The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1888-03-10

NIAGARA FALLS, New York, March ALI low
ers of the sublime and beautiful in nature have
rejoiced that the state of New York at last took
control of the niagara Falls laid out reservation
including and preserving the adjacent beauty
and to some extent regulating the cost of visit
10 tie great waterfall At the same time those
who have seriously thought of the immense water
power there literally running 10 waste have had
their unililarian Instincts gricved 10y the conf
dent statement that there was no way to utilize
the force without marrng the beauty. How TO
make Niagara useful without making ii less beau
tifGl las been the question: aud it is confidently
announced that the problem is solved.
Niagara, say the engineers. be made To
yield li9,0o1 horse power and not foot of the re
serVa.ioa be encreahced upon or any building
the fails. Mr.. Thomas Evershed, Division
Engineer of the New York State canals has pre-
sentcd the perfected plan and estimates; Mr.. FL
matthew Sweet, New York State engineer and sur
veyer, has cordially approved them and IA com
pany has been formed Ia carry them into exccut-
ion. This company proposes To- furnish 800 horse
power each to - mills, which shall be located
from mile To two nd Il half miles up the river
from the falls in way inter ering with the view
yet easily accessible 10y river and railroad and al
this they propose 20 accomplish 10y one great t!n
neil underneath the town aud sile tunnels from
thcr river, each with its wheel pit for turbine
watcr-whcels the whole series drawing through
the main tunnel ia the level of the river below
the falls, Thus they will secure 1T II cost of less
than s5,4o,0a0 power exceeding the combined
water power of Holyoke, Lowell Minneapolis
CohocS, Lewiston and Lawrence and unlike
theirs, subject tono Niclsstudes of drouth dan
ger 0. overflow or destruction OF dams, but from
source eXhGuStlesS the great lakes ami
in tunnels enduring as the solid rock.
The conception is sublime. The completed
work would seem to Quito any ofthe wonders OF
the ancient world. ItcNalts ones views of the
dignity 0fthe human intellect. Yet the plan is
simple that the most ignorant can comprehend
il.
The conditions are these: From the head OF
the rapids to the cataract the fall is sixty-flVe
feet, height Of the cataract lt feet, total fall 30
feet. The average flow OF the river is 275,o0J
cubic feet pr second, total water power there
fore 1000 60 horse power. from which the COM
pany proposes to take only ll9,0e) horse power.
At the foot of the falls the river turns almost
square to the right; thus straight line from the
rapids over To the edge of the water just below
them is the hypothenu>c of rightanglcd tri-
angle. The tunucll therefore is TO begin at Al
point Just above the highwaicr level but go feet
below the top Of the bluif, below the falls; thence
It is to run at am upgrade of foot in 1oo through
the solid rock to point above the fails: thence
it is To continue one and half miles parallel
with the river, 400 feet distant from it and 1910 be-
low it, and to be connected with it by latcrnal
tunnels. OF course "a n is 10 have its wheel pit
and turbine water wheel and the Slope of the
lateral tunnel or conduit such To secure rap
ii discharge of the water The main tunnel
Is to be tweutyfour feet in diaiuatcr, amply suf-
fcient to discharge al water the side tunnels may
pour into il, and these, with heals ranging from
twenty-four to eighty feet for turbine wheels Of
the latest pattern will amply secure the promised
1900 horse power jUI horse power each for the
23S factories for which sites can lie provided in
the space secured.