Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-25
BY MARK SULLIVAN


have been in the White House
i six months. In anticipation Of
that convenient milestone, sum-
naries of the new Presidents achieve
ments are appearing. Already they are
numerous.
Necessarily the material of these
summaries is about the same IN all
cases. They deal in common with
what everybody recognizes as the more
important events associated with the
Presidency since March last.
Such summaries can only differ In
spirit, can only differ by rejecting
contrasting judgments about what the
President has been doing. The strik-
ing thing, therefore, about these sum-
maries is that they do not differ in
spirit at all.
Among them two stand out, because
they come from Democratic sources
That men having leadership in one
party should speak favorably, or even
judicially, of President belonging to
the other party is a landmark in Amer
lean life and politics. 1t would not
have happened 80 years ago. 1t would
hardly have happened Is years ago
so conspicuously as it is now hap
pening.
Summary by Periodicals.
The editor Of one periodical begins
his summary of the Presidents early
months thus:
"As one who voted for All Smith
We beg leave at this juncture to rise
and doff our hat to Herbert Hoover
and say loudly that he looks to us to
be doing one swell Job. Let us scan
the record of his short five months
IL. The world peace movement has
been transformed from timorous piety
into a bold drive. Straddling tactics.
such as saying that the Kellogg pact
had no bearing on our cruiser building,
has been abandoned. The day the pact
was proclaimed Hoover shut down on
that he took steps to slash army costs,
saying fatty that We have the largest
military budget of any nation in the
world And he has greatly advanced
the hope Of a disarmament confer
ence"
That summary, it is worth observing.
names as No. l in its listing progress
toward peace and toward limitation OF
armament. 1t is noticeable that other
summaries give the same preferred posi-
ton to the same subject-which may
convey enlightenment as to what is
really important in the world.
To the praise this periodical gives
to Mr. Hoover. he is entitled, of course.
The President is putting vigor and
practically into sure-footed steps to-
ward the avoidance of war. And he
is at this time engaged in patient,
complex and likely to be prolonged
negotiation looking toward reduction
Of armament
In addition, there should be men,
toned, as concrete case. the part
our government had in preventing war
between China and Russia. That was
a case of the prompt and energetic
meeting Of an emergency-and this sort
of thing is fully as important as the
setting up of mechanisn1s for the pre-
vention OF war, such as the Kellogg
pacts. Mechanisms for averting war
will 60 very long way-but always,
when crises come, there must be a
statesman or statesmen with Initiative
and energy, prompt to meet the emer-
gency and set the mechanism in motion
That Is the role President Hoover filled
In the case Of Russia and China.
Recognition for Bryan.
zone suggestion occurs. It is Incl
dental, little out of the current. But
when a Democrat is giving to the KEEL
logg pacts the credit they genuinely
and greatly deserve, he ought to recall
the part that Democrat had in the
inception of this idea. It is the fashion
now to look condeScendingly on the late
William Jennings Bryan. But some
scholar. some day, will point out the
part Mr. Bryan had in giving early
vitality to the thought that was later
crystallized in the Kellogg pacts.)
The above quoted summary of the
Presidents five months of achievement
continues. in part:
20. Firm steps for farm relief have
been taken. After calling the special
Till h. AAna r.1n ~
getting through his own program
Hoover appointed an able farm board,
which has promptly won over even the
leaders of the 'agrarian revolt
20. When Hoover asked Congress for
limited tariff revision he meant what
he said. The current trend for lower
rates on the necessities undoubtedly
stems from the White House.
a. Spasmodic economy has given
way to genuine 'super-economy.' Be-
ginning by putting the presidential
yacht Mayfiower out Of commission,
Hoover is now swinging an ak over
the Post ONCE Department, which
trebled its deficit under the Coolidge
administration. He has revived his re-
organization of Government bureaus.
Publicity Ordered.
Hoover has ordered publicity for all
large income tax refunds. He has
stopped the leasing of Government oil
paign of the National Republic to raise
a fund to fight the reds He set a
precedent by naming the hackers of the
judges and others whom he appoints.
He warned the Republican leaders in
the South that they must clean up
or get out. He has called con-
ference on child welfare. which will be
of far-reaching Importance. The
downright fact is that Herbert Hoover
Is showing the world that a man can
be practical and efficient and at the
same time be a social idealist. charged
with sentiment and imagination and
inspired, not troubled, by aspirations
that look far beyond the range of ma
terial advantage. In this respect he
may we'll be the prototype Of the better
American of the better future"
other summaries of the Presidents
early months in of1ce necessarily over
lap upon the one quoted in part above.
One of the others comes from a source
which even more conspicuously than
the magazine quoted above was OPP
posea TO Mr.. Hoover, and in favor OF
Gov. Smith, during the presidential
campaign last year. The New York
World, among the country's daily
and formidable opponent Of the cleo
ton of Mr.. Hoover The Worlds sum-
mary of Mr.. Hoover's first five months
runs, in part, as follows:
1T Is a little bewildering to look back
at the decisions Mr.. Hoover has made
and the actions he has taken IN nve
short months in Office. He was inaug-
urated on March 4. Within week ne
had abolished the fiction OF the omclal
Commission on law enforcement and
called Congress into special session Ia