The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-09-07

electricity is used not only TOR {
tiIation.
Uncle Sam, by means of great irriga-
ton projects, has turned many
stretches of desert into blooming gar
dens but there is one project that
stands out particularly as an example
of what man can do toward altering
the conditions established by nature.
Along the Snake river in Southwest
Idaho there is a stretch of territory 4O
miles in length which was once bar
ren desert, but is now dotted Win
green farms and prosperous, BUSTING
towns. This metamorphOsis has been
brought about by the building of the
Minidoka dam on Snake river, but 1t Is
not merely the transformation that mas
been wrought in the appearance OF
the country by the miracle of irriga-
ton that is of chief interest. The
Minidoka project has an attraction all
its own because Of the varieties of
public service which the water i'm
pounded behind the dam renders.
Here is to be found miniature cleo
trical world. Electricity, generated at
minimum expense by water power and
sold by the government at cost, is used
almost exclusively for light, heat and
power in the five towns located in the
district and also upon the several thou
sand farms scattered throughout the
project. 1t operates a large grain ele-
vatOr, a sugar refinery and an alfalfa
meal mill. 1t heats and ventilates
schools, churches and a 50-rOom hotel.
| 1t heats and lights the farmers houses
and furnishes power for the farm ma
chinery.
Approach to Communism.
An economic unit has been created
in waste of sand and lava ash-or
rather has grown up there under the
wing of the government, the only pos,
sible way it could have grown-which
represents close approach to COM
munism.
portion Of the water impOunded
by the dam enters canals and is dis
tributed by the gravity system over
1000 acres. Half of the water, in
horse power which lifts the remaining
part of the first half of the water tC
higher benches of land that otherwise
would still be barren. Thus more thar
10000 acres in all have water.
After lifting water for the extra
$4,000 acres, there remains power suf
ficient to provide nearly all the essen
tials and many of the luxuries of life
BY law the United States reclama
tion service is required to supply wa
ter and power, when power is avail
able, at cost. Hence the charges arr
low, For light, the average farmer
bill runs to about $1.25 a month. Fo
light, ironing, washing, vacuum clean
ers and cooking, the cost in the aver
age household is $500 a month. Il
winter, adequate power for heating
5, 6 or 7-room house is obtained a
from Sc to So month. Soft coal cost
So ton on the project and as consiG
erably more than one ton a month
needed for continuous heating and fo
cooking, the actual money saving i
large.
Electricity Heats Schools
In Rupert and Burley, the principa
towns, 70 per cent of the buildings an
homes, large and small, are heated b
electricity. Last year Rupert con
pleted high school housing 800 pupil
which is ventilated and heate
throughout by electric power from tn
government plant. Burley has now il
vested $4,000 in a concrete schoC
building, also to be heated and vel
7 tilated by electricity, which will hous
1000 pupils.
In the Rupert school, fresh air
drawn from the roof at the rate of sc
600 cubic feet a minu&e. 1t passt
{ through electric coils which heat it
80 degrees Fahrenheit. Next it
washed and humified and then reacht
large mOtor-driven blower. TIL
forces the air into two chambers,
the one of which a portion is raised
q about 100 degrees and in the other
9 which cool air is retained. Separa
d ducts carry the air from the two char
Q bers to each room in the building. II
ducts are connected and there are co
d nections controlled by dampers, so tn
the temperature in each room is mai
Q tanned at 6S degrees
e Hot water is provided electrical
) also. The domestic science departme
s has complete outfit Of electric plat
+ for the use of the individual studen
as well as large electric range
n baking and cooking on a larger sea
:, Practical use is made of the dOmest
It science department in the preparati
IT of hot lunches at noon for all the ST
dent body. The food is sold at Il
prices Meal tickets can be obtain
either for cash or in exchange for su
T. supplies as milk, eggs and butter.
le The building is splendidly light
e and Is used in the evenings as u sOci