Putnam patriot., 1909-01-29

as privilege by the corporations. but, on the contrary to be accepted as duty and exercised as right by the
 government in the interest of all the
 people The efficiency of the army and the navy has been increased so that our people may follow in peace the great work of making this country s better place fer Americans 10 live ia. and cur navy was sent round the world for the same ultimate purpose. All the acts taken hy the government during the last seven years and all the poll cies now being pursued by the govern ment 1t in as parts of consistent whole.
 Measures For Country's Good. Our public land policy has for its aim the use of the public land so that ii will promote local development by the settlement of homemakers. The poll iey we champion is to serve all the people le-itimately and openly, instead of permitting the lands to be convert ed. illegitimately and under cover, to the private benefit of a few. Our for est policy was established so that we might use the public forests for the permanent public good instead of merely for temporary private gain. The recia nation act. under which the desert parts of the public domain are converted to higher uses for the gen eral benefit. was passed so that more Americans might have homes on the land.
 These policies were enacted into law and have justified their enactment Others have failed so far to reach the point of action. Among such Is the attempt to secure public control of the open range and thus to convert its benefits to the use of the sgEial man,
 who is the homemaker. instead of al lowing it to be controlled by few great cattle and sheep owners. The enactment of a pure food law was a recognition of the fact that the public welfare outweighs the right to private gain and that no man may poison the people for his private profit The employers liability bill recognized the controlling fact that. while the employer usually has at stake no more than his profit. the stake of the employee is a living for himself and his family.
 For the Benefit of the People. We are building the Panama canal. and this means that We are engaged in the giant engineering feat of all time We are striving to add in all ways to the habitabitity and beauty Of our country. We are striving to hold in the public hands the remaining sup ply of unappropriated coal for the pro lection and benefit of all the people. We have taken the first steps toward the conservation of our natural re- sources and the betterment of country life and the improvement v our wa terways We stand for the right of every child to childhood free from grinding toll and to an education. for the civic responsibility and decency Of every citizen, for prudent foresight in public matters and for fair play in every relation of our national and eco homie life. In international matters we apply a system of diplomacy which nuts the obligations of international morality on level with those that govern the actions of an honest gen tleman in dealing with his fellow men. Within our own border we stand for truth and honesty fn public and in private life. and we war sternly against wrengaoes of every grade
 The ablieations and not the rights of | citizenship increase in proportion to | the increase of man's wealth or pow CT. The time is coming when man will be judged not by what he has sue 1 ceeded in getting for himself from the common store. but by how well he has l done his duty as q citizen and by what the ordinary citizen has gained in free dom of opportunity because of his service for the common good. The highest value we know is that of the individual citizen, and the highest jus tice is to give him fair play in the eff Tort to realize the best there is in him. Common Sense Needed. The tasks this nation has to do are great tasks. They can only be done at all by our citizens acting together. and they can be done best of all by the di- rect and simple application of homely common sense.
 The national conservation commis- sion wisely confined it's report to the statement of facts and principles. feav- Ing the executive to recommend the specific steps to which these facts and principles inevitably lead. According ly call your attention to some of the larger features of the situation dis closed bY the report and to the action | thereby clearly demanded for the gen. eral good.
 Waters.
 | The report says:
 Within recent months il has been rec ognized and demanded by the people | through many thousand delegates from | ell states assembled in convention in diff | ferent sections of the country, that the I waterways should and must be improved promptly and effectively as a means os maintaining national prosperity.
 The first requisite for waterway im- proveHient Is the control of the waters in such manner as to reduce floods and reg I ulate the regimen of the naviga5le riv- CTS. The second requisite IS ueNeiophen' of terminals and connections in such man. ner as to regulate commerce.
 Accordingly urge that the broad plan for the development of our water ways. recommended by the inland wa terways commission. be put in effect without delay. It provides for com prehensive system of waterway i'm proyement extending to all the uses of the waters and benefits to be derived from their control, including nayiga- ton, the development of power the ex- tension of irrigation. the drainage of