The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-12
TIE STORY or AUsTIN's DAM.
Costly Experiment Undertaken
Against the Advice of Engineers.

Against the Advice of Engineers.
From the New York Tribune.
Austin Tex, is small town with am
bitlon ana civic pride out of all proportion
to its dimensions. The dam which gave
way on Saturday was the city's invest
ment TO make it grow into a metropolis.
The Colorado river, which trick.ed by,
was to be made to do the work of lighting
the town, supplying power for the street
railways and for the many factoriss
which would, as a matter of course ard
beyond the shadow of a doubt, spring up
with exceeding rapiiity in the greatly ia
vored locality. OF course, for a town of
Austins size, 1t was a marvel of enter
prise, the second largest dam in the
United States, and it did not take long to
commend itself to the minds of the clti-
zens. Furthermore it would be in line
with the tendency of modern municipal
progress for 1t would be an example Of
municipal ownership. The city would
light its own streets with electricity and
sell power to the street railway company
and TO all other bidders. Such were the
IDEAS of the people of Austin when they
determined to construct The dam.
The next thing was TO find out how the
project appealed to engineers II didn't
appeal to them. They thought little of
the prospective glories of Austin, and had
not a soul above facts and figures They
generally condemned the plan as imprac-
ticable. The character of the soil of the
valley Of the Colorado they said, was
such that no dam would restrain the wat-
er. 1t would percolate through the earth
and find It's way down the channel. Thus
no sufficient supply could be maintained
to flow over the dam and there would be
no water power. Thus most of the eX-
per<s reported. but some were of a con-
trary opinion and the people of Austin
were eanguine. They took the advice
that was most agreeable and built the
dam and power house. The dam cost
81 900 600. 1t was 1,143 feet long, 60 feet
deep and 60 feet across at the base The
power house cost 100000, and $1,000, 600
of the cost of this experiment is to-day
in outstanding bonds.
The works were finished three or four
years ago, and soon the predictions of
most of the engineers began to DC realized.
The pride and hope of Austin was a fail
ure. The water of Lake Mcdonald. as
the pentup Colorado was called, somehow
escaped, end the surface of the lake was
often below the level of the dam During
last summer and fall and much of the
winter the town was only systematically
lighted. The trolley cars ran when there
were rains, and stood still when there
were no rains. Many of the nights the
streets were in total darkness The peo-
pie said the dam was a thing TO be proud
of. 1t was a municipal feat. 1t did not
leak, but the soil around it aid. The city
did not have any power to sell, nor was
there an influx Of buyers of power, Taxes
rose to unprecedented rates. Increa sed
rentals emptied houses all over the town.
Business Jagged, and the interest in the
bonds sold to pay for the dam could not
be paid, and It Is now six months over
due. The only way out of the. difficulties
suggested was to raise more money, if
possible and build steam power house
to supplement the water power for the
electric plant, when the water was in
sufficient. Every time the rain held of
for period The Austin Statesman" grew
eloquent over the duty of the people to
build Il steam power house to prevent the
total loss of the capital involved in the
city's venture. The dam was of little
practical value to Ausun, but it's loss
leaves the city badly crippled and in sore
financial distress.