The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-17

Special to The Journal
Winnipeg, Man, March 17.-The
plans Of the Minnesota Canal and
Power company, which intends to
generate 100, 600 horsepower at Du-
luth, may lead to q protest from the
Ottawa government to- Washington.
The details Of the plan have just been
learned here from the condemnation
proceedings which we're begun in Du-
luth on Feb. Is.
81 1t appears that IT. Is the intention
Of the company to divert to the ST.
Louis river a large volume of water
that naturally belongs in the Rainy
river watershed. It is feared here
that the diversion of this water would
seriously interfere with various Cana
dian and American interests that rely
on the volume Of water in RAINY lake.
Rainy river and Lake of the Woods
in the transaction Of their business.
Power Conapany's Plan.
The water power company alleges
in its suit against owners of land it!
requires for its purposes that it is only
by the diversion Of the waters tribu-
tary to- Birch. lake In Lake county
to the st. Louis that Its great scheme
can be made a success. The volume
of water that annually passes down
enormous, but 1t goesslargely in floods,
SO that at certain times of the year
the power that it, is capable of gem
Grating is small. Storage reservoirs
are. therefore necessary.
I = In the opinion \ of the company's
engineers, Birch lake could be. con-
verified into an admirable reservoir,
and in fact is the only place where
a suitable reservoir can be construct
Cd ,%o L.
from the same swamp, whence astream
flows into st. Louis river. The divide
is nowhere more than thirty feet above
the waters of Birch lake. 1t is in
tended to place a. dam at the outlet
Of Birch lake high enough to turn
it's waters thru the canal the com
pany purposes to dig to connect the
lake with the tributary of the st.
Louis. ''a' -
Would Lower Lakes Level.
The entire watershed of Rainy lake
has an area of $4,000 square miles.
The watershed Of Birch lake covers
something over a. thousand square
miles, or about Z 2per cent of the
drainage area Of Rainy lake. AS the
water in Rainy lake is none too deep
the diversion Of the water on Z per
cent Of it's territory would serlouslry
lower the level Of the lake.
~ In the same way the navigation
interests of Rainy river would be dam
aged, as also Lake OF the Woods, the
river being the chief affluent of the
latter lake. Sawmills located on the
natural outlet of Birch lake will also
suffer. The International Falls Wa
| ter Power company, composed Of
Minneapolis capitalists, which is plan
ming to develop $4,000 water power al
International falls, on the Rainy
would also suffer- seriously if the vol
ume of water flowing into Rainy lake
! were reduced. The Rainy River Lum-
Der company, Minneapolis company
which, has just built big mill on
the Canadian side, opposite Beaudette
would also be damaged. !.
| - An. Appeal to Ottawa.
/ It is stated that the water power
company, the Rainy River Lumber
company, the st. Croix Lumber com.
pany, thH Rat Portage Lumber com.
pany and the Keewatin Power com.
pany, which controls the power al
the outlet of Lake of the Woods, will
unite in a protest to Ottawa against
the proposed action of the Duluth
company. The proposed diversion
would be opposed, it is contended
both to domestic rights within Min.
nesota and to Canada's and American
federal rights in international lakes
and streams. The protest to Ottawa
if unavailing, will likely be followed
by litigation in the federal courts.