Litchfield enquirer., 1876-02-24
Sasepaux vgater-Power.

SaopaMG WateE-Power.
 TAs mode of carrying a suggestion re- SsuE2y made through our columns into Pz~rkscAl e&ec4 proposed in the following bzG3ue UEx1kss us very fAvOrably. One of sAa cslkroaling reasons that induced She A4xSzg szs q the railroad from this place 1S~a tAe SAepa1g waIley-a region of eszzszy uhege there vas no manufacturing al se saAs< large local interest-was the E=-s tAaa il opened up such an amount q cheap water power. Those who live on tAe Ezs oE this road are well aware of the abz@aA@cs Og its sateE privileges, of the c@R@eaer Of the stream, and of the com P&s1sivsly slight expense at which its PSwsr ssaA be utilized But the very @@a wAo need most to know these facts are Sxnorant of them What these letters PrOPOse is . plan for bringing them s0 tha knoulsdgs of manufacturers, so tAAA witA the revival of business that zEss inevitably come sooner or later, they E=y take advantage of them.
 ThsEs is another great matter regarding which there should be concert of action among those Ouulng water-power down the Shep&ng: The OStaIning of bondage oa Bantam Lake and the ponds at the head of the ''West Branch" of the She paag. This is a matter in which consid- srable interest has already been manifest sd. and it is probable that such e compa- ny as the one proposed might deal with that question. also. Will some of those chiefly interested issue call for the pro- posed meeting:-ED, ESo.
 76 Ghe Editor of Enquirer An arti- cls in your paperOf a recent date calls public attention to the unimproved water power along the Shepaug Vallay. Its statements. although of a general charac- ter. seem, at the first glance. as some what extravagant. especially as regards the magnitude and comparative impor- tRuce of that power. But, whether this is so or not, there is enough of truth in the representation to merit more practi- cal suggestions than the writer has chosen to give on the subject. He seemed to content himself with rather highly-col- ored general view of the great wealth oi the Shepaug Valley thus lying dormant. without specifying a single tangible feat ure except the pertinent fact of the gross R x.R 1k l,,k of tam lake and the point where the Shepaug strikes the Housatonic River. These figures are indeed important as also the general fact of the superiority of the reservoir ca. pacity or water supply along the Shepaug Valley as compared with other New Eng. land rivers: but the writer fails to impress this comparative advantage ashe might, by mentioning the corresponding figures rep. resentIng the measure of power in the Naugatuck,a a stream whose resources have long sincs been understood and recog' nized by the manufacturing interest. The fall of the Naugatuck in distance of At miles is only 400 feet, or about an average of 9 feet in a mile, while the Shepaug, in ( distance of 8 miles. falls 800 feet, an av craze of nearly 35 feet to the mile. These figures show hydraulic power four time, greater in the latter than in the Manga tuck and they at once afford 6 reliabl, basis for satisfactory investigation.
 It has been suggested as a practica measure in this emergency. that meetinl be called at some convenient point, of al proprietors of land adjoining the river fo the purpose of forming stock company the value of the respective water privilege being determined by fair appraisal o disiuterested parties. and the stock az portiohed to each person according to hi ownershi,, of them The shares in sue companies are fixed by statute at g each. and the company may be compose' only of those who own the unimprove, ~ater privileges. or include the proprie tors of tAoae already improved, who .shal choose to subject their property to az praisal and share in the advantage of tn association,
 This suggestion of a stock company, il stituted in some way as proposed, opens
 practical way of procuring a thoroua survey of the ground and all necessarr maps to bring to public notice the entil physical features of the valley. The a tentiOn of capitalists and manufacturer generally may then be invited and th various privileges sold under the adva, sage of systematic knowledge of tt subject on the part of all concerned. is true that scheme may possibly be d. vised. occurring the main results abo, mentioned without the organiSation of
 stock company, but the latter plan pr ssnts the fairest solution of the difficult, distributes the burdens on just principle rsduees the expense to minimum, an enables the owners of water power at ar other point in the valley to share in u profits accruing from. movement of el terprise at any other point. as result the effort at publicity. as
 The first thing in order would he. eourSe,a call for a meeting of proprietor which should beiheld, as Q matter of co, venisnce4 st one end of the route. TT Railroad Company are indirectly interes ed Tn the enterprise to such an Axtent {, would,induce them, nc dsHbt, to prof A free passage to and from the meeting C