The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-05


 towing barges in the river, are mak- ing a harmony of peace-time effici- ciency, under which the army dam builders expect to carry out their program of a finished job not later than the spring of 1926, with hardly ever more men at work at one time than 2.000 to do the work which 4,000 at time were required to do under wartime conditions.
 No Influx Expected
 Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Florence had large populations for cities like these, during the war. Sheffield alone had 10000 residents while the ni- trate plants were being built. Men slept in tents in the city streets and were glad of any sort of chance to rest. Today. Sheffield Is presumed to have a population of about 5000. During the war, Florence housed 25,- 900 people Today this city houses about 15,000. Tuscumbia has been reduced accordingly in size. In war days the government had pay roll of 5000 men housed in and around these three cities. But, here, today, there is no great influx of people because of the building of the dam. nor will there be on account of that ! construction work.
 The men at work today are being l paid at the base rate of s2.50 per l day, but, as this is government l pay roll ,and Congress has granted a 1 bonus to government workers, they actually receive about $3.20 per man I per day average. This means an ex- penditure of about s4,000 per day for l labor. But cement, lumber, coal, re- | inforcing steel and other materials are being purchased, eating into the appropriations.
 Big Machinery
 | All the big machinery for the cleo trical power installations was bought long ago. This big machinery, tech- nicaiiy described as four units, each consisting of 30,00o horsepower tur- pines, capable of generating all to- gether 120,000 horsepower, is on the ground, ready to be installed. So far as construction machinery Is con cerned, there is equipment of that character on the dam works which has been inventoried at s5,000,000, and therefore nothing In that line with the one exception of a towboat has been needed, and that has just been bought.
 Col. W. J. Barden, corps of engi- neers, United States army, is in charge of the dam builders. He has been able to retain during the idle period small nucleus of the civilian engineering force and is now search ing for a few more high class en- gineers but is unable to locate them, probably for the reason that the gov ernment does not pay very high sal aries to skilled technical men. The work of building the dam, under Colonel Barden, is divided into two parts. One consists of control of the dam proper which Is little l more than half the distance across the river, and Is known as construc- | tion division No. 1. Lieut.. Col. w c. | Weeks, United States engineers, is | in charge of that, and Is also In charge of the engineering staff of tho office. The other part consists of construction division No. 2. which includes the work of the power house. and that Is in charge of Maj. John s. Butler, United States engi- neers. Capt. Ralph Mills, United States engineers has just been added to the staff, and he Is in charge of accounting and disburslng.
 Work All Winter
 The work will go on all through the winter, under the program, be- cause there usually is no ice worth speaking of in the Tennessee. In 1917 and 1918 there was something in the nature of an ice-jam at Muscle Shoals, but as a rule the winters are open. Aside from weather questions. however, the dam builders are find- ing a problem In the supply of con crete aggregate, to use technical term, consisting of sand and gravel. This is obtained by dredging in the river, nine miles below Florence. It must be placed on barges, and lowed up to the dock at Florence. During low water the channel is not deep annnph n narnif Af hrinuinQ filled barges.
 But this problem, like all others. Is being conquered, and the dam builders expect to finish the founda- tion work in the north channel by January l, 1923. They expect to finish the same work in the south channel by January l. 1924. They ex- pect to close the openings under the dam and create the pool" by Janu- ary, 1925, or not later than the spring of that year. This pool" as eng-