Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-30
GIBSON IS PICTURED
AS HOOVER'S BOWER
Ambassador Is Not Only U. S.
Spokesman, But Personal
Friend of President.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


Hugh Gibson. American Ambassador
to Belgium, who is playing the star role
at the preliminary disarmament COM
mission meetings in Geneva, holds the
center of the stage for a special reason.
He is not only the spokesman of the
United States, but he is the bosom
friend of the President of the United
States.
There is hardly a government head
now represented at Geneva with as
close relationship with its envoy as
that which uniteS Hoover and Gibson.
Their comradeShip is well known to the
international diplomats at Geneva.
That explains why the Ambassadors
proposals with respect to both naval
end military ornaments have COM
man6ed paramount attention.
Gibson Studied Task.
Ambassador Gibson came home from
his post at Brussels shortly after Hoo
yer was elected President last Novem
Der. As soon as the Presidential
pitched his headquarters in Washing
ton, in the weeks preceding Inaugural
ton, Gibson established contact with
him. The Ambassador had meantime
gone over the disarmament situation
with the State, Navy and War Depart
ments. and was able to lay the purely
technical side of the questions involved
before the chief"
Mr.. Hoover promptly acquainted Mr..
Gibson with the incoming adminlStra-
tons determination TO take the Geneva
bull by the horns at the impending
April sessions of the preparatory COM
mission The President disclosed his
intentions in his address on Inaugural
ton day, when he voiced the hope that
he would be able to accomplish some
thing tangible in the realm Of dis
armament.
Brass Tacks' Program.
The Joint conclusion to which the
President, Ambassador Gibson and
State. Navy and War officials came was
that the only way in which the United
States could promote results at Geneva
was to submit brasS-tackS program.
That was Hoovers principal contribu-
ton to the discussion at Washington.
When he became Secretary of Com
merce in 1921 one of the first divisions
he established in his department was
one which he christened the division
Of simplif1ed practice
He told Gibson and his cabinet that
the process of achieving disarmament
results. he was convinced lay along the
path of simplifying the whole businl IS.
The net result was the scheme Ambas-
sador Gibson submitted at Geneva last
week, first for getting somewhere" on
naval limitation, and, secondly, for
bringing land limitation within attain
ment by ruling out trained reserves.
System Bears Fruit.
The clarified atmosphere at Geneva
and the new breath infused into the
whole disarmament situation in foreign
capitals are the fruits of the Hoover
''simplified practice" system of tackling
a proposition which, ever since the
Washington conference of 1922, has
been persistently bungled by the COM
bined and conflicting efforts of states
men and of professional sailors and
soldiers.
Hugh Gibson first came within Her.
bert Hoover'S touch in 1914, when the
Californian was organizing the Belgian
relief. Gibson, a fellow Californian,
was secretary of the American legation
at Brussels. Minister Whitlock assigned
to his young coadjutor the heavy task
OF acting as liaison officer between
Hoover'S relief organization and the
German army of occupation.
WYNN NhdhGAAbCS AuAntAdtt
1t was mans size job. Gibson ac-
quilted himself in it in a way that chal-
lenged Hooyers admiration from month
to month. After the armistice, Hoover
had Gibson detached from the diplo-
matte service to help him in postwar
relief work throughout Europe. When
Hoover, then functioning as head Of the
American relief administration in Eu-
rope. found himself in Poland. his war
time adjutant, Hugh Gibson. was again
at his elbow as American Minister in
Warsaw
On recurring leaves of absence in the
United States, Gibson always made his
home at Hoover's Washington house,
1900 street, and brought his bride
there for their honeymoon in the Spring
of 1922. Gibson has been offered many
important posts of duty in the foreign
service. Secretaries Hughes and Kel-
logg held him in high esteem. Presi-
dent Hoover is sure to advance him one
of these days-perhaps to a place
nearer the White House than foreign
embassy.
Copyright, 1921
.