Arizona republican., 1908-04-01

running other farm machinery by
 means of electricity.
 In the towns. manufacturing plants
 of various kinds would be established
 with all the necessary power available
 for their econ6micsl operation. Yet
 all this would not exhaust the supply
 of electrical power to be developed
 More yet could be led off into the hills l-there to drive mining machinery and
 to operate reduction plants on the properties with in easy reach of the
 magical touch of these electric fingers stretching out from the valley. So would the water of the river be serv- ing double purpose-first harnessed
 to generate electricity to be used in the employment of large forces of men
 for the production of mineral wealth
 from the hills; then spread upon the
 valley for the production of means
 wherewith to feed and clothe the
 workers so engaged.
 | Back of all this work in the Salt River valley-towering mountain-like
 in its massive construction and assur- | ing the success of the whole irriga-
 tion project, will be the great Roose- welt dam. Engineering skill has been pitted against the forces of nature and step by step. yard after yard the 1 conquering fight has been kept up un- | til the first considerable advance has been gained and held. Time and again the adverse forces rallied against their | subduers; the river ragged and roared l through the canyon, tearing at this 1 and carrying that down stream on the i breast of a flood fed by torrentiai rains or melting snOws. Yet each time the human workers returned to their task undscouraged until finally they passed the most difficult stage of the work.
 The advantage of the site for a dam and reservoir in the Tonto Basin were recognized many years ago. 1nvesti- gation ny government engineers and series Of boring disclosed q line for q possible dam site where solid found- ation on bedrock could be secured at little over 90 feet in the deepest part. From this point the rock ap- preached the surface of either side of the canyon until it merged with the rock walls which lift themselves pre- cipitOusly- for hundreds of feet. This was the neck of the gigantic bottle to be corked, a canyon only about 200 feet across its narrowest part. spread ing out above in q great with arms miles in length to hold the water when it's flow should be stopped. The cork was to be a solid structure of stone wedged in the opening and locked into the sides and bottom until as solid and permanently fixed as the mountains themselves.
 Out of convenient touch with civil iZation and modern appliances for prosecuting such a gigantic work. one of the first steps was to build a road through the mountains skirting preci- pices, bridging gulches, and winding through canyons, over which supplies could De carted from the nearest rail- road point. This road is now famous as the finest mountain road in this country and is serving its utility as well as an attraction for tourists with Its scenic beauties spread along the way.
 Power was necessary for the worl; of construction and for this purpose the river was harnessed to aid in the work of it's own subduing. A concrete darn across Salt River twenty miles above the site of the storage dam di- verts the rivers flow into a concrete lined canal which winds along the walls of one side of the big basin. over small canyons and under larger ones by means of unique siphon tubes, to finally drop it's stream 225 feet through q steel-lined penstock to turn turbine wheels at the bottom. For over a mile of its way the power canal runs through tunnels.
 Al first the power house was literal ly cave. blasted out of the mountain side near the bottom of the canyon in which were set the electrical genera tors safe from disturbance arising higher up the slope. Now the cave is only a part and is surrounded by the walls of the permanent power house. which is built touching the toe of the dam hut elevated out of the way of any back water in time of flood.
 vast amount of cement was necs- sary in the various parts of the work and would form a considerable part of the cost. as the other principal part of the structure, the hard sandstone was to be quarried on the spot. Esti mates showed that the freight and hauling on the. 20O.O00 barrels needed would be more than double the cost of the cement. So the engineers look cd about found rock and clay, set up mill. hauled in oil to burn the ce ment and were soon turning out all the cement needed for the various parts of the work at a nominal cost. The mill is now in operation according to the needs of the contractor as the construction work proceeds.
 It was necessary to provide an out let for the river from the basin during the time of construction and also a means of drawing water from the reservoir after the dam is completed. For this purpose a sluicing tunnel was driven through the rock walls of the canyon. on gentle curve around one