Editorial: Bestow the honors, and yet, be succinct

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002 | 8:59 a.m.

Edward Everett. Ever heard of him? He was the principal speaker Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. He was a former president of Harvard University, a former congressman and senator, and a former governor of Massachusetts. He had served as envoy to Great Britain and as U.S. Secretary of State. In his "Gettysburg Oration," he drew upon his vast knowledge, referencing Cromwell, numerous British kings, the ancient Greeks, the Puritans of 1640, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Bacon, the War of the Roses, Dante and the Roman Empire. He went on in this fashion for two hours.

The fellow next at the podium, President Abraham Lincoln, was more to the point. In his two-minute Gettysburg Address, the president referenced, "... those who here gave their lives ... the brave men, living and dead, who struggled here ... the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced." Of course, Everett's talk is largely forgotten, while Lincoln's is passed from generation to generation.

It's a story worth telling in Carson City. Each legislative session, the cumulative time spent on proclamations and resolutions honoring people stretches to days -- time that is sorely misspent as proven by the frenzied lawmaking in the final hours. Suggestions made this week by a legislative committee that would honor time as well as people should be heeded. They include limiting the days resolutions can be offered as well as their length.

In a note to Lincoln after their speeches, Everett wrote, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." This note should be required reading for all legislators.