the people for political progress will not be
denied. Does any man, not blinded by personal interest or by the dust of
political dry rot, suppose that the bulk of our people are anything else
but progressive? If such there be, let him ask the young men, in whose
minds the policies of to-morrow first see the light.

The people of the United States demand a new deal and a square deal.
They have grasped the fact that the special interests are now in control
of public affairs. They have decided once more to take control of their
own business. For the last ten years the determination to do so has been
swelling like a river. They insist that the special interests shall go
out of politics or out of business--one or the other. And the choice
will lie with the interests themselves. If they resist, both the
interests and the people will suffer. If wisely they accept the
inevitable, the adjustment will not be hard. It will do their business
no manner of harm to make it conform to the general welfare. But one way
or the other, conform it must.

The overshadowing question before the American people to-day is this:
Shall the Nation govern itself or shall the interests run this country?
The one great political demand, underlying all others, giving meaning to
all others, is this: The special interests must get out of politics. The
old-style leaders, seeking to switch public attention away from this one
absorbing and overwhelming issue are pitifully ridiculous and out of
date. To try to divert the march of an aroused public conscience from
this righteous inevitable conflict by means of obsolete political
catchwords is like trying to dam the Mississippi with dead leaves.

To drive the special interests out of politics is a vast undertaking,
for in politics lies their strength. If they resist, as doubtless they
will, it will call for nerve, endurance, and sacrifice on the part of
the people. It will be no child's play, for the power of privilege is
great. But the power of our people is greater still, and their
steadfastness is equal to the need. The task is a tremendous one, both
in the demands it will make and the rewards it will bring. It must be
undertaken soberly, carried out firmly and justly, and relentlessly
followed to the very end. Two things alone can bring success. The first
is honesty in public men, without which no popular government can long
succeed. The second is complete publicity of all the affairs in which
the public h