| Ladies
and gentlemen, true democracy is a
religion. It is not completely monopolized
by the members of the Democratic party.
Many of its loyal disciples find themselves
affiliated with other parties. Democracy
truly believes in the rule of the
people, in their wisdom, in their
common sense, in their common honesty,
in their justice, in their patience
and steadfastness, in their right
and ability to govern themselves.
It thinks in terms of the greatest
good to the greatest number.
Its greatest
patron saint was Thomas Jefferson,
who stood for freedom of religion,
freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of opportunity, the
education of the people by free
schools, and the right of every
citizen to vote. On these principles
Jeffersonian Democracy took control
of the government in 1801, and held
it for many decades. When the party
organization fell under the control
of those who believed in human slavery,
it passed from power by a revolt
of Jeffersonian Democrats who would
not stand for human slavery. They
organized a new party and took the
name which the followers of Jefferson
had employed in 1801, calling themselves
Republicans.
When the
wise and kind Lincoln on the field
of Gettysburg prayed that the government
of the people, for the people, and
by the people should not perish
from the earth, he voiced a spirit
of true democracy throughout the
world. When the Republican party
got control of the government during
the Civil War, every selfish interest
that wished to use the powers of
government for private advantage
gradually attached itself to the
Republican party, courted its leaders,
became busy in its organization,
contributed to its election, promoted
its nomination, and steadily have
been an increasing influence in
its management. When in 1912 after
many years it became obvious that
an invisible government of organized
commercial and financial selfishness
had gained control of the organization
of the Republican party, the people
of the United States placed in power
the regenerated Democratic party,
and magnificently the Democratic
party has responded to the trust.
It has passed fifty great progressive
acts, such as the Federal Reserve
Act, the Farm Loan Act, the Good
Roads Act, the Agricultural Extension
Act, Vocational Instruction. It
has organized the Department of
Labor, the Federal Trade Commission,
the Tariff Commission, and showed
itself, by the overwhelming evidence
of concrete acts, the one great,
liberal, progressive, and truly
democratic party of the nation.
It organized the country for war,
passed the great war measures and
won the greatest war in history,
and saved the liberties and civilization
of the world. It took the country
in a period of serious depression
in 1913, carried it successfully
through the Great World War and
after seven years the country is
in the condition of the greatest
prosperity. Bank resources have
increased from twenty-five billion
to forty-eight billion. Everybody
is busy. Wage is high, trains crowded
and hotels overflowing.
Who can have
the impudence to question the Americanism
of the Democratic party and all
these great accomplishments? What
is Americanism, if it be not the
great policies which the Democratic
party have put into execution? When
it stamped out sedition at home,
whipped the Hun abroad and made
America the commercial, financial
and the moral leader of all the
world, so that all great nations
do homage to the United States,
and small nations when they bend
their heads in prayer, pray God
to bless the American people.
But my countrymen,
we are face to face with the immediate
future. It is not enough to say
what we have done. It is of the
greatest importance to say what
we shall do. The spirit and purposes,
the vision and constructive genius
which the Democratic party has exhibited
in the last six years justifies
the faith that this great party
can be better relied on than any
other party to solve the reconstruction
problems following the war.
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