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Show Geo. H. Dern Seen As Good Man For Office of Secretary of Interior The New Year marks not only the inauguration of new state officials throughout the nation, but also the impending inauguration of a new administration ad-ministration in Washington. Inasmuch as the retiring governor of Utah, the Hon. George H. Dern, is being prominently mentioned for the post of secretary of the interior in President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt's Roose-velt's cabinet, it might be well at this time to review his achievements during dur-ing his eight years as governor of this state, which have marked him as one of the outstanding officials of the 'nation. Not only have these achievtTments marked Governor Dern as a capable executive, but in a larger sense they have gained Utah a share of national :rominence and importance such as the state has never enjoyed before. However, Governor Dern is being mentioned for the new cabinet, not only for his thorough-going and efficient effi-cient administration of Utah affairs, but also for his knowledge and under-s under-s anding of the problems which confront con-front the secretary of the interior and other national officials. An excellent example of this is afforded af-forded in an article in a recent issue of an eastern business magazine which referred to Utah's plan for administering adminis-tering the Reconstruction Finance corporation's cor-poration's emergency relief funds as a model that all other states might follow. In 1930, through the influence of Governor Dern, Utah was host to the national governor's conference, which is an organization of the governors of all the states. After Governor Dern had attended two sessions he was chosen a member of the executive committee and the next year he was chosen as chairman. He served two years as a chairman and declined a third term, feeling that the honors should be distributed among the other officials. He was one of the organizers of the western governors' conference in 1929 and has been a member of the executive execu-tive committee since. In 1931-32 he served as chairman of that organization. organi-zation. At the time Governor Dern assumed the responsibilities of the governorship governor-ship of Utah, Utah and the other western states were engaged in a controversy con-troversy with the federal government over their mineral bearing school (Continued on last page) Dern Is Favored As: Secretary of Interior (Continued from page 1) lands. When Utah was admitted to the union, the state was granted four sections of land in each township for the support of the common schools. Eventually, the supreme court of the United States ruled that no lands rearing coal or other minerals had been granted the state, and that if any land designated as a school section sec-tion proved to be mineral in character, charac-ter, it must be relinquished to the federal fed-eral government and other land, non-mineral non-mineral in character, selected in lieu thereof. As a result of this ruling, there was almost continual confusion, strife and costly litigation. Governor Dern's first step with regard re-gard to this controversy was to deliver de-liver a notable address, "School Land Titles in the Public Land States," at the national governors1 conference in 1926. Through his influence a bill was introduced in congress which provided that the states should have all the minerals contained in their designated school sections. When the bill was passed and became a law, the then secretary of the interior said it meant one hundred million dollars to the public land states, and none of these will profit more from this legislation chan Utah. The public schools have been vastly enriched, and as a result, taxes for school purposes should eventually even-tually be reduced. tooth comb, reserve everything that I had any value and give the rest to the states; that it would not yield enough levenue to pay the cost of administra-! tion; that the scheme would greatly! decrease federal aid for highway con-j struction and thereby increase the .state's road burden, and that it might j jeopardize the government's reclama-' tion service, thereby retarding further agricultural developments in the western west-ern states. Governor Dern went to Washington to present his view on the proposed legislation to the house committee,' and as a direct result of this, the scheme had no friends and the bill was not even reported out of the committee. j It is expected that if Governor Dern ; ublic and not for the benefit of a few expensive clubs. Governor Dern is largely responsible responsi-ble for the restoration of the old capi-ol capi-ol at Fillmore, and has at all times .(.operated with such organizations as the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters Daugh-ters of the American Revolution, and other patriotic societies. Having achieved signal success in such a diversity of governmental affairs, af-fairs, it Ts, indeed, easy to understand why Governor Dern is considered as one of the most able men for the office of-fice of secretary of the interior. ed by the state have been constructed construct-ed by the state building commission, created in the pursuance of a plan prepared by Governor Dern, and every building has been completed within the amount appropriated by the legislature. legisla-ture. Governor Dern has long recognized the neecessity of good roads, and Utah's road system has gained nation-' al commendation. In matters of tax legislation, Gov- j ernor Dern has been equally fore-1 sighted, being of the opinion that tan- j gible proper' y, such as real estate, improvements, livestock, machinery j and merchandise stocks, were carry-! ing an undue share of the burden of ; taxation while other forms of property ' were going practically free. He believes be-lieves that the state should work toward to-ward a program of getting all, its revenue from income taxes and excise taxes, so that state levies may be abolished. i During his administration, flood prevention projects have been carried cut, so that the innocent victims will not be left without protection. After two years of persistent ef-foit, ef-foit, Governor Dem brought about a compromise settlement which ended .he costly litigation and decreed water wa-ter rights in connection with the upper up-per and lower water users of the Sevier Se-vier river. Under Governor Dern's administration, administra-tion, the 62,000 purchasers of fishing and hunting licenses have come into a greater fulfillment of sport in the state and now, under the efficient direction di-rection of the fish and game department, depart-ment, fishing and hunting are available avail-able for the benefit of the general is accorded the office of secretary of he interior he will carry into that branch of government the same busi-.iess-like administration that has been .haracteristic of the state during his ip.ht years as governor. During his two terms as governor, le has supervised and planned a contractive con-tractive building program at the .arious state schools and institutions a program, which was carried out with the utmost economy and efficiency, effi-ciency, j The Utah state hospital at Provo was shamefully overcrowded when he assumed office but now at his retirement retire-ment it ranks as a distinct credit to the state, with five new buildings erected and a vast amount of remodeling remo-deling on the old buildings. The University of Utah, the State Agricultural college, and the Branch Agricultural college have received special consideration from the governor, gover-nor, who has long been prominent in worthwhile educational activities. The Utah School for the Deaf and the Blind now ranks anion;; the very best in the United States and the State Industrial school has been commended com-mended as performing a worthwhile function in the training of future citizens. citi-zens. The Stale Training school for the feeble minded is a new institution built at American Fork, and under scientific management it is expected to render a great service in making self-supporting citizens out of backward back-ward children. All the recent new buildings erect- j Another achievement which gained i national prominence for Governor Dem was the solution of the Colorado river problem. Essentially, the law of wa.er rights is, "first in use, first in right," and this law holds good regardless re-gardless of state lines. California wanted all the water from the Hoover Jam reservoir for the Imperial valley, val-ley, which would have meant that California would have acquired a prior right to all the flood waters of the Colorado river and its tributaries, although al-though half the area of our state lies in the Colorado river drainage, and Utah streams supply fully 15 per cent of the water in the reservoir. Governor Dern, during his investigations, investi-gations, visited the neighboring states of California, Arizona, and New Mexico, Mex-ico, and then called a Colorado river conference. Subsequently he went to Washington when the mat'.er was before be-fore the congress for final disposition. The final outcome was that the Boulder dam bill was amended so that a fair proportion of the waters of the Colorado river is perpetually reserved for the use of the state of Utah a provision which will mean much to the agricultural interests of the state in the future. Another accomplishment w h i c h gained national recognition for the governor was his masterful handling of President Hoover's proposal that the surface of the remaining public domain outside of the national forests, for-ests, national parks and other government govern-ment reservations be ceded to the states, but that all minerals be forever for-ever reserved to the federal government. govern-ment. Governor Dern recognized the fallacy of this procedure, and in his famous speech before the western governors' conference he showed that most of this land was so poor that the government could not give it away; that the government proposed to go over the public domain with a fine |
