AN ALL-ELECTRIC CITY.

Shannon News, 10 July 1923, Page 3

AN ALL-ELECTRIC CITY.

(“Daily Mail’s” New York Correspondent.) Compared with England, the Unite States is almost ai iservantless country; but it is estimated tiiat every American has at his beck and call the equivalent of forty horses in power supplied by steam, petrol, and electricity. In producing tbit? some. 800,000,000 tons of coal are consumed yearly. The contribution, of oil is probably greater. But in undeveloped water-power there are, according to the computations of engineers, more than eighty millions of horse-power going to waste: every year.

The dream of the scientists is to harness this water to the industry of the country. They see the first extensive realisation of this dream in the announcement made a few days ago, from the headquarters of the great electrical interests at Schenectady, that work is about to be staffed on the the exploitation of the waters of the Columbia River in the State of Washington. The scheme aims at. the mobilisation of 800,000 ;h.p. in. electricity. With this it, is proposed to convert one hundred thousand acres of harsh and arid land into fk>iu)rishimg farms; to run dozens of immense industrial plants'; and to establish a, largo and brand-new city which shall be Goalless and smokeless and spotlessly clean.

The site of this city of electricity is Priest Rapids. At this, the greatest water-power site in the United States west of Niagara. there is to be constructed, first of all, a,t, am estimated expenditure of £6,000,000, the greatest. dam in the world, not excepting the Assuan darn across the Nile.. The dam, will be two miles long and ninety feet high. Simultaneously wTU be constructed the model electric city of the future, with houses for an initial population 'of 40.000 and factories without, chimneys. It is estimated that the town will cost, £2,500,000, the electrical power station £2.500.000. and the factories another £4.250,000.

Two of the industrial works to be thus established will be devoted to electro-chemical and electro-metallur-gical processes, the rights of which have been acauired from Europe. They will require 150,000) .h.p. It is proposed also to manufacture

steel, abrasives, ferro-alloys, wood.puln, paper, cement, glass and notterv. among other thing. For industry 400.000 h.p. will be utilised; for ir-. riga.tion and farming enterprises in a. now arid soil of incalculable fertility, 300 000 h.p. of cccondarv- energy.