Evening star., 1935-11-03
BY ROBERT CRAWFORD.


It is not known whether the advice
and experience Of the Secretary OF
War, Mr.. George Henry Dern, have
been sought in solving the housing
problems which are agitating the ad-
ministration-and local government
at the present time. but If the Secre-
tary were consulted he could doubtless
give some very interesting experiences
and sidelights on the art of housing
and the transportation of towns from
unproductive to more productive To-
cations.
There is a great hue and cry going
up about moving families of the land
where they and their ancestors have
dwelt for generations. It does pull the
heart strings to think of leaving the
place where one was born and reared,
and called home, no matter how desc
late and unfruitful the place has be-
come. There is something actually
pathetic about an abandoned farm or
village. Oliver Goldsmith tells you
that in Sweet Auburn. loveliest vii
1age Of the plain: and no matter
hoJ long the Kentuckian has been
away from his native State, when the
band strikes up THE sun shines bright
in our old Kentucky HONEYWELL, it's
Just too much, sometimes. Many OF
those charming Summer homes up In
Vermont were abandoned farms which
were left by their tillers to seek in the
West a living, which was almost i'm
possible to get from the hilly. rocky
soil which now lends itself so beauti-
fully to rock gardens and ferneries.
Mr.. Harry Hopkins of the Housing
Administration would doubtless tell
you that all of the above is just Senti-
mental gush in these times when he is
working night and day to solve one
of the most troublesome problems con-
fronting the administration - and,
anyway, this is Secretary Derns show,
for he was the man who took up and
bodily moved town of 1000 inhabi-
tants down an 8000-foot mountain
out in Utah. Just ask Justice James
H. Wolfe of the. Supreme Court of
Utah about it, as he was the young
engineer who helped dismantle Mer-
cur, Utah, the mining town where the
mines were worked out.
Mr.. Dern, then young engineer,
was general manager of the Con-
solidated Mercur Gold Mines Co. and
treasurer of the Mercur Gold Mining
g. Milling Co.. both Of which were
owned by his father. With his keen
business sense and his interest in
the welfare of the miners, George
decided the houses In the mining
town must be salvaged and the men
looked after. So the houses were de-
molished. put on fiat cars and moved
down to the plane below. Not only
the houses and other properties Of
the mining town we're transported,
but the railroad was taken up piece
by piece-a kind Of ride and tie op-
eration-and moved down the noun
tain.
The Secretary had great affection
for the little mining town and so
had Mrs. Dern, for several Of her
children were born there and her in
terest in the people Of the town was
also very sincere. Her husband was
described as a welfare worker with a
pay roll; tax reformer with a tax
bill. It was doubtless at that time
that his interest in economical, So
Geological and welfare problems took
form His father was a farmer be-
fore he became a banker and mine
owner, and soon after his sons grad
uation from the University Of Ne
braska he became his fathers right
hand man in finances and mining.
A mining engineer by profession and
q member of the American Institute
Mining and Metalurgical Engineers. he
is also joint inventor with Theodore
Holt of Holt-Dern ore roaster. AS
Secretary of War he has been i'm
menSely interested in Army engineer
ing. When he speaks with the men
in the service about engineering. he
speaks with experience and authority.
AS captain of the champion foot ball
team of his university he says he
gained his rank, and laughingly tells
about playing in the cadet band.
where the bass grunted "umph" and
he footed "pah."
BY the way, Justice James H.
Wolfe, who is here on visit just
now. was graduated from Lehigh Uni
versity as an engineer, and later
studied law at the University of Penn
Sylvania. One Of his professors there
was Associate Justice Owen Josephus
Roberts of the Supreme Court of the
United States. Justice Wolfe likes