBERT BONNER, the great patriot that he was, also was working to find ways and means to furnish more merchant ships for carrying desperately needed food, medicines, and other cargo to our troops in South Vietnam and to the stricken people of that wartorn country.

Devotion to his country and to his people in his beloved North Carolina, and a love of this House, were the guiding actions of his life. HERBERT BONNER not only was a dedicated public servant, but also he was a great man—a wonderful human being who was beloved by all.

HERBERT BONNER devoted his entire life to this House. He was a congressional secretary for 16 years to the late Congressman Lindsay C. Warren, of the First District of North Carolina. When his boss was appointed Comptroller General of the United States by President Roosevelt in 1940, HERBERT BONNER elected to run to succeed Congressman Warren. And elected he was in November 1940 to the 77th Congress—the same Congress in which I first entered this House.

From his first term until his last breath, HERBERT BONNER was a member of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries; and, for the last 10 years of his public service, he was chairman of that great committee. Probably the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries has never had a more perceptive, hard-working chairman since it was established. HERBERT BONNER provided the kind of leadership and direction which only a man of farsight and dedication can give, and HERBERT BONNER gave his devotion in large measure.

There is no doubt that he did more to refurbish and strengthen the American merchant marine than has any other man in the history of our country. Among the many significant pieces of legislation in other fields which he promoted and steered to passage were the Small

Boat Act of 1958, which gave a classification system to thousands more of our smaller boats and thus enhanced boating safety throughout the Nation; and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, which provided for the establishment of an independent, separate agency for commercial fisheries, and also brought vastly expanded protection for our Nation's wildlife.

What I have cited here are but a small rendering of the contributions made to his State and our Nation by HERBERT BONNER. I loved him as a brother; I salute him as a fellow colleague of this House which we all love so well; and I am happy and proud to have known him, to have shared in his friendship and his wisdom. May God rest his soul always.

Mr. MAHON. Mr. Speaker, I want to join with my colleagues in paying tribute to the life and memory of the late Honorable HERBERT BONNER, the able former chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. It was my privilege to serve with Mr. BONNER during the whole of his 25 years as a Member of the House. Indeed, he and I became friends during the time he was an aid to the late Lindsay Warren of the great State of North Carolina, whom he succeeded.

I could not improve upon the fine sentiments expressed here but I can do no less than endorse them. It was a pleasure and an honor to serve in this great representative body with a man of the stature of HERBERT BONNER. The people of North Carolina and of the Nation owe him a debt of gratitude for his contributions to the national welfare.

May the Lord bless his memory.

Mr. MILLS. Mr. Speaker, the tragic passing of our respected and admired colleague, HERB BONNER, was a sad event for the Nation and for the district which he represented for so many years in such a distinguished way, as well as for all of his host of friends and admirers, both here and throughout the country.

HERBERT BONNER was elected to the Congress shortly after I became a Member, and we have served together throughout the years as close friends. His contributions as chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, which has handled such a volume of legislation of vital interest to this Nation over a period of many






years, will serve as a monument to his dedication, ability, and intense devotion to duty.

Those of us who have observed HERB BONNER over the years in the House of Representatives are familiar with the extent to which he always informed himself in detail on the legislation which he handled on the floor of the House and which he guided to successful passage. We all know the meticulous manner and the precision with which he responded to questions and the comprehensiveness of his responses on the whole range of matters falling within the scope of his committee jurisdiction. He was assiduous in protecting and promoting the interests of his district, his State, and the Nation. His diligence in assisting his constituents and in looking out for their interests was a matter of common knowledge in the House.

I extend to his surviving family deepest sympathy and condolences but with a reminder that his career of public service will forever stand as a monument to his character and the great work which he has accomplished.

Mr. O'HARA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, HERBERT BONNER was a Member of 14 consecutive Congresses, and at the time of his passing only 14 Members of the House, including Speaker McCormack, former Speaker Martin and Chairman Celler, the dean, had enjoyed a longer tenure of service. When the 89th Congress convened, six of its Members had come in with the 76th Congress and had been reelected at each succeeding election. Now the number has been reduced to four by the deaths during the past year of Clarence Brown and HERBERT BONNER. I shall always remember HERBERT BONNER as a man of infinite patience and unfailing courtesy. A number of times I consulted with him in his capacity as chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries on matters of interest to my constituents living on Lake Michigan and always he was generous with his time and most gracious in his manner. He was held in respect and affection by the members of the Illinois delegation and our grief at his passing is real and deep. He was a great American in peace and in war, being a combat veteran with the 322d Infantry of the 81st Division in World I. To his wife and the members of his family I extend my deepest sympathy.

Mr. MORGAN. Mr. Speaker, it was with a deep sense of loss and sorrow that I learned of the passing of our beloved friend and

colleague, HERBERT C. BONNER. For more than a quarter of a century he had served with great distinction in the House of Representatives and during that time he won the friendship, esteem, and admiration of all who came to know him.

As chairman of the important Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries he showed a rare legislative insight and the highest degree of statesmanship. It was my privilege and honor to work with HERB BONNER through the many years we served together in the House of Representatives. He was a great Democrat and a credit to our party. He was one of those unassuming, modest men who worked quietly and succeeded in reaching his goals.

HERB BONNER'S legislative achievements were significant and many. His passing leaves a void that will long be felt in this House, and we shall miss his cheerful personality and the outstanding abilities he applied to the legislative work of the Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to join with the host of his friends and fellow workers in extending our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to the family of our departed friend, HERBERT C. BONNER.

Mr. McMILLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, it was with a deep sense of sadness that I learned of the passing of the admired and highly respected Congressman HERBERT BONNER. I want to join my colleagues in the House this afternoon in eulogizing this outstanding statesman and gentleman from North Carolina.

I had the privilege and pleasure of knowing HERBERT BONNER when he was a traveling salesman in North and South Carolina and later when he was secretary to Congressman Lindsay Warren, who was later appointed to the position of U.S. Comptroller General. Mr. BONNER was an outstanding Member of this body and also made an excellent record as secretary to Mr. Warren for approximately 10 years before he succeeded Mr. Warren as a Member of the House. I am certain I have never met anyone who had a better sense of humor and possessed all those necessary factors to work with all types of personalities.

Congressman BONNER made an excellent committee chairman and I am certain every member of his committee feels as I do when I state that the State of North Carolina and the entire country have lost one of its greatest statesmen.






Congressman BONNER could come as near sizing up a person and knowing the sincerity behind any proposal made by a Member of Congress than any person I have ever had an opportunity to know since I have been a Member of Congress.

Mrs. Bonner has my deepest sympathy and every person privileged with HERBERT'S acquaintance will always miss him.

Mr. PHILBIN. Mr. Speaker, the passing of our dear, beloved friend and very distinguished colleague, Congressman HERBERT C. BONNER, of North Carolina, is a great loss to the Congress and the Nation and to this great deliberative body.

His long devoted service here constitutes an imperishable record which has been marked by outstanding ability, unexcelled fidelity to principle, and the highest order of patriotism.

He was both articulate and knowledgeable.

His diligence and his work and his attention to duty marked him as an extremely conscientious public servant.

His spirit of dedication commanded the respect, confidence, and admiration of all of us and all those who knew him.

His great district and State have sustained a truly irreparable loss since his concern for his own people knew no bounds, and he served them with an unselfish devotion.

He was, in truth, as a soldier, gallantly serving the Nation, when he was stricken at the very height of his powers, while zealously upholding the cause of God and country.

His family and all his dear ones who are so sorely afflicted by his untimely passing are the ones who will feel his loss most keenly. Their burden of sorrow is, indeed, a very heavy one, and in extending my deepest sympathy to them in this hour of sad bereavement, I hope and pray that the good Lord will bring them reconciliation and the courage and patience to bear their loss with strength and fortitude.

HERB BONNER will long be remembered in this body. His service was so memorable, his friendship so warm, and his ties so enduring. Both his laudable service and the memory of his true friendship will long remain with us, and his outstanding achievements will brilliantly illuminate the annals of this, the greatest deliberative body in the world, for many years to come.

We may well say to him: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” May the good Lord smile upon him and bring him peace in His eternal home.

Mr. GROSS. Mr. Speaker, it was a privilege for me to have the opportunity to serve on the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee under the chairmanship of our departed colleague, the Honorable HERBERT BONNER.

Through many long and involved hearings, I found him to be able and completely fair in his conduct of the committee. With scores of other Members, I will miss the presence of my friend, HERBERT BONNER, in the House of Representatives.

I extend my sympathy to his widow and to other members of his family.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. Speaker, the absence of Congressman BONNER from our Chamber is sadly felt by us all; and the country mourns his passing as an able and dedicated legislator and American. It was my pleasure for several years to serve on his Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries; and it was a rich and inspiring service because of his ability, character, and his kindness to all with whom he associated. We have lost a great Congressman and a dear friend and our hearts go out in sympathy to all his bereaved family.

MONDAY, January 17, 1966.

A message from the Senate announced that the Senate had passed a resolution as follows:

SENATE RESOLUTION 176

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the announcement of the death of Hon. HERBERT C. BONNER, late a Representative from the State of North Carolina.

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the deceased.

Resolved, That, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the Senate do now adjourn until Monday next.






MEMORIAL ADDRESSES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES






ADDRESS BY HON. WILLIAM L. ST. ONGE

OF CONNECTICUT

Mr. Speaker, I wish to join my colleagues in paying tribute to our late beloved chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, the Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER, whose death is a grievous loss to all of us.

I have had the honor and the privilege of working with him as a member of the committee which he so ably headed. I found him to be a man of deep understanding, a devoted public servant, and a capable leader. His guidance and counsel were always most helpful. He was particularly helpful to me in matters pertaining to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and other Coast Guard installations located in my district in Connecticut.

During the quarter of a century of his service in the House of Representatives, HERBERT BONNER not only left his imprint on Congress and on many legislative acts, but he also left a host of friends and admirers who had the highest regard for him. We shall always remember him as a man of wisdom, patience, courtesy, and able leadership. His death is a deep loss to those of us who had the occasion to work with him more closely.

I extend to his widow and to other members of his family my deepest sympathy in this hour of their great bereavement.

ADDRESS BY HON. THOMAS M. PELLY

OF WASHINGTON

Mr. Speaker, for more than 10 years it was my good fortune to serve on the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, while HERB BONNER was the chairman. During this time, I learned






firsthand that HERB was a man of the highest integrity, dedicated to the welfare of all matters coming under his committee jurisdiction.

For a number of years, my wife and I lived right across the hall from the HERBERT BONNERS in an apartment house. It was during this time that I first learned to know HERB and to realize that, modest and quiet though he was, he had a wide knowledge and keen understanding of the problems confronting the maritime and fishing industries. Especially, I discovered the patient care he always gave to his committee responsibilities.

So it is that my association with him—now, unhappily, terminated—has left warm memories as well as deep respect and admiration.

It was a real honor to serve under HERBERT BONNER, and I shall never cease to cherish this experience.

To his wife, who was so dear to him and always his close companion, my wife and I extend our most profound sympathy. We share her sorrow. The memory of her husband's fine character and wonderful record is something that Mrs. Bonner will retain along with the devotion of her husband's friends, and we hope these blessings will always bring her comfort and satisfaction.

ADDRESS BY HON. EDNA F. KELLY

OF NEW YORK

Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to join in tribute to our esteemed colleague, Hon. HERBERT BONNER, of the State of North Carolina.

Over the past 25 years during which Congressman BONNER served his constituents and his country so well, he earned the respect and admiration of us all.

His strength and quiet wit will long be remember and will surely be missed by those of us who considered him a valued friend.

Having been brought up spending my summers on the shores of Long Island, where the sport of fishing was enjoyed by amateurs as well as professional sportsmen, I shared a common interest with

Congressman BONNER. It was always a great pleasure for me to listen to his many fishing experiences.

I am sure the Outer Banks of the Carolina coast will no longer be the same. The fisherman has gone to his eternal home.

ADDRESS BY HON. JOHN J. ROONEY

OF NEW YORK

Mr. Speaker, I was saddened and shocked when I learned that on November 7, 1965, the Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER, of North Carolina, died in Walter Reed Army Hospital here in Washington. I wish to join my many colleagues in sadly saluting the memory of a man who devoted 25 years of his life to serving the people of North Carolina and the United States.

For most of the 25 years HERB BONNER spent in the House of Representatives, and in his service on the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, he fought to strengthen and stabilize this country's maritime industry. He believed, as most of us do, that the merchant marine was and is a vital part of America's strength. For a decade as chairman of that vital committee, he fought for improved safety regulations at sea and technological advancement throughout the industry. In fighting to strengthen the merchant marine, a fight that I wholeheartedly did and do support, HERBERT C. BONNER was serving not only the great State of North Carolina, but all the people of this country. He shall be sorely missed.

To his family, I extend my deepest sympathy and condolence.

ADDRESS BY HON. WILLIAM S. MAILLIARD

OF CALIFORNIA

Mr. Speaker, in the passing of HERBERT BONNER the Nation has lost a wise and able statesman. But, more particularly, the American






merchant marine has lost a champion and skilled architect. No man labored more or gave more unstintingly of himself on its behalf throughout almost three decades than did HERB BONNER.

The fast, modern greyhounds of the seas, which today carry the American flag to the farflung corners of the globe, stand in living tribute as a monument to the endeavors of this one man. These same ships, constructed as a result of the vision and foresight of HERBERT BONNER, are today bridging the oceans to supply American troops in Vietnam. Seamen and American fighting men throughout the world owe a great debt to this man. Truly, one can say that memorials to his achievements are now in being throughout the world wherever American-flag merchant ships ply their trade.

But to me the death of HERB BONNER means much more. I have lost a warm and personal friend with whom I have labored side by side for more than 13 years. He was a close confidant. He was a man whose counsel I held in greatest respect. He was a man whom I grew to love more with each passing year.

Perhaps the English poet laureate, Robert Southey, best expressed my feelings when he said, and I quote:

The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired.

To his devoted and gracious widow, Eva, I can only say that her sadness is shared by HERBERT'S legion of friends and admirers. Perhaps this fact will make her burden just a little easier to bear.

ADDRESS BY HON. JOE L. EVINS

OF TENNESSEE

Mr. Speaker, while Congress was adjourned, one of our most esteemed and dedicated colleagues, Hon. HERBERT C. BONNER, of North Carolina, passed away. I was saddened to learn of his death and to realize that Congressman BONNER would not be with us any longer. We shall miss him—I want to join with my colleagues in paying a brief but sincere tribute to his memory.

HERBERT C. BONNER served in the Congress for a quarter of a century. Congressman BONNER was a great American. He served

his country well, he served his beloved State of North Carolina well, and he served his district well and long and faithfully. As chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, he was known nationally as the father of the nuclear-powered ship Savannah, and for other work directed toward modernizing our merchant marine fleet.

I knew HERBERT C. BONNER as a dedicated American, an able colleague, and a man devoted to principle. He had a keen grasp of the responsibilities of public service, and he responded to those responsibilities.

He will be sorely missed in the Congress and most difficult to replace. His legacy of service will live for untold generations as a monument to his dedication.

I extend to Mrs. Bonner and other members of his family my deepest sympathy in their irreplaceable loss.

ADDRESS BY HON. CHARLES A. MOSHER

OF OHIO

Mr. Speaker, I wish to join my colleagues in paying homage to the late Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER. It was my privilege to serve but briefly with this courtly gentleman on the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, which he so ably chaired for more than a decade.

My great regret is the brevity of my association with HERB BONNER. It is my personal loss that I did not know him sooner. He was a man whom I rapidly grew to respect and admire. Dedicated in purpose and undaunted by adversity, Chairman BONNER gave unsparingly of himself to the service of his constituents, the development of a strong American merchant marine, and the preservation of this Nation's natural resources. The product of his tireless efforts stand in tribute and memorial to his skill and dedication.

The late Father Edmund A. Walsh, S.J., of Georgetown University, was a stanch advocate for a strong American merchant marine. Men such as Congressman BONNER must have been in his thoughts when Father Walsh wrote:






A statesman is the rare thinker who keeps his gaze fixed on the next generation. He will have learned wisdom from past errors and schooled himself to distinguish the deep and permanent residue of economic history from the surface tones that speak only of quick gains and enhanced profits. He will be a statesman in the measure that he teaches men to fasten on abiding values and rescues them from the lure of the temporary and the transient.

Such a public leader was the late Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER. His untimely death is a loss not only for his beloved State of North Carolina, but for the Nation as a whole.

To the widow of our late beloved chairman and to other members of his family, I extend my heartfelt sympathy in this their hour of bereavement. All our hearts are saddened over their loss, but comforted in the knowledge of the privilege of having known and labored with the late Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER. I knew him as a wonderfully generous, considerate, always fair, and effective chairman under whose leadership I was proud to serve.

ADDRESS BY HON. JAMIE L. WHITTEN

OF MISSISSIPPI

Mr. Speaker, during the adjournment of the Congress we lost one of our dear and close friends, one of the ablest Members of the House of Representatives, the Honorable HERBERT BONNER, of North Carolina.

I met HERBERT soon after I came to the Congress, and through the years I came to know him intimately. A man of real ability and industry, HERBERT had that wonderful quality of balance and good judgment. Throughout the years he was a fine Member of Congress, contributing greatly to his district, his State, and his Nation. In recent years he has served as chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. In this capacity he showed to the country what he had long since showed the House of Representatives, an ability to deal with people, with problems, and with the Congress.

We can ill afford to lose his services, and he certainly will be missed. To his wife and other loved ones we extend our deepest

sympathy. The country has lost a fine man and we have lost a dear friend.

ADDRESS BY HON. O. C. FISHER

OF TEXAS

Mr. Speaker, I join in the eulogies that have been accorded to my late friend and colleague, HERBERT BONNER. Quiet, calm, and sensible, he was a faithful and devoted Member of this body. Always honorable and conscientious, HERBERT commanded universal respect. With his passing I have lost a close personal friend, and the Nation has lost a valuable public servant. To the surviving family I extend my deepest sympathy in their bereavement.






PROCEEDINGS IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE






Proceedings in the Senate

WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1966.

A message from the House of Representatives communicated to the Senate the intelligence of the death of Hon. HERBERT C. BONNER, late a Representative from the State of North Carolina, and transmitted the resolution of the House thereon.

FRIDAY, January 14, 1966.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Byrd of Virginia in the Chair). The Chair lays before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives, which will be read.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

HOUSE RESOLUTION 632

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of the Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER, a Representative from the State of North Carolina.

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. ERVIN. Mr. President, on behalf of my colleague, the Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Jordan], and myself, I submit a resolution relating to the death of the very able and much loved Representative from North Carolina, HERBERT C. BONNER, and ask for its immediate consideration.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The resolution will be stated.






The legislative clerk read the resolution (S. 176), as follows:

SENATE RESOLUTION 176

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the announcement of the death of the Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER, late a Representative from the State of North Carolina.

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the deceased.

Mr. JORDAN of North Carolina. Mr. President, shortly after the 1st session of the 89th Congress adjourned, the United States lost one of its truly outstanding citizens in the death of the Honorable HERBERT C. BONNER, the Representative from the First District of North Carolina and chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

The many friends HERBERT BONNER had over the years felt a very deep personal loss in his passing. He was a very down-to-earth person who always put the welfare of the public ahead of other considerations. I am sure he did this because he loved just plain people so much and because he knew them and their problems.

I knew HERBERT BONNER for many, many years, and I have never known a more conscientious, honest, and dedicated man in my life.

Although we have lost a dear friend and the Nation has lost a dedicated public servant, all of us are better off for having known HERBERT BONNER and benefited from the work he did in the Congress of the United States.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the resolution is considered and unanimously agreed to.

THURSDAY, February 10, 1966.

ADDRESS BY SENATOR SAM J. ERVIN, JR.

OF NORTH CAROLINA

Mr. President, I wish to pay a word of tribute to the late Congressman HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER, whose death has deprived us of a good and kind neighbor.

HERBERT BONNER was born in the year 1891 in Washington, N.C., the son of Herbert Macon and Hannah Hare Bonner. His father was the captain of the steamboat Hatteras which carried passengers and cargo from the port of “little Washington” to points along the intercoastal waters. HERBERT sometimes accompanied “Captain Mac” on these excursions and his early love of the water and boating never left him.

After attending Graham's Academy in Warrenton, N.C., he joined the George B. Helms Tobacco Co. as a traveling tobacco and snuff salesman. By horse and buggy he covered the roads and byways of a five-county area selling his wares. He loved these trips and looked forward to the warm hobnobbing at the country stores.

He opened his own tobacco company in 1911 with his brother-in-law and continued as a salesman for the company until World War I when he left to serve as a sergeant in the 81st Army Division. In 1925 he accompanied his boyhood friend, Lindsay C. Warren, to Washington as his secretary, and brought his lovely bride of 6 months with him. When Warren was appointed Comptroller General in 1940, HERBERT BONNER was his uncontested successor. He encountered opposition only 3 of 13 times he ran for reelection during the 25 years he served in Congress.

I know of no Congressman in the past or present who was more fervently dedicated to the well-being of those he represented than was HERBERT BONNER. He felt a genuine empathy with the people back home he so loved, and his efforts for them were tireless. With his instinctive avoidance of ostentation, he went about the attainment of his aims with a noted absence of display.

Among his legislative achievements was passage of the measure which led to the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first of the seashore areas in the Nation to be set aside as a public playground. He was responsible for construction of the bridge which bears his name and links the once isolated Outer Banks of North Carolina, and was one of the first to recognize the need for a revised acreage allotment tobacco program. He continually worked for improvements in the postal facilities and service for the people of his district, and his competence in obtaining his objectives was remarkable.

HERBERT BONNER'S accomplishments, however, were not confined to the State level, and he left an impressive legacy as chairman of the






House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. His good friend, Speaker Sam Rayburn, said of him in this capacity:

His committee has been chairmaned by some of the greatest Members of Congress, but none greater than HERBERT BONNER.

HERBERT's interest in marine affairs was profoundly earnest and the work of the committee during the 10 years of his chairmanship bore the mark of his imagination and courage. Through his own tenacious efforts, he offered and steered to enactment legislation authorizing construction of the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, the SS Savannah. It was his idea that the ship should be a cargo-passenger vessel which could be practically employed in its demonstration of the peacetime possibilities of nuclear power rather than simply a showboat for display purposes. After the sinking of the Andrea Doria in 1956, he chaired a subcommittee investigation of the incident which resulted in the 1960 Convention for Safety of Life at Sea. He was one of the first to recognize the unique adaptability of atomic power to icebreaking vessels, and in 1958 his proposed legislation for a nuclear-powered icebreaker successfully passed both the House and Senate but was defeated by Presidential veto. In all likelihood the future will be the beneficiary of his vision. He initiated a congressional study of the efficiency of the Panama Canal as a modern interoceanic waterway, and led efforts that resulted in the revision of obsolete passenger shipping laws and thus insured the survival of American passenger shipping. He also concerned himself and his committee with labor-management relations in the maritime industry which he considered to be the basis of many of the maritime problems. In the last speech he was to deliver in the House of Representatives on October 20, 1965, less than a month before the death which he knew to be inevitable, he argued for the establishment of an independent Federal Maritime Administration. He stated:

I intend as soon as possible in the next session to hold hearings on this legislation with the hope that by giving everyone a full opportunity to express themselves, we will be able to get our merchant marine policy back on course.

His courage and optimism never failed and, unlike Tennyson's Ulysses who feared to “rust unburnish'd,” HERBERT BONNER's life up to its end “shined in use.”

I never knew him to hold bitterness or enmity in his heart against his fellows, and his generous nature was quick to forgive anger and

malevolence in others. He possessed an extraordinary facility of getting along with men of heterogeneous political faiths, and his native temperance together with his political acumen and sincere liking of people enabled him to accomplish ends which would have eluded others.

He was a man of relentless honesty and when he gave his word it was his honor. With all his astuteness as a political leader, he was on occasion deceived by the very reason of this honesty, since he assumed the same allegiance to it in others. He never lost his eager interest in everything and his wonderful teasing and dry humor was a source of much pleasure to those who knew him.

Congressman HERBERT C. BONNER was known and addressed as simply “HERBERT” by the people back home, young and old alike. He was one of them and they knew it. It is a moving tribute to the man that his name has been given to many of the children of those who loved him. One of his most devoted friends and longtime employee named her only son Herbert, and, if it could be determined, we might well find that there are as many Herberts scattered throughout the First District of North Carolina as there were Georges in the Colonies during the days of the American Revolution.

HERBERT BONNER was always interested in the opinions of his friends and associates, and he listened to others with respect and attention. He once remarked that during his early days in Washington he observed a sign in Speaker Sam Rayburn's office which read:

When you're talkin’ you ain't larnin’.

He received this homely instruction well, and may years later, when he had distinguished himself as a Congressman, Speaker Rayburn was moved to say of him:

HERBERT BONNER doesn't talk too much. So when he does talk, he challenges the attention of the House because he knows what he's talking about.

And indeed he did.

He felt a special warmheartedness for children and expressed this fondness in many kindnesses for them. He once read an item in his hometown newspaper which casually alluded to a little boy with ragged pants who was seen rolling a warped wooden hoop






down the street. The boy was described as looking rather forlorn. HERBERT BONNER called the newspaper editor from his Washington office and said:

You go buy that boy a pair of pants and also a real hoop and let me know how much they cost.

In the final weeks of HERBERT BONNER'S life when death was close at hand, he made every effort his failing body would allow to attend the sessions of the House of Representatives. On several occasions he had an aid rush him back from his visits to Walter Reed Hospital in order that he might cast his vote.

HERBERT BONNER was survived by his devoted wife, Eva Hassell Hackney Bonner, who had been his constant inspiration in all his public services.

Since his passing, those of us who called him friend remember with a new awareness the poignant truth expressed by the Persian poet ages ago:

For some we loved, the loveliest and the bestThat from his vintage rolling time hath prest,Have drunk their cup a round or two before,And one by one crept silently to rest.

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES TO HERBERT C. BONNER






TRIBUTE BY REPRESENTATIVE HAROLD D. COOLEY

OF NORTH CAROLINA

Mr. Speaker, I insert as a part of my remarks an appropriate editorial which appeared in the November 8 edition of the Daily News, and which was written by those who knew and understood and appreciated the true worth of HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER:

(From the Daily News, Nov. 8, 1965)

HERBERT C. BONNER, A GREAT AMERICAN

HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER, truly a great American, has answered his last rollcall.

Here was a man who for most of his adult life had been in the public, serving fully and capably his fellow man, knowing full well that when one serves well his fellow man, he has served his God better.

Here was a man who never stopped to ask, “What is politically wise?” Rather he asked only, “What is humanly right?”

Here was a man who lived with his political future in his hands, but with his Nation, his State, and his beloved First Congressional District in his heart.

Here was a man who chose all his life to light a candle rather than to curse the darkness. Along the way he lit many candles, and in this hour of sadness the lights of love, faith, honor, truth, self-respect, and tremendous dedication glow more brightly, as the man lies in stillness, than they ever did in life.

In his days here we all knew he was a wonderful person. In death we realize now how much greatness we have lost. His strength lay in his courage, his courage in his faith, and his faith stood every test and was never found wanting.

Here was a man who spent his happiest hours here with his own “homefolks,” as he so proudly and so often said. No heart was bigger; no soul more generous. His entire life was lived with genuine kindness and love for all, and with bitterness and malice toward none.

Here was a man set apart in his generation, a man beloved by so many because he loved so many, a man who has so many monuments which he built and which shall stand as long as one of us remains who knew him and loved him.






HERBERT BONNER, for us, cannot die. Like a ship sailing out of harbor, we lose sight of the physical being, but what he did for so many and what he meant to so many are matters which death cannot take away nor time dim. The candles he lit in his life have served not only to chase away the darkness, but in greater and more glowing terms, they have kindled the fires of hope, freedom, and progress for so many whose steps otherwise might have faltered as they groped along life's pathway. From his life, we the living, can find new faith, and from his works, we the humble, can find new inspiration.

HERBERT BONNER finished his journey on Sunday. What a beautiful thought to feel that he deserved to go away on the day of rest.

Those he loved and those by whom he was beloved are one today in sadness, while at the same time we can look upon his life proudly and say, “There was a man.” He does not die; he lives forever in the hearts of those he served; he was a joy to himself and an inspiration to those about him.

Yes; he was a great American because he was first a great human being.

(From the Daily News, Nov. 8, 1965)

MILLIGAN STEW

(By Dave Milligan)

There was not a vindictive bone in his body.

When we were on opposite sides of a bombing range squabble, he treated me with such friendship, cordiality, and warmth that there were times I didn't know which side I was on * * *.

That's when I found out why people voted for HERBERT BONNER, because knowing him personally, it was impossible to vote against him.

I was chatting with Mr. R. S. Spencer, Sr., of Englehard the other day and I found out something else about him.

Years ago, shortly after the turn of the century, Mr. BONNER was a tobacco and snuff salesman.

This is what Mr. Spencer said: “HERBERT use to sell me snuff and tobacco when I opened my store 60 years ago; I was only a boy, and HERBERT was too.

“He would come down from Washington in a horse and buggy, and as you can guess we didn't have much in the way of roads back then, but, that's the only way he could get there, so that's the way he came.”

That's 75 miles by horse and buggy.

And he wasn't sure at all of making a sale.

Edmund Harding said he traveled about five counties on horse and buggy. So, if somebody tells you they don't make them like HERBERT BONNER any more, he's probably right.

TRIBUTE BY SENATOR SAM J. ERVIN, JR.

OF NORTH CAROLINA

Mr. President, when my longtime friend, Representative HERBERT C. BONNER of the First North Carolina District, died on November 7, 1965, his district, his State, and his country suffered an irreparable loss. Immediately after his passing a number of articles and editorials depicting his magnificent public services appeared in the press.

I ask unanimous consent that these articles and editorials be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the articles and editorials were ordered to be printed in the Record as follows:

(From the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen and Times, Nov. 8, 1965)

NORTH CAROLINA'S FIRST DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN BONNER DIES OF CANCER AT 74

WASHINGTON.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER of North Carolina, sometimes called the father of the nuclear ship Savannah, died Sunday at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He was 74.

Democrat BONNER came to the Capitol 50 years ago as a congressional secretary and went on to a 25-year career as a House Member. For the past 10 years, as chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, he exerted strong influence in maritime affairs.

And he enjoyed a reputation also as a poker player's poker player.

BONNER'S First Congressional District, which included 15 sparsely populated counties in North Carolina's northeast corner, is laced by sounds, streams, and coastline. A bridge joining two of the Outer Banks in his district was named for him last year.

Among North Carolina's 11 Congressmen, BONNER was the most consistent supporter of the policies of Democratic administrations.

He underwent surgery in North Carolina several months ago for removal of a cancerous kidney. Then he returned to Washington to vote for various Johnson administration programs. He entered Walter Reed Hospital last month soon after Congress adjourned.






Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Washington, N.C. Burial will be in Oakdale Cemetery.

BONNER's death leaves the House lineup at 292 Democrats and 140 Republicans, with 3 vacancies. Representative Edward A. Garmatz of Maryland is the second-ranking Democrat on the Maritime Committee and thus is in line for the chairmanship.

When he was 24, BONNER came to Washington as secretary to Representative Lindsay C. Warren of North Carolina. He won Warren's seat in 1940 after the Congressman resigned to become U.S. Comptroller General. BONNER was reelected to every succeeding Congress.

In 1955, the year he became chairman of the Merchant Marine Committee, BONNER introduced legislation to install nuclear reactors in existing merchant ships as a means of producing a floating exhibit of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

This plan did not work out, but he subsequently led in obtaining legislation which brought the building of the Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered freighter. He pioneered also with the idea of a nuclear-powered icebreaker for the Coast Guard.

Years ago, a 10-cent-limit poker game started in the Capitol. It grew to a 20-cent game and a regular recreational event for some Congressmen and congressional aids. From this came BONNER'S repute as “a mighty good poker player.”

He is survived by his widow; three brothers, John and George Bonner of Washington, N.C., and James Bonner of Atlanta, Ga., and a sister Mrs. W. H. Williams, of Washington, N.C.

(From the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen, Nov. 10, 1965)

HERBERT C. BONNER BURIED ON NORTH CAROLINA COAST

WASHINGTON, N.C.—HERBERT C. BONNER, who represented coastal North Carolina in Congress for a quarter of a century, was buried Tuesday near the banks of the Pamlico River.

The 74-year-old BONNER, who introduced legislation that led to the Nation's first nuclear-powered merchant ship, died Sunday in Walter Reed Army Hospital. He had been ill since the removal of a cancerous kidney in July.

Final rites for the veteran Democratic Representative were held in the century-old St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

All the seats in the small, red brick church were filled with visiting dignitaries and the family.

Inside were Gov. Dan Moore and two former North Carolina chief executives—Terry Sanford and Luther Hodges. There was a large delegation from Congress, including two of BONNER'S longtime friends, Representative

Michael J. Kirwan, Democrat, of Ohio, and William M. Colmer, Democrat, of Mississippi.

Most of North Carolina's congressional delegation was there, executive, judiciary, and legislative branches also attended, such men as State Treasurer Edwin Gill and Joe Hunt, chairman of the State highway commission.

Military representatives from the various armed services were in attendance, including the merchant marine which BONNER had championed during his 25 years in the House of Representatives.

Outside the church more than 300 other mourners stood silently along a narrow road named Bonner.

The Congressman's bronzed metal casket was covered with a single wreath of yellow roses and was carried by the men who had served as his personal aids.

Shortly before the funeral procession arrived, a U.S. Coast Guard plane flew over the church.

(From the Charleston (S.C.) News and Courier, Nov. 10, 1965)

FUNERAL HELD IN NORTH CAROLINA FOR REPRESENTATIVE H. C. BONNER

WASHINGTON, N.C.—HERBERT C. BONNER, who represented coastal North Carolina in Congress for a quarter of a century, was buried Tuesday near the banks of the Pamlico River.

The 74-year-old BONNER, who introduced legislation that led to the Nation's first nuclear-powered merchant ship, died Sunday in Walter Reed Army Hospital. He had been ill since the removal of a cancerous kidney in July.

Final rites for the veteran Democratic Representative were held in the century old St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

All the seats in the small, red brick church were filled with visiting dignitaries and the family.

Inside were Gov. Dan Moore and two former North Carolina chief executives—Terry Sanford and Luther Hodges. There was a large delegation from Congress, including two of BONNER'S longtime friends, Representatives Michael J. Kirwan, Democrat, of Ohio, and William M. Colmer, Democrat, of Mississippi.

Most of North Carolina's congressional delegation was there. Scores of State officials from the executive, judiciary, and legislative branches also attended, such men as State Treasurer Edwin Gill and Joe Hunt, chairman of the State highway commission.

Military representatives from the various armed services were in attendance, including the merchant marine which BONNER had championed during his 25 years in the House of Representatives.

Outside the church more than 300 other mourners stood silently along a narrow road named Bonner.






The Congressman's bronzed metal casket was covered with a single wreath of yellow roses and was carried by the men who had served as his personal aids.

Shortly before the funeral processional arrived, a U.S. Coast Guard plane flew over the church.

During the funeral hour all government, county, and city offices were closed.

Many businesses in the downtown area of Washington also were closed in memory of their native son.

Conducting the services were the Reverend John Bonner, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and a nephew of the Congressman; the Reverend Irwin Hulbert, Jr., rector of St. Peter's and the Right Reverend Thomas H. Wright, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern North Carolina.

Burial was in Oakdale Cemetery.

BONNER was born in this Washington near the great shipping lanes of the Atlantic and spent most of his life between here and the Nation's Capital City of Washington.

A former traveling salesman, then a congressional aid, BONNER was elected to the House on November 5, 1940.

He never forgot his closeness to the sea and in 1955 became chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.

He sponsored the legislation that led to construction of the Savannah, the Nation's first nuclear merchant ship. BONNER also worked to keep both channels open on the North Carolina Outer Banks and pushed for the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park.

He helped modernize passenger shipping laws that allowed American ships to compete for the rich Caribbean and Mediterranean winter cruise trade.

(From the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, Nov. 8, 1965)

HISTORY WILL REMEMBER BONNER, MOORE SAYS

RALEIGH.—Gov. Dan Moore said Sunday that in the death of Representative HERBERT C. BONNER the State has “lost one of the outstanding men of our time.”

The Governor ordered all State flags flown at half staff in honor of the veteran Congressman.

“HERBERT BONNER was a Congressman of the highest order,” Moore added. “He served not only the people of his First District, but all Americans as well with distinction and honor. His deeds of public service will cause him to be remembered on through history.

“His accomplishments have helped to make ours a better country. All North Carolinians mourn his loss and honor his memory,” Moore concluded.

Associate Justice E. B. Denny of the State supreme court said BONNER “had an excellent record in Congress and he will be difficult to replace.”

J. M. Broughton, Jr., of Raleigh, chairman of the State Democratic executive committee, said BONNER “will be sorely missed.”

House speaker Pat Taylor of Wadesboro, said, “He contributed many years of valuable service to his State and to his country.”

Dr. Charles F. Carroll, State superintendent of public instruction, said, “I consider him one of the most solid men to have represented North Carolina in the Congress at any time.”

(From the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, Nov. 9, 1965)

BONNER SERVED STATE, NATION WELL

“HERBERT BONNER doesn't talk too much. So when he does talk, he challenges the attention of the House because he knows what he's talking about.”

Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, who died Sunday in Washington after an extended illness, has served his district and his country well. Perhaps one of the ways in which he served it best was by not talking too much and knowing what he was talking about.

The rare tribute quoted here came from Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn in 1957, when a portrait of BONNER was being placed in his committee room.

BONNER went to Washington nearly 50 years ago to serve as secretary to the Representative who preceded him, Lindsay C. Warren. When Warren resigned in 1940 to become U.S. Comptroller General, BONNER ran for the House seat and held it until his death.

In 1955, BONNER became chairman of the important Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, a committee which has considerable power over the development of this Nation's merchant ships and over the U.S. Coast Guard.

BONNER served a district in the northeastern corner of this State, one laced with sounds and rivers and one with an economy tied in part to the sea. It was inevitable that his interest should run to the Merchant Marine Committee, but it was not inevitable that his vision should stretch to the point of being largely responsible for the development of nuclear-powered cargo ships.

The mark of a Congressman is found in two areas, his service to his constituents and his service to his country, regardless of the special interests of his district.

Some Congressmen achieve long years of service with little but work for the homefolks to their credit. Others make their national marks early and live on that for years.

HERBERT BONNER, from a largely rural eastern North Carolina district, served his people well. But he had the happy faculty of being able to serve well in areas far beyond the borders of his district or his State.

The final measure of a Congressman should be in how he has served in both areas. HERBERT C. BONNER ranked high in both and, because of that, was a Congressman North Carolina will find it hard to replace.






COURAGE AND IMAGINATION

The death of Congressman HERBERT C. BONNER took from his friends and constituents an uncommon man, and a dedicated public servant who left his district, his State, and his Nation better than he found them.

The short, bald little man with the coastal Carolina brogue first went to Capitol Hill in 1925 as congressional secretary to his friend and neighbor Lindsay Warren. BONNER was elected to his own seat in 1940, and his right to represent his district was seriously challenged only twice in the ensuing 25 years.

During his time in Congress, BONNER earned a solid reputation as a man of remarkable personal and political loyalties. He was a respected political ally of such men as Sam Rayburn, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson. And he was a personal friend to countless numbers of street-corner-and-iron-stove constituents back home. He was an astute student of popular moods, and reputed among both colleagues and voters to be a man who never forgot a face, a favor, or a promise.

Out of this complex of personal and political ties, HERBERT BONNER managed to forge a legislative record that bears the mark of courage and imagination. He was tireless in his effort to keep in touch with his people and see to their needs. He landed major defense installations during World War II. He took a vigorous interest in farm legislation and authored some of his own. As chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee he was an outspoken advocate of conservation legislation, and was responsible for the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

BONNER was no less active at the national level. He was an ardent and hardworking New Dealer during the Roosevelt administration. It was he who authored the legislation that gave the United States its first nuclear-powered ship, the Savannah. His unusual mixture of durable loyalty and political gumption earned him valuable friendships in high places, but often left him standing alone among North Carolina's congressional delegation. He campaigned hard for John Kennedy in 1960 and was the first State Democratic leader in 1964 to come out for the Democratic ticket—despite the very real possibility that Goldwater's racial reputation might prove dangerously popular in his eastern North Carolina district.

HERBERT BONNER took his work seriously and did it well. It is a measure of his caliber that he will be genuinely missed by congressional colleagues and grassroots constituents, alike, and that he will be remembered by all of them as a man who cared.

(From the Durham (N.C.) Sun, Nov. 9, 1965)

STATE LOSES A FRIEND AND ADVOCATE

In the death of Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, whose funeral was held in his hometown of Washington, N.C., today, his beloved First District

and the State whose causes he championed in Congress for 25 years have lost an able spokesman and a true friend.

Congressman BONNER, who died at Walter Reed Hospital in the Nation's Capital Sunday, was not addicted to dramatic preachments or colorful oratorical explosions on the floor of the House. He went about the task of espousing those things he considered best for his district, his State, and his country in a calm manner but with efficiency and determination.

Many believe that it was BONNER'S seemingly calculated avoidance of the spectacular that enabled him to build quietly a tremendous amount of influence and to win the great respect of his fellow lawmakers.

He became chairman of the powerful House Merchant Marine Committee in 1955, and was head of the committee at the time of his death.

Congressman BONNER was almost as familiar with the Halls of Congress as he was with the streets of his hometown long before he ascended to the seat vacated by Lindsay C. Warren in 1940. When Warren resigned to become U.S. Comptroller General, BONNER was a “natural” for the seat, for he had served as Warren's secretary for 25 years.

Leaders in the Nation's Capital and in his own State paid tribute to BONNER, the man and the Congressman, after his death.

One of the most descriptive tributes to Representative BONNER during his long career came a good many years ago, however, from the late House Speaker Sam Rayburn, who said:

“HERBERT BONNER doesn't talk too much. So when he does, he challenges the attention of the House because he knows what he's talking about.”

(From the Elizabeth City (N.C.) Advance)

HERBERT C. BONNER

HERBERT C. BONNER for 25 years was, before he was anything else, the Representative from the First District of North Carolina. The coast was native and dear to him. He helped to establish the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first of the country's seashore areas to be set aside as a public playground. From military installations to duck-hunting regulations, he kept an alert eye on any legislation or policy that might affect his back-home neighbors.

Yet Mr. BONNER, who died at 74 over the weekend, was a national figure and influential internationally. As chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, he was responsible for the ideas and acts that led to the construction of the world's first nuclear-powered merchantman, the Savannah. He argued for an international agency to oversee safety standards of all ships.

Moreover, as a member of the Expenditures in the Executive Department Committee he supervised an investigation of postwar profiteers who bought up U.S. surplus materials in Germany and sold them back to the Government, and led a congressional subcommittee around the world in an examination of waste and inefficiency at American military installations.

His identity with the Savannah in a sense was symbolic. For he saw in the nuclear vessel much that was wrong with the merchant marine: maritime labor's






excessive wage demands, management's unwillingness to take advantage of automation, and the Government's reluctance to broaden its aid. The strike that followed quickly the Savannah’s launching struck him as a national disgrace and spurred his efforts to impose Federal arbitration on the maritime industry.

It was geography, not experience, that placed Mr. BONNER on the important committee that he headed for 10 years. His early years were spent not in shipping but as a farmer, a salesman, and secretary to the Congressman he succeeded, Lindsay Warren. Capacity for growth was his great asset, his accomplishments were numerous, and the work he applied to measures and propositions yet unrealized will have a bearing in Congress for sessions yet to come.

(From the Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News, Nov. 9, 1965)

REPRESENTATIVE HERBERT C. BONNER

The death of Representative HERBERT C. BONNER deprives North Carolina of a knowledgeable and serviceable Congressman. Nor is the loss confined to North Carolina. Congress and the Nation are also losers, for Representative BONNER took a leading role in the accommodation of his State and the South to changing times.

As chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, he exerted a powerful influence. Nationally his major contributions included his chairmanship of the subcommittee investigating sales of war surplus materials and his championing of the U.S. merchant marine.

He not only worked tirelessly for its advancement but offered and steered to enactment legislation authorizing the SS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship. Endless difficulties and technical problems failed to deter Representative BONNER, who ultimately saw his dream come true. The United States had a first in the nuclear age.

Our guess is that HERBERT BONNER would wish no higher compliment than to have it said that he was a worthy successor to Representative Lindsay Warren, Sr. He was “Lins” Warren's own choice when the latter was named Comptroller General by F.D.R. in 1940 after a congressional record as “watchdog of the Treasury” which brought national recognition.

It was natural that HERBERT BONNER should be the same type of Congressman that his predecessor and mentor was. When Lindsay Warren was elected to Congress in 1924 he took BONNER to Washington with him and there he remained, as secretary and administrative aid—his eyes and ears in the large First District.

During that long interval “Lins” Warren became a household word throughout the district, even to the fringes of the isolated Outer Banks. No one was more responsible for Representative Warren's closeness to his district than HERBERT BONNER. He carried on in the Warren tradition, which he himself helped create and perpetuate. With all his national responsibilities, he looked out for his district; and his district knew it.

On the record Representative BONNER was the foremost moderate among the Tar Heel delegation. He supported Roosevelt's New Deal, stuck with his

party leadership through successive administrations and went contrary to his colleagues when he voted for the key Kennedy-backed measure to enlarge the Rules Committee and break the hold of the hand of the past.

The BONNER record speaks for itself. In backbone politics he went along with Governors Scott and Sanford. Whether BONNER'S philosophy, smart politics, or a combination of the two, inspired his moderate stand—he took it. That is what is important. The voters of his district, however many of them may have disagreed with his position at intervals, nevertheless trusted and respected him, and repaid his efforts in their behalf by making him invincible election after election.

Representative HERBERT BONNER clearly showed, perhaps above all else, that a Congressman may serve his district's interests intensely but at the same time never lose sight of national perspectives and responsibilities. It took far more than legerdemain to keep the First District constituency and the national administration on his team; yet that's precisely what HERBERT BONNER did.

(From the Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News, Nov. 10, 1965)

SOLEMN OCCASION: HOME FOLKS, DIGNITARIES JOIN IN PAYING TRIBUTE

TO BONNER

(By Roy Parker, Jr.)

WASHINGTON, N.C.—HERBERT BONNER'S people flocked here Tuesday to pay final tribute to the man who had served them as Congressman for 25 years.

There were dignitaries aplenty at the funeral of the 74-year-old BONNER, who died Sunday after an 8-month bout with a malignancy.

The dignitaries were led by Governor Moore, high-ranking officers of the armed services, and veteran Members of Congress.

There was solemn pomp, too, with a fly-over by a silver plane of the Coast Guard, a slow-moving procession of official automobiles, and music by a muted high school band.

But the dignitaries were often lost in the outpouring of plainer people, the constituents and neighbors who had known BONNER as leader, mentor, and friend.

They came from as far away as the isolated Outer Banks villages of Ocracoke and Rodanthe.

There were people from the small towns, the larger communities, and the farms of the sprawling eastern North Carolina district which BONNER had represented since 1940.

Delegations of as many as 30 local political friends came from such counties as Hertford and Pitt.

There were his neighbors—neighbors of this old riverside town, founded in 1771 by an ancestor, James Bonner.

Members of veterans’ organizations, including old buddies from World War I days, came in a body.






Schoolchildren by the hundreds lined the route from old St. Peter's Church, where the funeral services were held, to tree-crowned Oakdale Cemetery where—to the strains of “The Mariners Hymn”—BONNER was buried.

BONNER'S death had ended a career that had begun in 1925, when he came to Washington as aid to newly elected Congressman Lindsay C. Warren. BONNER succeeded to Warren's seat in 1940.

Warren was among the mourners who listened as Episcopal clergy, including Bishop Thomas Wright of the diocese of east Carolina, intoned the 30-minute service.

Governor Moore, accompanied by former Governors Terry Sanford and Luther Hodges, headed the State dignitary list. They were joined by the council of state, colleagues of the North Carolina congressional delegation, State Democratic Party Chairman Melville Broughton, Jr., more than a score of State legislators, old political warhorses such as “Cousin” Wayland Spruill, of Bertie, and new figures such as former gubernatorial candidate Richardson Preyer, Jr., of Greensboro.

From Washington, congressional friends were led by Representative Ed Garmatz, of Maryland, who will succeed BONNER as chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and oldtimers Representative Mike Kirwan, of Ohio, and William Colmer, of Mississippi.

Adm. James Rowland, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, headed a group of high-ranking armed service officers who represented their services. BONNER'S committee handled Coast Guard legislation and the Congressman was a champion of the coastal service.

More than 300 mourners stood outside the small brick church as services were conducted by Bishop Wright, the Reverend John Bonner, a nephew of the Congressman, and the Reverend Irwin Hulbert, rector of St. Peter's.

To the strains of “Onward Christian Soldiers,” the bronze coffin was borne to the hearse by pallbearers who included BONNER'S congressional staff and two sons of Warren, plus former staff aids.

Led in motorcade by Governor Moore, the procession moved slowly along 16 blocks of student-lined streets to the cemetery.

The weather was warm and the autumn sun was bright as the Washington High School band first rendered “My Country ’Tis of Thee” and the ministers conducted short graveside rites.

BONNER is survived by his wife, Mrs. Eva Hassell Bonner; by a sister; and by three brothers.

(From the Los Angeles (Calif.) Times, Nov. 8, 1965)

REPRESENTATIVE BONNER, “FATHER” OF NUCLEAR FREIGHTER, DIES—NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRAT SERVED IN HOUSE 25 YEARS, WAS ACTIVE IN MARITIME AFFAIRS

WASHINGTON.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER of North Carolina, sometimes called the father of the nuclear ship Savannah, died Sunday at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He was 74.

Democrat BONNER came to the Capitol 41 years ago as a congressional secretary and went on to a 25-year career as a House Member. For the past 10 years, as chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, he exerted strong influence in maritime affairs.

He underwent surgery in North Carolina several months ago for removal of a cancerous kidney. Then he returned to Washington to vote for various Johnson administration programs. He entered the hospital last month soon after Congress adjourned.

FUNERAL TUESDAY

Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday in St. Peter's Episcopal Church here. Burial will be in Oakdale Cemetery.

BONNER's death leaves the House lineup at 292 Democrats and 140 Republicans, with 3 vacancies. Representative Edward A. Garmatz, of Maryland, is the second-ranking Democrat on the Maritime Committee and thus in line for the chairmanship.

When he was 24, BONNER came to Washington as secretary to Representative Lindsay C. Warren of North Carolina. He won Warren's seat in 1940 after the Congressman resigned to become U.S. Comptroller General. BONNER was reelected to every succeeding Congress.

PUSHED ATOMIC SHIPS

In 1955, the year he became chairman of the Merchant Marine Committee, BONNER introduced legislation to install nuclear reactors in existing merchant ships as a means of producing a floating exhibit of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

This plan did not work out but he subsequently led in obtaining legislation which brought about the building of the Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered freighter. He also pioneered the idea of a nuclear-powered ice-breaker for the Coast Guard.

BONNER initiated a congressional study of the Panama Canal and its efficiency as a modern interoceanic waterway. A board of consultants, appointed at his suggestion, is carrying on a study looking to modernization of the canal and/or construction of alternate routes.

“The existence of an adequate passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is vital to our commercial and defense needs,” BONNER said after his committee found that the present canal is too small for today's needs.

LED MODERNIZING

He led efforts that updated 30-year-old passenger shipping laws, which, he said, were stifling American-flag passenger shipping and permitting foreign-flag ships to increase cruise service out of American ports.

BONNER concerned himself and his committee with labor-management relations in the maritime industry which he said were at the heart of many maritime problems.






He worked for and got congressional authorization for new superliner U.S. passenger vessels, although Congress has not appropriated money for them.

Representative BONNER is survived by his widow, three brothers, John and George Bonner of Washington, N.C., and James Bonner of Atlanta, and a sister, Mrs. W. H. Williams, of Washington, N.C.

(From the New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune, Nov. 8, 1965)

BONNER SUCCUMBS AT 74—CALLED FATHER OF NUCLEAR SHIP

WASHINGTON.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, of North Carolina, sometimes called the father of the nuclear ship Savannah, died Sunday at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He was 74.

Democrat BONNER came to the Capitol 41 years ago as a congressional secretary and went on to a 25-year career as a House Member. For the past 10 years, as chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, he exerted strong influence in maritime affairs.

He enjoyed a reputation also as a poker player's poker player.

He underwent surgery in North Carolina several months ago for removal of a cancerous kidney. Then he returned to Washington to vote for various Johnson administration programs. He entered the hospital last month soon after Congress adjourned.

SERVICES SET

Funeral services be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Washington, N.C. Burial will be in Oakdale Cemetery.

BONNER's death leaves the House lineup at 292 Democrats and 140 Republicans, with three vacancies. Representative Edward A. Garmatz, of Maryland, is the second-ranking Democrat on the Maritime Committee and thus in line for the chairmanship.

When he was 24, Bonner came to Washington as secretary to Representative Lindsay C. Warren, of North Carolina. He won Warren's seat in 1940 after the Congressman resigned to become U.S. Comptroller General. BONNER was reelected to every succeeding Congress.

In 1955, the year he became chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, BONNER introduced legislation to install nuclear reactors in existing merchant ships as a means of producing a floating exhibit of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

PLAN FAILS

This plan did not work out but he subsequently led in obtaining legislation which brought the building of the Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered freighter. He pioneered also in the idea of a nuclear-powered icebreaker for the Coast Guard.

Years ago, a 10-cent-limit poker game started in the Capitol. It grew to a 20-cent game and a regular recreational event for some Congressmen and congressional aids. From this came BONNER's repute as “a mighty good poker player.”

He is survived by his widow, three brothers, John and George Bonner of Washington, N.C., and James Bonner, of Atlanta, Ga., and a sister, Mrs. W. H. Williams, of Washington, N.C.

(From the New York (N.Y.) Times, Nov. 8, 1965)

REPRESENTATIVE HERBERT C. BONNER IS DEAD; HEADED MARITIME COMMITTEE—SPONSOR OF NUCLEAR VESSEL—REBUKED ALL HANDS FOR SHIPPING CONFLICTS

WASHINGTON, November 7.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, Democrat, of North Carolina, who started as a congressional secretary and went on to a 25-year career in the House, died today at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He was 74 years old. For 10 years he had been chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.

Representative BONNER was operated upon in North Carolina last July for removal of a cancerous kidney. He returned to Washington in time to vote for various Johnson administration programs in the closing days of this year's session of Congress. He entered the hospital soon after the session adjourned.

He is survived by his widow, three brothers, James, John, and George, all of Washington, N.C., and a sister, Mrs. W. H. Williams.

A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday, in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Washington, N.C.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CONGRESS

For much of his quarter century in Congress, Mr. BONNER fought to impose some order on what he once called the Alice in Wonderland world of the maritime industry.

As a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee of the House since his first election in 1940, and its chairman since 1955, he observed that maritime labor was demanding excessive wages, management was reluctant to cross the “frontiers” of automation, and the Government was unwilling to broaden Federal aid.

Together, he said, they were “hastening the digging of our own grave.”

Shortly before his death, Mr. BONNER introduced a measure that would take the Maritime Administration out of the Department of Commerce and reorganize it as an independent agency.

“Our merchant marine is too important a part of our national posture to be allowed to continue to drift in a sea of inaction as it has for the past 4 years,” he said.

Ironically, it was partially due to Mr. BONNER'S support that the Maritime Administration was put under Commerce in a 1961 reorganization program. He said later that he had come to regret that support.






FIRST NUCLEAR SHIP

Mr. BONNER found a symbol of everything that was wrong with the merchant marine in the problems that plagued the building and launching of the first nuclear-powered commercial ship, the Savannah.

After years of pleadings and pressure by his committee, construction was authorized in the late 1950's. No sooner was the $50 million vessel finished in 1962 and the crew specially trained, than the men struck, demanding better accommodations, more safety precautions and increased benefits.

“The entire affair,” Mr. BONNER said in 1963 after the ship had been launched and made idle again by a walkout, “is simply unbelievable. It is already a national disgrace.”

This incident and others convinced him that Federal arbitration in the industry would be necessary.

He also became convinced that an international agency to oversee safety standards on all ships was necessary after the crash of the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria in 1956. His committee held an investigation of the disaster, which occurred off Nantucket Light outside American territorial waters, claiming 50 lives.

Mr. BONNER entered the Congress with no background in shipping. He was born in Washington, N.C., on May 16, 1891, and attended school in Warrenton, N.C. After graduation, he worked as a salesman and farmer.

In 1924 he became secretary to Lindsay C. Warren, a State assemblyman. When Mr. Warren was elected to Congress the next year, his secretary accompanied him to Washington.

When President Roosevelt appointed Mr. Warren U.S. Comptroller General in 1940, Mr. BONNER won the election to fill out the term—and every election since.

INVESTIGATED PROFITEERS

Over the years, Mr. BONNER served on six committees, including the Un-American Activities Committee from 1945 to 1947. As a member of the Expenditures in the Executive Departments Committee he supervised an investigation of postwar profiteers who bought up U.S. surplus materials in Germany and sold them back to the Government at much higher prices.

After that inquiry, Mr. BONNER lead a group of Congressmen on a 41-day, around-the-world examination of efficiency and waste at American military installations.

Among his recorded votes were ones in favor of lendlease, Taft-Hartley, rent control, and the Marshall plan. He opposed the foreign aid appropriation figure in 1953, 1954, and 1955, flexible farm supports, a permanent Un-American Activities Committee, anti-poll tax measures, and a voluntary fair employment practices bill.

The first year that Mr. BONNER chaired the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee—1955—he was responsible for beating back amendments to the so-called 50-50 law. The law, favored by shipowners, requires half of all aid cargoes to move in U.S. vessels.

That year he was awarded the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts to strengthen the merchant marine.

(From the Norfolk (Va.) Virginia-Pilot, Nov. 9, 1965)

HERBERT C. BONNER, A GREAT AMERICAN

HERBERT COVINGTON BONNER, truly a great American, has answered his last rollcall.

Here was a man who for most of his adult life had been in the public, serving fully and capably his fellow man—knowing full well that when one serves well his fellow man, he has served his God better.

Here was a man who never stopped to ask, “What is politically wise?” Rather he asked only, “What is humanly right?”

Here was a man who lived with his political future in his hands, but with his Nation, his State, and his beloved First Congressional District in his heart.

Here was a man who chose all his life to light a candle rather than to curse the darkness. Along the way he lit many candles, and in this hour of sadness the lights of love, faith, honor, truth, self-respect, and tremendous dedication glow more brightly, as the man lies in stillness, than they ever did in life.

In his days here we all knew he was a wonderful person. In death we realize now how much greatness we have lost. His strength lay in his courage, his courage in his faith, and his faith stood every test and was never found wanting.

Here was a man who spent his happiest hours here with his own “homefolks,” as he so proudly and so often said. No heart was bigger; no soul more generous. His entire life was lived with genuine kindness and love for all and with bitterness and malice toward none.

Here was a man set apart in his generation, a man beloved by so many because he loved so many, a man who has so many monuments which he built and which shall stand as long as one of us remains who knew him and loved him.

HERBERT BONNER, for us, cannot die. Like a ship sailing out of harbor, we lose sight of the physical being, but what he did for so many and what he meant to so many are matters which death cannot take away nor time dim. The candles he lit in his life have served not only to chase away the darkness, but in greater and more glowing terms, they have kindled the fires of hope, freedom, and progress for so many whose steps otherwise might have faltered as they groped along life's pathway. From his life we, the living, can find new faith, and from his works we, the humble, can find new inspiration.

HERBERT BONNER finished his journey on Sunday. What a beautiful thought to feel that he deserved to go away on the day of rest.

Those he loved and those by whom he was beloved are one today in sadness, while at the same time we can look upon his life proudly and say, “There was a man.” He does not die; he lives forever in the hearts of those he served. He was a joy to himself and an inspiration to those about him.

Yes, he was a great American because he was first a great human being.






(From the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, Sept. 28, 1965)

FLOOR OF HOUSE: BONNER GETS OVATION

(By Roy Parker, Jr.)

WASHINGTON.—Representative HERBERT BONNER returned to the House floor Monday and got a standing ovation from his colleagues.

The 74-year-old First District Congressman had been sidelined since mid-March by illness. He underwent an operation for a cancerous kidney more than 2 months ago.

BONNER responded with a wave of his hand when Democratic Majority Leader Carl Albert interrupted debate on the District of Columbia Home Rule bill to welcome BONNER back.

Albert called BONNER a “great warrior * * * who has been waging a courageous battle against illness.”

More than 200 Members, Democrat and Republican, rose to applaud Albert's announcement.

Representative Abraham Multer, of New York, who was speaking for the home rule bill, had just given the Jewish New Year greeting when Albert interrupted. Multer said the greeting especially applied to BONNER. The greeting wished “a good year, health, prosperity, and peace.”

BONNER has been back in Washington for about 3 weeks, gradually breaking into office work. However, he had not gone to the House floor until Monday.

BONNER spent several hours on the floor and in the House cloakroom during his first day back in the Capitol.

(From the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer)

MANUSCRIPTS OF BONNER AT UNC LIBRARY

Letters from five U.S. Presidents and the inventor of Mickey Mouse are among the thousands of manuscripts in the HERBERT BONNER collection recently donated to the University of North Carolina Library.

BONNER, North Carolina Congressman from District 1 who died last month, began contributing his collection of letters, speeches, records, and other materials pertaining to his political career early last year and left the remainder of the items in his will to the southern historical manuscript collection at UNC.

Now filling some 24 filing cabinets and 75 boxes, the BONNER collection is being classified and arranged in chronological order so that it will be accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the Congressman or related areas.

(From the Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, Nov. 8, 1965)

HERBERT C. BONNER DIES; 25 YEARS IN CONGRESS

Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, Democrat, of North Carolina, a Member of the House for nearly 25 years and chairman of the Merchant

Marine and Fisheries Committee, died yesterday at Walter Reed Hospital. He was 74.

BONNER had been gravely ill since Thursday. He underwent an operation last summer for the removal of a cancerous kidney, but recovered enough to be able to attend Congress regularly this past session.

A native of Washington, N.C., he had maintained a home there and at 2601 Woodley Place NW. here.

BONNER, a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee since joining Congress, and chairman the past 8 years, introduced legislation that created the first nuclear merchant ship, the Savannah.

INVESTIGATED SINKING

He also headed a subcommittee that investigated the sinking of the Italian liner Andrea Doria in 1956.

In the early 1950's BONNER headed a House expenditures subcommittee that investigated military waste for 2 years. The subcommittee contended that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved through a better system of buying supplies used by all services.

The group's findings eventually were released in a report bearing BONNER'S name.

After graduation from Graham's Academy in North Carolina, BONNER joined the George B. Helms Tobacco Co. as a salesman. From 1917 to 1918 he served overseas as a member of the Army's 322d Infantry.

About 1921, BONNER bought a tobacco and snuff company in his hometown and operated it until he came to Washington as an administrative assistant to Representative Lindsay C. Warren, Democrat, of North Carolina.

When Warren was named Comptroller General of the United States, BONNER ran for the congressional seat and was elected in 1940.

Since then, he had served on the House Un-American Activities Committee, the Accounts Committee, the Government Operations Committee, and as chairman of the Committee on the Election of Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Members of Congress.

While a member of the latter committee, whose functions have since been taken over by the Judiciary Committee, the bill permitting servicemen serving overseas to vote was passed.

(From the Washington (D.C.) Post, Nov. 8, 1965)

REPRESENTATIVE H. C. BONNER, OF NORTH CAROLINA, DIES; CALLED FATHER OF NUCLEAR SHIP

Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, Democrat, of North Carolina, in Congress 25 years, died at Walter Reed Army Hospital yesterday after a prolonged illness. Representative BONNER, 74, had undergone surgery in July to remove a cancerous kidney.

Sometimes called the father of the nuclear ship Savannah, Representative BONNER had been chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee






for 10 years. In 1955 he sponsored legislation that authorized construction of the Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered freighter.

An ardent proponent of modernizing the U.S. merchant fleet, Representative BONNER once wrote that “the inability of domestic shipping to revive or even survive with traditional means of cargo handling and traditional ships is painfully evident.”

He called on Congress to find ways to get “new ideas and new life into water transportation.”

Representative BONNER'S interest in maritime affairs came naturally. His district spanned Pamlico Sound and the Outer Banks in North Carolina, and in the words of a friend, he “loved the water and was quite a fisherman.” He worked with pleasure-boating associations to promote water safety among small-boat owners.

Born in Washington, N.C., and educated there, Mr. BONNER served overseas as a sergeant in the Army during World War I. He worked as a farmer and a salesman before coming to Washington 50 years ago as secretary to Representative Lindsay C. Warren, Democrat, of North Carolina.

He was elected to Congress in 1940 when Warren retired to become U.S. Comptroller General, and has been reelected each succeeding term.

The second ranking member of the North Carolina delegation behind senior Representative Harold Cooley, Mr. BONNER was soft spoken, retiring, and popular with his colleagues. When he returned to the House after a long convalescence following his operation last summer, he was greeted by a burst of applause from his fellow lawmakers.

Mr. BONNER initiated a congressional study of the efficiency of the Panama Canal as a modern interocean waterway. A board of consultants, appointed at his suggestion, is carrying on a study looking to modernization of the canal and construction of alternate routes.

When in Washington Mr. BONNER lived at 2601 Woodley Place NW. He is survived by his wife, Eva H.; three bothers, John and George, of Washington, N.C., and James, of Atlanta, and a sister, Mrs. W. H. Williams, also of Washington, N.C.

(From the Wilmington (N.C.) Morning Star, Nov. 8, 1965)

REPRESENTATIVE BONNER DIES AT 74

WASHINGTON.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, Democrat, North Carolina, chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, died Sunday. He was 74.

BONNER died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he had undergone surgery last July and returned October 26.

The Congressman was second in North Carolina seniority only to Representative Harold Cooley. He was elected to the House November 5, 1940, to succeed Lindsay C. Warren, whose aid he had been for 16 years.

BONNER was among those who led efforts to establish the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first of the seashore areas set aside as a public playground.

He initiated a congressional study of the Panama Canal and its efficiency as a modern interoceanic waterway. A board of consultants, appointed at his suggestion, is carrying on a study looking to modernization of the canal and/or construction of alternate routes.

He led efforts that brought up to date 30-year-old, passenger-shipping laws, which, he said, were stifling American-flag passenger shipping and permitting foreign-flag ships to increase cruise service out of American ports.

BONNER concerned himself and his committee with labor-management relations in the maritime industry, which he said were at the heart of many maritime problems.

He directed two extensive investigations in this field and talked with both sides in longshoremen's strikes on the east and west coasts.

He worked for and got congressional authorization for new superliner U.S. passenger vessels, although Congress has not appropriated money for them.

GARMATZ IN LINE

BONNER's death leaves the House lineup at 292 Democrats and 140 Republicans, with 3 vacancies. Representative Edward A. Garmatz of Maryland is the second-ranking Democrat on the Maritime Committee and thus is in line for the chairmanship.

When BONNER's portrait was hung in his committee room, the late Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, Democrat, of Texas, said:

“HERBERT BONNER doesn't talk too much. So when he does, he challenges the attention of the House because he knows what he's talking about.”

BONNER was a member of the Elks, the Masons, the Shriners, and the Army-Navy Country Club.

He leaves his wife, Eva H., of the Woodley Place home; three brothers, George and John, both of Washington, N.C., and James, of Atlanta, Ga.; a sister, Mrs. W. H. Williams, of Washington, N.C., and two step-grandchildren.

Services and burial will take place in Washington, N.C.

DELEGATION CHOSEN

House Speaker John W. McCormack today announced the names of a delegation which will represent Congress at the funeral. Included were members of the North Carolina congressional delegation and of the House Merchant Marine Committee.

Others designated were Representative Michael J. Kirwan, Democrat, of Ohio, and Representative William M. Colmer, Democrat, of Mississippi, longtime friends of the Congressman, and Representative Edward A. Garmatz, Democrat, of Maryland. Garmatz, who is expected to succeed Bonner as committee chairman, is flying back from Tokyo to join the funeral delegation.

Members of BONNER's office and committee staff also will attend the funeral.

Warren left Congress to become U.S. Comptroller General.






The slightly built North Carolinian was a popular figure among his colleagues, and was warmly applauded near the end of the congressional session after appearing on the floor following a long absence because of his illness.

BONNER was born at Washington, N.C., May 16, 1891. In private life he worked as a farmer and salesman. He served overseas during World War I as a sergeant and was married to the former Eva Hassell Hackney, also of Washington, N.C.

An aid said Mrs. Bonner had just left the hospital room when BONNER died.

Representative Edward A. Garmatz, Democrat, of Maryland, is the next ranking member of the committee Bonner headed.

BONNER's death brought to three the number of House Members who have died since the beginning of the 89th Congress. The others were Representatives T. A. Thompson, Democrat, of Louisiana, and Clarence Brown, Republican, of Ohio.

BONNER had the cancerous left kidney removed at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., July 21. Doctors said then the operation was “highly successful” and said it appeared the cancer was curtailed.

BONNER had been ill more than 4 months before the operation. He was ordered to “take it easy” for several months after his operation.

He was reelected to Congress 12 times after succeeding Warren.

He was the son of Herbert M. and Hannah Hare Bonner. He attended Washington public schools and Graham's Academy in Warrenton.

BONNER came to Washington in 1924 as Warren's secretary. When Warren resigned, he was named to the post.

He represented 15 counties in the Coastal Plain and along North Carolina's coast. He was a prime mover in the construction of the bridge over Oregon Inlet on North Carolina's Outer Banks and the bridge was named for him.

(From the Wilmington (N.C.) Morning Star, Nov. 8, 1965)

AREA CONGRESSMEN JOIN IN MOURNING DEATH OF BONNER

Two southeastern North Carolina Representatives—Alton Lennon, of Wilmington, and David N. Henderson, of Wallace—joined the State and Nation in mourning the death of Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, Democrat, of North Carolina, who died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington Sunday.

Lennon, who represents the Seventh District and is a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, which BONNER headed, said:

“North Carolina has lost a very distinguished, able, and dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed by his colleagues in Congress, the people of his district, and many others throughout North Carolina and the Nation.

“I had the pleasure of knowing him for many years, of serving in Congress with him, and of serving on the same committee with him for 9 years. We shall all miss him.”

Henderson, Third District Representative, said, “I was greatly shocked to lose a good personal friend and a great American. The State of North

Carolina has truly lost a distinguished public servant, and I am sure the entire congressional delegation and the people of the State are sad with his passing.

“I'd like to extend my sympathy to the people of the First District, especially the BONNER family.”

Henderson, who has served in Congress 5 years, said that when he first went to Washington, Representative BONNER “certainly was kind and considerate of a young Member. I never could say how much he really did mean to me.”

Representative and Mrs. Lennon and Representative and Mrs. Henderson plan to attend funeral services for Representative BONNER in Washington, N.C., Tuesday.

(From the Wilmington (N.C.) Morning Star, Nov. 9, 1965)

REPRESENTATIVE HERBERT C. BONNER

The death of Representative HERBERT C. BONNER is a loss to the Nation and his State of an able and dedicated man.

Ranking second in seniority in the State's 11-member delegation, he represented well the northeastern part of North Carolina and about a third of its outer shoreline. The geography of his district recommended him in the early years of his career in the House to a place on its Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Eventually he became its chairman and in fulfilling the important responsibilities and duties, he extended his service in this particular field to the Nation as a whole.

While Mr. BONNER was considered more liberal than most of his North Carolina colleagues, this did not affect his personal popularity among them. He was also respected and liked by many other Members of the House. The esteem with which he was held was evident when he was greeted with warm applause, near the end of the congressional session, after appearing on the floor following a long absence because of his illness.

His experience in Washington began in 1924 when he went there as secretary to Representative Lindsay C. Warren, of the First District. Mr. BONNER served as his aid for 16 years until Mr. Warren left Congress to become Comptroller General. Afterward, he was elected to the House 12 times, a tribute not only to his personal popularity but practical testimony to his efficiency in representing his large district.

The people of the First District, other North Carolinians and the Nation will miss Representative BONNER, a distinguished public servant.

(From the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, Nov. 8, 1965)

TAR HEEL LEADERS PRAISE BONNER

RALEIGH.—Gov. Dan Moore said yesterday that in the death of U.S. Representative HERBERT C. BONNER the State has “lost one of the outstanding men of our time.”

The Governor ordered all State flags flown at half staff in honor of the veteran Congressman.






“HERBERT BONNER was a Congressman of the highest order,” Moore added. “He served not only the people of his First District but all Americans as well with distinction and honor. His deeds of public service will cause him to be remembered on through history.

“When I visited him at the hospital in Winston-Salem a few weeks ago, I was impressed with his dedication to duty,” Moore stated. “Though weakened by his long illness, he was determined to return to Washington. Congress was near adjournment and there were matters that needed his attention. In spite of his condition, he returned to work and finished the job he had begun.

“This was characteristic of HERBERT BONNER,” Moore said. “This was one reason his people kept him in the House of Representatives for 25 years. His abilities there earned for him the respect of his fellow representatives and of all North Carolinians. His accomplishments have helped to make ours a better country.

“All North Carolinians mourn his loss and honor his memory,” Moore concluded. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Bonner and we share her feeling of loss.”

Associate Justice E. B. Denny of the State supreme court said BONNER was “an outstanding man and an outstanding Congressman. He had an excellent record in Congress and he will be difficult to replace.”

State Treasurer Edwin Gill said, “I've lost a very close friend of a lifetime. I think Mr. BONNER was a fine representative of his district and of North Carolina. We've suffered a great loss in his passing.”

J. M. Broughton, Jr., of Raleigh, chairman of the State Democratic executive committee, expressed “great sorrow over the passing of Congressman BONNER. He served his district, State, Nation, and party for many years and will be sorely missed.”

House Speaker H. P. (Pat) Taylor, of Wadesboro, said, “I regret very much to hear of his death. He contributed many years of valuable service to his State and to his country.”

Dr. Charles F. Carroll, State superintendent of public instruction, said, “It's a profound loss not only to the people of his district but to the State of North Carolina and the Nation. I consider him one of the most solid men to have represented North Carolina in the Congress at any time.

Attorney General Wade Bruton said, “We've lost a mighty good man. I thought he was a mighty fine Congressman.”

James A. Graham, commissioner of agriculture, said BONNER'S death was “a loss to North Carolina's agriculture, particularly to the northeastern section because he did so much for the potato farmer.”

Representative Ralph J. Scott, of the Fifth District, said from his home at Danbury that BONNER “was a personal friend of mine and I regretted very much to learn of his death.”

Scott said he has been “very closely associated with him for the past 10 years. I have had the opportunity to observe him in his work and can sincerely say that he was one of the more valuable Members of the House.

“He had rendered to his State and country very valuable services over a long period of time,” Scott said.

Representative Horace Kornegay, of the Sixth District, reached at his home in Greensboro, said: “BONNER was not only a close personal friend of mine, but one of the truly outstanding Members of the Congress.”

“He served his district, State, and Nation for some 41 years in Washington in one capacity or another,” Kornegay said. “Certainly his presence will be greatly missed by all of us.”

(From the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, Nov. 8, 1965)

LOYAL TO DEMOCRATS: BONNER RESPECTED IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

(By Lloyd Preslar)

WASHINGTON.—Representative HERBERT BONNER, who died yesterday at 74, was known here as a man who looked after the interests of his constituents.

Since 1941 BONNER had represented North Carolina's First District in the House. He secured many Federal projects for the district.

BONNER'S loyalty to the Democratic Party was unquestioned. He supported the programs of Democratic administrations more often than any other member of the North Carolina delegation, except perhaps Representative Harold Cooley of the State's Fourth District.

A White House aid, talking about BONNER recently, described him as a man who “leads his district, rather than follows it.”

USED JUDGMENT

Some Members of the House, the official said, “panic every time they get three or four letters from home about a piece of legislation. HERBERT BONNER doesn't do that. He makes his judgment and worries about the political consequences later.”

The First District includes several counties on the northeastern part of the North Carolina coast.

BONNER, the White House assistant said, “realizes that he's got an under-privileged district and that he can't let the people who own it run the show.”

WAS ABSENT

Plagued by his illness since early spring, BONNER was absent from the House during most of this year's congressional session. But in earlier years he and Cooley often could be counted on to support Democratic Presidents when other members of the State delegation were voting against them.

BONNER was able to get Federal money for his district because of his ties to his party, his craftiness as a legislator and politician, his position as chairman of a House committee, and his experience and seniority in Washington.






PART OF LEADERSHIP

For 16 years before his election to the House, BONNER was administrative assistant to former Representative Lindsay Warren. When Warren resigned in 1940 to become Comptroller General of the United States, BONNER was elected to Warren's seat.

As chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, BONNER had been part of the Democratic leadership of the House. The committee is not among the most important in the House, but the committee's work is important to the First District. BONNER'S sometimes gruff manner and his devotion to his party made him a vigorous partisan in political disputes. He was known for his outspoken speeches at party rallies.

But a Republican member of BONNER'S committee has described him nevertheless as “a fair and decent man—a real gentleman,” whether he was questioning a witness before the committee or dealing with Republican or Democratic colleagues.

(From the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, Nov. 9, 1965)

QUIET BUT EFFECTIVE

HERBERT BONNER was a quiet, undramatic sort of Congressman. But he had strong loyalties, was firm in his convictions, and was vigilant in advancing the interests of his district. A conservative in the deeper sense, he was not afraid to embrace new ideas and support legislation designed to meet the changing times.

Mr. BONNER, from all accounts, was an effective chairman of the House Maritime and Fisheries Committee. In that role, he did much to promote the use of nuclear power in the development of our maritime fleet. His influence also helped to bring about the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park.

Former Gov. Terry Sanford once called Mr. BONNER “my Congressman.” This statement probably reflects the sentiment of most North Carolina people who knew him well. Until he fell ill several months ago, he was one of our hardest working Representatives. The State and the Nation owe him much.

(From the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, Nov. 9, 1965)

BONNER'S FUNERAL IS TODAY

WASHINGTON, N.C.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, who served North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives for 25 years, will be buried this morning in this Tar Heel town where he grew up.

The 74-year-old chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee died Sunday in Walter Reed Army Hospital. He had a cancerous kidney removed in July at Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem.

Speaker John W. McCormack, Democrat of Massachusetts, announced yesterday the delegation to represent Congress at the funeral.

The group includes North Carolina Members of Congress and members of the House committee on which BONNER served as chairman.

LONGTIME FRIENDS

Also designated were Representative Michael J. Kirwan, Democrat of Ohio, and Representative William M. Colmer, Democrat of Mississippi, longtime friends of BONNER.

Representative Edward A. Garmatz, Democrat of Maryland, who is expected to succeed BONNER as committee chairman, is flying back from Tokyo and expects to arrive in time to join the funeral delegation.

The members of BONNER'S office and committee staffs also will be in Washington for the final rites.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. at St. Peters Episcopal Church.

TO CONDUCT SERVICE

The Reverend John Bonner, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and a nephew of the Congressman, will assist the Reverend Irwin Hulbert, Jr., of St. Peters and the Right Reverend Thomas H. Wright, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of eastern North Carolina, in conducting the services.

BONNER will be buried in Oakdale Cemetery.

Pallbearers for the services will be men who are either now or have been personal aids of the Congressman.

Flags flew at half staff in North Carolina yesterday on orders of Gov. Dan Moore.

The Governor said North Carolina has “lost one of the outstanding men of our time.”

North Carolina Senator B. Everett Jordan is expected to attend the funeral.

Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., Democrat, of North Carolina, is not expected to be back in the country in time for the services. Ervin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is inspecting military bases in Europe.

(From the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Sentinel, Nov. 8, 1965)

FUNERAL FOR BONNER IS TUESDAY

WASHINGTON, N.C.—Representative HERBERT C. BONNER, Democrat, of North Carolina, was a quiet man who pushed the idea that the world's first nuclear merchant ship should fly the American flag.

BONNER, 74, chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and sometimes called the father of the nuclear ship Savannah, died in Walter Reed Army Hospital Sunday. He had a cancerous kidney removed in July.

The Congressman's body is being returned to this eastern North Carolina town on the banks of the Pamlico River where he grew up. The funeral will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. in St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Burial will be in Oakdale Cemetery.






BONNER became chairman of the Merchant Marine Committee in 1955 and introduced legislation to install nuclear reactors in existing merchant ships.

This plan never materialized, but he later led the way in obtaining congressional approval of the Savannah. He also pioneered with the idea of a nuclear-powered Coast Guard icebreaker.

NEW LINEUP

BONNER's death leaves the House lineup at 292 Democrats and 140 Republicans, with 3 vacancies. Representative Edward A. Garmatz, of Maryland, is the second-ranking Democrat on the Merchant Marine Committee and in line for the chairmanship.

BONNER went to Washington 50 years ago as secretary to Representative Lindsay C. Warren, of North Carolina. Before that he served as an Army sergeant overseas during World War I and was a traveling salesman.

He won Warren's First District seat in 1940 when Warren resigned to become U.S. Comptroller General. BONNER was reelected to every succeeding Congress.

He was popular with Republicans and Democrats and was noted as a “poker player's poker player.”

BONNER had his left kidney removed in July at North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. He was released in time to return to the Capital to vote for several Johnson administration programs.

BONNER is survived by his widow, three brothers, John and George, of Washington, N.C., and James Bonner, of Atlanta, Ga., and a sister, Mrs. W. H. Williams, of Washington, N.C.

















Title
Memorial services ... together with remarks presented in eulogy of Herbert C. Bonner
Description
Memorial services held in the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States, together with remarks presented in eulogy of Herbert C. Bonner, late a Representative from North Carolina. Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1966. vii, 73 p. : port. ; 24 cm.
Date
1966
Original Format
books
Extent
Local Identifier
E748.B69 U5
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Subject(s)
Spatial
Location of Original
Joyner NC Stacks
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