It's April 15th, 1927 at a restaurant inside the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.

Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover has just arrived in Tennessee.

He's been sent by President Coolidge, charged with leading the federal government's response

to a horrific natural disaster.

Over months of heavy rain, the Mississippi River has swelled to unprecedented levels, and

days ago a levy broke at Mounds Landing in Mississippi.

Experts say that within a matter of weeks, the entire levy system will collapse.

Hoover sits down for an important breakfast meeting with Rallett Payne, the mayor of Memphis,

but their meeting has been hijacked by an entrapid reporter who fires off questions

much to Hoover's chugrin.

Secretary Hoover, what do you plan to do about the situation in the flood zones?

Hoover doesn't have time for these questions.

There's work to be done and lives to be saved.

So Hoover ignores the reporter.

He shoves a bite of food in his mouth and fiddles with the dial of his watch.

He's been in government long enough to know that in a crisis, timing is everything.

I'm a seer-wash, Mr. Mayor.

It's important that we're in lockstep.

As Hoover and the mayor sink their watches, the reporter asks again,

do you have a plan to deal with a refugee problem in the flood zones, Mr. Hoover?

A noid, Hoover sets down his knife and fork, dabs his mouth with an napkin, gets down to brass tax.

Look, there are three things to be done with the flood victims.

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