Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-22
MANY THINGS DONE
FOR i. S. BY HOOVER
President Is Symbol of Great Transition
That Nation Now Is
Experiencing.
Continued From First Page)

I a bad man; they do not really belleVe
! he Is a poor President; they do very
much want TO elect President of their
own, and would feel the same way If
Mr.. Hoover had all the virtues of all the
best administrators of history.
The story of what Mr.. Hoover has
done and has tried TO do Is the story
Of transition which 1t is quite beyond
the power of any one. Congress or pub
lie. to halt. The trend in American
government Is from more or less pure
politics to more or less pure business.
Aids Shift TO Business.
As, for obvious reasons, the extreme
Is inaccessible, at lsast in our time
events and not men are working toward
a compromise. Hoover is the agent
seated by fate In the Presidents chair
TO begin the development of this new
formula. 1t IS too much to accomplish
in one term; it may be too much for
even the most energetic and tireleSs
President TO achieve III two terms. But
the story of Hoover's administra ton to
GATE Is the story of a man who is both
tireless and energetic and is striving to
meet the perceptible demands of the
transition.
Quite naturally, politics either fails
to understand it or, understanding, re-
sents it, as the positive implications of
the process include a distinct lesSening
OF prerogative dredged from waters less
clear and free from pollution than those
OF efficient public service.
In scanning the actual record of
President Hoover'S administration, it is
idle TO ignore the fact that his inca
pacity to assimilate easily the political
rules, and his own inevitable inward
RACES against those rules and the con-
ditions they govern, have curtailed the
effectiveness of some of his best prof.
ects. The bitter conflict with the
legislative arm of the Government has
been his loss, and big one The con-
test of authority between White House
and Senate exists ana, under the Con-
stitution, must exist, experience sug-
gestS the condition Is not without. its
values.
Mr.. Hoover's bursts Of forthrightness,
however, are not always the calculated
stroke of a planned attack, to be met
III the same manner; they are often
the explosion of a mood He says what
is in his mind, sincerely but without
ment instructive with the trained po-
litical mind.
Unadroit But Aggressive.
Yet, with all that lack of adroitness,
the direct, aggressive Hoover is the
true man. Mr.. Hoover's mind works
fast and clear: ne can master a still
alton and set it before himself with a
simplicity that is beautiful. But he is
man who loves to gather in ideas
relishes talking with any one, every one
who can discuss the business of the
day, and, too often, his original idea
is washed in so many conversational
waters that when he hangs it out 70
dry most of its color has faded, and
often the very shape and substance is
distorted, if not ruined
The real Hoover showed himself
promptly enough when the 1929 de-
preston set in.
AS for the depression and subsequent
unemployed 1t is difficult to find any,
Where more prompt and direct presi-
Dental action, or action SO thoroughly
comprehending the problem. Not only
did Mr.. Hoover, In Washington, push
forward great construction work. but he
drove home the lesson to States and
city everywhere, which the consequence
that, as the depression passes away,
communities will find themselves en-
riched by public enterprises which never
again could be carried through with
such economy, or at a time when the
distribution of the great sums expended
meant so much to those who produce
or work the materials.
Scarcely less important and wholly
characteristic of Mr.. HooverS kind OF
mind, YVES the understanding he brought
about with employers that wage levels
would not be disturbed. and with labor
that there would be no strikes during
the crisis.
AS early as June, 1929, Mr.. Hoover
had initiated study of planning and
control of public works construction
| with rQfprenno IN hfIsir1acS nd
nent conditions.
Acted in Stock Crash.
The study was carried out by the
National Bureau of Economic Research
and the Department Of Commerce, the
report Of which became available last
June.
But as soon as the dimensions of the
stock market collapse late in 1929 be-
came clearly defined, the President
began to organize the country for pur-
poses of economic defense. From No
vember 18 to December there were
almost daily moves to that end, OF
which some of the more significant
were the Presidents letter to heads of
Federal departments November 10, ask
ing them to speed up construction: his
conference two days later with leading
business executives and with heads OF
labor organizations; his conference
another two days later, with leaders in
construction industries: his letter the
day following, November "a, to Cover
norS asking cooperation from them and
other State and local officials in sup
port OF the program for eXpediting
public works construction.
; Then came the establishment of the
division of public construction in the
Department of Commerce, and by De-
cember the sum of all this activity
was ready for consideration at a meet
Ing of the National Business Survey
Conference, which included more than
400 leaders in all lines of industry.
mis-, obviously, was leadership of large
vision and capacity. and the working OF
prompt and informed mind. 1t is
very doubtful whether purely political
viewpoint could have mastered SO
swiftly the elements of the situation
and organized them into effective and
practical programs, for there is not an
ounce of theory in the whole story the
President gathered, sorted and exhibited
Facts, and then showed quickly how to
build on them. Among the results was
a 38 per cent increase in public works
and utilities construction contracts
during the first half of 1880, as COM
pared with the preceding year, and the
execution of the largest peace-time
program OF public works and public
utility construction throughout 1880
and now continuing.
Has Reorganization Plan.
This was a direct reversal of past ex-
perience in business depressions and is
not the least significant proof of the
transition to be identified with the
Hoover administration.
Even for time it seemed that the
crisis might provide Mr.. Hoover with
the opportunity to carry out his cher
ished program for reorganization of the
whole executive business of the Govern