The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1904-03-15


Seattle and all adjoining cities and towns.
A daring scheme is on foot, engineered
by Stone & Webster, of Boston, to obtain
the mastery of all of the available water
power in this part of the state for the
purpose of preventing profitable competi-
ton in the business of producing electric
light and power.
To accomplish this monopolstic under
taking every effort is now being put forth
by the agents of Stone & Webster to
drive Charles H. Baker, the only large
independent producer of light and power,
out of the field.
The attacks on Baker have been persist
emit, for the last five years, in fact, ever
since he butted into the far-reachng plans
OF the Boston syndicate. by establishing
. plant at Snoqualmie falls.
The story of the war waged upon him in
Seattle by the Stone & Webster concern
there, known as the Seattle Electric COM
pany, is already familiar to the people of
that city, thanks to one fearless and indie
pendent daily newspaper, The Star.
The aim of the Stone & Webster people
there was to make the Snoqualmie plant
Improbable, and at one time rumor had
it they came near succeeding
LARGE PLANT NECESSARY
Baker soon discovered that with his linn
tied electrical output at Snoqualmie he
would be compelled to greatly increase his
production of power if he expected to keep
up his end of the contest with the Stone
& Webster combine, which was preparing
to install a water power plant at Elec-
tron, which would enable them to produce
large quantities of electricity at a much
cheaper rate than it had been previously
possible to do, while using steam for gen.
erative purposes in Seattle.
Baker also recognized the fact that,
with the increased capacity for production
on the part of his enemy. there would
no doubt come war for patronage and
cut rates to large consumers.
In order to prepare for this assault, he
took up a proposition which had been
partially framed by the White River Pow
er company in the early '9Os, to develop
power on a large scale, by turning water
from the White river, near Buckley, down
a 4OO-foot declivity into the Stuck river,
not far from Puyallup. The original plan
of the company mentioned was to utilize
one large lake, called Taps, as a storage
basin for the accumulation of water to use
during the low stages of the river in sum-
mer, but Baker, when he bought up the
privileges of the old company, enlarged the
scope of its original design, so as to pro-
vide for a series of seven impounding
basins, or lakes, connected by canals, the
total area of which equaled many times
the area of Lake Taps, and which would
lmpound enough water for the continuous
operation of a plant producing 100000
horsepower through the twelve months Of
each year. The confguration of the coun-
try lent itself to the plan.
HE BEGINS OPERATIONS
Having completed his specifications and
estimates, Baker began preliminary work
on the colossal enterprise, which he figured
would cost fully 100000 by the time it
was completed. He put gang of $50 men
to work clearing off large tracts of land
for the impounding basins and connecting
canals, and erected buildings for the use
of the officers of the company and the
construction gangs. Experimental cuts
were also run into abutting banks to
ascertain their composition, with q view
TO cutting through them with steam shov-
els.
In addition to the lands which he had
acquired from the White River Power
company, Baker secured by purchase other
large tracts necessary for the carrying out
Of his enlarged scheme.
Many thousands of dollars were spent
in this way, when the Boston schemers
FOR l. = L..
eXasperating work of obstruction. A man
ager named Mitchell, slick and clever in
dividual, began to quietly buy up land on
the White river seven miles below where
Baker had established himself for the
Tacoma Industrial Company" which was
merely the Stone & Webster combine.
What Mitchell wanted of this land was
soon made clear. Suit was filed against
Baker, charging him with an intention to
injure the rights of the Tacoma Indus
trial Company" by diverting water from
the White river winch the plaintiffs al
legged they needed for their own business
just below, in generating electric light and
power.
OBSTRUCTIVE TACTICS
A further complaint was that Baker
wanted to condemn part of the property
OF the Tacoma Industrial Company in
order to build his waterway. The com,
plainants denied that he had the right Of
condemnation under the constitution of
the state, Baker claimed that he had.
The case was fought out in the lower
court, Judge Huston presiding. The de-
cision was favorable to Baker, the judge
holding that he had a right to divert water
for his purposes.
The Stone Webster attorneys ap-
pealed to the state supreme court, so as to
further embarrass Baker and prevent him
from completing his plant, while at the