Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-02-10
MUCH WATER POWER
GOING I0 WASTE
Iowa People Allowing Millions
of Dollars to Float Down Its
Streams Unclaimed
MUCH MONEY GOING TO WASTE
Railroad Commissioner ketchum Points
Out How Streams Of Iowa Could Be
Turned to Greater Profit-Points to
keokuk as an Example Of What May
Be Accomplished.
Special to Times-Republlcan.

Special TO Times Republican.
Des Moines. Feb. 10.-"The state
of Iowa is allowing millions of dollars
to float to waste down it's rivers and
all ii has to do to get that wealth is
to reach out and take it, This is the
statement of State Railroad Commits
sioner n. S. Ketchum.
"rhe fact is, continued Mr.. ket-
chum. :that the rivers of this state
could supply all the light, practically
all the power and most of the heat in
the state if they were only turned to
that end. This state is covered with
mill streams. as they used to say in
the old days. Take the Des Moines
river. From one end to the other it
ought to be used for power, light and
heat Look at the Mississippi on one
border and the Missouri on the other.
The water floating past the state rep
resents just that much energy ready
to be converted into power. light or
heat.
Look at keokuk and what they are
trying to do. There is enough power to
be obtained right there at keokuk to
run every street car in the state of
Iowa and light all the cities. Give
this matter a little thought and any
one will be convinced Of the enormity
of the proposition. There ought to
be a syndicate with millions Of capital
to build dams here and there along
the rivers and supply the state with
power and light.
My attention was called to the
matter by travelling about the state
and seeing SO many places where steam
is being used when water power ought
to be used. Look at this new electric
line up to Fort Dodge. That line
should be operated entirely by cleo
tricity from water power. The line is
close to the Des Moines river most
of the waya There at Frazier they
have gone and erected a big fine power
plant for steam. They have 1t there
close to the source Of coal supply.
The plant is directly over the coal
mine and the coal is hoisted from the
ground and shoveled into the fur
naces without being transported. This
is a very fine idea but that power
plant stands almost exactly where
they ought to have dam across the
Des Moines river and get their power
for next to nothing.
cover at Peterson. Iowa, there is a
little mill dam running a mill. 1t is
idle at night, just when it ought to
be lighting the streets of the town
and furnishing electric heat possibly
for the homes. There is hardly an
a river or close enough to river
that it could utilize the water power.
1t is not necessary that the dam be at
the city. 1t can frequently be two
miles up or down the stream. There
is the town of Ackley, a fine little
town. 1t ought to get power and light
from a dam either at Iowa Falls or
Steamboat Rock.
'"There never was a proposition pre-
sented to me that seemed to nave
greater possibilities than this. If was
a man of wealth I would like nothing
better than to invest in a syndicate to
build dams all over Iowa. Iowa is full
of good rivers No need to name them.
They are everywhere. Electric energy
can be transmitted almost any dis
mitted across the entire state. But
that is not needed for here is the Mis-
sissippi on one side and the Missouri
on the other and the Des Moines river
in the middle with any amount of 9TH
err streams in between these.
''Des Moines is an excellent example
of how money is going to waste down
the river The only use to which the
Des Moines river is being put is by the
Edison Light Company. 1t uses it for
electric light Then there are some ice
companies that cut ice from its sur
face one month Of the year. There Is
enough energy in the Des Moines river
if rightly used to run every factory in
town. A half mile below the Edison
dam another dam could be constructed
that would duplicate the amount of
power from the Edison dam and a half
mile below InaL dHOLlleI cOulu Ue COIl-
structed that would do the same thing
over again and still another could be
constructed above the Edison dam. The
Edison dam Furthermore is not con-
structed to get the greatest amount of
power possible from the stream at one
point.
"Marshalltown, Waterloo, Fort
Dodge. Boone, Iowa Falls. Eldora,
Steamboat Rock. Webster City. Ottum-
wa. Oskaloosa. Sigourney. Knoxville,
and many other towns are either on
streams or are close enough to them to
utilize their power. Iowa of course has
coal in abundance and that is some
thing to rejoice over, but why not util-
iZe the water power and sell the coal
to states that have no water power.
The more think Of the thing the more
reasona BILE seems to me the thought
that Iowa is loosing millions every year
from not utilizing its water power"