The Fight for the Nitrate Plant
Federal engineers scour Priest Rapids, scouting a location for a massive $20 million government facility.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The steamer Umatilla went through here Wednesday morning on its way from Kennewick to Priest Rapids. The Umatilla is a government boat and it was carrying supplies to the government engineers who have been up at the rapids for some time, presumably under authority from the Interior Department, taking soundings and gathering other data, which will probably be used by the government in determining where it will locate its nitrate plant for which the last Congress appropriated $20,000,000. While the government is having several sites over the country investigated, it is understood that there are only four—two in the south, one in the east and the one at Priest Rapids—that are given serious consideration.
“It is understood that there are only four—two in the south, one in the east and the one at Priest Rapids—that are given serious consideration.”
The quest for a nitrate plant at Priest Rapids marks the very beginning of the site's transformation into a massive industrial hub. This early survey work preceded the eventual selection of the area for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, permanently altering the landscape of the Columbia Basin.
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