Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-07-31
CHEAP POWER VITAL
TO new INDUSTRIES
How Modern Business Depends
on Electrical Products.

puUllC dIleutlOH las DSSh uliSSlSO "
ward the use and value of electricity
for motive power and for lighting, and
latterly, for the manufacture of fer
tilizers and nitric acid for explosives.
But these are only a 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-aluminum-
for car bodies. The manufacturers of
steel products need these materials for
making tools, and countless factories
require abrasiyes 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 the products of electro
chemistry, it is found that the surgeon
and the doctor look to electric plants
for chloroform and disinfectants; the
cotton and the paper manufacturer
need the beaches produced by this
magic element; every user of soap pa
tronizes an electro-chemical 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 it is learned that
the United States, cut off from its sup
ply of German dyes, finds itself de-
pendent upon other electric products
to supply, in part, the deficiency.
These are but a few of the industries
depending upon cheap power for sue
cess. The power is here. It's develop
ment, when encouraged by the passage
| Of such bills as are now before con-
gress, will make the United States in
| dependent of foreign sources of supply,
and will reduce the cost to the consum-
er of countless articles of everyday
use which, to his mind, are probably in
no way associated with hydro-electric
| development.
The manufacture of steel is the great
est of all American industries, and
better steel is made in electric fur
naces than by any other known proc.
ess. Today electrically produced ferro
silicon is used as an alloy by most
steel manufacturers, with the result
that the Bessemer process Is fast be
coming obsolete. The essential ele
ment in the manufacture of armoI
plate and armor-piercing projectiles is
| introduced into steel by ferro-chromi
UNI, an alley which is strictly an cleo
tric furnace product. The Navy De
partment calls for this type of steel
and will have no other as armor plate
Without this alloy our battleships Of
a hostile feet, and the shells fired by
our warships and coast-defense guns
would be ineffective against the armol
J of a modern enemy fleet.
Ferro-chrome, another product of thu
| electric furnace, has made possible The
manufacture of high-speed tools, which
have tripled the capacity of every ma
! chine shop in the world. and enhanced
the efficiency of every mechanic.
has cut to one-third the capital invest
ed in tools to accomplish a given vol
ume of work.
In the absence of chromium, tung
stem, vanadium and molybdenum al
alloys made by electrical processes, the
! United States could not build modern
battle ships and other weapons of ma
tional defense, and a large proportion
| of our steel and metal working indus
tries and other industries would rever
| to the conditions of twenty years ago
The electrical industry itself is largel,
| dependent upon silicon steel, which
| does not age and does not wear out.
There is no manufacturer of automo
biles but who is today heavily depend
ent upon aluminium. The making o
/ automobile bodies utilizes more of thi
electrically-produced metal than doe
any other line of industry. The devel
i opment of aeroplanes also calls 70
aluminium, and only with the abundan
production Of cheap water power cal
the price of aluminium kitchen utensil
4 be brought within the reach of ever.
|! housewife.
AT the outbreak Of the European wa
the United States was cut off from tn
I supply of Greek and Turkish emery
Today the metal working industries 0
this country are dependent absolutel,
upon electric furnace abrasives, carbo
rundum and alundum. The manufaC
turer of agricultural machinery, loco
motives, firearms, milling machinery
II automobiles. and countless other meta
Il products must have these abrasives
and they can now be made only wher
water power is developed cheaply. Gu
off the artificial abrasives and fore
the automobile manufacturer to &
back to the grindstone, at the sam
time eliminating the other products 0
cheap power - aluminium, high-spee'
steel, and special steels-and work
which produce 500 cars per day woul
be able to turn out less than 100 car
every twenty-four hours with the sam
force of workmen. This would meal
an increase Of price that would carr
the automobile beyond the reach o
thousands who now employ and EMO