The Washington herald., 1921-12-16
"Of Course"

w upon him all over the world, Herbert
Hoover never had genuine praise, nor
higher compliment, than in the editorial comments
OF scores of newspapers, his initial report to the
President as Secretary of Commerce. They all tell
of the much broader scope Of the departments &C
tvities under Mr.. Hoover. They feature that he
expects to fill the greater field and yet save Io per
cent of the appropriation given him, this being, so
it is said the first time department ever spent
less than it had.
But through all this commentator and praise
runs the thread of the merely "of course" For
any other the showing would be remarkable,
with Mr.. Hoover it is but "of course" The man
who administered Belgium relief the American food
department and then world relief at per
cost that was before unheard-of, would of course
make like record in anything he undertook
public service. While others would talk about it
and discuss how it could be done plan and organ
ize, Hoover would do it.
The greater efficiency of his department its
covering fields, its close cooperation with the
business interest its fitting into the foreign and do
mestic trade, supplying for all what is the common
need, is taken equally the expected Everyone
knew what Hoover would do. If his job needed a
bulldog and he was given a rabbit, presto the rab
bit would become bulldog. When politics was
forced to take him board, they handed him
collection of levtovcrs; nothing matched anything
else and nothing considered Of much
qucncc. 1t place OF dignhed obscurity.
But the odds and ends arc taking shape in one
OF the effective and valuable of the ten de-
partments. Commerce is becoming the favorite Of
business. Its potential values being made real.
And no one is surprised, because it is Hoover who
is doing it. But What is even more remarkable no
one begrudges him, cnvies him, ono tries
to belittle his achievements and seeks to de-
trac Of
from every direction In fact Mr. Hoover has won
than the transformation OF a rabbit into
a bulldog.
He has done what other American business
man forced into the field OF politics has accomp-
ished. He has been accepted-not adopted-by
politics and politicians. He has managed to make
unique place for himself American in high
political office whose one, SOLE absorbing and only
interest is in his immediate job and in seeing how
much of actual service the country can be
squeezed out OF it. He is politician. Nothing
probably make him a politician though he
evidently likes politics and politicians and regards
them engineer always does any distinctive
phenomena He may envy the politician as
something he achieve, because built for Just
one job at time and that his job though he
see how dozen others could best be done.
So it is this report brings him eliminating
appreciation just commonplace and without
dlscordant note. Just example OF the many,
is the summing up of the Baltimore Sum- nominally
Democratic. Commenting Mr.. Hoovers brief
summary preceding the statistical report, the Sun
says:
Admirable official brevity and equally ad-
mirable official modesty. Nevertheless, Mr..
Hoover's first report should not be allowed
pass without some word OF grateful appreciation
OF the real work he has done and OF the spirit
in which it has been done
For the first time, almost, since the post
created, the office of the Secretary of Com
merce is becoming the focal center OF the bust
ness interests OF the country. The office is be-
ginning to something to business men.
The present chief of that department is viz
tually the liason officer between the business in
forests OF the country and all elements in the
Federal administration. This means that
Structve business, vitality interested in all the
business policies Of the government, is finding in
Mr.. Hoover the who can weld and in
tcgrate its various elements into harmonious
unit for the advancement of American business
both at home and abroad.