Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-27

President Hoover undoubtedly is up
against the political contest OF his
White House career to date, now that
he's gone to the mat with the anti
administration group in the Senate on
the tariff bill On all hands 1t is agreed
that he faces the acid test of his leader
ship and fighting qualities. For
President to scrap with Congress over
the tariff is no novelty. We shall soon
zee whether Hoover has to roll up his
sleeves and wade In as ferociously as
Grover Cleveland did generation ago.
Several Hoover scouts recently crossed
the country and have reported at head
quarters in Washington. Their md
ings are pretty unanimous. They hear
tineuished Western Democrat now in
the Capital ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Hoo
yer is doing a whale Of job" It's
an open secret that the President Is
confident the country will be with him
II he boards the Senate lions fearlesSly
and tweaks their tariff whiskers rough
~. In view of the public apathy about
the tariff In general, Hoover's political
associates register faith that any atti-
tude he assumes and maintains toward
Congress will command popular support
That the Democratic opposition looks
upon the Presidents flexible tarih
manifesto as a declaration OF war is
indicated by the fact that the enemys
biggest guns at once opened up
counter offensive. Hoovers words had
hardly ceased echoing across Capitol
Hill before Representative Jack" Gar
ner of Texas, ranking Democratic ways
and means committeeman. assailed the
White House ukase hip and thigh.
Then Senator Joe Robinson of Arkansas
cleared for action and hurled the full
prestige of official Democratic leader
ship In the Senate against the Execu-
tive intrenchments. Observers who are
not taking sides In the tariff tussle
continue to wonder just exactly what
the grand Democratic strategy Is
Privately Pat Harrison's cohorts con-
cede that they'd like to have the Haw-
ley-Smoot bill on the statute books TO
shoot at during the 1880 congressional
campaign. Meantime they're staging
a very impressive fight to prevent its
passage. Dollars to doughnuts are al
ready offered that Hoover would veto
any bill denuded of the flexible provi-
sion.
Who knows where the word tariff"
originally came from? Tariff was
Mussulnan chief under Musa and in
7O9 AID. was ordered to invade Spain
with force of 500 Moors. He founded
the seaport town of Tarifa, and eventu-
ally 1t became the place in ancient
Spain where customs were collected on
goods brought in from outside. From
that circumstance we appear to have
derived the term and the issue which
have kept the American political pot
probably will continue to do so for
a Yaothor hundred vAare IN cOn1e.
X *
II you drop into the White House
nowadays and ask for mfr. Hoover"
ycuil have to say which one. The total
at present is three-the President. ike"
Hoover, chief usher and doorkeeper
since time immemorial. and Lieut..
Comdr. Gilbert G. Hoover. just ap-
pointed q naval aide. It's the first
time on record that so many persons
Of the same name we're entitled to have
their mail addressed to No. 1900 Penn
sylvania avenue northwest. Another
Hoover in high place . is j. Edgar 1rJ a9G
CATION In the Department of Justice.
LeClaire Hoover is chief accountant of
the economic division Of the Federal
Trade Commission. Dickerson N. Hoo
yer is supervising inspector general of
the Steamboat Inspection Service at
the Department of Commerce. There Is
not a cousin in the carload.
Great Britain's unofficial Prime
Minister" Is coming to Washington next
week with Ramsay Macdonald. He is
Tom" Jones, who has been deputy
secretary to the cabinet under five sue
cessive premiers. Jones has the gum
shoe qualities of Col. House. For years
he has fitted through British politics
and public life with the unobtrusiveness
Of q U-boat Lloyd George, Bonar Law
and Stanley Baldwin all utilized Jones
talents. despite their particular party
afiiliations. When Macdonald held Of
fcs briefly In 1924, he found Tom"