The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-06-21

he won't be uttering any Idle
boast For the completion of the Hoover
will mark the conclusion of one Of the greatest
engineering feats OF all time, greater even than
another of the trlumphs OF Uncle SAM engineer,
that OF digging the Panama canal-and when
this gigantic mass of steel and concrete Is fin
ished 1t will be the biggest structure of Its kind
In the whole world.
Not the least part Of Uncle Sans triumph will
be the fact that the dam and It's appurtenant
works will be completed In record time. When
the contractors began work April 3d. 1881,
they to be allowed seven years In which to
finish the Job. That would have meant It's COM
pletion by April 20, 1898. Right now they are
nearly two years ahead of schedule and 1t Is
estimated that at the present rate of progress
the whole thing will have been done In six years
or less.
Impressive are the statistical data con-
nected with the Hoover DAM the average person
cannot get an adequate idea of the immensely Of
the project from abstract figures alone Most or
us are poor judges of distance 80 1t would
mean little to say that the dam will have
maximum height OF 730 feet above Its foundation
rock that the top of 1t will be approximately
600 feet above the level of the river and that
1t will raise the water surface of the river
584 feet
But let's get at 1t this way: Ii the Washington
monument were set up alongside the dam and
you stood top of that monument, some one
standing top of the dam would have to let
down nearly 60 yards of rope In order to pull
you up to where he stood.
Can you visualize 100000 cubic yards OF con-
crete? Probably not But Ii some one told you
about tower that was 100 feet square and rose
two and half miles In the air, you could get
some idea of the amount of concrete that's
1T inf fho do tha nfu
nearby and the appurtenant works That amount
OF concrete would build standard paved high
way, 18 feet wide, which would extend all the
way from Seattle, Wash. to Miami, Fla.
You'll admit that 100000 O0,0000OO gallons OF
water Is q considerable amount OF moisture.
That means $4,000 gallons for every man, woman
and child In the United States. That 10000
OO00O00 900 gallons Is the amount of water which
the reservoir created by the Hoover dam will
hold. They also figure 1t In acre-feet an acre-foot
being the amount OF water that will cover one
acre one foot deep. When this reservoir Is full 1t
will contain 30000,O0O acre feet-enough water
to cover the whole state of New York to the
depth of a foot.
But enough of statistics for moment In favor
of some more general information about this
gigantic project The Hoover dam is being built
In the upper Black canyon on the Colorado
river about 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas
New, where the river forms part of the Arizona
Nevada boundary. The purposes of the project
are food control and general river regulation
flor the Colorado has long been one of the
most unruly and destructive of all the rivers In
America) irrigation silt CONTROL domestic water
supply and power development For these pur-
poses the project calls not only for the con-
structon of the huge dam and power plant tn
Black canyon but also the construction Of the
All-American canal In southern California
The total cost of the project Is placed at ap-
proxmately S165 100000 divided up as follows.
dam and reservoir, s70.6000O0; All-American
canal, s38.500,0O0 power development $4,000
600: and interest during construction, $1T70O 600
But lest anyone think. since this Is federal
project that Its construction means that many
millions out of the pockets OF American taxpay-
ers let 1t be stated at once that Uncle Sans
investment In 1t lin the form OF congressional
appropriations will be repaid In full within the
next 80 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, LEGO feet long
which will stand just below the dam.
Although power development 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 will
have upon undermining community and civic
life In the Southwest The plans for this power
plant call for the installation Of is turbines OF
$4,000 horse power each and two turbines Of
$1,000 horse power each with ID generators Of
825O0 kiloyolt-ampere capacity each and two
generators Of 10000 kilovolt-ampere capacit,
each. The larger units exceed In size the larges
yet manufactured the $1,000 horse power tur
bines and 76500 kilovolt-ampere generators i