Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-20

are retorts to recover the waste products,
acetate of lime and wood alcohol which
are sufficiently valuable to pay the expenses
of the entire charcoal plant.
in what is called the Sudberry region Of
Canada, and smelter was erected there
and put into operation in 1902.
Several saw mills and veneer mills were
set up to utilize the hardwood timber that
could not be used for paper and was too
good for charcoal. The veneer mill is the
only one in Canada and ships nearly all Its
product to England.
they were the best that could be obtained:
he installed an automatic unloader operated
by electric power on the docks TO transfer
the cargoes from the holds of his vessels to
his furnaces. His docks are said to be alb
solutely perfect everything about them
being of the most modern patterns and on
the most expensive scale.
Extensive Power Plant.
His power plant is one Of the most COM
plete and extensive ever erected. On the
Michigan side Of the river he dug a canal
two and a half miles long. 224 feet wide
and % feet deep-broad and deep enough to
float the largest vessel upon the lakes-and
1t comes in a rapid stream through the CEN
ter of the city, traversng thirteen streets
and being spanned by the same number of
fine steel bridges. At the end Of the canal
the water passes into a power house Of red
sandstone 1850 feet long, 100 feet wide and
125 feet high, built to initiate a Norman
castle. Within 800 turbines develop an en-
ergy equal to 10000 horsepower, which is
applied to eighty dynamos upon the floor
above. This energy may be doubled or
quadrupled at any time more power may be
needed. The plant is built for an ultimate
10000 horsepower, but at present there Is
no demand for 1t.
The canal draws 80 600 cubic feet of water
every second of the twenty-four hours each
day for 1856 days in the year from Lake SUI
perior and at first there was a good deal of
apprehension among the government engi-
neers and vessel men lest 1t should fmperil
the interests Of navigation but Clergue
himself designed a plan to quiet the fears
of the Vessel Carriers Association and In
troduced an arrangement of remarkable in
genuity 1t consists of a monolthic con-
crete breakwater with steel gates, which
may be lowered in six minutes and stop
all flow of water at any time that may be
desired. The gates consist of four leaves
fifty feet long and twenty-eight feet high
suspended from and operating between piers
of solid masonry.
Entitled to Rank as Benefactor.
For the benefit of the employees Of his sew
eral companies and his fellow-townsmen
Clergue introduced electric plant to light
the city and a trolley railway through the
principal streets. He showed practical in
terest In the welfare and prosperity of the
town and Is entitled to rank benefac-
tor. In buying up the old Hudson Bay
Companys station and warehouses for
mill site he restored the ancient block
house and fitted it up for his own residence.
The walls remain they were originally
constructed. with loopholes for the rifles OF
the defenders. The upper and overhangng
walls of logs had to be rebuilt, but the
original design was preserved.
He also rebuilt the original lock con-
structed by the Hudson Bay Company in
1896, by which its boatmen used to haul
their loaded bateux around the rapids of the
river. 1t is one of the most interesting his
torical relics in the country and probably
the first canal lock of Importance.
While Mr.. Clergue's Judgment was doubt
less defective, and while he undertook
great deal more than he could accomplish.
he is nevertheless entitled to high rank
among the empire builders of the west.
One does not necessarily commend all of
his acts while admiring his audacity and
energy. Such men are never perfect and
they often fail. The late Alexander Shop
herd of Washington was a similar type, and
/ am confident that some day, when the
rest of the world has caught up with
Clergue's far-reaching plans, the people of
Sault Ste. Marie will erect a monument to
his honor.