Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-03-06
WILSON'S VIEWS
GIVEN TO nation
Inaugural Address Of the New
President.
DEFINES PEOPLES DUTY.

ciety Sound by Sanitary and Pure
Food StAutes and Measures Deter
mining Conditions of Labor-Task
Not Merely One OF Politics.
Washington. March 4.-The inangura
address of President Woodrow Wilson
Is as follows:
There has been change of govern
ment 1t began two years ago whcn
the house of representatives became
Democratic by decisive majority. II
has now been completed. The senate
about to assemble will also be Demo
cratic. The offices of president and
vice president have been put into the
hands of Democrats. What does the
change mean? That is the question
that is uppermost in our minds today
That is the question | am going TO r.;
20 answer in order, if l may, 10 inter
pret the occasion.
It means much more than the mere
success of a party. The success of 81
party means little except when thu
nation is using that party for a larIt
and definite purpose No one can mis-
Jake the purpose for which the nation
now seeks to use the Democratic party
1t seeks to use 1t to interpret n chang
in its own plans and point OF view
Some old things with which we haze
grown familiar and which had hegur
to creep into the very habit of ou
thought and OF our lives have alterp,
their aspect as we have latterly lookc'
Wi
ened eyes; have dropped their disguise,
and shown themselves alien and sin
lister. Some new things as we lu0l
frankly upon them, willing to comprr
bend their real character. have com,
to assume the aspect of things long be
lieved in and familiar. stuff of our own
convictions. We have been refreshed
by new insight into our own life.
Our Model Government
We see that in many things 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 lin
itless 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 forms the beauty and
the energy Of sympathy and helpful
ness and counsel in their efforts to rec.
tify wrong, alleviate suffering and set
the weak in the way of strength and
hope We have built up. moreover
great system of government, 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 accident.
Our life contains every great thing and
contains it in rich abundance.
But the evil has come with the good
and much fine gold has been corroded
With riches has come ineScusabe
waste. We have squandered a great
part of what we might have used and
have not stopped to conserve the eX
,eeding bounty Of nature without
which our genius for enterprise woulC
nave been worthless and impotent
prodigal as we'll as admira bly, efficient
We have been proud of our industrial
achievements, but we have not hlth
erto stopped thoughtfully enough tt
count the human cost, the cost OF live!
snuffed out, of energies Overtaxed ant
broken, the fearful physical and spir
itual cost to the men and women anC
children upon whom the dead weigh
and burden of it all has fallen pitiless
ly the years through The grOans ant
agony of it all had not yet reached
our ears. the solemn. moving under
tone of our life, coming up out of thu
mines and factories and out of ever.
home where the struggle had its init
mate and familiar seat. With thu
great government went many deep sc
cret things which we too long delayed
TO look into and scrutiniZe with can
did, fearless eyes The great govern
made use of for private and selfs
purposes. and those who used 1t ha
forgotten the people.
Duty OF Americans Outlined.
At last a vision has been youchsafe
us Of our life as a whole. We see tn
bad with the good. the debased an
lecadent with the sound and vita
With this vision we approach new al
fairs, Our duty is to cleanse to II
consider, to restore. to correct the ev
without impairing the good, to purlf
and humanize every process OF GU
common life without weakening q
sentimentalizing ii. There has bee
something crude and heartlesS and VI
feeling in our haste to succeed and b
great Our thought has been. Let e'
Try man look out for himself; let e'
Dry generation look out for ITSELF
while we reared giant machinery whic
made it impossible that any but thof
who stood at the levers Of contr'
should have a chance to look out fc
themselves We had not forgotten OF
morals. We remembered well enouG
that we had set up n policy which wa
meant to serve the humblest as well
the most powerful. with an eye sing
to the standards Of Justice and IA
olay, and remembered 1t with prid
But we were very needless and In
hurry to be great
We have come now to the sober sc
Ond thought. The scales OF needles
ness haye fallen from our ewes