River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1922-02-16

future of the republic
So it is not my purpose today to attempt to ex-
tend the fame or add to the renown of Washing
ton His fame is secure 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 place in the minds
and hearts Of men in all countries and in all ages
(Applause) 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 its benefits
10 mankind and at the same time consider the de-
partures that have been made from its funda-
mental principles and purposes that endanger its
perpetuity.
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
e washington undertook the delicate and difficult
task of creating government with such endur-
ing principles as would make it susceptible of be-
ing perpetuaed. It was provided that each citizen
who lived under 1t should for all time be the poti
cal equal of every other citizen and that every man
should have the opportunity of obtaining ndividu-
al reward for individual effort. The government
created was of the people, by the people, and for
the people. Its purposes and powers simple
plain and direct It offers protection to the citi-
zen in his right to lfe liberty property and In the
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 ife the char
acter and the honor of the republic and its peope
In their national and international relations The
right and duty of dealing with such questions as
affect the individual citizen 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 a 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-
catiye 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
freely given life and property for the maintenance
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 inn
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 1t that 1t cannot give. We
must not invite disappointment in the operation
of its activities. 1t is enough that 1t shall always
offer protection to all that man holds dear and
shall continue to afford opportunities to the In
diydual 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 Us take our bear
ing and to ascertain how far we have already been
beguiled to depart from it and divert and multiply
the activities of the government in matters foreign
TO its original purposes, and TO contemplate the
effects of such departure the life of the govern
ent and on the opportunity of the individual citi-
zen.
II would be difficult to enumerate ali the de-
partments, bureaus and commissions of the govern
ment at Washington that have been created to ex-
ercise bureaucratic authority and paternal guardi-
anship the people in every part of the re-
public. There is activity business, social or
domestic condition that is ret the object of their
supervision their solicitude or their authority.
Over 100000 civilian employees make up the army
that overs and directs the affairs of the people
and assumes guardianship over them. Govern
ment agents and inspectors. exercising every va
rieey of authority, are found on every Pullman
out Of and into Washington. Government reports
on every subject from adenoids to rat traps fill the
fles OF Offices that cover acres Of floor space in
Washington. The mahogany and quarter-sawed
oak Office furniture already installed has cost many
millions of dollars, and more is being purchased
If a yearling dies Of blackIeg on a farm In
Kansas. the government at Washington acts on
the rise. If hog dies of the cholera in hog lot
IN iowa. the government at Washington takes