Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-06-22


Anthony Water Power-Accurate Meas
urements-The Question of a standard of
Time-Tbe Naswith Pile Driver.
just before the opening of yesterdays
session of the convention of American So
ciety of Civil Engineers, in the represen-
tatives' hall at the capitol, Mr.. Benjamin
Bronson, the pioneer civil engineer of
Minnesota, exhibited to many of the mem
bers an improved plumb bob invented by
himself.
When the convention was called to order,
Secretary Bogart made his usual an
nouncements of invitations received and
arrangements made. He stated that the
canvass made Wednesday evening showed
that most of the members will stay over
Saturday to take the excursion to Still
water and announced that the government
steamer, Gen. Barnard, will be in readiness
to take the party from st. Paul at 10 a. m.
Saturday. Invitations received were from
the general manager of the Canadian Pa
cifc railway, for excursions over that road
and from the general man
ager of the Wisconsin Central
railway for visit to Ashland and return
to Chicago by way of that road. The an
nouncements for the day included lunch
at the union depot, Immediately after
adjournment and railway trip to Fort
Smelling, Minnehaha and the Short line
bridge.
WATER CURRENTS
The first paper presented was by F. P.
Stearns, of Boston, on current meter OBJ
servations and the cause of the maximum
velocity of flowing water being below the
surface. On account of its length, at sug-
gestion of the author, this paper was read
by its title with the understanding
that it would be separately
presented with its accompanying illustra-
tions to those members who are especially
interested in hydraulic engineering.
ST. ANTHONY WATER POWER.
The second paper, by j. P. Frizell, of st.
Louis, on the water power of ST. Anthony
Falls, was read by the author. He states
that the total fall of the river between Min
neapolis and st. Paul is ITO to lis feet.
The greatest fall used is about so feet, and
IIlC c1N Oh 1d41 III uSS LUZ pOW6f dU the
Falls of st. Anthony is about 3715 feet.
The river above the falls
drains about 10000 square miles over
which the average rain fell is about thirty
inches per annum. The present available
water power at the falls he estimates at
about 10000 horse power, day and night,
and this he concludes could be doubled by
proper economy and scientific appliances,
while further increase might be made
by storage reservoirs. In estimating the
power at this point applicable to indus
trial works he would include the sawdust,
equivalent to 10000 tons of coal annu-
aliy-which is now thrown in the river.
The reservoirs the government
is building near the sources of
the river being fo- use in the season of
navigation would be of no benefit to the
water power in winter, when the need of
water at the falls is greatest. Indeed, the
best use of the reservoir, to benefit navi-
cation, would be in retaining the winter
drainage. Whether the owners of the
water power have acquired conflicting
rights which will stand against the gov
ernment's power over the water ways may
hereafter be a question for the courts to
decide. The northern limit of the Tren-
ton limestone through which the falls have
worn their way is about 500
yards above the present brink of
the falls, where the limestone is
about fifteen feet thick, having been cut
down fifteen to eighteen feet by the water
Below this limestone is the st. Peter sand
stone, 40 to $50 feet thick OVERLAPPING a
rock as hard as granite. The softest strata
of the sandstone is fifteen to twenty feet
below the limestone and it creates extreme
difficulty in tunneling to utilize the whole
power of the falls; but otherwise the sand
stone facilitates the construction of tun-
nels. The water power is owned by two
companies-the Minneapolis Mill com
pany owning the west side, and the st.
Anthony Falls Water Power company own
ing the east SIDE. These companies chartered
in 1857, built dams on the falls. for hand
ling and saving logs, and reduced the
width of the flow from 1.2OO to 500 feet
This produced an alarming increase in the
retrocession of the falls, which, under nat
ural conditions, was four or five feet per
year, but in 1856 to 1868 was increased to
twenty feet, and the direct fall of water,
which In 1905 was sixteen and half feet,
was increased so that it is now thirty one
feet. In the fall of 1868 a tunnel was be-
gun for a raceway for mills on Nicollet
island, which opened a passage way for
the water under the limestone and required
the works for the preservation of the
falls, which was described in
the papers read Tuesday and
Wednesday, which have saved the falls from
immediate danger of disappearance. But
the danger is not wholly over. The abra-
sive action of the current running over the
apron has cut holes below the falls forty
or fifty feet deep. These were filled with
stones, which washed out; then the govern
ment engineer adopted the cribs he has
described for breaking the force of the
water. The paper proceeds to describe the
grants of water power made by the COM
panies and the damage and waste in
their present use. There has been
little aid from civil engineers
in application of this great water power.
Common sense engineering, as it is some
times called, has left here a legacy of
trouble for the future. But its makeshifts
will no longer serve. for no extension of
the use of the power is possible without
better engineering work, which will be
embarrassed by the accumulated results of
the makeshifts for twenty years past. In
view of the difficulties in the way of hav-