Morning journal and courier., 1885-03-05
THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS

| which l shall take the manifestation of the
will of great and free people. In the ex
ercise of their power and right of self-govern
| ment, they have committed to one of thei1
| fellow citizens supreme and sacred trust
| and he here consecrates himself to their ser.
| vice. This impressive ceremony adds little
| to the solemn sense of responsibility with
which l contemplate the duty [ owe to
| all the people of the land; nothing can re-
| Eeve me from anxiety lest by an act of mine
| their interests may suffer, and nothing is
needed to strengthen my resolution to engage
every faculty and effort in the promotion of
| their welfare. Amid the din of party strife
| the peoples choice was made but its attend
ant circumstances have demonstrated anew
the strength and safety of government by the
people. In each succeeding year it more
| clearly appears that our Democratic principle
needs no apology and that in its fearless and
| faithful application is to be found the surest
guaranty of government. But the best results
| in the operation of government, wherein
every citizen has a share, largely depend
upon proper limitation of purely partisan
zeal and effort and correct appreciation of
| the time when the heat of the partisan should
! be merged into the patriotism of the citizen.
To-day the executive branch of the govern
ment is transferred to new keeping, but this
| is still the government of all the people and
affectionate solicitude. AT this hour the ami
| mosties of political strife, the bitterness OF
partisan defeat and the exultation of partisan
| triumph should be supplanted by an I'M
| grudging acquiesence in the popular will
| and sober, conscientious concern for the
| general veal. Moreover, if from this houl
we cheerfully and honestly abandon all fac
| tional prejudices and distrust and deter
| mine, with manly confidence in one another,
| to work out harmoniously the achievements
| of our national destiny, we shall deserve tc
| realize all the benefits which our happy
| form of government can bestow. On this
| auspicious occasion we may well renew the
pledge of our devotion to the constitution
which, launched by the founders of the
republic and consecrated by their prayers
and patriotic devotion, has for almost cen
| tury borne the hopes and the aspirations of 8
| great people, through prosperity and peace
| and through the shock of foreign conflicts
| and the perls of domestic strife and vicis
| situdes. By the father of his country our
| constitution was commended for adoption as
"the result of spirit of amity and mutual
| concession"
| In that same spirit it should be admin
l istered in ORDER to promote the lasting wei
| fare of the country and to secure the full
measure of it's priceless benefits to us and
| to those who will succeed to the blessings
of our national life The large variety OF
| diverse and competing interests subject to
| federal control, persistently seeking the
recognition of their claims, need give us
| no fear that the ''greatest good to the great
est number will fail to be accomplished
| if in tie halls of national legislation thnt
| spirit of amity and mutual concession shall
| prevail in which the constitution had its
| birth II this involves the surrender or post.
| ponement of private interests and the aban-
| donment of local advantages, compensation
will be found in the assurance that thus the
common interest is suEServed and the general
welfare advanced. In the discharge of
my official duty 1 shall endeavor to be
guided by just and unstrained construc-
ton of the constitution, careful observ-
ance of the distinction between the powers
granted to the federal government and those
reserved to the States, or to the people, and
by cautious appreciation of those functions
which by the constitution and laws have
been especially assigned to the executive
branch of the government. But he who takes
the oath to-day to preserve, protect and
defend the constitution of the United States
only assumes the solemn obligation which
every patriotic citizen, on the farm, in the
workshop, in the busy marts of trade, and ev-
arywhere, should share with him. The con-
stitution which prescribes his oath, my
countrymen, is yours; the government
you have chosen him to administer for @
| time is yours; the suffrage which executes
| the will of free men is yours; the laws and
| the entire scheme of our civil rule, from the
town meeting to the State capitals and the
| national capital, is yours. Your every
voter as surely as your chief magistrate, un-
| der the same high sanction, though in diff
ferent sphere, exercises public trust. Nor
| is this all. Every citizen owes to the country
| a vigilant watch and close scrutiny of its
| public servants, and fair and reasonable
estimate of their fidelity and usefulness
Thus is the peoples will impressed upon
| the whole framework of our civil policy
| municipal, State and federal-and this is the
price of our liberty and the inspiration of
our faith in the republic. 1t is the duty OF
| those serving the people in public places to
closely limit public expenditures to the ac-
| tual needs of the government economically
| administered; because this bounds the right
| Of the government to exact tribute from the
earnings of labor, or the property of the citi-
| zen, and because public extravaganza be-
! gets extravaganza among the people. We
should never be ashamed of the simplicity
| and prudential economies which best
| suited to the operation of republican
| form of government and most compatible
l with the mission of the American people
| Those who selected for limited time te
manage public affairs are still of the people
and may do much by their example to en-
| courage, consistently with the dignity OF
| their official functions, that plain way of life
which am ong their fellow citizens aids in
1
| The genius of our institutions, the needs oi
| our people in their home life and the atten
| ton which is demanded for the settlement
| and development of the resources of oul
| vast territory dictate the scrupulous avoid
ance of any departure from that for
| eign policy commended by the history, the
| traditions and the prosperity of our republic
1t is the policy Of independence favored by
our position and defended by our known love
| of justice and by our power. 1t is the policy o.
| peace suitable to our interests. It is tht
| policy of neutrality, rejecting any share il
| foreign broils and ambitions upon other con
| tinents and repaling their intrusion here. L
| is the policy of Monroe and of Washington ant
Peace, commerce and homes
| friendship with all nations; entangling ALI
| ances with none" A due regard for tn
| interests and prosperity of all the peopl
| demands that our finances shall b
| established upon such a sound and sensible
basis as shall secure the safety and confidenc
| of business interests, and make the wage o
labor sure and steady; and that our system
| of revenue shall be so adjusted as to reliev
| the people from unnecessary taxation, having
a due regard to the interests Of capital in
vested and workingmen employed in Ameri
can industries, and preventing the accumula
ton of surplus in the treasury to temp
| extravaganza and waste.
Care for the property of the nation
and for the needs of future settler
requires that the public domain should
be projected from purloining scheme
and unlawful occupation. The con
science of the people demands tina
the Indians within our boundaries shall b
fairly and honestly treated wards of tn
| government and their education and civiliza
ton promoted, with view to their ultimat
citizenship and that polygamy in the terri
tories, destructive of the family relation an
offensive to the moral sense of the civilize
world, shall be repressed. The law shoul
be rigidly enforced which prohibited the i'm
| migration of a servile class to compete wit
American labor, with no intention of acqui1
ing citizenship and bringing with them ant
retaining habits and customs repugnant t.
our civilization. The people demand re
form in the administration OF the govern
ment and the application of business prin
| ciples to public affairs. AS a means to thl
| end, civil service reform should be, in goot
faith, enforced. Our citizens have the righ
to protection from the incompetency of pub
lie employees who hold their..places solely a
the reward of partisan service, and from th
corrupting influence of those who promise
and the vicious methods of those who expect
such rewards. And those who worthily see
public employment have the Sght to insis
that merit and competency shall be recog
1 1Df, Al.