Crittenden record-press., 1916-08-31
CHEAP POWER VITAL
TO new INDUSTRIES
How Modern Business Depends
on Electrical Products.

power pTODlem III anu out OF OOngTeSt,
public attention has been directed To-
ward the use and value OF electricity
for motive power and for lighting. and
latterly, for the manufacture of fer
tllzers and nitric acid for explosives
But these are only few of the grow.
Ing demands for cheap power.
Today the great steel mills OF the
United States are absolutely dependent
upon the products of the electric fur
mace for alloys. The automobile manu-.
facturer is dependent upon another
electric furnace product-alumlnum---
for car bodies. The manufacturers OF
steel products need these materials for
making tools, and countless factories
require abraslves which can not now
be Imported, and which are produced
in the United States only by electric
processes. without acetylene gas and
graphites. also electric products. many
Industries would be crippled.
Turning to thrvproducts OF electro.
chemistry. II Is found that the surgeon
and the doctor look 10 electric plants
for chlOroform and dlsinfectants: the
cotton and the paper manufacturer
need the bleaches produced by this
magic element: every user Of soap pa
tronlzes an electro-chomlcal establish.
ment, as does every user OF matches,
Gold and silver mining of the West re-
quires electric products to assure a
profit, and Of late 1t Is learned that
the United States. cut of from its sup
ply Of German dyes, finds itself de
pendent upon other electric products
to supply. in part the deficiency
These are but few OF the industries
depending upon cheap power FOR sue.
cess. The power Is here. Its develop
ment, when encouraged by the passage
OF such bills as are now before con.
greSs. viii make the United States in
dependent Of foreign sources Of supply.
and will reduce the cost 10 the consum.
er OF countless articles Of every day
use which. 10 his mind, are probably In
no way associated with hydro-electric
development
The manufacture OF steel Is the great
est Of al! American industries and
better steel Is made In electric fur.
naces than by any other known proc
ess. Today electrically produced ierro-
silicon Il used as an alloy by most
steel manufacturers. with the result
that the BeSsemer process Is fast he
coming obsolete. The essential ele.
ment in the manufacture Of armOr
plate and armor-piercing projectiloS n
introduced into steel by ferro-chroml.
um, an alloy which Il strictly an clec.
tric furnace product The Navy De
partment calls for this type Of steel
and will have no other rs arinor plate
Without this alloy our battleships OF
recent date would be at the mercy Of
hostile feet. and the shells fred by
our warshlps and coastdcfcnse guns
would be Ineffective against the armor
n modern enemy feet
Ferro-chrome another product OF the
electric furnace. has made possible the
manufacture 81 hlgh-specd tools. which
have trlpled the capacity ~ every ma.
ra.ae shop 10 the world. and enhanced
'hc efficiency Of every mechanic. II
has cut TO one-thlrd the capital invest.
ed In tools to accomplish given vol.
ume OF work
In the absence Of chromium. tung
Sten. vanadium and mOlybdenum. all
alloys made by electrical processes. the
United States could not build modern
battle ships and other weapons of ma
'ional defense. and n large proportion
4 our steel ard metal working indus
tries and other Industries would revert
TO the conditions ~ twenty gears ago
The electri Industry itself IS largely
dependent r0'n silicon steel. which
loes not age aul does not wear out.
There Is no nuflcturer ~ autom"
Hes but who !, ndny heavily 4epeun
mt upon alumi""m. Tie maS.ng %:
automobile bodies utlllzes more of thi,
Electrically produced metal than does
any other line of Industry. The devel
opment ~ acroplanes also calls for
aluminium, and only with Tie q .aidnt
production Of cheap water power cal
the price " aluminium Kitchen utensils
Oc brought within the reach Of ever
housewife.
At the outbreak OF the European war
the United States was cut OF from the
supply Of Greek and Turkish emery
Today the metal working industries ~
this country are dependent absolutely
upon electric furnace abras!ves. Carlo
rundum and alundum. The manutac
turer OF agricultural machinery. loco
motives. firearms. milling machinery
automobiles. and countless other meta
pro,Hcts must have these abrasivef
and they can now be made only wher
water power II developed chcaply, cut
on the artificial abraSives and force
the automobile manufacturer TO %
back 20 the grindStone. al the same
time eliminating the other products ot
cheap power - alumhum, hlgh.spccd
steel, and special steels-and work.
which produce 800 cars per day woulG
be able 10 turn out less than 100 cars
every twen'y.four hours with the same
force OF workmcn. This would mean
an increase of price that would carr,
the automobile beyond the reach a.