Answer: In 1907, the William Clark built the Milltown Dam for an

estimated $400,000. The GDP deflator relates this to a current

day cost of $6.9 million. However, relative to the U.S. economy
of the day, investing $400,000 in infrastructure was a much
bigger deal than just the cost of materials. Comparing how much
the project cost relative to the GDP now and then shows the
Milltown Dam project cost the equivalent of a $163.6 million
project today.

How sound is this information? There are really two elements

of trust here: Do I trust the calculator? Yes. Measuring Worth is a
Web site run by a couple of economics professors. It seems very
transparent and I trust its information. However, you should
wonder about the original number I gave you, the $400,000. After
a fair amount of searching the Internet, I got it from a Missoulian
story by Kim Briggeman, who did not say where he got it. So, I
trust it, but if I were writing a story, I would try and verify it with a
primary source or a person with specific knowledge about the
history of the dam.

How would I attribute this information? I would attribute this

information to the Web site. If my story was very specifically
about the economic comparisons, I would call the professors and
discuss the comparisons. I bet they could give very clear quotes
on how the numbers compare and help you be sure of the
comparison you chose.