The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-09-29
FDR Views Results Of Lavishing
 Quarter Billion On Giant Dams
By NEA Service

I made his western trip in 1884 inc specting the giant Irrigation and power projects of the west. And when he sees them today, Q great deal of concrete will have flowed into them during the three-year in. terval.
 Where three years ago there stood only the merest foundations and preparatory work on the great proJ- ects, today a quarter Q billion dol- lars worth of dams Is ready to be inspected, fruit of one of the most gigantic building programs In the history of the world
 The first dam to be seen by the presidential party Is near Boise, Idaho. It is the Owyhee Dam, one of the less costly of the projects. It nicked the national pockethook for only Q little matter Of Ave and 6 half millions But 1t Is impressive none the less,
 Ready for Irrigation
 Until Boulder Dam In Colorado was completed, owyhee was the highest dam in the world, more than 400 feet. Today 1t Is complete, and the irrigation project Is getting under way for which 1t exists. The great lake backed up behind 1t con- tainS enough water to Erigate ll2,- 900 acres of surrounding land for two years,
 Here the President will see how the rich, dust-dry soil of the desert has already been changed to pro- ductive farm land by water from the dam. And here he will see one of the most remarkable siphonS n the world huge 80-inch steel pipe that carries the main canal of the owyhee project over low range Of hills without any pumping, /,
 About 10000 acres of new land were opened for cultivation for the first time last year, and the district Is becoming Q haven for many east- ern oregon and western Idaho farmers whose neat new homes are already to be seen.
 Breathless Over Fish
 The Bonneville Dam, next halt. Ing -place 42 miles east Of Portland, Ore, Is bigger in every way. Here the cost of the dam and initial pow CT installation Is estimated ct $bl,- 100000 with PWA allotments of $32, ,000, GOO already backed up behind the nearly-completed dam.
 Three years ago, only the founda- tons and cotierdams of Bonneville were to be seen. Today the dam and It's $7,00000O worth of fish lad- derS are almost ready for the test The whole northwest Is breathles' over the question of whether the Ash will like their $70o0,000 ladders
 You see, salmon fight their way up the Columbia river each yeei to spawn, Then the little Ash float back down to the sea. Bonneville Dam, being ITO feet high, Is q little too much for even a salmon te jump.
 So the $i0,000,000 salmon Industry insisted that means bG provided foi the salmon to get past the dam. Int Ash ladders arc the answers. Gov ernment engineers are confident tht Ash will like them fine, despite tho head -shakinss Of old salmon fisher men.
 COulee Really Big
 The last Congress passed an acI providing temporary administrat tior at Bonneville until 'a unified plar of administration for the whole Co- lumbia river baSin somewhat likc that on the Tennessee, con be set up. There are several more dana to come before the system Is com plete with Irrigation, electric power generation, navigation locks,
 It was ct Portland that President Roosevelt made his campaign speech on electric power back in 1882, and hence the present status Of Bonne' Vile will be to him c fulhllment ol something that was In his mLnd a good Ave or six years ago. perhaps longer.
 But Grand coulec, next on the Itinerary, Is really big stuff, Here the governmental spending between SIS, 100000 and $l80, ,000, 900 depend' Ing on what you reckon Into the cost aS integral parts of the project
 Here the work B far from fln' lshed. though c year ahead Of sehed- ule and already bigger than Boulder Dam, When finished to It's bo0 feel of height and quarters Of Q mile of length, 1t will Do the lary' est concrete dam in the world. 1r fact, the President will see here q Sb00,ooO steel bridge over the co' iumbia which Is doomed within 6 few months to bury Itself In con- crete and be lost forever. It waS the least expensive means of pourlhg concrete Into the rising dam. whlch will gradually rise and envelope the bridge from which lts own concrete was poured,
 Will Trap salmon
 Here, to HrlgaLe A potentially fertile region of 200v,000 acres, Q lake stretching ibi miles northwafo upstream to the Canadian border will be created, ..,.
 There seems no way to get the salmon past this barrier, so there will be an effort to trap them here and hatch them In pools, sending them back downstream again as fln- gerlingS ..
 As he travels eastward again. the President will see Fort Peck Dam where Sb0,000000 Of PWA allot' mentS are already stacked up In the greatest earthen dam in the world and where probably more than ESQ., 900, 900 will be spent before l80 miles of artificial lake begins to pile up back of the broad earth embank mcnt.