The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-01-20

sec HnIubUH1, MHs kUUOBSVGlb
said, lacking the means to buy
the products Of the farm and fac
tory and by their poverty deny
Ing work and productlveness TO
mary other millions.
II see one third Of . nation I'LL
housed, ilI-clad, ill-nourished."
He said that In taking the oath
Of office today for . second term
he assumed "the solemn obIiga-
ton Of leading the American peo-
pie forward along the road which
they have chosen TO advance"
THEY will demand" he assert
ed, - nation interrupted BY cam
GERS Of injustice"
TEXT OF MESSAGE
My Fellow ountryInen:--
When four years ago we met to
inaugurate q president, the re-
public, single-minded In anxiety,
stood in spirit here. We dedi-
Gated ourselves TO the fulfillment
of a vision-to speed the time
when there would be for all the
people that security and peace es-
sential to the pursuit Of happi-
ness. We Of the republic pledged
ourselves to drive from the temple
of our ancient faith those who
had profaned 1t; TO end by action,
tireless and unafraid, the stagna-
ton and despair Of that day.
We did those first things first.
Recognized Deeper Need
Our covenant with ourselves did
not stop there. Instinctively we
recognized a deeper need - the
need TO find through government
the instrument Of our united pur-
pose to solve for the individual;
the exercising problems OF u
complex civilization. Repeated
attempts at their solution without
the aid of government had left
us baffled and bewildered. For,
without that aid, we had been
unable to create those moral con-
trols over the services Of science
which are necessary to make gci-
ence a useful servant instead Of
ruthless master OF mankind. To
do this we knew that we must
find practical controls over blind
economic forces and blindly sell
fish men.
We OF the republic sensed the
truth that democratic government
has innate capacity to protect its
people agairlEt disasters once con-
sidered inevitable to solve
problems once considered uIlsolv-
able. We would not admit that
we could not find a way to master
economic epidemics just as, after
centuries Of fatalstic suffering.
we had found way to master
epidemics Of disease. We refused
to leave the problems OF our COM
mon welfare to be solved by the
winds OF chance and the hurri-
canes Of disaster.
No Wholly New Truth
In this we Americans were dis
covering no wholly new truth: we
were writing a new chapter In our
book Of self government.
This year marks the one hum
dred and fiftieth anniversary OF
the constitutional convention
which made us a nation. At that
convention our forefathers found
the way out of the chaos which
followed the Revolutionary war;
they created a strong govern
ment with powers of united ac-
ton sufficient then and now to
solve problems utterly beyond in
diyidual or local solution. A CEN
tury and a half ago they estab-
lished the federal government In
order to promote the general well
fare and secure the blessings Of
liberty TO the American people.
Today we invoke those same
powers Of government to achieve
the same detectives.
DO Things Times Require
-Four years Of new experience
have not bclied our historic in
stinct. They hold out the clear
hope that government within
communities, government within
the separate states, and govern
ment Of the United States can do
the things the times require,
without yielding its democracy.
Our taSks in the last four years
did not force democracy TO take
a holiday.
Nearly all OF LIS recognize that
as intricacies OF human relation
ships increase. 80 power TO govern
them also must increase-power
10 stop evil; power TO do good.
The essential democracy Of our
nation and the safety Of our peo-
pie depend not upon the absence
Of power but upon lodging 1t with
those whom the people can change
or continue at stated intervals
through an honest and free sys-
tenn OF elections. The conStitu-
ton Of 1857 did not make our
democracy impotent.
Autocrats Are Restrained
In fact. In these last four years.
we have made the exercise Of all
power more democratic: for we
have begun TO bring private auto
cratic powers into their proper
subordination to the public's gov
eminent. The legend that they
were invincible above and be-
yond the processes Of q democracy
hos been shattered. They have
been challenged and beaten.
Our progress out OF the depres-
sion Is obvious.
Help Has Been Given
But that Is not all that you
and I mean by the new order u
things. Our pledge was not mere.
ly 10 do q patchwork Job with
secondhand materials. BY using
the new materials Of social Jus.
tice we have undertaken to cree,
on the old foundations o more en-.
during structure for the better
use Of future generations.