Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-24

and IL foot fall is unsatisfactory for
the modern uses of a water power.
Again, water power win its ~ feet
fall would be inadequate for a mill
which the owners would like to build.
1t develops about horsepower
with a IL feet fall, and if the dam
can be raised the other seven feet,
giving 10 feet, it would increase the
horsepower to 5000. being an increment
of 20OO-horsepower. 1t cannot be done
in any other way. Two Thousand
horsepower, If we are to conserve our
water power is no unimpOrtant mat
ter The general average flow of the
Kennebec river will presumably be In
creased in the years to come and the
amount of water power gathered will
be somewhat more than that. How
much that 200O-horsepower is worth
to the State now it is not easy to state.
1t is quite natural to compute our wa
ter powers in terms of coal, and that
will be done more and more in the
future A horsepower is worth, ac-
cording to the common use OF steam,
not less than 10 tons of coal per horse
power per year; so that 2OO0-horse-
power would be equivalent to 10000
tons of coal. We are apt to think OF
our water powers as coal savers. That
is lust what they are. They are per-
petual coal miners, and 1t might De
suggested that by the waste OF water
power like this, we are sunerlng
loss to the State of Maine OF 2O'ooo
tons of coal per year. This ought not
to be done unless there are good rea-
sons for it.
The matter of f1owage, as l state. Is
amply taken care of under the common
law. except so far as the question OF
this Canaan Power Company is con-
cerned This is situated upon slde
stream coming from the east, having
drainage area of about IS square miles
and a small bondage. It's total value
under the normal flow, would be less
than nine horsepower per foot or fall.
There is a development belonging to
this same Canaan Power Company. l I'M
derstand, further up the river, and then
one near the point at which we come
in contact having about 10-foot fall,
and below this there is another fall. OF
about nine, feet which is unutltlzedi
which was not taken in in the former
developments of this power, which was
some time ago, nor has it been taken
in during the contemplated Improvement
of it, which l think Senator MllIlken
stated was i'm 1904, when they obtained
the charter. They have not taken it.
they have not utilized it.S The raising
of this Shawmut Dam would flood this
to the extent of something like five feet,
taking perhaps half of it. / readily ad-
NIT. that in taking half. they may as
we'll take the whole, for if it is doubtful
whether they can afford to develop for
the whole they certainly could not de-
velop for a half And so they are de-
yeloping the water power to the extent
Of taking the whole of this undeveloped
power Now this power. if we take the
whole of it as nine feet. and nine horse
power per foot. makes 81 horsepower
that will go to waste in not conserving
the 1000 horsepower that comes into
the Kennebec River
Might does not make right. A large
power ought not to stand in the way of
the development of a smaller one. and
yet with our knowledge of water powers
We very we'll know that the day of the
small water power has gone by. In the
early days of the country they needed to
develop these little powers because they
did not require much power and they
needed them to grind the grist and to
saw the lumber, and for other domestic
uses, and all that sort of thing; but that
thing is done more largely by steam now,
with greater economy, and a sawmill
may be set up in the immediate vicinity
of toy nj INV
is only in the larger way that water
power is valuable, and 1 know as we'll
as I know anything that it will not pay
to develop that water power.
1t is perhaps not in the business of
the legislative department.. but l think
it may in it's judgment. say that here
is an impracticable scheme.-that it
would not pay to use that. l know
we'll enough that that water power new
er would be developed on it's merits. If
it is to be developed at all, it will be
developed to hold up against this larger
development. and in shutting this off, as
we undertake to do by this statute, we
simply hold them up from doing some-
hing which ought not to be done. We
do not deprive them of any moral right
"iiSH luey nave. we 10 NOT deprive
them Of any right to make money, for it
would be a financial risk and loss, rath-
er than financial benefit, for then to
do this thing. 1t does not seem to me
that we are exceeding our righs in say
ing to these people, you have had this
property all the time, long enough to
enable you to develop it. We granted
you In the year 1904 charter to extend
your rights so you could develop cleo
tricity somewhere within your region,
but in the five years that have elapsed
you have not taken advantage of that
charter and now comes in a larger COM
pany which wants to do larger thing
and to do it more Immediately, and YOU
shall not stand in their way. If YOU
had wanted to improve this, you should
I nave done it. You have had ample
time. You could only do it by our
granting to you right of eminent do
main. and that right you have not ex-
ercised. and consequently we recall it
and give it to this larger company who
propose to do something; and if thew
do not do something in the next five
years. we will again / believe have n
right to deprive them Of their charter
and give it to someone who would act
so far as the constitutional question