Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-10-22

seating some 240 persons, three times
a day the hungry, perspiring crew OF
swarthy men sit down to a hearty
meal. AS soon as the whistles blow
they storm the door for such mems
as corned beef and cabbage, bread
potato, coffee and doughnuts-plenty
Of everything--served in tin dlshes'
camp style.
The horses-white, black, grey ana
brown-eleven pairs in all. are hanq-
some, husky creatures. Theyx TOO,
thrive on generous portions or nay
and oats, and are kept Immediately
clean by their proud caretakers.
- A slight idea Of the vast amount OF
equipment transported to the scene
of the construction work can be
gained from the following which may
be noticed in the clearing: 2 stif-leg
derricks with 81 foot booms, 6 boilers,
Z hosting engines. l travelling der
rick, Acton travelling crane, 2 con-
crete mixers, air. compressors,
steam shovels, / carpenter shop, z
blacksmith shops, machine shop, a
number of lathes and drills. water
tanks, several sheds, tool and store
houses, and sleeping and eating &C
commodations for over 200 men.
The purr of gasolene motors, the
roar of flaming FORCES. the putting OF
steam shovels, the grinding of the
concrete mixers, the creaking OF the
giant cranes, tell better than words
what is going on here. 10000 bar
rels of cement are being poured into
the forms for the dam.
Elsewhere in the vicinity men are
drilling into the quarries for stone
work and laying open the gravel pits
for sand and gravel to mix with the
cement.
That The Kennebec Valley Shall
Prosper
Engineers say that the Brassua
Lake storage will add about sin
weeks to the capacity flow of the Ken
nebec river. But the west and large
branch of the Kennebec river, Dead
River, remains uncontrolled, and will
partially nullify the effect of the new
dam on preventing disastrous floods
below The Forks. Dead River drains
watershed of 500 square miles, IN
comparison with which the drainage
area Of the Brassua Lake storagt
reservoir is 700 square miles. How
ever. Moosehead partially takes care
Of the food waters from the Moose
river while there is no restraining
storage on Dead River.
Flood waters from the Dead River
branch of the Kennebec river eacf
year waste billions of cubic feet OF
water that another fall or winter
could be used to keep the wheels o.
industry turning. The development
of well over a hundred thousand
horsepower of hydro electric energy
on the Kennebec is said to be wait
ing the completion of Brassua Lake
and the proposed Dead River storage
reservoir.
Besides offering an inviting loca-
ton for new power-using industries
the properly controlled year-round
flow of the Kennebec, it Is pointed
out, can save the present valley in
dustries millions on their coal bill
and the maintenance of two separate
power systems, one for the more
economical water power and another
for steam power when the river
fails. The saving will be reflected in
better wages and lower cost of pro-
duction by Kennebec valley indus
tries.
Brassua Lake dam, as it rises to
completion, is attracting attention 81
visitors from various parts of the
state, who leave the site impressed
with possibilities Maine has of de-
veloping her water powers, as west
ern and southern states are doing. A
few weeks ago a party Of newspaper
men accompanied Governor Brewster
and members of his staff to the site
of the dam.