The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-23

n | in peace the great work of making this country a better place for Americans to | live in. and our navy was sent round the world for the same ultimate pur- pose. All the acts taken by the govern- ment during the last seven years. ana all the policies now being pursued by the government. fit in as parts of com sistent whole. F
 Our pubiic-lsnd policy has for it's ann
 nss Of sas ane 50 [. clement of home makers; the policy we champion Is to serve all the people leg ultimately and openly, instead of permit ting the lands to be converted. illsgiti. benefit of few. Our forest policy was established so that we might use the public forests for the permanent public good insssad of , merely for temporary der which the desert parts of the pub lie domain are converted to higher uses for the general beneft. was passed so that more Americans might have homes 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 at tempt to secure public control of the open range and thus to convert its ben efits to the use of the small man, who Is the home maker. ipstead of allowing it to be controlled by few great cattle
  The enactment of pure food law was l recognition of the fact that the pub lie welfare outweighs the right to pri. yate 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 xtake no more than hts profit. the stake of the. empioye is a liv> ing for himself and his family.
 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 habitability and beauty of our coun- try. We are striving to hold in the public hands the remaining supply of unappropriated coal, for the protection and benefit of all the people. We have taken the first steps toward the con- servation of our natural resources and the betterment of country life, and the Improvement of our waterways. We stand for the right of every child to q to an education; for the civic respnsibil- ity and decency of every citizen for prudent foresight in public matters, and for fair play in every relation of our national and economic life. In inter- national morality on level with those that govern the actions of an honest gentleman in dealing with his fellow men. Within our border we stand for truth and honesty in public and in pri- vate life; and we war sternly against wrongdoers of every grade. All these efforts are integral parts of the same attempt, the attempt to> enthrone tus- tice and righteousness, to secure free dom of oportunfty to all of our citizens, now and hereafter, and to set the ulti- mate interest of all of us above the temporary interest of any individual
 The nation, its government. and its resources exist. first of all, for the American citizen, whatever his creed, race, or birthplace, whether he be rich AY AArr Aa1 xn ferrA oaA IA only that he is a good citizen. recogniz- ing his obligation to the nation for the rights and opportunities which he owes to the nation.
 The obligations. and not the rights. of citizenship increase in proportion to the increase of mans wealth or power. TAe time is coming when a man will be judged, not by what he has succeeded in getting for himself from the com- mon store, but by how we'll he has done his duty as citizen, and by what the ordinary citizen has gained in freedom for tSe common pood Tbs % b,ghs.t % servls YsI' we know Is that of the individual citi- zen. and the highest justice is to give him fair play in the effort to realize the best that is in him.
 The tasks this nation has to do are great tasks. They can only be done at all by our citizens acting together ana they can be done best of all by the di- rect and simple application of homely common sense The application of com mon sense to common problems for the common good, under the guidance of the principles upon which this republic was based, and by. virtue of which 1t exists. spells perpetuity for the nation, civil and industrial liberty for it's citi- zens, and freedomN of opportunity in the pursuit. of happiness for the plain founded. by whom 1t was preserved, and through whom alone it can be perpet- usted. Upon this piatform-larger than Judice. broader than Any question of profit and loss--there is room for every American who realizes that the com. mon good stands first.
 The National Conservation Comnla- sion wisely confined its report to the statement of facts and principles. leav- 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. closd by the report, and to the action thereby clearly demanded for the gen-
 waters.
 The report says:
 Within recent months N has been recognized and demanded by the people, through many thousand delegates from all States assembled in convention In the waterways should and must be im- proved promptly and effectively as c means or maintaining national pros perfty.
 The first requisite for waterway improvement is the control of the wa ters in such manner as to reduce noodz and regulate the regimen of the nav igable rivers. The second requisite is development of terminals and connec. tions in such manner as to regulate commerce.
 Accordingly, I urge that the broad plan for the development of our wat erways recommended by the Inland Wat erways Commission, be put in effect without delay. It provides for a com prehensiye system of waterway im- provement extending to all the uses of the waters and benefits to be derived from their control, including naviga- tion, the development of power, the ex- tension of irrigation. the drainage of swamp and overflow lands, the preven- tion of son wash. and the .purification of streams for water supply. It pro- poses to carry out the work by co-ordi- hating agencies in the Federal depart ments through the medium of an ad- ministrative commission or board act ing in cooperation with the States and other organizations and individual citizens.
 The work of waterway development should be undertaken without delay -4-. V-.