The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-03-14
mot A TRIUMPH,
BUT DEDICATION'
President Wilson So Declares
Inauguration Ceremony.
Relieves Country Ready for Change
of Policy-Justice and Equal
Opportunity for Workers.

Washington, D. C. President Will
sons inaugural address follows:
There has been change of govern
ment. 1t began two yeais ago, when
the house of representatives became
democratic by decisive majority.
It has now been completed. The SEN
ate about to assemble Will also De
Democratic. The offices of President
ond 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 l am 60
ing to try to answer, IN order, IL L
NAV. to interpret the occasion.
It means much more than the mere
success of a party. The success OF a
nartv means little except when the
nation is using that party for large
and definite purpose. No one can mis-
take the purpose for which the nation
now seeks to use the Democratic
marty. It seeks to use it to interpret
a 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
out thought and of our lives, have al
tered 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 assume the aspect of
things long believed 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 it's 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 helpfulness and counsel in their
efforts to rectify wrong, alleviate suf-
fering, and set the weak in the way
of strength and hope. We have built
up, moreover, great system of gov
eminent, which has stood through q
long age as in many respects mode
for those who seek to set liberty upor
foundations that will endure against
fortuitous change, against storm ano
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 cor
roded. With riches has come mex.
cusable waste. We have squandereo
a great part of what we might have
used, and have not stopped to conserve
the exceeding bounty of nature, with.
out which our genius for enterprise
would have been worthless and impo-
tent, scorning to be careful, shameful
ly prodigal as we'll as admirably eff.
cient We have been proud of oul
industrial achievements, but we have
not hitherto stopped thoughtfully
enough to count the human cost, the
cost of lives snuffed out, of energies
overtaxed and broken, the fearful
physical and spiritual cost to the mer
and women and children upon whom
h. ;ob+ of IL
has fallen pitilessly the years through.
The groans and agony of it all had not
yet reached our ears, the solemn, NOV.
ing undertone of our life, coming uI
out of the mines and factories and out
of every home where the struggle haC
its intimate and familiar seat. With
the great government went many deer
secret things which we too long de.
layed to look into and scrutinize with
candid, fearless eyes. The great
government we loved has too otter
been made use of for private and self.
ish purposes, and those who used il
had forgotten the people.
At last vision has been vouchsafec
us of our life as whole. We see
the bad with the good, the debased anc
decadent with the sound and vital
With this vision we approach new
affairs. Our duty is to cleanse, to
reconsider, to restore, to correct the
evil without impairing the good, tc
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 himself
let every generation look out for it
self, while we reared giant ma
chinery which made it impossible tha
any but those who stood at the lever.
of control should have chance to lool