The Bismarck tribune., 1928-11-22
By ROBERT TALLEY

Dy NODENX AALE1
Muscle Shoals, Ala, Nov. o.
(NEA)-Through the roaring sluice
gates of the governments gigantic
Wilson dam here, built with the
Liberty Bond money of the American
people, a fortune is flowing to waste
today. as.-.
Fifty million dollars were spent,
thousands of men toiled like beavers
and years were consumed in build
ing this great hydroelectric plant on
the Tennessee river. Completed
three years ago. it is one of the larg-
est, finest and most costly in the
world.
A solid wall of concrete as high as
q 1O-story office building and nearly
mile long, it holds back an arti-
ficial lake II miles in length. Buried
deep in its recesses are eight 10000
horsepower turbine generators which
could supply an area for many miles
around with current for homes.
farms, factories, street cars and
lights.
And yet today 81 per cent of the
power that Wilson dam is equipped
to produce is going to waste in the
form Of water that flows unhar-
messed past the dam.
A bare 13 per cent of the available
production is being bought by the
Alabama Power company, the sole
purchaser, which holds contract
with the government. With this
exception, the Tennessee river-de-
spite the fifty millions that have
been spent and the thousands Of men
who have toiled flows as untram-
meled to the sea today as it did when
the Cherokee Indians pitched their
wigwams on its banks and gazed
upon its turbulent waters.
Turbines Are Idle
A battery of eight mighty tur-
bine generators, each unit of which
cost the government nearly $75O,000
stands practically idle. Only three
of these units are being used and
these only part time; on some days
they are not used at all.
The Alabama Power company,
owning the only transmission lines
out Of Muscle Shoals, purchases only
as much power as it needs to bolster
up its own lines. Some days it
takes more, some days less, some
days none at all.
Daily figures for November show
that present purchases are averag-
ing only about five per cent Of the
plants capacity, 95 per cent going
to waste.
Total figures for the first 10
months Of 1928 show an average of
13 per cent used and 81 per cent
wasted. Under its contract, the Ala
bama Power company pays the gov-
ernmeht .0O2115 cents Tor about two
mills) for the power it takes, and
ct this rate, since Jan. it has paid
the government the sum of $410,-
915.38-while the government has
lost potential income Of $2,761 900.
1t is difficult for the layman to
visualize the enormous size Of Will
son dam, where the governments
$50, 100000 investment is now pro-
ducing gross revenue Of less than q
half million dollars I year.
O4tteIy OI 'OWIlCnSS
In the power house at the south
end Of the dam, q visitor passes
through the control rooms. There
are massive motor-driven switches
and ircuit-breakers capable Of
handling $4,000 volts. The great
switchboards are 4 mass Of tren-
bling dials and indicators and blink
ing red and green signal lights.
Descending in an elevator that
travels Is stories from the offices
above the dam, one reaches the big
generators 81 feet below the upper
side water lire. Eight in line and
each nearly - big as = bungalow.
they occupy room that would be
big enough for four football fields.
And behind . concrete partition is
room for 10 more, yet to be installed.
Four Of these great units are each
Of 10000 horsepower, with rotating
parts weighing 245 tons that whirl
lCouqnued on page two)