Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-17
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

tn HAT Mr.. Hoover has a method
of his own for selecting public
servants has come to be realized
l. by those who observe his proc
ess closely. A glimpse of the
method is expressed in dispatch sent
out from Miami by the correspondent
there of the Hearst newspapers. The
significance of the dispatch lies in the
fact that it does not rest upon anything
Mr.. Hoover has said, for he has said
nothing. The statement represents
merely the reflection Of a close observer,
and as such is the more convincing
In part it reads:
"PreSident-elect Hoover has cut
loose from geographical boundaries, de-
serving party workers and the ambi-
tons of 'blocs' and factions in selecting
the personnel Of his administration
Mr.. Hoover's sole test for each job
in the complex machinery of govern
ment will be his confidence in the abil-
ity of that man to do the task assigned
, to him."
Does Not Exclude Politics.
This does not mean that Mr.. Hoover
excludes politics. No President can ex-
clude politics. 1t is not right that he
should. The country in an election
votes one party or the other into power.
The country has a right to expect that
Republican President will give a Re-
publican administration and a Demo-
cratic President Democratic admins
tration. The two great parties are es-
sential engines in the mechanism of
government in the United States. Par
| ties as such figure in the American
scheme of government more funda-
mentally than in any other country
UnrlH N De AV@f - L. IA.
| OF Republican President to maintain
the Republican organization, and of a
Democratic President to maintain the
Democratic organization. For a Presi-
dent to fail to give thought to preserv-
| ing the health and morale of the party
he belongs to would be, under the Amer
lean system, to fall short in one of the
essential functions of the presidency.
Satisfactory to Leaders.
In fact, Mr. Hoover. In his contact
with the political leaders of his party.
is exceptionally satisfactory to them.
During the time when Mr.. Hoover was
Secretary Of Commerce and Harry
Daugherty was Attorney General it was
common to hear Republican Congress-
men say that in matters of patronage
and other details they we're more COM
Daugherty. Hoover was big enough
and confident enough about his posi-
ton to be sure of himself. Daugherty
acted like man self-conscious and
timorous because he realized his prin-
cipal place in the world was merely
that Of a political leader Of the old
time type.
There was one principal reason for
the greater satisfaction Republican
Congressman and Senators had in deal
! ing with Mr.. Hoover Mr. Hoover was
businesslike and intelligent. He under
stood the problems of the political
leaders. He took those problems into
account and put his intelligence upon
them, just as any engineer would put
his mind upon any detail of whatever
job he was engaged in. From Mr.
Hoover the Congressman and Senators
got prompt and businesslike answers
and decisions. The Congressman or
Senator who, under pressure from
some constituent, put up a problem to
the Department of Commerce saw the
constituent get prompt and careful
| answer. Mr.. Hoover gave to Congress
man and constituent alike thing ex-
pressed by word now little de-
meaned through commercial use-Mr.
Hoover gave service" II the subject
! involved was within the scope of the
Department of Commerce, the Con-
gresham passed his problem on to MIR.
Hoover,s broad shoulders and the lat
ter handled 1t with promptness and
satisfaction. Mr. Hoover in short both
as Secretary of Commerce and as
President-elect, is exceptionally salts
| factory to the leaders of his party.
Wants Best Available Men.
But Mr.. Hoover in his search for ma
terial for the multitude of Offices he
must fill does follow the method sug-
gested in the dispatch quoted above.
For any job to be filled the only proper
method is to comb the country for the
best available man. The word avail
able" implies that in the great majority
of cases. practically all cases, the APP
pointee must be Republican. Though
it Is true Republican Presidents occa-
sionally appoint Democrats. and vice
versa. William H. Taft's Secretary of
War for a period was a perfectly ortho-
dox Democrat Two of the ableSt men,
bers of Woodrow wilson's cabinet were
Democrats in little more than nomi-
nal sense, who frequently supported
Republican candidates in elections. In
Mr. Coolidge's administration one Of
the two or three highest offices short
Of cabinet rank is filled by an indepen-
dent Democrat)
The Hoover method has as its main
element a search on his own initiative
for the best man to fill a given post.
What the Hoover method excludes is
the old-faShioned idea which, In effect,
said to party workers, all over the
country, Come on, boys, the trough
is full, help yourselves" 1t excludes the
idea that a President should sit in his
Office and wait for the applicants to
come in and then choose the one that
has the largest party backing. 1t ex-