Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1922-02-16


Wd II MI periods set the example for the peo-
WAT IVY pie of periods that follow? Is there
$$NN NV a destiny that shapes our ends? An
zSM5SJ independent and free people may be
" TRSO = original make and follow their own
q vs. plans, and determine their own des-
~ tiny. This hour is full of interest to
those who are concerned with ques-
tlons affecting the welfare of the people and the
future Of the republic. - "
so 1t is not my purpose today TO attempt TO ex-
tend the fame or add to the renOWn of Washing
Ton. his fame is secure even to the earth's remot-
est bounds; his renoWn will grow as the centuries
unfold the scroll of the ages While men care for
wisdom and honor and patriotism and appreciate
the achievements of those who have served man
kind, Washington will have a place in the minds
and hearts of men in all countries and in all ages
(Applause) I shall therefore take occasion on this
anniversary of his birth to note the government
established by the fathers, the achievements made
under 1T by the American people and it's benefits
to mankind, and at the same time consider the de-
partures that have been made from its funda-
mental principles and purposes that endanger it's
perpetuty
1t is safe to say that the creation and adoption
Of the Constitution Of the United States mark the
worlds greatest achievement in. the art of self
government. The fathers under the leadership of
washington undertook the delicate and difficult
task OF creating government with such endur
ing principles as would make it susceptible of be-
Ing perpetuated. 1t provided that each citizen
who lived under it should for all time be the polit
cal equal of every other citizen and that every man
should have the opportunity of obtaining individu
al reward for individual effort The government
created was of the people, by the people, and for
the people. Its purposes and powers are Simple
plain, and direct. 1t offers protection to the cit-
zen in his right to fe liberty, property and in the
pursuit of his happiness. The powers granted are
enumerated with such other powers as may natur-
ally be implied from the written instrument. ;. =
These powers impose upon the government Gre
ated the duty of dealing with national and
international questions affecting the life the char
acter, and the honor of the republic and its people
in their national and international relations The
right and duty of dealing with such questions as
affect the individual citizen are left to the states
and the smaller political subdivisions Under this
division of political authority and duty the people
of the United States have through hundred and
thirty years enjoyed the freest and best govern
ment in all the world. Under the simple guaran-
ties of government that make the Individual secure
in his natural rights the American citizen has been
developed. He is self-reliant resOurceful. cOur-
ageous, Inventive, ambitious, patriotic, and appre-
clative of his heritage Of freedom. There runs
through his veins the best blood of every people
north Of the Mediterranean sea. From the DAYS
of the fathers every generation has offered and
Of the honor, the preservation of the integrity and
the advancement Of the glory of the republic. 1t
is ours. We must preserve it. We must not i'm
pose duties upon it that it cannot perform. We
must not ask the exercise of functions for which
1t was not created. We must not indulge in. the
hope Of things from it that it cannot give We
must not invite dsappointments in the operation
of its activities. 1t is enough that it shall always
offer protection to all that man holds dear and
! shall continue to afford opportunities to the in
dividual citizen to obtain rewards according to his
individual ambitions and efforts.
| This leads me to call attention to the important
duties of this hour that require to take our bear
ing and to ascertain how far we have already been
beguled to depart from it and divert and multiply
the activities of the government in matters foreign
to It's original purposes, and to contemplate the
effects of such departure the life of the govern
and on the opportunity of the individual citi-
zen
1t would be difficult to enumerate all the de-
partments bureaus, and commissions of the govern
ment at Washington that have been created to ex-
ercse bureaucratic authority and paternal guardi-
anship over the people in every part of the re-
public. There Is activity, business social or
domestic condition that is not the object of their
supervision, their sOlicitude, or, their authority
over 100000 civilian employees make up the army
that oversees and directs the affairs of the people
! and assumes guardianship over them. Govern
ment agents and inspectors exercising every. va
rety of authority, are found on every Pullman
out of and into Washington. Government reports
ON every subject from adenods to rat traps fill the
! files of offices that of floor space in
Washington. The mahogany and quartersawed
oak Office furniture already installed has cost many
millions of dollars, and more is being purchased
If yearlng dies of backleg on a farm in
Kansas, the government at Washington acts on
.he case If hog dies of the cholera i'm q hog lot
| IN Iowa, the government ut Washington takes
| charge If a weev bores through a boil of cot