The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-02-02

lu1loH OF the problem which some
persons nave discerned looming up in
that dim, distant future when coal
supply Of the earth sha have been
water power will answer
the conundrum. It Will answer i,
well, too.t even if science should not
devise, meanwhile, some other solu-
1on. The big rivers and the little
streams will be damned again ana
again and their waters will be forced
many times to pass over the buckets
OIL mill wheels or through turbines.
All through the land the plants will b.
established to generate electricity tha.
will run factories and railroads and
trolleys, will light cities and villages
and isolated farm houses. will heat
buildings and furnish heat. also, for
cooking purposes in hotels and private
kitchens. The energy that has zen
allowed to go to waste in the past
Will constitute the most precious pos
session of the race in the coalless day,
.ust as it will be one Of the precious
possessions long before that far off
day, arrives.
1t is q tritie early, perhaps, to specu-.
late upon the effect the cheaper power
will have upon the cost Of LIVING, or,
to put it differently, upon the prices
charged consumers for commodities
now sold under the costlier conditions.
1t is premature, probably, to consider
whether the new power of the
Canadian Pacific will cause the line TO
reduce its rates. Any great cut III
rates is hardly to be expected for a
long while, however. There are a
number Of good reasons for believing
the cut to be renote The or,:,lnal
cost OF electrifying the line, with the
construction Of dams and electric
plants. Will be enormous. The bonds
necessary for this elaborate equip
ment must earn interest and funds
must be accumulated to pay off the
principal OF the loans. Again, the
stockholders whose capital has gone
toward the establishment of the Can
adian Pacific and the construction Of
its property will desire q reasonable
share of the increased profits made
possible by q reduction IN the cost OF
operation, which,, undoubtedly, they
are entitled to. Again, the position
of the American competitors right
across the border must be borne in
mind. Any marked reduction in rates
by the Canadian Pacific would either
attract to that line practically all the
traffic Of the Northwest and SO divert
it from the American competitors, or
it would force the American lines, Op-
Grated under more expensive condi-
tionS. to cut to the same figure,
which might prove disastrous to the
latter. AS long as he American lines
themselves do not lower the rates and
thereby invite the Canadian Pacific to
reduce it's schedule the ger
of the Canadian SyStem-eVen il traffic
agreements and other complicated
considerations did not contrOl-may
be expected to enjoy the high rates,
low cost of operations and heavy
profits for its stockholders. ::
After ali, h question Of rates must
be regarded al present as wholly in
cidental to the main subject, which is
the monumental industrial and
economic revolution involved in the
Canadian Pacific's plans. It is a revo-
luton which shows how fast the world
is moving and how unterrified great
railroad systems are when confronted
by huge problems and projects. Pro
gressive railroads are the most pro-
gressive institutions in all creation.
They are the messengers of civiliZa-
ton, models Of organization, triumphs
of ingenuity and pluck, m%aitainers OF
millions of homes and generators of
prosperity. In some quarters, it is
true, they are bounded like things OF
evil. 1t IS true that, in some direc-
lions. in their desire for growth, they
have not been free from Offense. But,
all the same, their leadership in the
material scheme of the world must be
granted. The Canadian Pacific in its
new plans but gives another lesson in
the greatness OF railroads and the
general wisdom OF their operators. =
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