Felling Tree Costs $60,000

1920
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Farmer's Act Puts Heavy Losses on Power and Factory Plants

JACKSON, Mich., May 20. -- When a farmer near Frankenmuth, Saginaw County, cut down a tree the other day it cost about $60,000, according to officials of the Consumers' Power Company.

The tree fell across a main transmission wire, causing a short circuit that turned loose 146,000 volts that were being produced by the company's Au Sable power plant. Abut 50,000 factory workers in Flint, Saginaw and Bay City lost a quarter of a day when their machines stopped for lack of power.

The factories lost about $52,000 in "dead" time, it is estimated, and the Consumers' Company fixes its loss at $8,000 in damage to equipment.

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 4.