Mrs. Cohelan joins me along with all of the members of our family in extending to Mary Baldwin and the children our love and heartfelt condolences.

Mr. GATHINGS. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago on attending the House Thursday morning breakfast meeting, the sorrowful announcement of the passing of JOHN F. BALDWIN was made to our group. He had attended these meetings over the years and had served as its president. He was regular in his attendance as he was in the devotion to his Committee on Public Works. He occupied the position of ranking Republican member on the Subcommittee on Flood Control. Long hours were consumed in the hearings last fall in the development of the Omnibus Rivers and Harbors Flood Control Act of 1965. Many days of hard work went into the hearings and executive sessions of the subcommittee. JOHN BALDWIN was found on the job consistently. When the legislation came to the floor of the House, his efforts were most significant in the approval by the House of this legislation which affected many, many of the States.

He was a dedicated and devoted public servant. I have lost a true friend in his passing.

I would like to express sympathy to Mrs. Baldwin and their three daughters and the family in their time of great grief and sorrow.

Mr. BOGGS. Mr. Speaker, the people of the 14th District of California have lost, as have we in this House, a dedicated servant and kind and devoted friend. JOHN BALDWIN was a noble and sincere man who served with us for more than 11 years; he worked very hard for his people and his State, and I am proud to salute him on this sad occasion. I am confident that JOHN BALDWIN was aware, Mr. Speaker, that his death was coming, but he continued to serve his district and State until his strength gave way.

JOHN BALDWIN displayed great courage in his public and his private life, and we all have been ennobled by his service in this House. We all shall miss him, as will his many friends and constituents in California. Mrs. Boggs joins me in expressing our deepest sympathy to Mrs. Baldwin and to his three lovely daughters on their loss and the loss to our country.

Mr. BROOMFIELD. Mr. Speaker, to lose a close and trusted friend is a deeply personal loss.

To lose an able and conscientious legislator is a national loss.

We have suffered both with the death of JOHN F. BALDWIN.

I counted it a privilege to call him "friend," as did so many others here in the House of Representatives and in his home State of California.

At the same time, I counted it a privilege to serve with a man with so many professional qualifications, so much integrity, and with such a depth of understanding of the problems of our Nation.

JOHN BALDWIN tackled every task presented to him, in Congress and out, with verve and vigor, with determination and courage.

He rose from the rank of private to lieutenant colonel following his enlistment in the Army during World War II, and he served with distinction here in the United States and in the European theater.

He served 11 years in the House of Representatives with outstanding distinction, and his extensive background in accounting and finance helped many of his colleagues on the Public Works Committee and on the floor of the House to better understand the forces at work in our Nation's economy.

We grieve with his widow and his three daughters. Each of us in the House of Representatives has lost a friend. Each of JOHN BaldWIN'S constituents in California's Contra Costa County has lost a wise and forthright champion. Each of us in our Nation has lost a capable and dedicated legislator.

Mr. WHITENER. Mr. Speaker, it is with a deep sense of sadness that I join with my colleagues today in paying my respects to the memory of our departed colleague, JOHN F. BALDWIN.

The people of his district have lost an able Representative, who served them with great distinction in the House of Representatives. The State of California has lost an outstanding Congressman and the Nation a devoted public servant.

JOHN BALDWIN was elected to the House of Representatives on November 2, 1954. He came to Washington admirably qualified to serve the people of California with distinction. Through his service in the Armed Forces, his practice of the law, and his participation in many local civic organizations he was keenly aware of the interests and needs of his constituents.

The members of his family and the people he so ably represented can take pride in the record made by JOHN BALDWIN in the House of Representatives. To the members of his family Mrs. Whitener

and I extend our deep personal condolences on the great loss which they have sustained.

Mr. LANGEN. Mr. Speaker, it is always difficult to comprehend the sudden loss from our midst of colleagues who have contributed so much of their lives to the service of our Nation. Today our grief is further burdened by the realization that a man still in his prime has been taken. JOHN F. BALDWIN had reached the point in life where his vast experience and great accomplishment particularly fitted him for many more years of dedicated service. It is particularly regrettable, then, that our Nation should be denied his continued efforts.

It was my privilege to have been counted among his friends, and I speak from those warm, friendly experiences when I recall his sincerity and dedication to every task at hand. It is difficult to recall a harder working man in these halls. And his efforts were backed up by a quick and probing mind that was always on top of the complexities contained in the maze of legislation before us.

With all of his capabilities, all of his obvious accomplishment and determination, JOHN BALDWIN still understood the truth that no man is an island. He realized that his strength and his wisdom had to come from sources beyond himself. He was perhaps as pronounced a Christian as these halls will ever see, and he worked at his faith. As a past president of the Thursday morning men's prayer group, he was a familiar figure as men gathered to gain strength.

Add to his roles as a devoted husband and loving father of a growing family, and we have a composite picture of a man who not only had accomplished much through a full life, but also a man who had much to live for. Our sympathies not only go out to his family, but to this Congress and the entire Nation. All of us have lost much in the passing of JOHN BALDWIN.

Mr. MATHIAS. Mr. Speaker, I was deeply grieved by the passing of JOHN BALDWIN, for he was a brave and gentle man, a wise public servant, and a good friend and guide. We all knew and admired the intelligence and judgment which he brought to our deliberations, and the tenacity with which he continued to work despite serious and painful illness.

His ability to lead and to command the respect of his colleagues was apparent early in his life, as shown by the many honors bestowed on him during his years at the University of California and Boalt

Law School in Berkeley, where he was president of his law school class for 3 successive years.

His mastery of complex fiscal problems became renowned during his service in World War II, when he labored as Chief of the Foreign Fiscal Affairs Branch in the Office of Fiscal Director of the War Department, and later as executive director in the office of fiscal director in the Mediterranean theater. Having enlisted in the Army as a private in 1941, he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel by the time of his discharge and was decorated by the Italian Government for his work in devaluing the Italian lire.

After the war, Mr. BALDWIN completed law school, then built a solid reputation for hard work and commonsense during 6 years of practicing law in Martinez, Calif. In 1954 the people of the 14th Congressional District of California, recognizing his ability, elected him to the first of seven consecutive terms in the Congress.

As one who was privileged to know JOHN BALDWIN for 5 of his nearly 12 years in this House, I can testify to the keenness of his intellect and the depth of his devotion to public service. He was one of the most conscientious members of the Public Works Committee, and his judgment on committee legislation was always sound and reliable. I must note, too, his unfailing kindness to more junior Members of the House.

Mr. Speaker, we will all miss JOHN BALDWIN, and I join my colleagues in expressing my deepest sympathy to his wife, Mary, and his three daughters.

Mr. GRAY. Mr. Speaker, I have a deep and abiding respect for every Member of the House of Representatives and when any one of this great body passes from us it is very saddening. I am especially grieved at the loss of my good friend JOHN BALDWIN, of California. JOHN and I served on the Public Works Committee for 111⁄2 years together. We were on many of the same subcommittees. As I join the House leaders and membership today in expressing great sorrow at his passing I want to say that I have never seen a more dedicated public servant.

JOHN BALDWIN was always well versed on the subject under discussion and above all was courteous and fair to everyone. These virtues coupled with many others he possessed will indeed be missed. The Baldwin family has lost a devoted husband and father, the

Nation has lost a great public servant, and I have lost a good friend. I want to express my deepest sympathy to Mrs. Baldwin, the children, and the other members of the family.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep sorrow that I join my colleagues in paying my respects to the late JOHN F. BALDWIN, of California. Although I was not fortunate enough to know him very long, I quickly came to admire JOHN BALDWIN for the high caliber of his work and of his character.

He had a deep Christian commitment which shone brightly in all that he did and said. He was a dedicated and able man, a scholar in his chosen field, one to whom we all listened.

We shall miss him greatly, and I join with the others who have honored him in this Chamber by extending my profound sympathy to his family.

Mr. AYRES. Mr. Speaker, the Nation has lost a great public servant. We who served at his side will long mourn the death of JOHN BALDWIN, for we had learned to value his friendship. We had also learned to respect his great knowledge of the law and his legislative ability.

The Honorable JOHN F. BALDWIN epitomized all that was best in public service. He loved his country and dedicated himself to its service.

His was a most distinguished career, both as a member of our Armed Forces and as a legislator. I know that many of the Members of this House will speak warmly of the loyal comradeship that he gave to all who turned to him for friendship.

Many of us here, myself included, turned to him for constitutional advice on matters before us for he was a great student of the Constitution. He was always most willing to share this knowledge with us.

The people of the 14th California Congressional District loved JOHN BALDWIN, and well they might because he served them well. This Nation will long mourn the passing of this good patriot.