Document gDdrLQakvJGBQRj759wQwE0Me

Three cheers for smoke abatement AUG 241949 PHILIP W SWAIN, ESTABLISHED IN 1882 Power for Peace and War WE don't think tlioi war lies just around the by the.bottlenecks of fuel, steel, transportation corner, or even that it ia likely within the and labor, each of which sets a limit on produc next five yearn; neither Russia nor Americtiaon and hence on power consumption. - ~ could profit by armed conflict. ` The report recently released by Edward Yet we can take no chancen in thin explonivo Falck, chairman of the Power Board of the world. We must prepare--to make war less National Security Resources Board, bears out likely and on American victory more certain if this view in Its emphasis on the peacetime war should come. requirements.* Fighting men and their weapons are leas than half of tho picture. Modern war is built on an industrial foundation of raw materials^ fuel, production, transportation--given life at every step by some form of power. It's all one big picture, so let's view it as a whole for o moment --in terms of brood notional strategy. New, protected oil sources would bo needed-- also big stockpiles of manganese, copper, tin, sine, cordage, palm oil, coconut oil, etc. We would need more steel capacity, a revivified rail* road system and plenty of mochine tools. How about power-generating capacity? Put tbe answer (his way: We need a lot more power for peaco--and when we get enough power for peoca we will probably hove enough for war as well. Here, in truth, we can kill two birds with one stone. Readers will recall that we got through the lost war without power shortoges despite enoroious war production and a very modest increase n generating capacity. This was possible because civilian goods fell off and because existing kilowatt capacity worked overtime generating kilowatt-hours for second ond third shifts. Tliesc same factors would apply in another war. Also, power use would again be restricted Meeting this peacetime load will bo no easy task. It means adding 20,000,000 kw of centralstation capacity by 19S1 to increase this year's 3.7 percent national margin of capacity over peak to a more comfortable 11.2 percent, with a then total capacity around 70 million kw. Large steam and hydra turbine-generators still require three years from order to delivery. Orders on the books for units above 10,000 kw are 5.4 million kw for shipment in 1948, 5.6 for 1949, 5.3 for 1950, and only 1.6 for 1951. The moral Is clear; get your turbine-generator orders in now for 1951 delivery. Below 10,000 kw the turbine-generator situa tion'^ much easier. Small utilities and indus trials won't hove to wait too long for their new generating units. Boilers and other power-plant equipment ere avoilable sooner than the generating units and are therefore no bottleneck. Thinking broadly of power for the notion's needs, the situation may be described as tight but not alarming. And one vital fact is clear: Working hand in hand with government agen cies, power men are planning and building the facilities needed to keep the wheels of America turning--in peace ond in war. POWift July 1948 A)