| Show wilbur walbur SIGNS CONTRACT ON HOOVER DAM washington WAHINGTON april 20 at ail secretary wlbur gave the IM go signal today to tho the constructors of the giant hoover dam on the colorado river lie ile signed tho the contract the largest ever made by tho the government under which six companies 1 inc will liar harness noss tho Oo colorado lorado to furnish electric power and water to distant cities and to the barren desort desert areas adjoining the canyon the document already bore tho the signatures ot of officials of the contracting firm and ot of the reclamation bureau W A bechtel Dech tol vice president ot of six companies was at his elbow when ho he signed ile iio later said he expected to have one thousand men at work within ninety days at the peal ot of construction st some 2600 2500 will avill be employed six companies has not boon been idle while awaiting ag nature already something like a quarter ot of a million has been spent fit at the dom dam site erecting bunk houses laying out reads and railways seven years la Is estimated to finish the job 2 days to be exact at the end of 0 that time it the work la Is not done the contractors will havo have to pay the government a day until it Is finished hut but the way I 1 feet feel now said bechtel 1 I wish that contract carried a bonus for every day ahead of the contract time be able to save the first task the tha contractors tire tackling la Is the boring ot of four tunnels below tho the river level flanking tho the site cite ot of the dam these will be fifty six feet wide lined with three feet of concrete through thorn them the river will bf be diverted by means of cofferdams coffer dams feet high while the foundations of tho the permanent dam are laid later they will become part of tho the power plant the size of the lob job la Is such bechtel said fiala that all the equipment will havo have to be larger tan tau anything ever used before the tha concrete will bo be handled in n buckta containing something like fourteen tour teon tons it will bo be carried ready mixed to the dam site by train from a mixing plant a cou pla ot of miles milas away about twenty ivo five miles ot of temporary railroad will be laid allies ot of road will be built and aerial tramways tram ways will ts be used to carry grayel gravel from a deposit eight miles upstream to a high point near tho the concrete con croto mixing plant As the concrete sets acts it will bo be cooled by tin an elaborate refrigerating never to keep it from hardening bar dening too fast in the intense noonday heator heat ot tho the can you bottom bechtel said his bis company was waa no now W seeking to establish a wago wage base for its workers that would be liberal wo we feel that we could make considerable sid erable savings on the job by keep lug ing down the wage level but since this Is a public job wo we would ike to establish a good liberal figure that would serve as a standard all over the country and would contribute somewhat to restoring prosperity he mid we want to make things BO 80 contort ablo tor for our workers there that they will stay on the job oven even though the beat becomes terrific cooled bunkhouses and amusement buildings will bo be so comfortable at night that the men wont mind standing degrees or at the I 1 r work down in the canyon during the day night shifts may be ba used also he said but all will be ot of eight hours only eighty per cent nt at least of the employed emp loyes will live la in tho the governments model town boulder city although the contractors would like to have their men somewhat closer to the job the cites temperature however and will be some ten tea degrees cooler than tin caiyu tin nn important consideration in labor con tented TrI burie |
