The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1912-08-09

mines and throughout an our great in.
dustrial and commercial undertakings,
and the political life Of the people of
the Philippines, for whom we hold
governmental power In trust for their
service, not our own. The other. the
additional duty is the great task of
protecting our people ana our resources
and Of keeping open TO the whole peo.
pie the doors Of opportunity through
which they must. generation by gener-
alton. pass II they are to make con-
quest of their fortunes In health, in
freedom, in peace and In contentment.
In the performance of this second
great duty we are face to face with
questions Of conservation and Of de-
velopmcnt. questions of forests and
water powers and mines and water
ways. Of the building of an adequate
merchant marine, and the opening Of
every highway and facility, and the
setting up of every safeguard needed
by an Industrious, expanding nation.
In Partnership With the People.
These are all great matters upon
which everybody should be heard. We
have got into trouble In recent years
chiefly because these large things,
which ought to have been handled by
taking counsel with as large a num-
Der of persons as possible. because
they touched every interest and the
life of every class and region, have
In fact been too often handled In
private conference. They have been
settled by very small and often de.
libe.ately exclusive groups Of men
who undertook to speak for the whole
nation, or, rather, for themselves In
the terms Of the whole nation-very
honestly It may be, but very ignorant
~ sometimes. and very shortsightedly.
too--a poor substitute for genuine COM
mon counsel. No group Of directors.
economic or political. can speak for
! people. They have neither the point
Of view nor the knowledge. We need no
revolution; we need no excited change:
we need only new point Of view and
a new method and spirit Of counsel.
We are servants OF the people. the
whole people. The nation has been
unnecessarily, unreasonably at war
within itself. Interest has clashed
with interest when there were COM
mon principles Of right and Of fair
dealing which might and should have
bound them all together. not IA rivals.
but as partners. As the servants OF
all we are bound TO undertake the
| great duty of accommodation and ad.
| justment.
We cannot undertake 1t except In a
spirit which some find It hard to un-
derstand. Some people only smile
when you speak Of yourself as serv-
ant Of the people; 1t seems to them
like affectation or mere demngogy.
They ask what the unthinking crowd
knows or comprehends of great com
pllcated matters Of government. They
shrug their shoulders and lift their
eyebrows when you speak as II you
realty believed -in--presidential priIna.
ries, IN the direct election OF United
States senator's and In an utter pub
| licity about everything that concerns
I, government, from the sources Of cam
| BulE w thC 'Nc"'> W
the highest affairs of state.
! The Public q Noble Whole.
They do not or will not cOmpre.
hend the solemn thing that IL In your
thought. You know as well as they
do that there are all sorts and cOndi-
tiOns Of men-the unthlnklng mixed
with the wise. the reckless with the
prudent, the INSCRIPTIONS with the
fair and honest--and you know. what
they sometimes forget. that every
class. without exception. affords a
sample Of the mixture, the learned and
the fortunate no less than the unedu-
Gated and the struggling mass. But
you see more than they do. You see
that these multitudes of men, mixed
of every kind and quality, constitute
somehow an organic and noble whole
single people, and that they have In.
terests which no man can privately
determine without their knowledge
and counsel. That is the meaning OF
representative government itself.
You may think that am wandering
Off into general disqulsition that has
little to do with the business In hand
but am not. This Is buslness-busi
ness Of the deepest sort. 1t will solve
our difficulties II you will but take II
as business.
The Tariff.
See how It makes business out Of thu
tariff question. The tariff question al
dealt with In our time at any rate hai
not been business. 1t has been politics
Tariff schedules have been made NJ
for the purpose of keeping as large .
number as possible Of the rich and In
huential manufacturers Of the country
In good humor with the Republican
party, which desired their constant
financial support. The tariff has be
come system Of favOrs, which thu
1hraseology Of the schedule was offer
deliberately contrived to conceal. I
becomes matter of business, of legiti
mate business, only when the partner
ship and understanding 1t represent,