Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-23
CEMENT FOR A GREAT DAM.
Secretary Hitchcock to Give Hearing
to Manufacturers,

Secretary Hitchcock will give a hearing
to the statements of a party of cement
manufacturers of the Pacific coast who
have come here to protest against the gov
ernments manufacturing it's own cement
for the great Tonic basin dam in Arizona,
which is to be constructed for irrigation
PURPOSES The manufa cturers represent
Atlas and Whitehall Portland Cement COM
panies of the Lehigh valley, the st. Louis
Portland Cement Company, the Peerless
Portland Cement Company of Union City,
Mich; the Pacific Portland Cement Com
pany the Standard and the Cotton COM
panies of San Francisco, the Colorado Port
land Cement Company the Utah Portland
Cement Company. and the lola fortiaho
Cement Company of lola, Kan In addition
representatives Will be here from the Assoc
citation of Portland Cement Manufacturers
1t is stated that as soon as the estimates
for the big dam were prepared, the govern
ment experts and the representatives OF
the cement companies and the railroads heid
conference and the government ofnclalS
were informed that the price of cement
delivered at the site of the dam. would be
50 a barrel. 1t was found that the govern
ment could make its own cement for from
50 80 to So barrel. There will be 2o0U0o
barrels used in the construction of the dam.
and it was figured that the entire cost OF
the dam would be about So 100000. If the
cement was purchased from the representa-
tives of the cement firms at the price quot
ed it Is claimed that the cost WOuiu ne
about a million and a half more. The dam
is to be paid for by the people of the state
of Arizona within ten years after Its con-
struction and they are. Of course. much in
terested in the outcome of the hearing to be
given the cement manufacturers. 1t Is al
legged that there are numerous places IN
Arizona where the ingredients of cement
can be obtained easily and cheaply, and 1t
is from these places that the government
is to get its materials 1t is charged that the
cement companies named are members of a
combination and have formed a trust, but
the representatives of the manufacturers
deny that there is trust and declare that
they have never been invited to file bids for
the work.
1t is denied by government officials that
the cement manufacturers were denied an
opportunity to bid. 1t is admitted that
bids were not advertised for. but 1t is said
that the manufacturers were offered an OPP
pCrtunity to submit proposals, and that
they did so. 1t is claimed that the govern
ment could not, under the present freight
ret ties on cement afford to take cement as
gift at the nearest shipping point and
transport it to the site of the dam. 1t is
claimed that the government officials do
not want to go into the cement business
but that the high prices charged for the
ma teral will force them to do So The
government wants to build the dam at as
little lost as possible. The present con-
d'ticnS may occur in other cases In fact
it is said that works of similar character
are all located at a considerable distance
from cement manufactures, and the
freight rates are a considerable factor.