Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-13
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Herbert Hoover is always at his zenith
when engaged in the craftsmanship of
humanitarianism. It's the kind he I'M
derstands the best, just as it's the sort
on which his reputation is mainly
based. That type Of craftsmanship has
little patience with the doctrinaire dog
mas Of stereotyped international prac-
tice. The Presidents proposition to
make food ships free of any interior
ence in times of war" takes little or no
account Of the established rules of the
diplomatic game. In fact, Hoover con-
feSSed boldly in his Armistice day
speech that he Is breaking through
the involved legal questions and age-old
interpretations of right and wrong" and
Is putting forward "a practical step
which would solve a large part of the
intrinsic problem" That's the Presi-
dents engineering habit of mind APP
piled to world affairs. In them, as III
geometery, he believes that the shortest
distance between any two given points
is q straight line. Hoover's food ship
project is conceived on that theory.
y
Apparently nothing can move the
President to improve his oratorical
manner. An address which even the
opposition New York World acclains as
one with a very real chance of being
ranked with the great state documents
of our time" was delivered liz a matter
of-fact monotone, such as Mr.. Hoover
might have used in addressing ma
tional convention of paint brush manu-
facturers. No matter how much of a
flop" the President is in front of
visible audience, he puts his stuff over
the radio in cracking fashion. Listen
ers hearing him broadcast invariably
receive the impression that he is max
ing stirring speech. The truth is that
Hoover for several years has quietly
perfected himself in the mastery of q
microphone style. His success on the
air proves that such q style is not
synonymous with the fiapdoodle which
frequently passes for oratory.
X 4
Everybody at the Washington Audi
forum on Armistice night noticed
the unique reading-Stand arrangement
which President Hoover used. He used
it for the flrst time. 1t is the patent
of Col Ed" Startling, veteran of the
White House Secret Service squad. The
Kentucky giant, who has been attached
to the persons of four Presidents in
succession, noticed long time ago that
Mr.. Hoover was having Same difficulty
IN reading his addresses from a sheaf
OF notes held in his hand directly in
front of him. So the colonel devised a
metal contraption with light attached
to it, on which the President could rest
his notes. sheet by sheet. and. reading
directly from them, could pull down one
of them when read, just as q man
would tear of the daily page of cal
the President turn a little to the left
when speaking instead of looking his
audience squarely in the face. But that
Is his ordinary habit anyhow, so the
Startling stunt is o. X. 1t worked to
perfection on Monday night.
y 4
Freshly garlanded with the Grand
Cross Of the Legion OF Honor, presented
to him by the French Ambassador in
washington this week, Frank Billings
kellogg has sailed for Europe 10 re-
honor. 1t will take the form of an honr
orary degree to be offered him by one
of the Old Worlds most famous univer-
stiles. Like Ramsay Macdonald, the
former American Secretary Of State
never had the advantage OF a college
education. Kellogg never even attended
a law school. He went straight to the
bar in Minnesota from his readings in
country lawyers office.
II Senator George H Moses, Repub-
lican, of New Hampshire. consents to
be less generous with his wisecracks. as
a result of the sons of wild jackass'
ebullition. Capitol Hill will have its
customary gayety seriously curtailed.
Moses merry quips long have electrl-
fed the congressional atmosphere.
With Ashurst. Democrat, Of Arizona.
he shares the reputation of being thu
prize Wit Of the Senate. Unlike his
fellow umorist from the Southwest