Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1929-02-28
The Thirtieth President
Written for this paper by George Lockwood

man. He put that theory into prac-
tise in the first great enterprise he
managed. And it worked; worked so
we'll that he soon rose to the manage
ment of a large group of mines, and
was called thence to even larger re-
sponibilities.
So it may be said that Mr.. Hoover
was in public service from the begin
ming, for. he saw in industry an in
strumentality of public service. The
illustration of that ideal may be seen
in all his career as a manager of
mining enterprises on four continents,
and the altruism which lay at the
bottom of it found in the relief work
of the World War the most prodi-
gious field of action ever opened to
humanitarian leadership. He severed
all business connections to throw him.
self into that work; indeed he closed
the door on commercial endeavor for
ever.
A friend of Mr.. Hoover, returning
from Russia by way of London af-
ter Mr.. Hoover had become Secretary
of Commerce, carried to him at the
request of a group of business leaders
the traveller had met in the British
capital, an offer of salary of half
million dollars year and an interest
in profits that would probably have
netted as much more, to undertake
the direction of one of the largest
mining operations in the world. This
was an annual return greater than
Mr.. Hoover's entire fortune. Secre-
tary Hoover's reply to the tender
was:
When | was younger man | had
some ambition to acquire wealth. At
ter passing through the World War,
witnessing the agonies of humanity
and feeling its desperate needs,
have lost interest in that. / made up
my mind some time ago that the rest
of my life would be given to public
service either in office or out of it."
What, obviously, is Mr. Hoover's
motive? He sees in government, as he
saw in business, means of making
political machinery count for world
OF greater happiness and wider OPP
portunity for humankind.
That motive has animated men who
have done more harm than good ir
the world. It is usually linked with
lack of practical sense. It often in
spires men with patent processes fol
making the world over in a nigh
through some device of economic o.
political legerdermain. Men with Their
eyes on the stars usually walk int
some bog and drown and draw other.
after them. 1t Is often affected b,
demagogues who publicly profess
love for the people in order that the.
may exploit the people for persona
advantage. 1t is often proclaimed b.
fanatics whose real inspiration is no
love for humanity, but class hatred
| The world has right to be suspi
cious of men who loudly proclaim
their love Of the people. They ar
mostly Missionaries or counterfeits
Herbert Hoover does not wear hi
heart on his sleeve either IN polite
or private life. He does not mega
phone his ideal of service. But h
lives it. That is better
Now what are Mr.. Hoover's quail
fications for making his ideal a real
ity? No more practical minded ma
has ever come to- the Presidency. Hi
, profession is that of engineer. Tha
was side line with two other Pres
dents; Washington and Lincoln
Washington was land surveyor VIII
took an active interest in engineer.
ing projects such as the building 9
canals and highways. Lincoln was
surveyor and an inventor; he studio
: Euclid to make his thinking exac