The Somerset reporter., 1905-03-09
The Inaugural Address of
President Roosevelt.

PliShslni Dut WIN RrautuOe 10 un
Giver Of Good, who blessed us With
conditions which have enabled US 10
achieve so large a measure OF we'll
being and of happiness.
10 US as people 1t has been GRANTEES
to lay the foundations of our nation al
life in new continent We are .he
heirs of the ages, and yet we have had
to pay few of the penalties which III
old countries are exaeted by the daau
hand of by-gone civilizations We
have not been Obliged TO h.ht for our
existence against any alien rae; and
yet our life has called for the vigor
and effort without Which the manlier
and harder virtues wither away.
Under such conditions It would be
our own fault if we failed; aud tie
success which we have had in the past
the success which we confidently be-
lieve the future will bring. should
cause in us no feeling of yainglory.
but rather deep and abiding reuliza-
ton of all which life has offered US, Il
full acknowledgment of the respOn
sibility which is ours and fixed de
termination to show that under a free
government mighty people can thrive
best, alike as regards the things Of
the body and the things Of the soul
Much has been given to US, and
much will rightfully be expected from
us. We have duties to others and du-
ties to ourselves-and We can shirk
neither. We have become a great ma
ton, forced by the fact of It's great
ness TITO relations with other nations
OF the earth; and we must behave as be-
seems people with such responsible
ties. Toward all other nations, large
and small, our attitude must be one of
cordial and sincere friendship We
must show not only in our words but
In our deeds that we are earnestly de
sirous Of securing their good will by
acting toward them in q spirit of just
and generous recognition of all their
rights.
But justice and generosity in ma
ton, as in an individual, count most
when shown not by the weak but by
the strong While ever careful to re-
frain from wronging others, we must
be no less insistent that we are not
wronged ourselves. We wish peace:
but we wish the peace of justice. the
peace of righteousness. We wish it be-
cause we think it is right and not be.
cause we are afraid. No weak nation
that acts rightly and justly should ever
have cause TO fear u.s. and no strong
IL ii
out as q subject for insolent aggres-
sion.
Our relations with the othc powers
OF the world are Important; but still
more important are our relations
among ourselves. Such growth in
wealth, in population, and In power as
this nation has seen during the century
and quarter of its national life Is in
evitably accompanied by like growth
In the problems which are ever be-
fore every nation that rises TO great
ness
Power means both responsibility and
danger. Our forcfatherS faced certain
perils which We have outerown. We
now face other perls the very eXistenc,.
of which il WIS impossible that they
should foreSc" Modern life is both
complex and intense, and HE tire
mendous changes wrought by The eV-
traordinary industrial development Of
the half century are felt in every fibre
Of our social and political being
Never before have men tried so vast
and formidable an experiment as tina,
Of administering the affairs of a con.
tincnt under the forms of democratic
republic. The conditions which have
told for orr marvellous material we'll
being which have developed to very
high degree of our energy self-reliancc
and individual initiative, also have
brought the care and anxiety INSOFAR
able from the accumulation of great
wealth in industrial centres
Upon the success of our experiment
much depends: not only as regards our
own welfare. but as regards the wei
fare Of mankind If we fail, the cause
Of free government throughout
the world will rock to its foundations.
and therefore our responsibility is
heavy to ourselves. to the world as II
Is today, and TO the generations yet I'm.
born There is no good reason why we
should fear the future, hut there is
every reason why we should face il
seriously, neither hiding from ourselves
the gravity of the problems before us
nor fearing TO approach these problem,
with the unhending, unllinching pur-
pose to solve them Alright
Yet, after all, though the problems
are new, though the tasks set before
us differ from the tasks set before on"
fathers who founded and preserved
this republic, the spirit in which these
tasks must lie undertaken and these
problems faced. if our duty is to he well
done. remains essentially unchanged
We know that self-government is diff
cult We know that no people needs
such high traits of character as that
people which seeks TO govern its af.
fairs Alright through the freely ex-
pressed will of the free men who com
pose it,
But we have faith that We shall not
prove false to the memories of the men
Of the mighty past They did their
work, they left us the splendid heritage
we now enjoy We in onr turn have an
assured confidence that w shall be able
to leave this heritage nHWa>ted and
enlarged to our children and our chill
dren'S children
To do so. we must show. not merely
In great crises, but in the everyday af-
fairs Of life. the qualities Of practical
intelligence. Of courage. Of hardihood