The Evening Star TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1929. AMERICA’S PRESIDENT.

Evening Star, Issue 20116, 5 March 1929, Page 8

The Evening Star TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1929. AMERICA’S PRESIDENT.

The new President of the United States lias met Congress. His inaugural speech must have been awaited with some curiosity by the citizens of the big Republic, During his electoral campaign he said very little of real moment.. This was deliberate. Mr Hoover, despite his reputation of six years of international service of an altruistic character, is understood to be a singularly unimpressive speaker. This fact was thrown into even stronger relief during his campaign because during : its four months’ duration lie did not face one important issue. The Republican party managers were most anxious that their man should not commit himself upon any concrete matter. Their cdniplaisant candidate displayed one quality only—caution. He declared that the election was being fought on “the issues,” but he did not define them. So far as could be ascertained lie stood for Prosperity, largely, attributable to Republican administration and a high protective tariff, lie stool also for retention of the Eighteenth Amendment—which may or may not hays signified his satisfaction with a state of affairs fairly .doscribublc as a nation-wide flouting of the law. On assuming office Mr Hoover lias bpcomo rather more explicit. He has announced himself as .a reformer. He finds his nation disorderly at homo and disliked abroad. If that was bis conviction when he began his election campaign it is not to be wondered at that in his speeches he largely confined himself to platitudes, for he could hardly hope to win votes from people to whom he told unpleasant things about themselves. .But, now that ho is first citizen and has a Republican majority in Congress such ns Air Coolidgc never enjoyed', lie judges tbo occasion ripe lor a declaration that in its prime function government in the United States has failed. That function, of course, is the maintenance, of law and order. Many social reformers have attributed crime largely to - poverty, others to strong drink, and yet others to a combination of the two. Yet here we sec the most prosperous country in the civilised world tho most lawless; the country which has enacted Prohibition is more perturbed over its crime records than any other nation. it is one thing to enact laws; it is another thing to enforce them. Mr Hoover has put his finger on the weak spot. ' This is tho administration of justice. He declares outright that the people’s confidence in tho administration of rigid, speedy justice is decreasing, This is the most dangerous symptom that any nation can exhibit. Confidence is the basis of civilised life; mistrust is the first requisite for a relapse into barbarism. And how other than barbarism can be designated those sudden raids and swift get-aways with the spoil, leaving a trail of dead and dying victims of the gunmen, which occur so frequently in big American cities. Much crime goes undetected, and far too much crime, though detected, .goes unpunished. | Mr Hoover proposes to appoint a National Commission to investigate why this is so, and how it can be altered. He had on)y to look round him on his arrival at Washington for tho big ceremony to see what was a root cause. A viv-id cable message from America describes the scene'in most unflattering language: “The old Congress lias been wrangling and filibustering over little scandals involving wholesale frauds in the Administration, and President Goolidge has been signing last-minute resolutions for inquiries into the activities of many well-known Federal judges. . . , There is a great crowd in the city'of not merely visitors, but hordes of office-seekers, who are waiting impatiently for .March 4 to descend upon White House and demand. a share in the spoils of victory.” Moreover, we are told that to the very head and fount of government strong reinforcements of Prohibition agents have been sent to keep the city as “dry” as possible during, the inaugural ceremoniCSi

President Hoover, himself personally upright, must know how the principle of spoils to the victors has corrupted American politics. As regards the Republican record in financial corruption ho was a member of the Harding Cabinet when the disgraceful deals of the Teapot Dome oil leases were put through, and a member of the Coolidge Cabinet throughout tho long exposure of those scandals. Virtually lie has impugned his own party. He may strong enough to appoint to his Commission men who will not bo deterred from taking tho scope of their inquiry right into the Legislature itself. His inaugural speech, coupled with his record of service, may well cause qualms in circles which, have hitherto felt secure.