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Herbert Clark Hoover

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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"HERBERT CLARK HOOVER (1874-), American mining engineer and public official, was born of Quaker parentage on a farm at West Branch, Ia., Aug. 10 1874. He was left an orphan at an early age, his mother dying in 1880 and his father four years later. When 14 years old he ran away from a relative's farm in Oregon and went to Portland where he worked in a realestate office. When Leland Stanford, Jr., University was opened in 1891 he entered with the first class and specialized in geology and engineering, supporting himself by working at various jobs in free hours. On graduating in 1895 he worked for a time at a California mine to get experience. Then he went to San Francisco and secured employment in the office of a mining engineer. In 1897 he went to Australia as mining engineer for an English syndicate and developed successful mines. In 1899, when a Department of Mines was created by the Chinese Government, he was appointed Director-General of Mines. Before departing for the Orient, he married Miss Lou Henry, a fellow student at college, daughter of a banker at Monterey, Cal. In China he made extensive surveys which, however, were interrupted by the Boxer outbreak; and he, together with his wife, were among those besieged at Tientsin. After his return to America he had other offers from abroad, and thereafter was engaged in mining development throughout the world. From 1902 to 1908 he was a partner in the firm of Bewick, Moreing & Co., London, for whom he had gone to Australia in 1897. Later he was connected with several mining companies, with offices in London, and there he was when the World War broke out in 1914.

At that time thousands of Americans in Europe found their funds shut off, and Mr. Hoover headed a committee in London to give all possible assistance to those in England. The sudden invasion of Belgium by the Germans rendered a large part of the Belgian civilian population destitute, and on Oct. 22 1914 the Commission for Relief in Belgium was organized and Mr. Hoover appointed chairman. All his energies were now directed to securing food and vessels for its transportation and to directing its distribution in Belgium. This involved constant contact with officials of the warring countries, especially those of Germany, but he soon showed that the work was entirely neutral. Later the Commission's activities were extended to devastated northern France. After America's entrance into the World War the work had to be carried on by neutrals, but Mr. Hoover remained chairman of the Commission. Some idea of the business efficiency of the C.R.B., as it was familiarly called, may be gained from the fact that although almost $1,000,000,000 was expended on food and transportation, only about one-half of one per cent was required for overhead expenses. In Aug. 1917 he was appointed Federal Food Administrator. Already as chairman of the food section of the Council of National Defense he had begun to marshal all the agencies for economizing, especially on those foods which the Allies needed. He reached every American household by enlisting the services of the women. He instituted wheatless days and meatless days, and urged the avoidance of all waste. After the Armistice, 1918, his services were extended to the destitute populations of central Europe. Storehouses of food were established at various centres and a system of food-drafts was devised whereby relatives and friends could send relief where it was needed. In 1920 Mr. Hoover was mentioned as a possible candidate for president. He himself declared that he did not desire nomination, but later agreed to take the Republican nomination if it should be offered him. The party machine, however, did not give him any support. It was declared that he had long lived in England, and in only one case (1896) had he been able to vote for a presidential candidate. Throughout he kept up his work of relief, and at the beginning of 1921 was collecting funds as chairman of the European Relief Council, for the starving children of central Europe. In March he entered the Cabinet of President Harding as Secretary of Commerce, stipulating that he be allowed to carry out his European relief work, already begun. In the autumn of 1921 he undertook the general supervision of relief work in Russia, first having exacted, as a condition, the release of all American prisoners held by the Soviet authorities.

He was the author of Principles of Mining (1909), based on lectures given at Stanford and at Columbia universities. In 1912, in collaboration with his wife, he published as a sumptuous folio, with reproductions of the illustrations of the first edition (1556), an English translation of Agricola's De Re Metallica. This Latin treatise on mining and metallurgy had remained the standard text-book for almost 200 years after its appearance; the translation, with introduction, annotations, and appendices, was a pious memorial to a pioneer contributor to the knowledge of a great profession. (G. C. S.)