The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-04-24
.As1E NATURAL 3
Tremendous Power Running Away An
Our Rivera.

Our Rivers
1t is a curious fact that in agreatman-
ufacturing country like the United
States the vast Of water
power T comparatively speaking, ig-
nored and neglected. It is 10 exaggera-
ton to say that for every mill turned by
water a hundred might be in operation.
The million and a quarter horse power
which is derived from water is over
Swallowed by twice or thrice that
amount of steam power. The former
may be compared to its own mill pond,
standing still in the march of industry,
while the latter is pushing forward
with the speed and powerof the locomo-
tive. For example, the increase Of
steam power in this country in the dec-
ade closed in 1850 was S0per cent, while
water power increased in the same PEI
Rod but "a per cent. That the latter.
could be almost immeasurably in
creased, if nted by economic COM
ditions, is proven by the report of Prof.
Swain, the census expert, who says;
"a calculation based upon the best
data obtainable furnishes the astonish-
ing result that the total theoretical
power of our streams, taken at an ~
erage throughout the year, reaches the
enormous figure Of over 2~00,000,Qaas
horse power. Such is the energy dr.
veloped by our rivers, streams and
brooks, of which we are using a little
over one-half of one per cent. Could it
be utilized, the power afforded would
probably be more than sufficient to
turn all the machinery Of the globe"
Steam has triumphed over all its
rivals. The water mill has become a.
relic of a past age and the windmill is
prehistoric. At the close of the last dec
AIDE the triple-expansion engine was set
up almost in the spray of the waterfall,
and the locomotive found a level road
bed upon the abandoned tow path OF
the canal. But another power came
upon the scene; or, to speak more accu-
rately, another method of utilizing
power, with the ability to take power
from any original source-from steam,
from water, or from Withstand to
transmit it to a distant pointf for utilizar
ton. At once the science of mechanism
was revolutionized. As soon as the.
electrical transmission of power be-
came instead of a theory a practical re-
atty, every waterfall, every coal de-
post, no matter how remote from man
~ufacturing c~enters, took an added value
in the eyes of the commercial users OF
power. The mind of man cannot mea
IRE the possibilities embraced in the
dynamo and the copper cable. Niagara
Falls, with it's 125,OOO horse power di-
rectly available 100000 horse power
in the future) has been harnessed, but
rot until the principle of the electrical
transmission of power from turbine to
motor had been demonstrated, with
various degrees Of success at SchaH-
hansen, ON the Rhine; at Fribourg, on
the Sarine; at Geneva on the Rhone; at
Guadalaxara, Mexico, and at a hundred
other places in the mountain regions Of
Europe and America; all on q much
larger scale, but illustrating the feasi-
bility of the practical utilization of wa.
ter power through electricity.
Who a doubt that in the space of a
very few years, in place Of the present
LiliPntian water mills there will be
Brobdingnagian turbines, utilizing the
vast reservoirs Of energy placed by the
wisdom of the Creator in every part OF
this broad continent? The mountain
regions,so long looked upon as thewaste
places of the earth, hold treasures for
posterity that will 'far outshine the
wealth of Ormus or of Ind" The bases
of the Alleghanies, the Rockies, and the
Sierras, with the vast plains at their
feet will throb with the energy gener-
ated by the streams fed by their living
springs. The glaciers of the giant peaks
Of Oregon and Washington hold sufi-
Gent power in their icy grasp to turn
every factory wheel and Light and warm
every building in those states for a cen
fury to come, while the thousand noun
tain streams along the rocky barriers
from Montana to New Mexico will per-
form the double duty of supplying pow
or to the millions who will people those
states mills, mines, railroads, etc.),
and irrigating the soil to provide for
their sustenance.@John T. Brunhall, in
Leslie's Weekly.