Evening star., 1927-10-30

native of Main street, is a
stanch believer in all the
Il i small town fanfare and fel
.- lowship that goes to make III
the popular conception of Babbitry.
The hail-fellow-well-met spirit typi
cal of the Nations Rotary. Kiwanis
Civitan, Lions and other booster
clubs and organizations-not except
ing the local Chamber of Commerce
Legion post and Y. NJ. c.. Ais not ar
empty gesture of small town hokum
peculiar to American life, but an ad
fnirable demonstration of brotherly
cooperation that has been tried anC
found trustworthy, Hoover contends
The Commerce Secretary not only
has faith in Americas business Clut
go-getters; he is one of them by right
Of formal affiliation.
AS an honorary member of at least
two so-called small town" Rotary
clubs, he is entitled to the full priv
ileges of membership in such an or
ganiZation, including the enviable pre-
rogative of labelling himself Herb y
by means Of a badge pinned to his
coat lapel.
Prove Their Right to Exist.
Secretary Hoover is a believer in
the principles of Rotary, kiwanis and
other clubs of business and profes.
sional men of our large and small
cities because he has seen those prin.
ciples, maligned though they may be
by the Lewises and the Menckens,
prove their right to exist as an in.
legral part of American life.
He has watched these principles at
work in time of civic tranquility, and
has seen them rebound to the benefit
Of good business and general pros
perity.
He has watched them operate in
time of national stress, and has be-
come more thoroughly convinced that
they are fundamentally sound and
worthwhile.
AS head of the Government depart.
ment which is SO closely linked with
the business and commercial activity
OF the country, Secretary Hoover has
had ample opportunity to observe the
benefits accruing from business fell
lowship and cooperation. He is in
clined to attribute Americas higher
standards of business ethics largely
to the missionary work of the Ro.
tarians, the Kiwanians and their ilk.
The general movement for a franker
relationship and understanding be-
tween buyer and seller, for honesty in
advertising and for heightened ethics
in all businesses and professions may
be traced, Hoover thinks. to the spirit
Of frankness and fraternalism ex-
emplified in modern civic club life.
Seeds Take Root.
The workings of this club move
ment in ordinary times are not spec
aacular, nor is the good accomplished
readily apparent. There are the regu-
Law fhn
speakers, the wise cracks and the
creed recitals. From casual observa-
tion Sinclair Lewis well might smile
and murmur "What loss of time and
effort" But more careful observers,
critical, perhaps, at first, eventually
come round to the opinion that this
regular fraternizing of business men,
this care-free discussion of shop prob
lens. the high-pressure talks and the
creed recitalS are not seeds without
a harvest. Some of these seeds. it is
claimed, take root and germinate into
new measures of prosperity and finer
conceptions of ethics.
1t is in times of common emergency,
calling for coordination of civic and
business activities, however, that the
spirit of the small town ascends to
superlative heights, Secretary Hoover
states.
AS the personal representative of
President Coolidge in the Mississippi
food emergency and general director
of all relief work in the stricken
valley. Hoover saw "Babbitry' tested
under the most extreme of circum-
stances. and emerge covered with
glory.
The Secretary of Commerce is not
given to platitudes. When he an
nounces, with studied emphasis, that