Evening star., 1932-10-24
The Presidents Hobby.

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himself. He keeps them in a room
which he calls "The Chamber of Hor-
rors," and the accumulation totals to
date some twenty-thousand specimens
Of the cartoonist's art. They have
come to him from every quarter Of the
globe, and their subject matter runs
the full gamut from adulation to dam
nation.
The drawings, naturally, reflect the
political opinion Of the place and time
Of their origin. They, therefore, are
Of authentic value as indications of the
ebb and dow of national sentiment.
Study of them would disclose the curl
GUS manner In which the public has
reacted to the development Of Mr..
Hoover's career as war relief organizer,
food administrator, Secretary Of Com
merce and President. At certain times
he has been represented as beneficent
angel or saint; at others he has been
depicted as an ogre or devil. The
sketches testify to the ancient psyche
logical axiom that men require some
thing outside of themselves to praise or
blame for their own virtues or faults.
In German papers during the World
War Mr.. Hoover was portrayed as an
enemy, lending aid and comfort to the
nations with which Germany was at
war. After the arm.-tice he appeared
in the same publications as a benefac-
tor, feeding the starving young and old
of the defeated empire. the new re-
public. In Russian papers, after the
revolution and especially since 1921. he
has been delineated as symbol OF con-
servative capitalism, a human bulwark
against the spread of Bolshevik propa-
ganda. In Latin American papers, since
1928. he has been exhibited as cruel
tyrant. In Japanese papers he has been
abused as foe of legitimate expansio
on the Asiatic mainland.
But it has been in the press of the
United States that Mr.. Hoover has been
most thoroughly mauled by cartoonists,
as by editorial writer's. Obviously, it
is easier to criticize than to praise. and
the caricatures in which he is slammed
have a vitality far superior to those In
which he is applauded. Not many OF
them have been bitter. but consider
able number have been maliciously un-
fair. In the latter class are those ir
which Mr.. Hoover is pilloried as pa
tron deity Of Wall Street or as perse-
cutor of hapless heroes in distress. The
fact, of course, Is that Mr.. Hoover
has never been especially popular with
Wall Street, and that he has done quite
as much to aid veterans as either Of hi;
predecessors, Mr.. Harding and Mr.. Cool
idge. But a free press implies the right
to be wrong as we'll as right and Mr
Hoover is not complaining.
On the contrary, the President re-
tires to his chamber of horrors" when
he wishes to be amused; not when he
wishes to be irritated. He does not
labor under the delusion that 1t is pos
sible to please everybody. He knows
that he has critics, and he is conscious
of the concomitant truth that he has
friends. Above all, he is aware that a
thousand years from now it will not
matter History will judge. The &C
count, plus and minus, will be figured
One thing, at least, will be clear
namely: That Herbert Hoover has writ
ten his name indelibly in the story OF
the first half of the twentieth century
As a man among men, as a statesman
among statesmen, he has permanent
place, and the caricaturists, friendly
and hostile. have played their part in
the business Of recording his impor-
tance.