Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1913-03-06
WILSON'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS
New Chief Executive Declares His Aim viii Be to Correct the
Evils Of Our National Life Without mparing the Good.

Woodrow Wilson's inaugural address
delivered today, one of the shortest on
record, was as follows:
There has been a change Of govern
ment. 1t began two years ago, when
the house of representatives became
Democratic by a decisive majority
1t has now been completed. The SEN
ate about to assemble viii 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-
| ton that Is uppermost In our minds
today. That is the question l am go
ing to try to answer, in order, II l
may. to interpret the occasion.
| 1t means much more than the mere
success OF a party. The success of
party means little except when the
nation Ia using that party for large
and definite porpose. No one can
mistake the purpose for which the
nation now seeks to use the Demo
cratic party. II seeks to use 1t to in
terpret a change in its own plans and
point OF view. Some old things with
/
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. stun 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 it's 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 it's moral force. Nowhere else in
the world have noble men and women
exhibited in more striking form the
beauty and energy of sympathy anc
helpfulness and counsel in their efforts
to rectify wrong, alleviate suffering
and set the weak in the way o.
strength and hope.
But the evil has come with tbf
good, and much fine gold has beer
corroded. With riches has come in
excusable waste. We have squan
dered a great part of what we Nigh
have used, and have not stopped t
conserve the exceeding bounty of ns
!, ture, without which our genius for Ell
terprise would have been WORTHLESS
and impotent, scorning to be careful
:. shamefully prodigal as well as admin
= ably efficient. We have been proud O
!, our Industrial achievements, but W
have not hitherto stopped thought
: fully enough to count the human cost
the cost OF lives snuffed out, of enei
giles overtaxed and broken, the feal
full physical and spiritual cost to tn
men and women and children upol
whom the dead weight and burden o
it all has fallen pitllessly the year
through. The groans and agony Of
all had not yet reached our ears, tn
. solemn, moving undertone of our life
= coming up out of the mines and fat
y tories and out of every home wher
= the struggle had its intimate and fl
miliar seat With the great govern
ment went many deep secret thing
which we too long delayed to loo
into and scrutiniZe with candid, fea
less eyes. The great government W
= loved has too often been made use
y for private and selfish purposes, an
those who used 1t had forgotten III
= people.
" At last q vision has been Voucl
- safed us of our life as a whole. W
% see the bad with the good, the d
- based and decadent with the SCUM
y and vital. With this vision We a
% proach new affairs. Our duty is
cleanse, to reconsider, to restore,
correct the evil without iy1pairing ii
M good, to purify and humanize ever
e. process of our common life witho'
rs weakening or sentimentalizing
lie There has been something crude al
W heartless and unfeeling in our haste
e. succeed and be great. Our thought hi
10 been Let every man look out for hir
D self, let every generation look out fc
o. itself while we reared giant machi
AZ cry which made 1t impossible that an
but those who stood at the levers (
N control should have a chance to loo
c. out for themselves. We had not TO
"a gotten our morals. We remembers
Of well enough that we had set up
lie policy which was meant to serve II
rs humblest as well as the most powe
Il full. with an eye single to the stan
ID ards of justice and fair play, and r
he membered it with pride. But We wei
is very needless and in hurry 90 begrea
III We have come now to the sob'
u second thought. The scales Of hee
c. lessness have fallen from our eye
90 We have made up our minds to squai
rs every process of our national III
&c again with the standards we so prou