ficial though, as they became inseparable companions. They spent a large amount of their free time together whether it be working, relaxing at the Bureau, dining, or traveling. Their travel included both inspection tours of district offices and leisurely vacations as well. It was because of this companionship that rumors of Hoover's homosexuality flew from all directions. It was even alleged that the reason for his slow movement to prosecute men of the mob was due to photos of he and Tolston in "flagrante delicto." He was of course extremely defensive of this type of accusation. He utilized the agents of the Bureau to try and put down these rumors before they spread far. Many times threats of physical harm came about for the purpose of gaining assurance that a person would not repeat such a horrible lie. There has never been any proof that such rumors were true. In fact it was well known that Hoover always preferred the company of men in such organizations as his fraternity Kappa Alpha and eventually in the Masons. Most testaments of people close to him seem to think these rumors were a result of "people unable to believe that two men could be as dedicated to their country as those two were." They recount that "they were good friends and Tolston was his equal-but subordinate." Although some issues do point to the idea that the two men could have been having some sort of romantic relationship, there is no disputing the fact that Tolston had almost as much power as Hoover. He could easily have made many of the decisions without Hoover, but normally consulted him beforehand. This only proves that even the Director's closest friend still expected him to be the last word on all issues.Another of Hoover's tests of his power and his ability to act as a politician was during the next change of guard from Herbert Hoover to Roosevelt after the election of 1932. Since this was once again a change in political parties, and Hoover held a patronag...
