The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-30
AGREEMENT WITH
 CEMENT MAKERS Government Will Erect Plant
 Near Proposed Dam' WILL SAVE A LARGE SUM By Making Cement on the Spot E~ cessive Transpl. ,ation Rates to
 Arizona Will be Avoided and
 the Work Facilitated.
WILL SAVE A LARGE SUM

Washington. November 29.-tspeeial)- As A result of the conference held this week between officials of the interior oe- ,,artment in charge of the construction of irrigation works and the representa- +ivos of the manufacturers of Portland cement, an amicable agreement has been ,ooobsd which will result in the interior department advertising for bids for the furnishing of two hundred thousand oar rels of cement to be used in the con struction of the Tonto Basin dam In Arl- zona. Near to the proposed dam the government will at once erect a cement mill. with a capacity of 25O or more par rels daily. and the contractors will be re- ouired to bid with a view to furnishing sbeir nroducts delivered at the dam site, and also. for manufacturing the cement on the ground with the plant and power furnished them free by the government.
 The principle involved in this matter is one which has greatly concerned the manufacturers of Portland cement throughout the country In making the nlans for the Tonto Basin project it was estimated that the dam, which is to be the largest in the United States, and one of the largest in the world, would re- Auire two hundred thousand barrels of Lement.
 Freight Rates High.
 When Chief Engineer F. II. Newell of the United States geological survey, who is in charge of the construction of the dams and canals to be built under the irrigation act, investigated the cost of landing the cement at the dam site he found that the freight rates. plus the cost of transporting the cement overland from the terminals at Globe or Phoenix, were so unusually high that the price of the two hundred thousand barrels great ly exceeded the sum allotted for this part of the work.
 Investigation led to the belief that a mill could be erected near the site of the dam and the cement manufactured there much more cheaply than 1t could be manufactured outside and transported to this point and consequently, a contract was let for the erection of a mill. This aroused all the cement manufacturers of the country, who were strongly opposed to the principle of the government em- barking in the manufacture of cement, which they hald properly to be a private business enterprise.
 Meeting Held.
 A meeting was held here yesterday be. tween the representatives of the Ameri. can Portland Cement association, oi which K. w. Lesley of Philadelphia is president; George Stone, president of the Pacific Portland Cement company, and William Griffith Henshaw. president of the Standard Portland Cement company, the mills of the two latter compa nies be- ing on San Francisco bay Among the companies represented were the Atlas and Whitehall Portland Cement company of Lehigh valley; the St. Louis Portland Cement company, the Peerless Portland Cement company of Michigan, the Colton Of California. the Colorado, the Utah, and the lola companies.
 Representatives of the Manufa cturers laid the matter before Secretary Hitch cock and Chief Engineer Howell. stat Ing that they had no objections to the manufacture of the cement at the site Of the dam but that they believed the government should not enter into compe- tition with the regular manufacturers of cement. The department officials dis claimed any intention of competing in the manufacture of cement, but insisted tHat with the high freight rates prevail dng, the department could manufa cture Ats cement at the dam site cheaper than 1t could be brought in from the outside.
 Offer a Suggestion.
 The manufactures then suggested that the department and the manufactur should make common cause against the railroads. and, by giving the bidders an opportunity to manufacture the cement at the proposed government mill, force the railroads to give q favorable rate or lose the business, and to this the depart ment has substantially agreed This is regarded as great victory for the de- partment, as in the erection of the dam great deal of material will have to be transported by rail and it is believed that the saving which will thus be effect cd will amount to hundreds of thousands Of dollars. In fact 1t Is expected that even if after the contract is completed the government throws away the ma chinery in the cement mill which is to be erected, it will still save money
 cosltract was let to day to the Pa eifc Portland Cement company of San Francisco, California. for 30,000 barrels of cement for the Nevada irrigation pro- ject This is the first contract for ce- ment in connection with the work under