More Power for Defense
Work is in progress on four huge» «lain proj¬
ects in Ilic western part of tlie state an«l a
fifth is expected to he authorized in the
near future. It has brought employment
to many thousands of people.
SI'ARKLIXC mountain streams
i lull have laughed their way from
Western North Carolina to the
With work started on four dams
in the region, and a iifth expected to
be authorized within the near future,
great wrinkles on the face of mountain
ranges are to Ik- erased with im¬
pounded water, and the hum of tur¬
bines will break the forest solitude.
Kaeh project will join in the chorus,
"More power for defense in war. and
more power for industry in peace."
A total of $100,000,000 is represented
in tile construction.
Under construction by the Xan-
tahala Power and I.ight a *uh-
sidiary of the Aluminum Company
of America, are (Jlenvilh* «him on
Tnekaseigce River in Jackson County
at a cost i' f $4,000,000, and Xautahala
dam, two miles below Aipiouo in
Macon County, at a cost of approxi¬
mately
$«,1100,000.
The TVA Projects
Apalaehia and Chatugo dams are
being built by the Tennessee Valley
Authority, the former on Ilia was see
River below Hiwassce dam at a cost
of $20,000,000 and the latter on the
Iiiawflssce nlwut four miles east of
llayesvillc in Clay County at a cast
• -f
$Г>,0<Ю.000.
Two other TVA dams
arc also being const meted in (ieorgia.
just across tin- Xorth Carolina line,
on streams flowing out of the "hand
of the Skv."
ЛИ
TVA daini- are slated
for eomplctioii in February of next
year, while the power company’s dams
will Ik* rushed to a finish ahead of
schedule.
If the $fiO, 000, 000 appropriation by
Congress for hnihliug another powi-r
unit at Fontana »ii I.ittle Tennessee
River 30 miles west of Bryson City
( X. is forthcoming as is expected,
n dam larger fliini Xorris dam near
Knoxville, Tclin., will rise 150 feet
high. Ineideutally, this TVA dam
would contain 3,000,000 cubic yards
of concrete, or nliim-i three times that
used in Xorris dam. It will pro-
12
If»/ J.
И.
HICK 1,114’
age and add approximately 200,000
kilowatts of installed capacity to the
TVA system. Under intensive con¬
st ruction program, it could Ik* built
in from 30 to 30 months, hacking
water to the edge of Bryson City.
Added to this potential new power
are a series of dams and power in¬
stallations in the region already in
use. There is lliwasscc dam, 22 miles
below Murphy, finished hv TVA in
1910 at a cost of $17,000,000 ; Cheoah,
in tiralinni ami Swain counties on the
I.ittlo Tennessee, completed in HM9,
and Sanleetlah. on the Cheoah River
about 10 miles IkJow Kohhinsvillc,
placed in operation in 102,4 — Imth
owned ami operated by the Xautahala
outfit. Contract has been signed in
Washington providing for TVA oper¬
ation of all of those plants, as well as
others in the Tennessee valley area,
hut this change will not In* made at
once.
Turning from almost astronomical
estimates of cost and production, the
TVA authorities have also to deal
with the human equation. Hundreds
of families that have for generations
taken root in the regions where dams
are to he built must he moved. Since
the emergency permits no waste of
time, lands that arc to Ik* Hooded must
he confiscated without too much re¬
gard for sentiment. Instead of bar¬
gaining with the owners, the govern¬
ment is making an offer that may be
accepted or rejected. In either event,
work proceed* without hesitation of
clearing the land in preparation for
impounding water, and the occupants
arc notified to move by the last of this
year. Court litigation can be perfected
as time |M-rinits.
Of necessity, hardships are often
ini]K>scd on laud owners of the region.
In some instances, the land in the
valley that is richest is taken for the
water basin — often leaving a farm
owner only a few acres of poor land
on a mountain-side that is almost
worthless by itself. 0. L. McCalson,
of the TVA staff, has been placed in
charge of resettlement, and is being
aided by (Juy Wheeler, former Clay
County farm agent, to help families
in solving their problem*.
A Vast Inundation
Recently built schools, highways
and railways will Ik* inundated, and
major problems are involved. Elf
school on U. S. highway
«4.
some six
or seven miles east of Huycsville, was
built by WPA this year at a cost of
$40,000, for instance. It had an
attendance of about 283, hut about
100 of this number came from fam¬
ilies who will have to move. And,
sine- water from Chatugo dam will
rise to within 300 feet of its doors,
trustees are wondering if the site can
still ho used. Xot only that, but high¬
ways and roads from across the cove-
will he severed and rerouted, and dis¬
tances for school buses will Ik- in¬
creased materially — if not made im¬
practicable altogether.
Relocation of trunk highways will
Ik- made into llayesvillc. Xo. 04 from
Franklin, and the highway from lli-
wassee, tin., and relocations of IT. S.
(Continual on page lucnlg-fice )
sea for thousands of years are being
harnessed rapidly to do their hit for v*ide 1,500.000-acrc-feet of Hood stor-
defense of free America
