The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1911-03-18
ROOSEVELT DAM IS
FORMALLY DEDICATED
THE FORMER PRESIDENT TOOK
PART IN OBLIGATORY
EXERCISES.
The Structure Is One of Most Won
derful Engineering Achieve
ments in Country-Moun-
tain OF Masonry.
Associated Press Special.

I
Phoenix, Ariz., March 1S.--
| Adorned in gala attire, Phoenix to-
| day declared three day festival.
| The entire population, minglinS
among which were many strange
and the only living ex-president,
! adjourned to the site of the Roose-
welt dam for the dedication exercis-
es of that great mountain of mason
ry.
The structure, one of the wonder
| full engineering achievements with
which Uncle Sam is Transforming
his desert lands into fertile and pro-
ductive farm lands, was completed
| February 5, and formally dedicated
| by Ex-President Roosevelt today. SO
marvellous has been the course of
construction Of this irrigation dam
that from the beginning 1T has at
tracted the eyes of the prominent
engineers of the world.
Its dimensions are startling. At
the base it covers an acre of ground.
Its height is ESQ feet, on top it is l.
0S0 feet long. At the bottom it Is
40 feet thick A twenty-six story
building covering city block would
not fill the space occupied by THIS
towering masonry structure.
Located in a canyon heretofore in
accessible, 62 miles from the near
est railroad, the construction of this
dam involved many problems and
taxed the ingenuity of the builders
to the utmost. Their first problem
was the construction of broad
For twenty miles this trav-
erses a trackless desert and for AZ |
miles more the road was literally |
carved from canyon walls or blasted |
from the steep sided mountains.
1t is now considered one of the |
most remarkable highways in the |
world. 1t opens up to the travelling
public a country unrivaled in gran
leur and beauty and makes easy &C
,ess to some of the best preserved
,liff dwellings in the southwest.
In preparation for the construc-
lion of the dam the government en-
gagged in many activities. An i'm
mense power plant was installed
near the site selected for the struc-
ture A cement mill was built WIN
an output of 500 barrels daily 1T
has turned out, in all, approximate
| " $40, 900 barrels, at saving to the
government of more than SCI 900.
Two farms were operated to supply
provisions for the camp and forage
for the livestock. Domestic water
supply was piped from springs miles
distant
Nearly 600 Apache Indians were
employed for several years upon the
construction work. A telephone line
somewhat over 100 miles lond and
power transmission line 10 miles
long were both constructed and
have been in operation since the
commencement of the task.
While the Roosevelt Dam has
been the principal structure in con-
nection with the Salt river valley
project, other important engineer
ing work has been going on at the
| same time few miles below the
| big dam another structure was quilt
| across the river to turn the stream
| flow into two huge canals which,
with their lateTals have total
| length of more than $50 miles.
| This latter dam is 20 feet ii
height and ,000 feet long. The can
ais will cover 10000 acres of fer
tile land in the valley and by the
pumping stations installed by engin'
GERS, an additional 900 acres vii
be irrigated.
Especial interest is attached tt
Salt Lake Valley project not onl.
because of the magnitude of it
structures. but because it will re
claim a vast area of desert land