September 23, 1999

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR LANE KIRKLAND

                            THE WHITE HOUSE
                       Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release
September 23, 1999

                         REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
                   AT MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR LANE KIRKLAND

                           Georgetown University
                             Washington. D.C.

12:30 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:
          Irena, members of the Kirkland family, Father
O'Donovan, Monsignor Higgins, distinguished members of Congress,
visitors
From other lands, and my fellow Americans:
          I am profoundly honored to be here to pay tribute to a person
I
admired for many years before I ever thought I would have the chance to
work with him as President.  A man whom I was honored to present the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, because he was in our time the very
embodiment of the cause of freedom.  A man who was both brilliant and
articulate, and still almost irrationally passionate about the things he

knew to be right.
          Back in 1985 Lane Kirkland went home to South Carolina, to the

state university, and gave one of the most eloquent speeches on the role
of
government ever delivered.  Perhaps the most memorable line was his
reflection on the terms "liberal" and "conservative."  If you look at
who
is here today to pay tribute to Lane, it's a pretty good place for me to

start my remarks.
          He said, "As one who has been afflicted by both labels,
depending
on the stance of the afflictor and the foreign or domestic nature of the

issue, I doubt their utility in this day and age for anyone except
slapdash
journalists."
          Not only did Lane reject such labels, we all know that he
defied
the labels, "liberal" and "conservative."  In fact, in many ways, he
defied
all labels.
          He was a man of remarkable contrasts.  You've already heard
others speak about his humility.  He was a true five-star general in the

global fight for human liberty, but so down to earth, he was offended if

anyone called him anything but Lane.
          He was such a powerful force for justice, he could lead
hundreds
of thousands of working people to march on Washington.  But for years,
the
most powerful force in his own home was a little dachshund named
Stanley.
He was a man of idealism and strong opinions, but he was genuinely open
to
people who had the courage to differ with him.  He was a gifted
intellectual, but on Sunday afternoons, he put his books aside to watch
the
Redskins on TV.  He was a man of the arts, whose perhaps favorite
artistry
was his harmonica rendition of "Solidarity Forever."  For all of his
contrasts, there was a remarkable consistency underlying everything he
thought and said and did.
          Both George Meany and Lane used to say, "The role of the trade

unions is to try to keep the big guys from kicking the little guys
around."
That was his philosophy of life.  And, believe me, I got my fair share
of
lectures about it.  (Laughter.)
          He lived it when he walked the picket lines with hotel workers
in
Las Vegas, when he got arrested with miners in Appalachia, when he
quoted
the fiery words of Zapata to mistreated Latino janitors in L.A.
          He lived it when he stood in solidarity with the oppressed
workers of the Soviet bloc, or helped to tear down the Iron Curtain in
Poland and elsewhere in the communist world.  He lived it when he
struggled
for racial and gender equality; when he fought to strengthen the Civil
Rights Act; when he championed the cause of women and minorities within
the
American labor movement; when he helped to rescue the NAACP from
bankruptcy.
          You could see it in his own office, where he always treated
even
the most junior members of his staff with the same dignity and respect
he
demanded for working men and women throughout the world.  He stood up
for
the little guy.  It was his ideology; it was also his way of life.
          I want to conclude today with a story that was passed along to
us
at the White House by one of Lane's closest advisors.  After he passed
away, one of the medics who came to the house took Irena aside and said,

"When I first took this call, the name Kirkland didn't ring any bells.
But
when I arrived, I realized who your husband was.  As the shop steward
for
my EMS unit, I want you to know how grateful I am for everything your
husband did for us.  He was a wonderful man, and I know that everyone in
my
unit feels the same way."
          Well, Irena, for all the distinguished speakers who will pay
tribute to your husband today, I don't think any of us  could do better
than that.  So let me just say that I am grateful for this giant of a
man,
a true American hero, a man who stood up for the little guy.  I hope all
of
us can be faithful to his admonition to do the same.  It is the only way
we
can give him the legacy he has richly earned.
          God bless you and your family.
                END                         12:36 P.M. EDT

==== SCROOTS Mailing List ====