Evening star., 1931-06-24
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM FILE.

At no period since he entered the
White House has Herbert Hoover had
more copious evidence Of popular ap-
proval than that with which he has
been deluged in connection with his
war debt plan. BY mail, by long-dis-
| tance telephone, and particularly by
telegraph, the countrys plaudits have
rained in upon him all week. "Bravo"
epitomizeS the tone and terms in
which Vox Popul is expressing itself,
coupled with assurances Of restored
litical opinion and every section of the
country are represented in the chorus
of acclaim. To Judge by what the
President Is hearing, Congress should
be virtually unit In passing the neces-
sary moratorium legislation in Decem-
Der. Mr.. Hoover is visibly gratifled by
the volume of national support thus
evidenced. He is thinking and talking
about nothing else except the debt holi-
day Even influential Republican poll
ticians who've been at the White House
this week with pressing parish-pump
party business found the President so
utterly engrossed In his epochal scheme
for world economic recovery that they
couldn't get @. o. p. word in edge
wise.
Secretary Stimson's vacation" plans
In Europe will probably be knocked into
cooked hat by present-hour interna-
tional developments. He still hopes
to make the trip, only his visions OF
restful holidays Tar from the madding
throng Of premiers, foreign secretaries,
finance ministers and American Ambas-
sadors have vanished into thin air.
There will be time before Col. Stim-
son takes ship for Europe to have the
broad outlines of the moratorium fixed
up, but he faces whole Summer and
Fall Of detailed ofhcial exchanges be-
fore the proposition will become what
diplomats call a fait aecompli. So the
soldier-statesman who manages our for
eiRn affairs is on the threshold Of q
working leave of absence. That the
welcome awaiting the premier Of the
Hoover cabinet In Europe will be twice
and thrice more hearty than ne might
have anticipated month ago Is fair
certainty. It will be open arms all the
way-even in Paris, it's hoped.
RAYMOND Benjamin Of California,
who has come to be known as PreSi-
dent HooverS U-boat, apparently Is
now actively on the job. At least, he
arrived in Indiana a couple OF weeks
ago. like an advance agent, just ahead
came to Washington in December, 1880,
to undergo an intensive apprenticeship,
many thought, for the Republican Ma
tional craftsmanship. He does not make
his office at G.. o. p. headquarters in
the Barr Building, but camps out in
quarters exactly midway between there
and the White House. The understand
ing is that he gets his orders, If any,
directly from No. 1900 pennsylvania
TyaIRaxaavto1ic nava Do vsafSa mt
the figure of man whose mission in
life just now is to keep his eyes and
ears open, his mouth shut and his
movements secret. Whether Ben
jamin's present scouting activities are
confined to the Middle West or are part
and parcel Of Nationwide still-hunt,
neither he nor, ANYBODY else u saying.
4
Col. Hanferd MacNider, American
Minister to Canada, has been staying
in Washington with his former War
Department associate, F. Trubee Davi-
son, Assistant Secretary Of War in
common interests shared by these vigor-
Gus young Republican statesmen is an
ambitious determination to mount high
eF on the political ladder. MacNider
denies the soft impeachment, but he's
believed to be In more than receptive
mood for second place on the Hoover
ticket in 1882. Even the fact that such
a ticket , would include two native
IoWans doesn't bar it in the estimation
Of the vivid Hawkeye, who's one OF the
gods Of the American Legion and
the I'd Division. Trubee Dawson Is
credited with designs on the govern
orship Of New York some day. He had
the same kind Of training for the job
that AL smith, Franklin Roosevelt and
young Ted Roosevelt had-a period