East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-05-20
WORLDS BIGGEST IRRIGATION DAM

The town OF Roosevelt, Ariz.. hum
ming a. II is with the activities OF its
5000 inhabitants, is doomed. Its
lease on life Is only three years long.
In 1908, when the engineers of the
reclamation service shall have COM
pleted the highest dam in the world,
Roosevelt will lie l72 feet below the
surface of the water in the reclama-
tion reservoir. Work has been in
progress there for about year. but
men are laboring now. night and day,
in three shifts OF eight hours each, in
order that no more than three addi-
tional years may be consumed in the
task. Then Roosevelt will be no more.
Shut in by mountains as the valley
OF Salt river is at this point, there is
no place else where the men who are
constructing the dam for the Salt
river reclamation project might build
them a city except in the very valley
that il destined to be submerged. The
town or camp of Roosevelt is situated
partly on the hillside above the high
water mark of the reservoir. In the
lower part of the camp are located
the temporary power plant, the COM
unlssary, the corral, the hospital, and
the dwelling tents of employees of the
reclamation service of the United
States geological survey and OF con-
tractors working for the government
In that portion of the camp known
as "Roosevelt-on-the-Hi are the ce-
ment mill, an office building, dining
hall and kitchen. numerous tent
houses and several frame structures
erected for the use of the engineer
ing force and their families.
Three mail and passenger stage
lines connect Roosevelt with the out
side world. The Globe line, which is
about AZ miles long, provides a daily
stage service from Globe, which has
Southern Pacific railroad connections.
By means of the Mesa line, passengers
and mail can be brought to the dam
in one day from Phoenix. which is
the center of the territory. The route
which is about 60 miles long, runs
through the most picturesque part OF
Arizona. Capitalists are even now
considering the advisability of putting
on an automobile line from Phoenix
to the dam, of constructing n trolley
line between the two points, and OF
erecting a tourist hotel in the noun.
tains not far from the dam site. A
third stage line, also In daily opera.
ton. is the one between Payson and
Roosevelt. 1t is about 63 miles long
The contract for the Roosevelt dan
has been recently given to j. NJ
n. 10 - nnl -
and the most serious work of the pro.
ject viii soon be under way. During
the past year, however. a vast dea
of important preliminary work hai
been accomplished by the inhabitanti
of Roosevelt. A temporary power
plant, a cement mill, an ice plant, 6
lighting plant, and a sawmill hav'
all been completed. The power canal
which will furnish water power fol
the generation of electricity to oper
ate all the works will be done in {
few months. A telephone line con
Meeting the headworks of the power
canal. about IS miles above Roosevelt
with the Arizona dam, which Is abou
80 miles from Phoenix, has also beer
installed. In the face of great en-
6AANNAAib AAAAAS0iliCos IL MdbOil iOdl
has been built between Phoenix anC
Roosevelt. A road to the timber il
the Sierra Ancha mountains has alst
opened up a new country. Altogethei
II has been necessary to construc
about 80 miles of road.
Much of this work has been don,
under most unfavorable circum
stances. From February until tn
end of March there was almost con
tinuous rain and snow. Never in tn
history of Arizona has snow beel
deeper than il Was last winter, an,
the chances for high water during tn
entire summer are, unfortunately, al
most certain. During the create
part of March the road to Globe wa
impassable and the ella Valley, Glob