The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1870-02-19

shSAS'
There will be when the saw and paper
mills are completed, which will be the one
in April the other in July, only fire mill
sites built on the ,oatsr poscer in Camden.
And how many mill sites do you ask are
there on the dams in Camden? There are
at least fifty FIVE, which do not render neces
sary any very great length of shafting. And
since the power of water is limited accor-
ding to its volume, you furthermore
ask, how many of these mill 'i'e'
are available and can oD'A"
requisite quantity Of power IA an'"e'
wonId s,ate that fifty mill sites having
hn,5-ad horse power each would re-
,;,s an aggregate Of five thousand horse
aower An officer on the Island who has
made hydraulic engineering specially cal
culated that at low stage of water the vol
ume of water at Camden was fally equal to
seren thousand fire hundred horse pouer.
Where on the face of the globe, on a stream
no larger than Rock River, can there be
found power equal to this? The magnitude Of
this arm of our manufacturing Briareus
has not begun to be estimated even by us
who have grown up besideit. Fifty immense
factorys making cotton and wooden cloths, |
buttons, suspenders, elastic, bands, carpets,
ribbons, paper, what not, with an average OF
| 100 operatives in each, which is an under
estimate, would make Eve thousand opera
tive population which proportion is good
| for twenty five thousand Inhabitants. There
| has been expended in mills aud improve
ments on the Camden Water Power $685. |
600.
This water power we would say in con
GLIDING the topic is certain. There is never
lack of sutti cient power at low water stage
to supply the wheels for the fifty additional
| factories which win some day be erected on
| the mill sites. There is occasionally too
much water, but this is seldom; only twice
| in SO years have the mills been stopped,
| and for two or three weeks each time.
THE MOLINE WATER POWER.
| This is the right arm of our strength, and
situated at the opposite extreme, is the force
which is to merge here with the Camden
! Power when the latter is thoroughly i'm
sroved. Everybody knows of it who has
watched congressional appropriations, as
/ almost million of money has been spent
on it's improvement by the government.
| There is built on it and in operation
| Two of tie largest pillow works in the country,
| viz: Deere's and CsRdee, Swan & Cos.
:. ". Wheeiock & Cos paper mill, and
First d Rosenield's wagon factory. Mil
hons of dollars are destined to be expended
there in manufacturing establishments, and
Moline has already a national reputation as
a manufacturing city.
CLEVELAND WATER POWER.
This has just been recognized as one OF
the natural forces which is to enrich this
region. 1t has but Just obtained a charter
from the legislature and is as yet unim-
proved. Il is situated near the heart Of an
unlimited coal region in Henry county, and
| is joined inseparably to US by the Rockford
road. 1t is inferior to no power on Rock
River save that of Camden.
THE ROCK RIVER VALLEY.
In addition to the many other advantages
o. this locality is its situation at the con-
iuenee of the Rock with the Mississippi
river The valley Of Rock River is cele,
brated for its abundant and valuable water
powers, of which there are fifteen improved
and unimp proved from its source TO It's mouth,
Of which the following is list. Improred-:
Camden, Sterling, Dixon, Oregon, Rockford.
Beloit, GAINESVILLE, Horizon. Unimprorcd:
Wilson's. Cleveland, Corkins, Erie, Lyndon,
Grand de Tour, Marion.
There is probably no valley of land Of
equal area with the valley of Rock River
that is capable of bearing upon its bosom
40 dense an agricultural population. Nor
is there a river flowing through like valley
that can furnish the vast and varied water
power Of Rock River. The construction OF
the river is peculiar and differs from the
. other rivers in the Great Mississippi Valley
IN this while the average slope of the rivers
Of this great valley is less than six inches to
from lake Horizon, its acknowledged head,
to the Mississippi of over 10 inches to the
mile, and this unusual declivity, if there
were no safe guards, would create force Of
current which would wash down to the sea
the soft friabie alluvium of the adjacent
bottoms But instead of this unusual slope
being equally distributed in its of so miles,
the river is a succession of small rapids
with pool, between them, and indeed, this
photographic phenomenon was what in
duced q survey by the general government
some three years since to determine the
prscticability of making slack water naviga
zion. Every one of these rapids is suscepti-
BILE of i'm provement At Wilson's chain, with
feet head created, and even greater at Cleve
and within l 6 miles of this city. AtCorkins,
at Erie, at Lyndon are good water powers
while at Sterling there is one of seven feet
head and at Dixon, also, there is fine
water power improvement, where one mill
alone, last year, paid freight bills to the
amount of SCI, 900. At Grand de Tour
! there Is water power with fourteen feet
, head, probably one of the finest and cheap,
est in the world. All the rest previously
mentioned are superior water powers.
) WHAT We HAVE BEGUN TO THINK.
All these facts flowing into the brains Of
) our revitalized business men has caused
them to reason-and to what conclusion
That this whole region for an area of fifty
miles is teeming with elemental wealth !;
) that the valley of the Rock River, from it's
source to its mouth, is destined to be the
: greatest manufacturing region on the
merican continent and that Rnck Islnnd