Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
BY WILLIAM HARD.

NFN~S@$A<MAfN
The relations of the President-elect
to the public opinion OF the country,
as created through dispatches in the
newspapers, have reached trying
stage. That Is the central news just
now about Mr.. Hoover and his immc-
diate problem.
Mr.. Hoover has always been regarded
as b master of publicity" Now he
has become the object of q considerable
discomfort among some newspaper corr
respondents; and numerous articles
highly critical of his methods are
streaming out of Washington.
We are thus presented with the
curious spectacle of o master of pub
licity," who Is charged with neglecting
publicity and with even trying to estab-
lish a regime of secrecy"
1t is not thought that Mr.. Hoover
Is oblivious to these criticisms. On the
contrary, It is with certainty known
that ne Is entirely Aisd wakefully aware
OF them ana that his dealings with the
press are for him a subject of much
earnest thought.
~ ~ X
For purposes of complete analysis It
Is necessary to 60 back to Mr.. Hoover's
amazingly successful relations to public
opinion during his terms of oftice as
Belgian relief commissioner and as food
administrator OF the United States and
as Secretary OF Commerce. Those were
the days when much was heard of the
invincible Hoover propaganda ma
chine.n
AS Mr.. Hoover Is now charged with
pressing himself too little into the
newspapers, he was then charged with
pressing himself into them too much,
But what were then his methods?
They were in essential sum the fol-
lowing:
One. Mr.. Hoover provided to the
press IN general full knowledge Of his
accomplished deeds, of his completed
performances, OF his actual results.
Two. He discussed his theories and
philosophies and ambitions and inten-
tons with his intimate friends, some
Of whom were newspaper corre-
spondents.
Those two methods constituted the
e1ective total OF his whole genius for
publicity which then, instead OF being
widely derided and denounced. Some
who now accuse Mr.. Hoover OF being
news clam" were then accusing him
of being q "notoriety hound"
In fact. many Of the correspondents
were always aloof from Mr.. Hoover and
inclined to be distinctly skeptical OF
him and OF his chances for the presi-
dency. The Hoover propaganda ma
chine" never existed in any important
degree among the correspondents. It
existed really solely In MFR. Hoover's
writer's rejoicing In the title OF ina
rl7inmf-uYna AY4mn e@H ffa YAraSAa viVaeR paap-
ratives OF Mr.. Hoover's deeds for rem
dition to the correspondents. These
deeds were news"
In ether words, Mr.. Hoover owed
little or nothing OF his publicity" to
any ingratiation OF himself personally
with the correspondents In mass. He
owed it-o9 per cent Of ito deeds
which he had achieved and which
thereupon were facts and which accord
ingly no one could avoid reporting
The break-the inevitable break--in
arrived as soon as MIR. Hoover ceased
| to hold Office and became presidential
candidate and then President-elect
X \ y
AS a candidate and as President-elect,
Mr.. Hoover has necessarily accomplished
nothing that could be regarded as a
deed" He has been engaged in
| formulating policies, making pledges,
laying plans, looking to the future, He
| has had nothing to convey to the press
about which he could say, as OF old:
Here Is job which, at least In part,
I have completed. Here Is service
which, at least In some degree, I have
| organized and established. Here Is q
result, large or small, which has been
| definitely secured. Here is an admin
| istrative fulfilled fact, and herewith
hand 1t to YOU"
| He has not been able to say any such
thing. For the FIRST time In his adult
, life Mr.. Hoover has not been administer
ing He has been merely preparing to
administer.
That Is the heart of the difficulty, II
| Is utterly alien to Mr. Hoover to call In
the press gallery and to try to influence
| 1t beforehand about plans, projects
coming appointments, future speeches
and messages, speculations, rainbows
| He cannot do It. He can talk to the
press when he has something done to
| ell. When he has nothing done to tell, he
cannot and will not talk To the press
and he seems to have two reasons.
In the first place. 1t seems to make
him exquisitely unhappy to stand III
| before crowd of men, many Of whom
are strangers or serni-strangers, and try
to sell" them lot of unachieved ideas
q lot Of incompleted purposes.
In the second place, his few expert
! fnents In that direction since the time
of the Republican national convention