Evening star., 1937-10-03
ROOSEVELT HEADS.
EAST TO FORT PECK
President Halls CouIee Dam
Work and Bids 'Au Rev0ir'
to Washington State.
BACKGROUND

poDer projects is the Grand Coulee
Dam in Washington State, started
three years ago. 1t is located on
the Columbia Riper, and the aim
OF the Coulee, and the companion
Bonneville, is to depelop richer
farming community and to Qener-
ate cheap po,Der. President Roose-
relt first pisited the site in 1884.
~ the Associated Press.
SPOKANE, Wash, October 2.-Pres-
hent Roosevelt bid "au revoir" but
not "good-by" to the State of WASH
ington tonight as he headed East to
Fort Peck Dam, Mont, with an as
surance, I'm going to come back
again in the next three years and
take a look-see once more"
His special train left Spokane at
pm. t9 pm. Eastern standard
tlme) after day which was high
lighted by his inspection tour of the
gigantic Grand Coulee Dam project
on the Columbia River and the pre-
diction 1t would open new lands to
tltObSolNS vi QCSll dUlt lIOiIl CIOU-
poor lands of the Middle West.
The presidential train stopped 90
minutes here while a crowd which
Police Chief Ira Martin estimated
at 10000 cheered wildly as the Pres
ident appeared, spoke briefly and
then bantered with persons near him
while he waited for the train to
proceed.
Relating how he had seen the
worlds greatest man-made project on
the Columbia River-the Grand Cou-
lee Dam-the President said, II am
certain of the future of the North
west"
Parts of the Nation are not so fa-
vored," he added. They have made
mistakes"
He said their forests were stripped
and their lands robbed of fertility.
but, you have a place where they
can make homes and live happily"
At Grand Coulee. the President
looked from promontory vista at
the biggest project launched by his
administration, and said, 'I am made
very happy by the wonderful progress
have seem"
National Undertaking.
The roar of construction crews.
pouring concrete faster than it ever
before was poured by man, was a
background to his visit. Already the
foundation dana s63,000,000 prof.
ect-is the greatest masonry mass ever
assembled by human engineering skill.
The ultimate dam is expected to
cost sl86,000,000 with power features.
The irrigation development, ultimately
to reclaim 100000 acres in the Co.
iumbia Basin. is estimated to cost an
additional s208,000,000.
Thousands cheered the President on
his motor course from the train at
Ephrata to the dam.
MY head is full of figures" he OBJ
served with feeling as he commented
that the dam is much bigger than
anything tried before, there is no COM
parison."
Citing benefits of the dam project
from a national point Of view," the
President declared: z
We must remember that probably
half of the total cost of this dam is
paid to the factories east of the Mis-
sissippi River. So in a correct
sense, it's national undertaking and
doing national good"
Some day, he said, viewing a crowd
OF about 5000 on top of a hill over
looking the great concrete span. the
foundation of which is nearing COM
pletion, he hoped there would be formed
Grand Coulee Association" to be
composed of the workers here. They
would be awarded badges of honor. he
added. because they were undertaking
job that would benefit the Nation
for years to come.
The President came here from
Ephrata, Wash, motoring the 10 miles
through a rock-rimmed gorge that
snaked to the west end OF Grand
Coulee.
Stopping here en- route eastward.
he saw great changes since the first
view he had of the great power -irriga-
ton project three years ago. Then
excavation work had only begun
Frank A. Banks, chief engineer on
ne project being constructed by the
Bureau of Reclamation, explained the
model workings and power units. Then
Banks took the President to the OBJ
servation point to look down on the
pile of foundation concrete and ma
chinery.