HOOVER, HERBERT. (1874-1964). Thirty-first president of the United States. TLS. (“Herbert Hoover”). 1p. 4to. Washington, D.C., June 7, 1928. On a sheet of his imprinted stationery to GEORGE H. LORIMER (1867-1937), editor-in-chief of The Saturday Evening Post.
Many thanks for your note of June 5th. You have taken the proper attitude with this lady.
Upon his appointment as Harding’s secretary of commerce in 1921, Hoover undertook the department’s reorganization. Initiating the first steps to insure governmental supervision of radio broadcasting and commercial aviation, he also promoted studies which led to the construction of the Hoover Dam and the St. Lawrence Seaway. In 1923 he was retained as secretary of commerce by Coolidge. In 1927 Hoover “began his campaign for the presidential nomination indirectly, by supervising relief efforts in the Mississippi flood… and [his] trips to the devastated areas to organize and direct the feeding, clothing, and housing of displaced families received wide coverage in the national press” (DAB). His efforts paid off: “Nothing could have better reminded the country of the skills of the Great Engineer and Humanitarian” (ibid) and he was elected president the following year. Under Lorimer, The Saturday Evening Post became an immensely successful and influential magazine, known for featuring the work of leading contemporary writers and thinkers. Initially progressive, with Lorimer’s drift to the right, the Post later “became an active — if unofficial — organ of the Republican party. Lorimer knew many presidents personally, and nearly every president during his editorship contributed to the Post, but he was most active in promoting the fortunes of Herbert Hoover” (ibid). Boldly signed and fine.
