Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1917-01-05
CHEAP POWER VITAL
TO new INDUSTRIES
How Modern Business Depends
on Electrical Products.

power problem in and out of Congress
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
tilizers 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-aluminum
for car bodies. The manufacturers OF
steel products need these materials fol
making tools, and countless factories
require abrasives 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 bleaches 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 1t 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 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 Vi al Alnericah ihuus'rtes' anu
better steel Is naue Ill tiectric iur-
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 iast De-
coming obsolete Inc essehtial eie-
ment In the manufacture OF armor
plate ana armor-plercing proJectiies IL
introduced into steel by ferro-chroml-
um, an alloy which Is strictly an cleo
trio 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
recent date would be at the mercy Of
a hostile fleet, and the shells fired by
our warships and coast-defense guns
would be ineffective against the armOr
of a modern enemy fleet.
Ferro-chrome, another product of the
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. It
has cut TO one-third the capital invest
cd in fools TO accomplish a given vol
ume of work.
In the absence of chromium. tung.
sten. yanadium and molybdenum. all
allows made nv electrical processes, the
limited States could not build modern
hattie sbips and other weapons of ma.
tional defense. and large proportion
of our steel and metal working indus.
tries and other industries would revert
10 tbe conditions of twenty wears ago.
The electrical industry itself Is largely
denendent upon silicon steel, which
docs not age and does not wear out.
Tboro ,s M manufacturer of automo.
niles hpt who is today heavily depend-
o,,t mon aluminium The making of
o,,ton,o,,,,o bodies ut,,izes more of this
oIoctricoIIv.nroduced metal than does
onr otbor limo OF industry. The deyel-
ony,ont of oeronlones also calls for
oinn,inur, and opIv with the abundant
.,-.,,,,a.io,, 90 ohoan uotar mower can
tho ~ rr,oo of aluminium Kitchen utensils
,1a hro,ght within tba roach of every