Message Accepting the Republican Presidential Nomination

I have your telegram and I sincerely appreciate the confidence which the party has shown in me and the honor bestowed upon me.

You convey too great a compliment when you say that I have earned the right to the Presidential nomination. No man can establish such an obligation upon any part of the American people. My country owes me no debt. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope.

My whole life has taught me what America means. I am indebted to my country beyond any human power to repay. It conferred upon me the mission to administer America's response to the appeal of great nations stricken of famine by the war. It honored me with high responsibilities in our Government during the war. It has called me into the Cabinets of two Presidents. By these experiences I have observed the burdens and responsibilities of the greatest office in the world. That office touches the happiness of every home. It deals with the peace of nations. No man could think of it except in terms of solemn consecration.

You ask me for a message:

A new era and new forces have come into our economic life and our setting among nations of the world. These forces demand of us constant study and effort if prosperity, peace, and contentment shall be maintained.

This convention, like those which have preceded it for two generations, has affirmed the principles of our party and defined its policies upon the problems which now confront us. I stand upon that platform. At a later date I shall discuss it fully, but in the meantime I may well say that under these principles the victory of the party will assure national defense, maintain economy in the administration of government, protect American workmen, farmers, and businessmen alike from competition arising out of lower standards of living abroad, foster individual initiative, insure stability of business and employment, promote our foreign commerce, and develop our national resources.

You have manifested a deep concern in the problems of agriculture. You have pledged the party to support specific and constructive relief upon a nationwide scale backed by the resources of the Federal Government. We will and must find a sound solution that will bring security and contentment to this great section of our people.

But the problems of the next 4 years are more than economic. In a profound sense they are moral and spiritual. This convention has sounded a note of moral leadership.

Shall the world have peace? Shall prosperity in this nation be more thoroughly distributed? Shall we build steadily toward the ideal of equal opportunity to all our people? Shall there be secured that obedience to law which is the essential assurance of life of our institutions? Shall honesty and righteousness in government and in business confirm the confidence of the people in their institutions and their laws?

Government must contribute to leadership in answer to these questions. The Government is more than administration; it is power for leadership and cooperation with the forces of business and cultural life in city, town, and countryside. The Presidency is more than executive responsibility. It is the inspiring symbol of all that is highest in America's purposes and ideals.

It is vital to the welfare of the United States that the Republican Party should continue to administer the government. It is essential that our party should be continued in organization and in strength in order that it may perpetuate its great principles in our national life.

If elected by my fellow countrymen I shall give the best within me to advance the moral and material welfare of all our people and uphold the traditions of the Republican Party so effectively exemplified by Calvin Coolidge.

HERBERT HOOVER

[George H. Moses, Chairman, Republican National Convention, Kansas City, Missouri]