appointing industry representatives to run these divisions. expanding his personal staff, Hoover gained control over the de- partment's previously autonomous agencies.
Finally, Hoover put Commerce in the public spotlight by building a crackerjack public relations staff. He hired professional newsmen and courted the business press with frequent Washington conferences. And he regularly fed scoops to eminent journalists such as William Allen White and Mark Sullivan.
By the time Hoover became President,...