Life — July 26, 1928 — page 23: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

LIFE THE POLITICAL Artful Dodgers Tue amtasce Colo- rado physician who is managing Mr. Hoover's campaign is not having a very happy time of it. The first few weeks of his Chairmanship of the Republican National Committee have given Dr. Hubert Work some bad mo- ments, his initial appearances having been productive of pretty fights wit newspaper correspondents. Dr. Work began to announce that he had been mis- quoted on this and that—a familiar dodge of politicians to cover their own errors of judgment. He thereupon shut down and appointed a spokesman, or rather, he appointed two spokesmen. One of Dr. Work’s official mouth organs is Mr. Henry Allen, former Governor of Kansas; the other is Mr. Harry Brown, Washington correspondent of the Salt Lake Tribune. This is the first time that a man in active charge of a campaign for the Presi- dency has surrounded himself with the paraphernalia of protection against press curiosity. Most campaign managers are frantic for newspaper attention. The truth is that Dr. Work is afraid to open his mouth for fear of hurting Mr. Hoover. He was an excellent organizer of Mr. Hoover's pre-convention round-up of dele- gates. From his vantage point in the De- partment of the Interior, Dr. Work put in months of quiet, obscure, but effective activity in behalf of his Cabinet colleague. But he is totally unfit for the job of directing Mr. Hoover’s campaign. His jargon to the effect that this campaign will be operated on the pfinaiple of -d authority and decentralized responsibility” has made nothing of a hit with other prominent Republican man- agers, who interpret this oracular phrase as meaning that Dr. Work will get all credit if everything goes well, and that his subordinates will be blamed if any- thing goes wrong. Dr. Work has cherished for some years a strange ambition to become Chairman of the Republican National Committee. The obscure nerve specialist who was First Assistant Postmaster General under Will H. Hays in 1921 was not content when he became Secretary of the Interior in succession to A. B. Fall. He wanted to be top-dog politician in Republicanism, and he has got his wish. Mr. Hoover is not without gratitude and I presume he had no other choice than to put Dr. Work in charge of his campaign, thus offending the industrious Mr. Good of Iowa, who Tne Weex-Enp Guest Wo Was Toto He Micut Meet Ur Witt Sworprisn. “Do you take any interest in the political campaign?” “Naw. When it’s all over, what have you gotP Just another President.” is still in a condition of frenzy at being relegated to an inferior position in this Hooverish universe. Mr. Hilles of New York and Senator Moses of New Hamp- shire do not conceal their opinion of Dr. Work’s ineptitude and altogether the at- mosphere is far from one of cordial co- operation. Full of dignity and silence, Dr. Work has immured himself, leaving two interpreters to purvey his sentiments to a waiting public. 2 . . Tue Repustican campaign, in other words, is not going to provide any fun. Mr. Hoover, upon his nomination, at once terminated his frequent contacts with newspaper correspondents, on the ground that it would be improper for him to say a word in advance of his speech of accept- ance. Thus the candidate and his man- ager are both inaccessible to press in- quirers, both frightened of seeing their words in print. I find something delight- ful in twenty-five Republican editors’ being brought down to Washington from New York, given lunch in secret and afterwards treated to one of Mr. Hoover's earnest dissertations, on the understand- ing that his opinions were given in stri confidence—not for publication, but “for comicbooks.com