The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-06-02
THE POWER OF WATER.

Those who look into the future with
prophetic eyes predict that an age of
water-power is dawning. They point
wisely towards the great water-power
developments already completed or in
course Of construction all over the
world, from the rivers of Maine to
the canyons Of California, from Alas
ka to Argentine and from the Kash-
mir Valley in India to the outlet of
victoria Nyanza in Africa. And they
beck up their arguments with the
statement that coal will be exhausted
early in the next century and that
mineral oil and natural gas will van
ish with the coal.
Amid all this prognosticating and
arguing arises host of questions
about this water-power, which is to
Keep us from freezing in the next CEN
tury, to turn the wheels of our indus
tries, to prepare the food and to run
our vehicles.
Every stream Of running water,
from the trout brook sporting through
the farm meadows to the largest riv-
ers' Is capable Of producing more or
less power. A hundred years ago.
when steam-power was still in its in
fancy. water-power was quite extern
sively developed in this country. but
the steam engine, with cheap wood
and coal fuel quickly reached the
practical stage and the old "over-
shot" and "under-shot" water wheels
were abandoned. Up to a few, years
ago 1t was not practical to develop
most water-power because this power
had to be utilized on the spot and
very naturally the very best water
falls were located in the wilderness,
scores of miles away from the sea-
ports, the railroads and the cities
which needed It, But the invention of
the electric transformer changed all
this and made 1t possible to transmit
this energy for hundreds of miles
without serious loss.
The power of water is greater than
any one without experience can i'm
agine. For many Of US have. when in
swimming, struck the water a sharp
blow with the fiat Of the hand, or,
when learning to dive, struck the wa
ter fiat instead Of head first, only to
learn that the liquid offered consider
able resistance.
stream from fireman's hose will
knock man down. The jet from a
nozzle in placer mining in the West
eats away large piece of land in a
day and toys with great boulders as
II they were pebbles.
There Is story of an eastern
blacksmith who went west and made a
bet that he could knock hole through
the jet Of one Of these nozzles with a
sledge hammer. He lifted his arms,
swung the sledge and came down on
the ten-inch stream with a force that
would have dented an anvil. But the
let. never penetrated. whisked the
massive hammer out of the black
smiths hands and tossed 1t several
hundred feet away into the debris Of
gcld-bearing gravel beneath a crumb-
ling cliff.
There is q power plant near Du-
range, Colo, where United States
cavalryman one day thought he had
an easy job in cutting a two-inch
stream with his sword. He made a
valiant attack. The result was that
his sword was shivered in two and his
wrist broken.
A little thinner jet of water de-
scending 1900 feet to a mandatory
at Grenoble. Spain, and travelling at
the moderate speed of 100 yards a
second. fractures the best blades Of
Toledo.
If IT were possible to surround a
battleship with an inch sheet Of wa
ter of sufficient velocity it would ward
off the largest bomshells better than
the best steel plate.
Water-power represents heat ener-
gy. The water Is drawn up into the
nj hxy< <ho ~ fho do
posted on the distant mountains in
the form Of rain. This water spends
this acquired energy in racing down.
hill, back to the sea. Water wheels
are but devices to catch and utilize
this energy, which ordinarily is vast