Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-03-02

I + was last Monday morning that
three carriages were running smooth
ly over the dusty roAs of Green
River carrying Salt Lake newspaper
men and Others on their first trip about
The Green River country. e. I, Merritt
In one carriage acted as guide, Mayor
Rod Mcdonald pointed out the particu-
larly Interesting spots for those in the
second carriage and c, II. Whistler OF
Elg;n was guide No. 3. The big dam
was reached AT 10 o'clock and what the
visitors saw here WAS a big surprise
The magnitude OF the project and Its
purposes cannot be understood until
Green River Is visited.
The obstructI on. now almost complete,
will back enough water to keep $4,000
acres of land under irrigation The
method of distributing water over this
immense area Is simple; the project
IL the scheme of Green River citizens
and Il is their money that Ia making 1t
possible.
Green River is a valley eight miles
long and between three and five miles
vide The eNpanse Is level and sur
rounded on all sides by the Book
cliffs; odd shaped hills OF many coiors,
with alluvial forrna tons at thec
base. The soil Is rich loan and as
the weather Ia warm the year around
and the climate dry and even, the dis
such a promising country tina many
old residents of the famous Pallsade
region In Colorado have come to 1t; self
ing their old homes and investing their
every cent IN Green River ground. ~
WAS through this country that the SAT-
Lake newspaper men were taken on
Monday last The trip TO the Gam ON
the north was in the first part OF the
program. When the camp was reached,
the horses tied and an order left witn
the ca MP cook to have dinner ready
within an hour, the inspection began.
BIG ENGINEERING FEAT.
1T is an excellent piece of engineering.
Huge cottonwood logs--knss of for
est which once tringed the edges OF the
rlver-are bolted together and weighted
down. The first layer of logs is "A half
hundred feet wide lying OH the bot
tom OF the river Gangs, comprising
over 30 men each are working ON both
sides Of the river which at the site of
the dam is about 600 yards wide Big
boulders are loaded on TO a fiat car and
dumped on the flooring. AS rapidly as
the logs sink another layer is Installed
and weighted a pile-dTiNer rams thick
logs into the river bottom along the
lower edge of the bulwark TO make 1t
doubly strong. After this done II Will be
covered with concrete to make II I'M
uefNlOuS 10 wafer. lupl, =. II, EOIu,
former United States deputy marshal
in this city. is foreman of the gangs
and under his direction construction is
progressing rapidly. Within two weeks
!. Is expected the dam Will be COM
ptetcd and ready 20 furnish liVO5
horse power. 1t viii keep two seven
mile gravity bitches full; and furnish
generating force for lifting power
plant; and power for an electric rail-
way. light and telephone system To be
built this year. in the nelghborhood of
800 900 will represent the cost of I'M
staling the dam and attendant inn
provements. Col. C.. ID. Moore Is the
engineer having all this work In charge.
r. T. Merritt, the man who built the
P. l. n. In Idaho. is heavily interested
in the various improvement ts and has
personal connection with the work UNI
der way.
lust a half mile below the dam (six
miles north OF the townsite) Is located
The powerhouse site. This is also well
along In construction. Heavy concrete
foundations are laid and big timbers
for the building itself are arriving
daily. Machinery is due this month
also. Water tapped from the reservoir
will drop to the power house through
dug-out channel 10 this point, where
two pumps and three turbine whseis
will throw 1t into the bitches. TO make
it flow through these by it's own weight
the bitches were built on n gradual
raise TO the powerhouse, One necessi-
tates 42-foot lift: the second a 9o-foot
life. When the water has passed
through the powerhouse 1t will do the
rest without further aid, The
bitches follow the foothills around
the entire valley and laterals
will distribute the water over
the entire valley which residents Of
Green River arc confident will some
day be the greatest fruit district in the
world They do not content them
selves by saving. I'm the United
States;'' it's the world with a capital
wv"
THE OLD AND THE NEW.
The inspection OF the dam and pow