FRIENDS REMEMBER MUSKIE AS CLASS ACT

Edmund S. Muskie may be recalled as the man who lost a presidential nomination by choking up in public, but he was remembered on the day he died as strong and honest during his many years of public life.

Muskie, the former secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter, died of heart failure early Tuesday, two days shy of his 82nd birthday. He underwent surgery last week in Georgetown University Hospital for a blocked artery in his leg, then suffered a heart attack a few days later.

He was a three-term state legislator in his native Maine, twice governor of the state, U.S. senator for 22 years, Democratic nominee for vice president in 1968, and an early candidate for president in 1972.

"I would rank Muskie as one of the best senators during his era in the Senate," said Thomas Eagleton, a former U.S. senator from Missouri. "He was a hard worker, logical, and could deliver a great address."

"He was a class act," said Sen. Paul Simon, an Illinois Democrat who is retiring from the U.S. Senate this year. "When I was first elected to Congress as a representative, I was on the budget committee, and Muskie was chairman."

"Muskie was strong," Warren E. Hearnes said from his office in Charleston. Hearnes, who was finishing his second term as Missouri governor in 1972, was in line to become the new chairman of the U.S. Transportation Department if Muskie was elected. "And I really believe that Muskie could have been elected in 1972," said Hearnes.

Muskie was an early favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president in 1972. He had triple-pronged support from Missouri.

Eagleton and the late Sen. Stuart Symington joined Hearnes in support of Muskie, who had gained political stature during the 1968 president race, running as vice president with presidential candidate Hubert H. Humphrey.

"He was one of my best friends in the Senate," said Eagleton. "I sat next to him for six years and got to know him well. "He would have been a good presidential candidate."

Eagleton said Muskie was the Senate's first environmentalist.

"He created the first environmental subcommittee in 1968, and was chairman of the first committee," said Eagleton, who first met Muskie in 1968. Muskie's efforts to curb air and water pollution won him the nickname "Mr. Clean."

"I was running for Senate in 1968, and Muskie was the vice president candidate with Humphrey," said Eagleton. "Four years later he asked for my support as a presidential candidate."

"Eagleton contacted me about endorsing Muskie," said Hearnes. "I suggested that we make it a triple-endorsement with Eagleton, Symington and myself."

During a meeting with Muskie at the Chase Hotel in St. Louis in fall 1972, Hearnes indicated an interest in becoming a part of Muskie's cabinet.

"We agreed that if Muskie won, I would become chairman of the Department of Transportation," said Hearnes.

Then came that incident in New Hampshire, recalled Hearnes.

"That incident" came while Muskie was speaking outside the Manchester Union Leader newspaper, denouncing a story critical of his wife. He broke down in angry emotion; it was not clear whether he was crying or his face was wet with snow.

The episode, said Hearnes, apparently changed people's minds about Muskie, who later said that it revealed him as a weak person, and "they were looking for a strong, steady man."

"The press made a big deal about the incident," said Hearnes. "By the time we went to the convention, Muskie was out of the race."

Hearnes then turned his support to Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson.

"Eagleton and Symington turned their attentions to (Sen.) George McGovern, but I felt that Jackson would hurt us less than McGovern since Muskie was out," said Hearnes.

"I'm sorry that it all happened," said Hearnes, now executive director of Southeast Missouri Legal Services Inc. in Charleston. "Muskie was strong. Jackson was strong. I believe that Muskie could have been elected."

McGovern won the 1972 nomination and selected Eagleton as his running mate.

Eagleton withdrew as vice president because of health reasons. He was dropped from the ticket when it was disclosed that he underwent shock treatments in the 1960s for depression. Eagleton was replaced by Sargent Shriver.

The McGovern-Shriver team lost in a landslide to Richard Nixon in the general election, and Muskie quietly resumed his duties in the Senate.

Simon had met Muskie when he was vice presidential candidate in 1968. Simon was involved in Illinois politics at the time, running for lieutenant governor in Illinois.

"I later got to know Muskie and worked closely with him on the budget committee," said Simon. "I came to have a great respect for him. He would have been an excellent president."

Following his retirement from politics, Muskie became a partner in the Washington law firm of Chadbourne and Parke, where he had been working when he became ill.