Evening star., 1935-12-19
Political and OratOricdI Rebirth of Hoover
Shown i'rSpeeches Brings National Notice
Netv VigOr Amdzes Poll
ticials and Presents
80 Campaign Issue.
Former President Would
Not Refuse NOmind-
tiOn-DOubts Offer.
BY Jay G. HAYDEN.


All Washington these days is mar
Yelling at the renascence of Herbert
Hoover.
The impression that something in
the nature of an intellectual and ora
torical rebirth had happened to the
sage of Palo Alto arose first when he
delivered his speech at Oakland IN
October. The unvarying stream OF
facts and figures; the long, involved
and sometimes not too grammatical
sentences, and, above all. the dull
monotone, which the radio public had
come to expect from Mr.. Hoover, were
missing. In their place was flow Of
swift and scintillating sentences, fire.
uuently barbed with shafts Of wit and
humor that would have done credit
even to Al Smith, and delivered with
a fire and vigor entirely lacking in the
Hoover of 1882 and earlier years.
When Mr.. Hoover delivered his
second speech, at New York last
month, the change in his style was
equally marked, and, at st. Louis
Monday night, he outdid both of these
previous appearances. There was
scarcely a paragraph in this last
speech that did not cause his audience
to interrupt either with cheers or
laughter.
Regarded Able Speech.
The comment very generally is that
this last was one of the ablest and
most artfully written and delivered
political speeches that has been heard
in American politics in generation,
That the power of attack which it
displayed has the Republicans won
dering and the Democrats worrying is
putting the case mildly.
When it first was announced some
time ago that Mr.. Hoover was pre-
pairing to make a series of speeches,
none of the politicians took the news
very seriously. They doubted if any
present-day Republican could match
oratorical swords with President
Roosevelt and hold his own, and. least
of all, they thought, could Mr.. Hoover
do it. The unequal contest of words
that these two men staged in 1882
still was too much in the public mind.
But the impression now is that Mr.
Hoover not only is making the most
devastating analysis of the New Deal
that is coming from any one in the
opposition camp. but that he is put
ting his fellow Republican presi-
dental aspirants on the spot by max
ing their speeches appear clumsy and
insipid by contrast. One effect of
these Hoover utterancsS, if they con-
tinue on their present high plane.
will be to force the other Republican
presidential possibilities to be much
more fortnight in their declarations
Of policy than they have been so far
Answer to Change.
What has happened to change Mr..
Hoover?
The answer. as given by the men
most closely associated with him, is
that. for the first time in his life, he
Is devoting every ounce of energy
and intelligence he possesses to
speech-making. Beginning many
months ago, his sole thought and pur-
pose has been to convince the Nation
of what he regards as the terrible
iniquities of President Roosevelt and
the New Deal. AS early as last June
he planned to make a speech once a
month from October, 1885, to June,
1886, each to deal with specific
phase of New Deal policy.
He is sticking religiously to this
program. At Oakland he analyzed
the Federal budget to show the excess
sive spending. At New York his sub
ject was monetary policy, with specific
reference to the Roosevelt dealings in
gold and silver. At st. Louis he
dealt with unemployment relief. His
: next speech will be delivered at Port
land, Greg, in January, and will re-
late to foreign trade policy and more
particularly to the reciprocity agree
ment with Canada. Before he is
through he will take up the admins
trations farm program the Tennessee
Valley and other public utility enter
prises from the standpoint of compe-
t1tion with private business, and other
phases of the New Deal.
In his speeches, taken as q whole,