Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1935-10-10
0'SULLIVAN ANSWERS
COULEE DAM CRITICS

Columbia Basin Commission, chal-
lengedthe attack upon the Grand
Coulee project made by Walter
davenport. IN an article entitled,
Power in the Wilderness pub
lished in Coul1er's Tor September o L
1885.
1.-THE statement to the effect that
the project is located in sparsely
settled wilderness remote from civ
1ization and that tn area within a
triangle formed by Spokan eiWalla
Walla and Wenatchee which in
cludes the land eventually to be re
claimed, is dead Land, bitter with
aikali, are absolutely untrue"
said Mr.. O'Sullivan. 1.-THE project is
situated in the heart of a great
farming region and its power will be
within economic transmission dis
lance of all the great power mar
ket centers of the Northwest. The
land within the triangle mention
Ell in the ARTICLE produced 6 per
cent of the nations wheat crop in
1884, and in 1929 raised crops
valued at $67,154,565. Numerous
surveys by the U. S. Department
OF Agriculture, the U. S. Bureau
of Reclamation and the U. S.
Army Engineers prove beyond any
question that the soil of this
entire area is remarkably free
from alkali and that the semi arid
Columbia Basin section, Mnen lr-
rigated, will produce an abundan-
ce of all crops grown in the tenn
perate zone.
The statement that there will be
no market for Grand Cpulee pow
er is not supported by the facts.
U. S. Army and Reclamation en-
Eineers, after an exhaustive in
vestigation, predicted that there
would be an ample market to abb
sorb twice the power output at
Grand CouQee within period OF
Is years after the completion of
the dam.
mo Intelligent and fair-minded
person with the past and the Pre-
sent trends of the power market
can dispute the engineers. Be
tween 1902 and 1890. the install
ed capacity of electrict general
ing stations in the United States
increased from 1,616,O00 to 49,
506,666 horsepower. Between
1919 and 1929, inclusive, electrict
production for public use In the
United States increased from 80
billion to 81 billion kilowatt- hrs
an increase of $50 per cent in 10
years. Until the depression, the
growth of the power market in the
Northwest and in the United
States had been at the rate of g.
6per cent, compounded annually.
"EIectrict production has fully
recovered from the depression and
has attained the rate of growth
that it enjoyed prior to 1880. Dur
ing the first months of 1895,
the production of electricity for
public use in the United States in
Guiding the State of Washington,
exceed. the production for the
first Z months of 1929, the peak
year of record. Within the Grand
Coulee power market area, con-
sisting of Washington, northern
Idaho and western Montana, the
production of electricity Is now
practically the same as it was in
1929.
"WIth Geturning prosperity and
an almost unlimited field for cleo
trio power in proper lighting,
cooking, refrigeration, air condit-
Joining, heating, RURAL electrified
ion and in the development of
minerals. we may expect to see
the remarkable rate of growth OF
the electric industry continued
for some time said Mr.. O'Sul-
Ivan.
"At the past and present rate
of growth, power generating NC
ilities will soon be taxed to the
limit Rapid recovery in the pow
err industry has followed every de-
preston. At rate Of growth OF
but 4 per cent annum, the. entire
100000 horsepower to be pro
duced by Government plantswould
be absorbed in a little more than
two years.
'sThe statement that GRAND Cou
lee power can not compete with
other power in the Northwest is
not sustained by the reports of o..
S. engineers. These reports show
that Grand Coulee commercial
power can be generated and tran
shifted to the large power market
centers OF the Northwest at a cost
of but mills per kilowatt- hour
this price being sufficient to pay
for the Grand Coulee dam and
powor plant and one-ha1f the cost
of reclamation within fifty years.
No other power in the area unless
subsidized, can be produced and
transmitted TOR less.
''NIr. Davenport says that there
there are but 100000 people liv-
ing in Washington, Idaho and Ore
gon, and that this sparse popula-
ton does not justify the construc-
ton Of the Grand Coulee project
There are 100000 people livina
in these states and Montana. Al
the rast and present rate Of grow
tn OF the electric Industry these
people should use twice as mucf
power by 1915 as they are usint
today. At the, past and presen
rate of growth in population
there should be an additional mil
lion people living in this area b.
1850. In addition. the reclamation
of the Columbia Basin lands will
furnish homes for 10000 farm
families. Altogether, there shout
. a s>.x mn nm roon1o l;pir,