The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1913-03-07
TASK is NOT MERELY ONE
OF POLITICS.

J address of President Woodrow Wilson
I is as follows:
There has been n 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 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.
Inat Is the question | am going to try
to answer, in order, if | may, to inter
| prct the occasion
II means much more than the mere
success of a party. The success of Il
party means little except when the
nation Is using that party for Il large
and definite purpose No one can mis-
take the purpose for which the nation
now seeks to use the Democratic party.
1t seeks to Use it to interpret 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. awak-
ened eyes; have dropped their disguiseS
and shown themselves alien ard sin,
lister. Some new things as we look
frankly upon them. willing to compre-
hend their real character, have come
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
itIeSs 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,
a great system of government. which
has stood through long age as in
many respects Il 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 ineXcusable
waste We have SQuandPred a great |
part of what we might have used aud |
ceeding bounty of nature without
which our genius for enterprise would .
have been worthless and impotent.
Scorning to be careful, shamefully
prodiga as we'll as admirably efficient
We have been proud of our industrial
achievements, but we have not hith-
ertO stopped thoughtfuIly enough to
count the human cost, the cost of lives
Snuffed out, of energies OvertaXed and
broken, the fearful physical and Spir
ituaI cost to the men and women and
children upon whom the dead weight
and burden Of it all has fallen pitiless.
ly the years through The groans and
agony of it all had not yet reached
our ears, the solemn, moving under.
tone of our life, coming up out of the
mines and factories and out of every
home where the struggle had its init
mate and familiar seat. With the
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
ment we loved has too often been
made use of for private and selfish
and those who used it had
forgotten the people.
Duty of Americans Outlined.
At last vision has been vOuchSafed
us of our life as Il whole. We see the
bad with the good. the debased and
decadent with the sound and vital.
With this vision we approach new af,
fairs. Our duty is to cleanse. to re-
to restore, to correct the evil
without impairing the good, to purify
md humaniZe every process of our
common life without weakening or
sentimentalizing it. There has been
crude and heartleSs and I'M
feeling in our haste to succeed and be
great. Our thought has been, Let ev-
cry man look out for himself; let ev-
.ry generation look out for itself"
while we reared giant machinery which
made it impossible that any but those
who stood Mt the levers of control
should have a chance to look out for
themselves. We had not forgotten our
morals. We remembered well enough
hat we had set up policy which was
meant to serve the humbleSt as well as
he most powerful, with an eye single
o the standards of justice and fair
Nav, and remembered ii with pride.
But we were very needless and il a !
hurry TO be great.