Chief of Commerce

" How is Hoover getting away with his job"?" Ask the question, and 20 Washington correspondents are ready to answer: " Big."

Mr. Hoover has revolutionized the

Department of Commerce. Once the Department was ignored or avoided by business men. It was too " theoretical." What value it had was scientific rather than commercial. Now the Department serves the business man with cable information from every point of the compass, from a chemical expert in Germany, a machinery expert in China, an agricultural expert in Argentina. And it serves them with statistics.

" Hoover is hell on statistics." (The phrase is current). He found that the Bureau of Census belonged to his Department, and now he is even counting the fish.

The change in Department of Fisheries is typical. A ruthless reorganization has resulted in the retirement of former Chief Smith, who grew up in Government service and is an international authority in ichthyology. Today, nobody in the bureau gives a thought to any uncommercial fish. All the talk is Alaskan salmon and Maine sardines.

At Mr. Hoover's right hand is Julius Klein. Klein knows South America, which is the only continent Mr. Hoover doesn't know. Together they have transformed Commerce Reports into a valuable weekly which 5,000,000 men can read. Mr. Hoover himself is responsible for the monthly Survey of Current Business.

Always, Mr. Hoover works directly with the industry which his Department is trying to serve. For instance, his automotive chief was picked by the Automobile Chamber of Commerce. Working through 70 trade committees which he has created, Mr. Hoover now enjoys such confidence from business men as was never given to any of his predecessors.