The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-02-26

THE 800" POWER CANAL.
when the canal and power house were
completed the. town passed a resolution
to the effect that
'sWe are celebrating the completion
of the greatest. water power develop.
ment In the world. which is to revolt
tionize the Industrial conditions not
only of this city, but the entire country
surrounding. and marks new era in
our history. This event will impress
upon the outside world our possibilities
as manufacturing center, and upon
our own people all that the develop
ment of water power really means"
How this ~hange was made possible
is an interesting story in itself. The
only outlet Of Lake Superior is the ST.
Mary's river. which empties into Lake
Huron. bur which is unnayigahle ow-
ing to falls of twenty feet To over
come this both the United States and
the Canadian. governments built ship
canals several years ago, thus stimulat,
ing the commerce of the great lakes.
But until recent years it did not occur
to any one that the difference in level
between Superior and Huron might b.
utilized to furnish the power that W
so badly hooded by Sault Ste. Marie.
To make use of this difference In
level canal two and half miles long
has been built from Lake Superior to
point in the ST Mary's river far be-
low the falls Just before the drop into
the river the canal spreads. the water
out into pond. making the fall more
than quarter of mile in width.
Across this extensive expanse the huge
power house has been built
without doubt the building is the
longest structure in the world, being
1868 feet in length. 1t is supported by
eighty zone arches, through which the
water flows. Three hundred and TWEEN
ty turbines transmit the power to
eighty generators. each of 500 horse
power. Each of the huge dynamos thus
affected is wonder in itself. for on ae-
count of the peculiar way in which
they are run there must not be the
slightest difference In the wiring, and
The FeSOtulIOLs Olsf all tuG HiaIHfHVo
must be identical. .-z@
One peculiar outcome of the building
of the canal has been the construction
of what are known as compromising
works. Before the great power scheme
had been completed lake men realized
the great loss the lake would sustain in
having 10000 cubic feet of water with
drawn every second. 1t was asserted.
and not without reason, that within Il
few years Superior would notebe fit for
navigation. Complaint was made to
the war department, and the protest of
the lake men was upheld. the engineers
being ordered to devise some means of
compensation for this great drain.
For some time the problem was n
battling one, but it was finally found
that the solution lay in damming the
st. Maryis river, which was a flow and
fall of water useless in itself. A huge
dam was constructed just above the
rapids and sluice gates, each fifty-four
feet long and thirteen feet high and
made of steel plates, which were SO ar
ranged that they could at will diminish
the flow of water in the river. The re-
suit was all that could be desired.
Already the $500 is beginning to feel
the effects Of cheap power. A railroad
to Hudson bay is being built to bring
down the products of the great coun-
try to the north. Ores can now be
mined and taken to the smelters and
20 1,ars All sorts of indf1Sf.ias. aro
booming. A government report just
issued shows that the net freight ton
mage that passed through the ship ca
nails last year was 35.961.1 46. How
much greater tonnage will be carried
/ through this year can easily be mag.
lined. HENRY ". MILLER. &