The Elbert County tribune., 1913-03-07
WILSON SPEAKS
TO THE NATION
Inaugural Address Delivered by
the New President.
SEES WORK OF RESTORATION
Task Of Victorious Democracy 10 to
Square Every Process Of National
Life With Standards Set Up
at the Beginning.

Wilson'S inaugural aQOreBbs IeInArK-
able for its brevity. was listened to
with the greatest interest by the vast
throng which was gathered in front
of the capitol's east portico, and at its
close there was heard nothing but
praise for its eloquence and high
moral tone. The address in full was
as follows:
There has been a change OF govern
ment. 1t began two years ago, when
the house of representatives became
Democratic by decisive majority.
1t has now been completed. The SEN
ate about to assemble will also be
Democratic The offices Of president
and vice-president have been put into
the hands of Democrats. What does
the change mean? That is the ques-
tion that is uppermost in our minds
today. That is the question / am 60
ing to try to answer, in order, If i
may, to interpret the occasion.
Purpose of the Nation.
1t means much more than the mere
success of party. The success of
party means little except when the
nation is using that party for a large
and definite purpose. No one can
mistake the purpose for which the
nation now seeks to use the Demo
cratic party. 1t seeks to use it to in
terpret change in its own plans and
point of view. Some old things with
which we had grown familiar. and
which had begun to creep into the
very habit of our thought and of our
lives, have altered their aspect as we
have latterly looked critically upon
them, with fresh, awakened eyes:
have dropped their DISCUSSES and
shown themselves alien and sinister
Some new things, as we look frankly
upon them. willing to comprehend
their real character. have-come to as
sumo the aspect Of things long believ-
ed in and familiar. stuff of our own
convictions. We have been refreshed
by a new insight into our own life.
We see that in many things that
life is very great. 1t is incomparably
great in its material aspects. In its
body of wealth, in the diversity and
sweep of its energy, in the industries
which have been conceived and built
up by the genius of Individual men
and the limitless enterprise of groups
of men. 1t is great also, very great
in its moral force. Nowhere else in
the world have noble men and women
exhibited in more striking form the
beauty and energy of sympathy and
helpfulness and counsel in their efforts
to rectify wrong. alleviate suffering.
and set the weak in the way Of
strength and hope. We have built up,
moreover, a great system of govern
ment, which has stood through a long
age as in many respects a model for
those who seek to set liberty upon
foundations that will endure against
fortuitous change, against storm and
great thing, and contains 1t in rich
abundance.
Evils That Have Come.
But the evil has come with the
good, and much fine gold has been
corroded. With riches has come in
excusable waste We have squan-
dered great part of what we might
have used, and have not stopped to
conserve the exceeding bounty of ma
ture. without which our genius for en-
terprise would have been worthless
and impotent. scorning to be careful,
shamefully prodigal as well as admir-
ably efficient. We have been proud of
our industrial achievements, but we
have not hitherto stopped thought
fully enough to count the human cost,
the cost of lives snuffed out, of ener-
giles overtaxed and broken, the fear
full physical and spiritual cost to the
men and women and children upon
whom the dead weight and burden of
1t all has fallen pitilessly the years
through. The groans and agony of it
all had not yet reached our ears, the
solemn. moving undertone of our life,
coming up out of the mines and fac
tories and out Of every home where
the struggle had its intimate and IA
miliar seat. With the great govern
ment went many deep secret things
which we too long delayed to look
into and scrutinize with candid, fear
less eyes. The great government we
loved has too often been made use of
for private and selfish purposes, and
those who used 1t had forgotten the
people.
At last vision has been vouch-
safed US of our life as a whole. We
see the bad with the good, the de-
based and decadent with the sound
and vital. With this vision we ap-
proach new affairs. Our duty is to
cleanse. to reconsider. to restore. to
correct the evil without impairing the
good, to purify and humanize every
process Of our common life without
weakening or sentimentalizing it.
There has been something crude and
heartless and unfeeling in our haste to
succeed and be great. Our thought has
been Let every man look out for him.
self. let every generation look out for