Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1885-03-12
INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
CLEVELAND TAKES THE OATH, ON
HIS S1OTHER'S BIBLE.


He is for Economy aud Civil Service
Reform-No More Congo Conferences,
No Oklahoma Booming, No Section
alisn, No Polygamy, No Bloody Shirt
and No Admission to the Heather
Chinee.
FELLoW CITIZENS In the pres
ence of this vast assemblage of my
countrymen / am about to supplement
and seal by the oath which | shall
take the manifestation of the will of
great and free people. In the exer-
else of their power and right of self
government they have committed to
one of their fellow-citizens supreme
and sacred trust and he here conse-
crates himself to their service.
This impressive ceremony adds lit
tie to the solemn sense Of responsible
ty with which | contemplate the duty
| owe to all the people Of the land;
nothing can relieve me from anxiety
lest by any of mine their interests may
suffer, and nothing is needed to
strengthen my resolution to engage
every faculty and effort iii the promo
ton Of their welfare.
Amid the din of party strife the
peoples choice was made; but its at
tendant circumstances have demon
strated anew the strength and safety
of government by the people. In
each succeeding year it more clearly
appears that the Democratic principle
needs <ao apology, and that in It's fear
less and faithful application is to be
found the surest guarantee OF good
government.
But the best results in the operation
of Government wherein every citizen
has share largely depends upon a
proper limitation of purely partisan
zeal and effort and correct apprecia-
ton of the time when the heat of the
partisan should be merged i'll the pa
triotism of the citizen.
CONFIDENCE IN ONE ANOTHER.
To-day the executive branch OF the
Government is transferred into new
keeping. But this is still the Govern
ment of all the people, and it should
be none the less an object of affection
ate solicitude. At this hour the ami
mosities of political strife, the bitter
ness Of partisan defeat and the exulta
tion of partisan triumph should be
supplanted by an ungrudging acquies-
cence in the popular will and sober,
conscientious concern for the general
veal Moreover, if from this hour we
| cheerfully and honestly abandon all
sectional prejudice and distrust and
determine, with manly confidence in
one another, to work out harmonious
ly the achievements of our national
| destiny, we shall deserve to realize all
the benefits which our happy form of
government can bestow.
On this auspicious occasion we may
we'll renew the pledge of our devotion
to the Constitution which, launched
by the founders Of the Republic and
consecratcd by their prayers and pa
triotic devotion, has for almost cen
tury borne the hopes and the aspira-
tions of great people through pros
perity and peace, and through the
shock of foreign conflicts and the per-
| lis of domestic strife and vicissitudes.
| THE GREATEST GOOD TO THE GREAT
EST NUMBER.
/ BY the Father Of his Country our
| Constitution was commended for adop-
tion as "tF e result of spirit of amity
and mutual confession" In that same
spirit it should be administered in or
der to promote the lasting welfare of
the country and to secure the full
measure of its priceless benefits to us
and to- those who will succeed to the
blessings of our national life. The
large variety of diverse and competing
inserests subject to Federal control
! persistently seeking the recognition of
| their claims need give us no fear that
"the greatest good to the greatest NAM
Der" will fail to be accomplished if in
the halls Of national legislation that
spirit of amity and mutual concession
shall prevail in which the Constitution
had its birth. If this involves the sur
render or postponement of private
interests and the abandonment of To-
cal advantage, compensation will be
found in the assurance that this com
| mon interest is subserved and the gen
eral welfare advanced.
In the discharge of my official duty
l shall endeavor to be guided by a
just and unrestrained construction OF
the Constitution, a careful Observable On
of the distinction between the powers
granted to the Federal Government
and those reserved to the State or to
the people, and by cautious appre-
citation of those functions which by the
Constitution and laws have been es
pecially assigned to the executive
| branch of tho (xnynrnpapt
But he who takes the oath to-day to
preserve, protect and defend the Con
stitutian of the United States only as
sumes the solemn obligation which ey-
cry patriotic citizen on the farm in the
workshop, in the busy marts of trade
and everywhere, should share with
him. The Constitution which pre-
scribes his oath, my countrymen, is
yours the Government you have cho.
sen him to administer for a time is
yours; the suffrage which executes the
will of freemen is yours; the laws and
the entire scheme of our civil rule
from the town meeting to the State
capitals ann national capital, is yours
WHAT EVERY CITIZEN OWES.
Your every voter, as surely as your
Chief Magistrate under the same high
sanction, though a different sphere
exercises a public trust. Nor is this
all. Every citizen owes to the coun
try yigilant watch and close scru
tiny Of il public servants, and q fail