The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-03-04

Washington, March A.-President
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 decisive majority.
1t has now been completed. The SEN
ate about to assemble will 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 60
ing to try to answer, in order. II
may, to interpret the occasion.
1t means much more than the mere
success Of a party. The success Of a
party means little except when the
nation is 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. 1t seeks to use it to in
terpret change in it's 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, awakened eyes;
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, 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 it's
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 and
helpfulness and counsel in their efforts
to rectify wrong, alleviate suffering,
and set the weak in the way of
strength and hope.
But the evil has come with the
good, and much fine gold has been
corroded. With riches has come in
excusable waste. We have squan-
dered great part of what we might
have used, and have not stopped to
conserve the exceeding bounty of ma
ture, without which our genius for en-
terprise would have been worthless
and impotent, scorning to be careful,
shamefu]ly prodigal as we'll as admir-
ably efficient. We have been proud Of
our Industrial achievements, but we
have not hitherto stopped thought
fully enough to count the human cost,
the cost of lives snuffed out, Of ~ener-
gies overtaxed and broken, the fear
full physical and spiritual cost to the
whom the dead weight and burden Of
it all has fallen pltilessly the years
through. The groans and agony Of it
all had not yet reached our ears, the
solemn, moving undertone Of our life,
coming up out Of the mines and fac
tories and out Of every home where
the struggle had its intimate and ia
miliar seat. With the great govern
ment went many deep secret things
which we too long delayed to look
into and scrutinize with candid, fear
less eyes. The great government we
loved has too often been made use of
for private and selfish purposes, and
those who used it had forgotten the
people.
At last vision has been vouch-
safed us Of our life as whole. We
see the bad with the good, the de-
based and decadent with the sound
and vital. With this vision we ap-
proach new affairs. Our duty is to
cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, to
correct the evil without impairing the
good, to 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 him
self, let every generation look out for
ITSELF while we reared giant machin-
cry which made it impossible that any
but those who stood at the levers Of
control should have chance to look
out for themselves. We had not for
gotten our morals. We remembered
we'll enough that we had set up q
policy which was meant to serve the
humblest as well as the most power
!ful, with an eye single to the stand
ards Of Justice and fair play. and re-
imembered it with pride. But We were
very needless and In a hurry to begreat.
We have como now to the sober
second thought. The scales Of heed
1.lessness have fallen from our eyes.
We have made up our minds to square
every process Of our national life
again with the standards We - proud.