Evening star., 1933-03-03

Two friendly and authentic observers
Of his White House Life and times,
French Strother and Mark Sullivan,
have written valedictories on President
Hoover's administration, which coin
eide In one general conclusion. Mr..
Strother, who was his administrative
assistant for three years, and Mr.. Sui
Ivan, his principal Journalistic mouth
piece, jointly contend that Mr.. Hoovers
immemorial achievement u that he
leaves the presidency with the Amer
ican system" intact. All Of our funda-
mental institutions, despite the shocks
TO which they have been subject dur
ing the depression, remain standing,
foursouare to the wind. The gold
standard has survived The money sys-
tenn continues sound" Neither COM
munisn nor socialism has made any
appreciable progress. Strong as were
the temptations to worship new po-
itical and economic gods, the faith OF
the founding fathers has survived, un.
shattered. That this Is so, that Herbert
Hoover goes forth from the Wnlte
House tomorrow with the ship OF state
still seaworthy, keel downward, re-
gardless of the unparalleled storms
which have pounded it from every o.
rection since 1929-this, the Call
fornian's spokesmen declare, Is enough
To assure him imperishable glory, even
though he quits Office IN ponucal oe-
feat.
Future historians of "the years OF the
locust" will probably be at some loss 70
account for the overwhelming re1ection
of Herbert Hoover at the polls IN NO.
vember, 1882. If they are faltn1ui
chroniclers, they cannot fau TO record
that no President In American MstoLy
ever applied himself to national PROB
lens with greater zeal, with more Sleep
less devotion, with deeper patriotism
or keener expert knowledge than MI.
Hoover bestowed upon them. Yet none
of his predecessors was 20 utterly re-
undated when he sought vindication at
the reople's hands. If q President had
been indolent, inept or even corrupt IN
the management of the Nations bust-
ness. he could hardly have been repuKeo
more deciNvely than In the verdict
passed upon Herbert Hoover four
months ago. Wherein did he mainly
fail? To what primarily Is his downfall
to be attributed?
X + + \
In the view Of this observer. who has
known the outgoing President, man ana
bow. for nineteen years, dating from the
time when MI. Hoover was q relatively
unknown mining engineer In London,
one of the basic causes Of his undoing
was the incorrigible Hooverian dislike
of politics and politicians. The dislike
was accentuated by an inadequate grasp
Of certain bedrock essentials OF politics
call them the tricks Of the political
trade, If you viii, without an under.
standing Of which genuine success In II
is impossible. He never seemed fuliy 70
realize that the American system" IN
so far as government Is concerned. rests
on politics, political parties and politi-
cal organizations, with all the human
equations and frailties that 60 with
them. Herbert Hoover came into
American public life during the World
war. looking at 1t through Pollyanna
snectacles. he thought that In politics,
as ia engineering and other fields OF
human activity, efficiency was the
prirne requisite. and that virtue would
be It's own reward. HIS instructive and
Unborn contempt for political arttnces
was whetted by his earliest contacts
With them in washington as food ad-
uilnistrator.
+
He did not like the politicians ways.
He did not understand their language.
He refused to learn to speak 1t. He
escheved intimacies with them. He
systematically cultivated the men ana
the class among whom he had grown
up-the scholarly. cultured, profes-
sional and professional types OF MIND.
The Old Guard called them his boy
scouts" Herbert Hoover widened his
acn,Iaintance with politics during eight
yesrs of service in the Harding cabinet,
but it Is not Of record that his fond
ness for Il grew In proportion. Prob
abN the exact reverse y what hap
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