The Pensacola journal., 1913-01-08

purpose, by a proper regard for my
fellow man, by an unswerving fidelity
and loyalty to every public trust, to
manifest my gratitude and heartfelt
appreciation for the honor of having
been called to the chief magistracy of
our state.
|. enter upon the duties of this i'm
portant office fully mindful that to the
man who has the right conception of
his duty, the ambition to serve in O
public capacity is not for the purpose
of enriching himself, the punishment
of enemies or rewarding at the public
expense his friends, nor that ne may
extend any special privilege to any
person or class; but he is moved by
the higher and nobler purpose OF rem
dering the greatest service Of which he
is capable to the whole people. So far
as human limitations and my own ca
paeity will permit, I now assure YOU
that my official conduct during the
next four years shall be ever guided
and governed by this high conception
of public duty.
I have been gratified and pleased to
note the satisfaction with which the
people of Florida generally seemed to
accept the result of our recent primary
and the general election following; and
hope and believe that whatever feel
ing may have arisen in the heat of the
campaign for the governorship has
now given place to good will: and
| this happy condition fills me with the
confident hope that Florida is now
preparing to enjoy most beneficial
4 - b<,,,
period in which political controversy
will give way to the states advance
ment, in which rivalries and jealousies
ct whatever nature VIII be subordi
mated to hearty and healthy promotion
of the general welfare.
| No state is richer in its history, It's
traditions or in romance than ours.
None has past more glorious, nor a
future fraught with greater promise
/ Surely, there are unerring indications
/ that Florida is now entering upon a
new, brilliant and most fruitful period
OF industrial development. 1t is i'm
! possible for the keenest prophetic
vision to forecast her progress within
the next decade. With our state alive
i in every field of endeavor, necessarily
/ the duties and responsibilities Of those
who are charged and entrusted with
i the conduct of the public business are
| greatly augmented and the public de-
4 mands broadened and enlarged The
i times demand aggression and progress
1 in public affairs. Government should
| keep abreast with the times, and 1t is
| my earnest hope that F'lorida's public
/ interests during the administration
now beginning, and throughout the
4 future, shall be fully responsive to the
| industrial and social progress of her
| people.
/ Politically, we are at the dawn Of
! new era in the history of this great
j nation-an era marked by an unpar-
alleled awakening of the public con-
science upon the problems of the age
/ and in the matter of demanding the
i highest standard Of service from pub
i lie off1cials. The masses have grasped
4 a full realization of the fact that the
foundation of free government rests
upon the consent and should be guided
by the will of the people. Government
is for the general good, and that pub
lie servant who fails to exert honestly
4 all his energies towards securing the
1 greatest possible benefits for his con-
i stituents has fallen short of fulfilling
the just and reasonable demands which
should be expected of those called to
positions of public trust. Nothing
|. short Of the most constant devotion
to duty is going to satisfy the people
under the happy, new conditions of
popular concern about political affairs
and / believe nothing else should
} satisfy them.
Il For about a score OF years the con-
test has waged heavily in this country
; -as it has, indeed, throughout the civ
ilized world-between the old order of
: special privilege and the reformed idea
: OF equal opportunity and fair play for
/ all. We marvel at the progress being
/ made by the various professions and
sciences and crafts; but, as 1 see it,
tt one of the most significant evolutions
in history. which the world has made
in our own generation, has been the
real awakening Of the people to the