The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-08-08
Governor Woodrow Wilson III, Striking Address Accepts
Democratic For President of United States

There are many sides 10 tnese great
matters Conservation Is easy 10 general
ize about, but bard to part.cular1ze about
wisely. Reservation is not ire whole OF
conservation The development of great
states must not be stayed inde 1nitely to
await a police by which Our forests end
] water powerz can prudently he made use
cf Use AMI development must go hand
in hand. The policy we atapt must be
progressive, not negative, merely. as II
we did not know what to do
with regard to the development or
greater and more numerous waterways
and the building up of merchant marine,
| we must follow great constructive lines
i and not fall hack upon the cheap device or
bounties and subsidies. In the case OF
the Mississippi river, that great central
artery of our trade, 1t is PLAN that the
federal COVE, nn1ent must build and main
cain the levees and keep tn, great waters
| in harness for the general use. 1t Is
plain, too, that vast sums of money
| must be sp snt TO develop row waterways
Iwhere trade will be most served and trans
rertation NEST readily cheapenad by them.
such expenditures are no largess on the
Fart OF the government: they are nation
al investments.
Merchant Marine
The question of a merchant marine
! turns beck To the tariff again TO which
al roads seem to lead, ami to our reg
i istry laws. which, if coupled with the
tariff. might almost be supposed to have
peen intended t. take the American flag
Oh the seas, Bcunties are MT necessary.
'f yod will bot undo some of the things
that have ben done. without a great
| merchant marine cannot take our
| righttul place in tile commerce of the
world. Merchants who musS delend upon
the carriers OF rival mercantile nations
to carry their goods to market arc at dis
advantage N International trade toe mani
fest to need to be pointed cut; and
cur merchants will not long suffer them
seives-ought not TO suffer the'nselyes-to
ne placed al such disadvantage Our
Industries nave expanded 20 s lch a point
that they will hurst their Jackets, if they
| cannot find a free outlet 10 tie markets
of the world: and they can lot find such
an outlet unless they be gwen ships OF
their own to carry their good f--shps that
sill 10 the lnuics they wan. II EN- 10
and prefer tle interests ot America in
their SAILING Oh ders and ther equipment.
Our domestic markets no longer suffice.
We need - eign markets That is an
other force that is going to break the
tariff down. The tariff was once bull
; | wark, now il is a dam For trade is
reciprocal VIC cannot sell unless we also
| buy.
The very fact that we nave at last
taken the Panama canal seriously in
rand and are vigorously pushing 1t to-
wards completion is eloquent of cur re-
| Weakened in, rests in International trade.
We are no. building the canal and pour
ing out million upon million OF money up
on its construction merely to establish a
water connection between the two coasts
CT the continent, important and desirable
as that may be. particularly from the
point of view of naval defense. Ii is
meant TO be a great international high
| way. 1t would be a little ridiculous il
we should build 1t and then have no ships
to send through it, There have been years
when not single ton of fl eight passed
through the great Suez canal in an Amer
, lean bottom, SO empty are the seas of our
Ships and sehmen. We must mean to put
!. an END to thai kind of thing we would
not De cutting new canal at our very
doors merely for the use of our men Of
war. We shall not manage the revival by
the mere paltry device of tolls We must
build and buy ships in competition with
, me World. We can do 1t IL we will but
. give ourselve; leave.
: Promoting Education
There is another duty whicn the demo-
cratic party has shown itself great
enough and close enough to tie people to
perceive the duty OF government to share
| N promoting agricultural. Industrial, vo-
cational education in every way possible
, within its constitutional powers Ne other
; platform has gwen this intimate consti-
1utonal powers The nation cannot enjoy
its deserved supremacy in the markets
and enterprises of the world unless it's
; people are given the ease and effectiveness
tnat come only with knoweige and train
, ing. Education is part of the great task
Of conservation, part of the task of re-
, newal and oil perfected power.
!, We have set ourselves d great pro-
. granne, and il will be a greet party that
! carries 1t out. 1t must be party without
cntanglng alliances with any special In
, erest whatever. 1t must nave the spirit
and the poin. of view of the nav age. Men
are tlrnng away from tao republican
, party as organized, under his old leaders
because they found that it was not free.
that IT was eEtangled; and Trey turn
, ing to US because they de I'm US free to
] serve them They are immensely inter-
ested, as we are as every man who
reads the sicns of the time and feels the
spiriS of the new age is. in The new pro-
> gramme 1t is solidly based on the facts
or our national life; its items items OF
present business; it is what every man
should wish to see done who wishes to see
our present distempers made an end OF
e and our old free, cooperative life re-
stored.
r Must Be Constructive
: I'VE should go into this campaign con-
: ident of only one thing-ccnfident of
! what we war, to do il entrusted with the
government. 1t is not partisan fight we
are entering uron. We are happily ex-
cused from personal attacks upon oppo-
nents and from all general indictments
against the men opposed to ns. The facts
:, are patent to everybody; we &c not have
, to prove them; the more flank among
I. our opponents admit them Cur thinking
must be constructive from start to finish.
We must show that we unde, stand the
problems that confront us, and that we
are soberly minded to deal with them, APP
, plying to them. not iostruns and no.
I tions, but hard sense and good courage.
, "A presidential campaign nay easily
, degenerate into mere personal contest
T and lose IT. real dignity and significance.
! There is no indispensable man The gov
eminent will not collapse and go to pieces
: | IL any one. of the gentlemen who are
, seeking to be entrusted with its guild
, ance should he left at home. u men are
. | Instruments We are as important as the
, | cause we represent. and in order to be
, important must really represent a cause.
What is our cause? The peoples cause?
That is easy to say, but what does 1t
moan? The common against any par
tic,lar interest whatever? Yes. but that.
too needs translation into acts and pol
ices We represent the desire to set UP
al unentangled government, q govern
, ment that cannot be used for p; ivate pur-
poses, either In the field of business or
, Will not tolerate the use of the organiza-
ton of a great party to serve tile personal
aims and ambitions of any individual,