The Coolidge examiner., 1934-06-22

he Won't be utfcrinE any Idle
boast For the completion of the Hoover oam
viii mark the conclusion os one OF the greatest
engineering feats OF all time greater even than
another OF the triumphs of Uncle Sam. engineer
that ot digging the Panama canal-and when
this gigantic mass of steel and concrete ls On.
tshed II wil De the biggest structure OF It's kind
In the whole world
Not the least part OF Uncle Sans triumph win
be the fact that the dam and It's Appurienani
works viii be completed In record time. When
the contractors began work on April 80 1881
they were TO be allowed seven years IN which TO
nnlsh the Job That would have meant It's CON-
pietion BY April -. 1888 Right now they are
nearly two years ahead OF schedule and ~ Is
estimated that at the present rate OF progress
the whole thlng viii have been done In six years
or less
Impressive as are the statistical data con.
nectei with the Hoover dam. the average person
cannot get an adequate idea OF the lmmenslty OF
the project from abstract figures alone. Most Of
us are poor judges of distance so IL would
mean little 10 say that the dam will have
maximum height Of TO fee, above It's foundation
rock. that the top Of it viii he approximately
COO feet above the level OF the river and that
u viii raise the water surface OF the river
6Ss feet
But let's get AZ II this way: n the Washington
monument were set up alongside the dam and
you stood on top OF that monument some one
standing on top OF the dam would have 10 LET
down nearly 90 yards OF rope in order TO pun
you NJ to where he stood
Can you visualize 100000 cubic yards OF con-
cretei Probably not But II some one told you
about tower that was 100 feet square and rose
two and a half miles in the air you could get
some Idea of the amount OF concrete that's
going into the Hoover dam. the power plant
nearby and the appurtenhnt works That amount
OF concrete would build a standard paved high
way. Is feet vide. which would extend all the
way from Seattle Wash. 20 Miami Fla.
Nou'll admit that 100000 100000 gallons OF
waiter Is considerable amount OF moisture
That means s0ot0 gallons for every man. woman
and child In the United States. That 10000.
ocoooeo gallons Is the amount OF water which
the reservoir created by the Hoover dam will
hold They also figure IL In acre-feet. acre-foo;
being the amount OF water that viii cover one
acre one FOO, deep. when this reservoir Is full II
viii contain 100000 acre-feet--enough water
90 cover the whole state OF New. York 10 the
depth ~ foot
But enough OF statistics for a moment In favor
of some more general information about this
gigantic project The Hoover dam Is belng built
IN the upper Black canyon on the Colorado
river about - miles southeast OF las Vegas.
New. where the river forms part of the Arizona
Nevada boundary. The purposes OF the project
(for the Colorado has long been one OF the
most unruly and destructive OF ali the rivers In
Americal irrigation silt control domestic water
supply and power Development For these pur-
poses the project calls not only for the con-
struction OF the huge dam and power plant In
Black canyon but also the construction OF the
Ali-American canal In southern California.
The total cost OF the project Is placed at ap-
proxlmately siG5,0o0O00 divided up follows:
dam and reservoir, s7O.6O0Oo0: Al-American
canal S3S.5000o0: power development. SIS 20o.-
600: and interest during construction. Sl7.700Oo0
But lest anyone think. since this Is a federal
project. that its construction means that many
millions out OF the pockets OF American taxpay
ers. let II be stated st once that Uncle Sans
investment In II Tin the form OF congressional
appropriations viii be repaid In full within the
next 50 years from the income derived from sup
plying irrigation water and from the sale OF
power generated In the power plant. huge
structure Of steel and concrete. 1.260 feet long
which will stand Just below the dam.
Although power development was secondary
consideration In planning this project 1t prom
ises TO become a very important one In the future
because OF the effect which cheap power VIII
have upon modernizIng community and civic
life In the Southwest. The plans for this power
plant call for the installation OF Is turbines OF
lls.OOO horse power each and two turbines of
$500 horse power each with 10 generators OF
$500 kilovolt-ampere capacity each and two
generators OF 10000 kiloyoltampere capacity
each The larger units exceed In size the largest
vet manufactured the 5000 horse power tur
Zines and 765o0 kiloyolt-ampere generators In