Death of Dern

Two days before President Roosevelt took office in 1933, he lost his Attorney General-designate when old Thomas J. Walsh, on his second honeymoon, dropped-dead of a heart attack in his Pullman drawing room. Following year a throat disease forced Secretary of the Treasury William Hartman Woodin out of the Cabinet, later killed him. Last week Death struck its first square blow at the Roosevelt Cabinet when Secretary of War George Henry Dern died after a long illness in Washington's Walter Reed Hospital. He had suffered a severe attack of influenza in Charleston, S. C. last spring. In July, weakened by kidney trouble, the 64-year-old Secretary took to his bed never to rise again.

Born in Nebraska, Congregationalist George Dern migrated to Utah, made friends with his Mormon neighbors, though he never joined the Church of the Latter Day Saints. He plugged and profited at mining and engineering, served two terms as Utah's Democratic Governor, was spotted by Franklin Roosevelt as a Cabinet possibility at a Governors' Conference six years ago (TIME, July 14, 1930). As the civilian head of the Army, he kept well in the background, left the service pretty much to its professionals.

Upon receipt of news of Secretary Dern's death, Army guns from Portland to Pearl Harbor boomed the traditional salute at half-hour intervals, 19 blasts at retreat. A train was shrouded to take Secretary Dern's body back to Salt Lake City for burial. At Bismarck, N. Dak., President Roosevelt rearranged his Drought tour to attend the funeral, was obliged to postpone for two days his Des Moines meeting with Governor Landon.

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