Evening star., 1930-12-01

II 1t be true that the American peo-
pie like a two-fisted President in the
White House, Herbert Hoover's most re-
cent performances ought to tickle them.
The RooSeveltian ways are not his ways,
yet "T. r." in the pink of his fighting
form seldom hit harder or straighter
from the shoulder than Hoover has done
on three major occasions within week.
Ever and anon, it's said that the Presi-
dent is devoid Of intestinal investiture,
to use the longer and more elegant
term. Ask New York and Chicago what
they think about that after being told
by Hoover where they head-in on the
expectation that Uncle Sam would look
after their gangsters and racketeerS for
them. Ask Bill" Green, president of
the American Federation of Labor, who
has just been made acquainted with
Hoover's opinion of organizations that
want to pick his cabinet officers for him.
Ask Jim" Watson and other Senate
leaders, who advised the White House
not to press the eight-year-old World
Court project at this time, but have
suddenly become conscious that Hoover
intends to do that very thing.
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It is, indeed, a new Caesar at No. 1900
Pennsylvania avenue. The prevailing
view at Washington is that the country
wishes him to feed on more of the same
meat. There are both Hoover friends
and foes who are convinced that the
only way for the Californian to escape
from the gloom that envelops him and
his administration is to battle his way
out of it, They detect in his present bel
ligerency an indication of Hoover's
readiness to use the Big Stick. The
session of Congress which opened to-
DC tn yfu
chance for political pugilistics. A Hoo
yer fighting for his policies, and not
lying down after merely formulating
them, is a Hoover the Nation will un-
derStand and like, even If he fights
and loses. OF such kidney, at any rate,
is the counsel the President is getting
from quarters which think they know
the game Of politics better than he does.
The next few months will show how far
he's disposed to heed 1t.
If the American Federation of Labor
in 1882 sticks to its program OF re-
warding friends and Furnishing enemies,
Herbert Hoover may be destined to incur
its wrath. It's long time since the body
that speaks for more than 4,000, 900 or
ganized workers had the riot act read
to 1t as the President read 1t in an
nouncing Billy" Doak's appointment
as Secretary of Labor. Hoover fairly
rasped it out. William Green, head OF
the federation, is a Democrat. He's
supposed to have been an Al Smith man
in 1928. Probably that didn't have any
thing to do with Hoover's slapping him
on the wrist in the Doak affair, but 1T
doubtless wasn't restraining infiu-
ence. The railroad brotherhoods nu-
merically are not nearly as strong as
pracidpnf f.
ing altogether not more than 100000
among the Big Four" They are, on
the other hand, unquestionably more
formidable political phalanx than the
federation, because of the common tie
of rail labor that unites them into a
cohesive whole. It's next to impossible
to deliver a federation vote. or any
thing family approximating it, at cleo
ton time, but the rail workers have
nlassed times without number for or
against candidate, and made or ruined
him.
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Speaker Nicholas Longworth has
come back to the session with divert
ing tales Of how his one-time major
ity of 10000 in his Cincinnati district
was slithered on November to a bare
5000. Mick is q wet and doesn't
care who knows it. He voted against
the eighteenth amendment and the
Volstead act and sustained President
Wilson'S veto of the enforcement meas
ure. But this year his Democratic op-
ponent did his darnedest TO make Gin
cinnatians believe that Longworth is
only o dry in disguise. The argument
was-and Hamilton County heard it
night after night over a very loud
speaking radiO-that mick" would
never have been elected Speaker by
three successive dry Houses If he were
real wet The insinuation was, Prin-
cess Alices engaging consort says, that
he has an underground alliance with