Hoover, Herbert, as thirty-first President

["The Success of Recovery,"] printed reading copy of a speech, inscribed to French Strother, 75 pages (10 1/2 x 8 in.; 266 x 204 mm) with autograph notes and composition fragments (ca. 10 pages) in pencil with mimeograph additions; some browning and soiling. [With:] Official Congressional Directory. 71st Congress, 2d Session beginning December 2, 1929. Washington, D.C.: Elmer C. Hess, 1929. 8vo, publisher's red cloth, signed on page 285 by Hoover, George Akerson, Lawrence Richey, Walter Hughes Newton, French Strother, Rudolph Foster, and M.C. Latta. [With:] Portrait Photograph of Hoover and his German Shepherd "King Tut," 9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.; 240 x 188 mm.

An evocative souvenir of the "Hoover Recovery" complete with a handsome photograph of the President holding his dog "King Tut". These materials were given by Hoover to his administrative assistant French Strother (d. 1933), formerly a reporter on the Fresno California Republican,with the inscription: "Mss. used at Detroit Oct 22 1932. To French Strother — From one Orator to another with the affections of Herbert Hoover."

In this campaign speech, given 22  October 1932 on “The Success of Recovery,” Hoover told the crowd of twenty-two thousand in Detroit’s Olympia Arena that success would have come even sooner if not for Democratic obstruction. The Detroit faithful and radio audiences heard Hoover hail ten sure signs of “economic recovery.”

"I wish to present to you the evidence that the measures and policies of the Republican administration are winning this major battle for recovery ... It can be demonstrated that the tide has turned and the gigantic forces of depression are in retreat. Our measures and policies have demonstrated their effectiveness. They have preserved the American people from certain chaos and have preserved a final fortress of stability in the world."