The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-09-16
NEWS OF
GENERAL
INTEREST
BIG STRUCTURE WILL BE COM
PLETED BY DECEMBER 10

on or before december 10. This date
has been deiinitly fixed upon for the
completion of this great work. The en-,
tire work is nearly seventy per cent
done, according to those in charge. The
eXcavating has practically all been
done, and fifty five per cent of the
concrete work has been put in. While
to be laid in all. it is being put down
at the rate of 100 to 10 yards day,
on the average. There are $40 men
and fortysiX teams working at the
dam. besides a big traction engine that
is used to haul loads as high as ten
tons from the station to the dam. The
monthly pay roll is $4,000, and checks
for this sum are issued which are
cashed on the grouno by one of the
local banks. The work goes on with
out interruption, day and night, with
the aid of an electric light plant.
Brown Visits Dam Every Day.
r. E.. Brown, local manager for the
Consumers Power company, an ollsnoot
of ii. NJ. Byllesby & Co., of Chicago
the builders of the dam, visits the
dam about every day. to consult with
the officials there, straighten out tan
giles, etc., and on his trip yesterday
afternoon he was accompanied by the
reporters of the local daily papers and
d. 7. Bowen, all going out in Mr.
Browns speedy REQ touring car. The
day was pleasant and the trip was a
delight. The hot wind was ripenina
the corn crop rapidly, and one corn
harvester was seen at work. while an
other field was seen, which had been
cut several days ago Many fields were
/ found to be ripe, while others will re-
quire few days more to mature the
corn properly. Even with killing frost
/ tonight. there would be very fair
corn crop.
The trip out TO the dam lay alon.
the route taken by the pole line, as
much as possible. The pole line starts
| from the corner of Sixth and Vine
streets and goes directly south for five
miles. When Cenwood avenue is
reached. high wooden tower on each
bluff supports the wire, when crosses
the ravine high in the air. instead of
coming down the bluffs. The poles in
the city are sixty and sixty-five feet
! high. and the shortest in the country
1 is thirty-iive feet.
Take Steps to Prevent Leakage.
! Every ster has been taken to prevent
the heavy voltage from the power plant
escaping before it reaches its destina
/ ton. Instead of the usual three incl
glass insulators, large insulators, six.
/ teen inches in diameter, have been pro
cured Each pole has a ground wire
inch in diameter runs from pole to
/ pole, made of galvanized iron.
/ The erection of the pole line was un.
der the supervision of Mr.. Fades and
d. I. Bowen, who MADE all of
the arrangements with the farm
ers about cutting the trees, etc, and
had a general supervision of the work
of erecting the poles. The trees have
been cut down away from the line, Sc
that limbs may not blow down upon
the wire during storms.
The poles are all up, and carload
of copper wire arrived yesterday, eight
cen tons in all. and this will be strung
upon the poles as soon as possible The
remainder of the wire is expected soon
Route of the Poles.
The pole line passes the Swedish
Lutheran cemetery and comes into the
Mapleton road. which it follows to
William Wittrock's corner. where il
strikes west one mile to the county
poor farm road. 1t follows this road
one mile south to a point near the
poor farm, and then goes west three
quarters of a mile, and then leaves the
public highway at the .Frederickson cor
ner and crosses private property in a
southwesterly direction. over one and
quarter sections. and energies at the
l-u Gregg farm, a mile east of Rapi
dan. The line then goes west through
Rapldan village to the dam.
Busy Scene at Dam.
L he SceHe at the dam Is u busy one
The Ambursen Hydraulic Construction
company, which has the contract fol
building the dam, has been favored
with remarkable weather. The river
has been extremely low all summer
which has saved the cost of caring foi
the water In three weeks more. The
company will not care whether it rains
or not. 1t will be past the point where
high water will make trouble. Only
the middle part of the dam has not
been started, and men are nov ut work
eNcavating for the long floor or carpet
Ill front of the spillway. When this
has been laid of concrete. the river car
run over it without hindrance to the
workmen
The work on the buttresses. the deck
ana apron is progressing rapidly. The
forms raise the work ten feet at q
time. form is put in position ant
/ fllled will, concrete, which is brought
a cubic yard at time. i'll Il travelling
bucket running on an aerial cablewa,
and handled by an engine. When tn,
concrete has been dumped i'll and prop
erly packed down and compressed, it il
4.,i. ~