SPEED IS PARAMOUNT

     [This article appeared in the Wenatchee World in 1934.]

Speed Is Paramount In Escavating For Foundations

     GRAND COULEE DAMSITE, Jan. 24.--The first of a series of information bulletins, which will be issued every week or 10 days by E. Paul ford, general superiontendent for David H. Ryan, excavation contractor, to those interested in the progress of the building of the Grand Coulee dam, reveals the equipment being used here at present.
     With the excavation project divided into two schedules, Ford has listed equipment according to the amount used on each side of the river.

          Machinery Listed

     Schedule No. 1, subcontracted by Goodfellow Brothers, Inc., of Wenatchee, is being handled with the following equipment:
     Two  F&H 1 1/2-yard Diesel shovels.
     One  Bucyrus-Erie E2 Diesel shovel.
     One  Doehring 301  1-yard gas shovel.
     Ten  8-yard International dump trucks.
     Four  White 5-yard dump trucks.
     One  60 caterpillar equipped with bulldozer.
     One  caterpillar road maintainer.

     Schedule No. 2 is using the following equipment:
     Two  Northwest No. 80 new 2-yard gas shovels.
     Thirteen Sterling 12 yard dump trucks.
     Nine  Auto Car 5-yard dump trucks.
     Two  75 Diesel cats.
     Two  Le Tourneau 12 yard carry all scrapers.
     One  35 Cat. equipped with McMillian hydraulic scraper.
     One 60 cat.
     One 30 cat equipped with a bull dozer.
     One 75 Diesel cat equipped with a bull dozer.

          Will Have 50 Trucks

     Ford declared that when work is in full swing, about 50 trucks would be employed here.  Five or six more Sterling trucks are scheduled to arrive from California today, Ford said.  The above list does not include smaller equipment, much of which is present at the damsite.
     The bulletin further explained that the official starting time of the job was fixed by the government as of january 2, 1934.  One hundred fifty days dating from that time, was allotted for the completion of the excavation with a $1000 a day penalty being fixed for each day required after June 2nd.

          One million yards of excavation on the west side is called for, and another
     million on the east side of the river, 2,000 yards of solid rock being included
     on each side.

     M. S. Ross of Los Angeles has subcontracted for 800,000 cubic yards of schedule No. 2 in so far as the loading of the trucks is concerned, and the hauling of this yardage has been let to McCutchen Transportation company of Los Angeles.  The balance of the east side excavation 200,000 has been lt to the Rowland Construction company of Seattle.
     "Due to the fact that quite a large amount of the equipment being used is strange to the operators in this section of the country" the letter reads "and due further to the fact that all employees are obtained as near to the site of the operations as is possible, through the National Reemployment Service, a large percentage of labor turnover has been necessary in order to select efficient and competent operators.  however, the crews are gradually being organized and in a very short time the operations should be up to a maximum of efficiency."