Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-13
BY THOMAS CARENS.

T WAS IL o'clock in the morning at
Bohemian Grove, that wilderness
retreat among the redwoods where
i the tired business men Of San
Francisco annually forget their
cares. Eleven o'clock in the morning
Of August 2, 1927. 1t was l o'clock in
| the Black Hills of South Dakota and
| street, New York-facts not unrelated
to the story, but which did not seem
important at all to Herbert Hoover and
to his right-hand man, George Aker-
SON.. as they sat Outside their canvas
tent, smoked their cigars and tinkered
with their fishing tackle.
Specialists In politics were these two
| men, each In his own way. But they
| were far away from politics that morn
ing. They were on vacation, and they
talked of other things-the cathedral
like beauty Of the giant trees around
them. the size and variety Of trout In
the nearby Russian River, the annual
play of the Bohemians, scheduled for
the following week. washington was
5000 miles away, and so were all the
details which engage a cabinet of1cer's
time.
Just after IL o'clock came an inter-
ruption. A telephone message for Mr..
Hoover. A gesture of disappointment
that the civilized world had located him
in his retreat. See If it's important,
George" And of went Akerson through
the trees, prepared, If the message were
not important, to give some n a
piece of his mind.
A few minutes, and then Mr.. Hoover
saw his assistant returning. He was
hurrying, his long legs carrying a large
body over the ground In the anner
which had won him the nickname Of
Breeze" back In his undergraduate days
at Harvard, years before. Apparently
the message was important. Mr.. Hoov-
er looked up inquiringly. He read the
excitement in the younger mans face.
TITS important all right, Chief" said
Akerson. THAT was the A. p. in San
a statement In Rapid City that he won't
be a candidate next year. Says he
doesn't choose to rum"
The two men looked into each others
eyes. Unspoken thoughts, dreams of the
future raced through the mind of each.
In more than q year Of close association
they had never discussed the presidency.
They had shared the overwhelming
opinion of the country that President
Coolidge would be renominated and re-
elected. And now his sensational re-
nunciation changed the whole course of
politics. What was to be done?
r X y
WELL, there was fishing near by in
w the Russian River, and Mr.. Hoover
had not completed the tinkering with
his tackle. The two men decided to
proceed with their vacation plans. But
such admirable sang-froid could not
continue. The news was all over Be-
hemian Grove. Friends, fellow b.
hemians. original Hoover men" by the
score, came trooping up toward the
Hoover tent. And as the hours went by
the Hoover men In all parts of the
country began to speak, through tele-
grams relayed from Palo Alto and San
Francisco. Late in the afternoon Mr..
Hoover made q decision.
I'm sorry, George" he told his as
Sistant. but 1t looks as II we'll have to
60 back to Palo Alto and get to work."
y So they went. Hoover and Akerson,
the "Chief" and George" to plunge
into the biggest of all the jobs of Her.
bert Hoover had ever undertaken, a job
that was to engroSs every waking mo-
ment Of both for Is trying months, but
which came to a glorious conclusion on
the night of November 6, 1928.
And through all those months there
were very few days when George Aker-
son was not at his chiefs shoulder.
Not just a secretary, carrying out orders,
but everything that his oficial status
in the campaign, assistant to Mr..
Hoover" implied. Contact man with the
press, detail man for the business of
planning train schedules and issuing
advance copies Of speeches, final arbiter |
Of questions as to who should see the !
chief" and who should not, radiating |
cheer and optimism when others were
gloomy. the key man In as smooth q bit ,
Of political machinery as this country !
has ever seen.
And so while the newspapers of the
country speculate about cabinet places,
discuss the decision, of the new Presi-
dent toward Borah and Mellon and .
and Donovan and Work, refash-
ION Coolidge policies into Hoover poll
cies, and in other ways try to foresee
the period beyond March 4, one place
in the Hoover administration Is already
filled. To the pleasant room in the
corner Of the executive offices
in Washington-the room from where
Everett Sanders now pursues his daily
duties. where the tight-lipped Bascom
Slemp not long ago shared the conf !
dences Of o tighter clipped superior,
where the sunny disposition Of Joe Tuna