Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-17
HOOVER-PERT|NAX
TILT BROUGHT UP
Publisher Says Lewis
Charge President "Took"
Insult Is Untrue.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

An incident that keeps bobbing up
from time to time, namely an unpub-
lished encounter between Perttnax,
French political writer. and President
Hoover at a banquet of the American
Society of Newspaper Editors in Wash
ington last April, now has been brought
into the Illinois senatorial campaign
by former Senator Lewis.
Mr. Lewis charges that the French
journalist made an attack on the pol
icy of the United States in the pres
ence Of Mr.. Hoover and that it was not
resented.
Presiding Officer Answers Lewis.
Walter M. Harrison, editor of the
Daily OkIahoman, who was president OF
the society. and who presided at the
dinner issued a statement Monday
night from Oklahoma City In which he
said.
NV attention has been called to
speech by former Senator Lewis in
which he is quoted as saying that Per-
tinax came to this country as visitor
and. at reception in Washington, in
the presence of the President of the
United States, Senators, Representa-
tiyes and cabinet officers, attacked the
limited States as too Cowardly to as
sumo responsibility in world affairs and
being unworthy of international friend
ship
mfr. Lewis states that this was not
resented by the President. Unfortu-
nately. the speech which Mr.. Hoover
made in reply to Pertinax was not made
public because of a previous understand
ing that the Presidents remarks were
to be informal and not for publication.
I'm view of the misstatement which
Mr.. Lewis has made, it seems to be
appropriate that the public should know
that on that occasion Mr.. Hoover did
resent what was said by the foreign
speaker and also on later date at an
other dinner told American newspaper
men that he hoped when abroad they
would have better taste than to attack
the policies of foreign country in the
presence of the Chief Executive Of the
nation they were visiting.
Hoover Replies With VigOr.
mo transcript of the Presidents
speech was taken but recall definitely
that the President abandoned his manu-
script and replied with vigor to the
remarks of our French guest. Further
more, I sat through the evening at Mr..
Hoover's side and know that he felt
PertinaX had gone away out of bounds
in his address"
The speech of Pertinax was made pub
lie at the time, and it does not reveal
any charge that the French writer re-
garded the United States as ''cowardly."
His point was rather that the United
States was isolated and provincial and
was not assuming full responsibility in
world affairs notwithstanding the KEEL
logg peace pact.
There was also present at the same
function Wickham Steed, British pub
licist, whose address was also made pub
lie and in which criticism of American
foreign policy was severe. BY virtue
of the fact that the speeches of the
two foreign journalists were printed, the
public had no knowledge of what the
President said or did, and were it not
for the statement by former Senator
Lewis as to what happened there would
not have been anything said about 1t
even at this date, because when the
President Teposes confidence in the
newspaper men, they do not publish
what he says.
Lewis Declared MisinfOrmed.
In his campaign speech, Mr.. Lewis
sought to bring out that the French
government in true nationaliStic spirit
had resented what William Randolph
Hearst had written about France, but
when French writer attacked America s
policy in the presence of Mr.. Hoover.
no resentment was expressed. Unques-
tionably former Senator Lewis was mis-
informed about the incident, for on few
occasions in recent history ,-has an
American President acquitted himself
50 forcefully as did Mr.. Hoover on the
occasion to which Mr.. Lewis has re-
ferred No stenographic record exists
as to what was said but II it had been
printed at the time it would have caused
a stir throughout the world.
Copyright. 1930)