White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1917-02-23
Officials will
Inspect Site

Probability of the government
using the Priest Rapids site on the
Columbia river for a nitrate plant
is indicated by the following article
appearing in a recent issue of the
Spokesman-Review:
Three members of President Will
sons cabinet, as special commit
tee, will investigate the possibil-
tiles of Priest Rapids, in the Col
umbia river, as site for a pro-
posed federal nitrate plant. Word
to this effect has just been received
from Washington by the chamber
of commerce, which had previously
suggested the Priest Rapids site.
Congress has passed an appropria-
ton of $2O,000,00O for nitrate
plant development.
The establishment of a govern
ment nitrate plant was the subject
of detailed hearings before congress
when the matter was originally up
for consideration. Nitrate is man.
ufactured by electricity and plant
of great power capacity will be re-
quired. No plants of this kind now
exist in America, although there is
one in Canada operated by Amer
lean capital, and a number in Eu-
rope. In the discussion of possible
power sites but two were consid-
cred of sufficient possibilities the
one at Priest Rapids, in the Column
bia, and a site at Mussel Shoals, on
the Tennessee river in Alabama.
Soon after the passage of the ap-
preparation by congress, the indus
trial committee of the chamber of
commerce interested Senator Miles
Poindexter in securing recognition
for the Priest Rapids site. The
matter was placed before the war
department, together with a great
amount of data required. Nothing
further was done until last week
when the president designated Sec
retaries Baker, Lane and Houston
as committee to investigate and
report as to location for the pro-
posed nitrate plant.
Senator Poindexter then notified
the industrial committee of the
chamber of commerce, which at
once sent the following letter to
Secretary of War Baker:
1--WE are advised from Washing
ton that the preliminary investiga-
tion of the proposed government
nitrate plant has now been complet-
ed, and that the entire subject has
been referred by the president to a
special committee of the cabinet
with yourself as the head. This
letter is to direct your attention to
the fact that the commercial or
CARNATIONS in the northwest states
should be heard before final de-
cision is reached.
Hearings before the house COM
mittee brought out that water pow
err on the scale necessary to this en-
terprise and at the proper cost was
available only at Mussel Shoals in
Alabama, and at Priest Rapids, on
the Columbia river, in Washington.
Our organization will indeed be
glad to go into every phase of the
subject with your committee and
your engineers, but we feel that no
decision should be reached until the
possibilities of Priest Rapids have
been thoroughly taken into consid-
Grafton. We wish to ask you to
advise US as to the proper steps to
be taken to bring this matter be-
fore your committee"
In reply to this the following let
ter has been received by the cham
Der of commerce:
"In reply to your letter of the
LIST inst, addressed to the secre-
tary of war, inviting< attention to
the possibilities of Priest Rapids,
Columbia river, as site for the
proposed federal nitrate plant, and
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