The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-06-28

The city OF st. Louis is almost as
sm'J.h interested in the Keokuk water
power project, as is keokuk, for the
reason that tentative contracts have
been let to supply St. Louis with a
great deal of the electrical output Of
the plant and because Mr.. Powellson.
formerly head Of the Union Electric
Company Of that place is now q part
ner with Mr.. Cooper in the undertak-
ing.
In the Republic Of Sunday. full
page is devoted to the project. en-
bellished with picture Of the COM
plete dam and lengthy description Of
the project, which is most interesting
reading matter.
At the present time there are no
new developments in the matter, the!
/ situation being one OF anticipation.
Z The return Of engineer Ropes to the
east after spending number Of days
here on tour Of investigation, is ex-'
pected to be followed within a very
few days, by an announcement that
bis employers will invest In the propo-
sition and that Meesrs. Cooper AMI
Powellson have succeeded in securing
the $15,000,000 needed to build the
plant.
The lengthy article In the st. Louis
Republic is reprinted complete, As
follows: ss ss ass
j xsrrom 81, IL o{,is Republic. June 27.
S VIZ
r,,an second greatest water-power
,,..-c.Ict In the United States for st.
Louisto run the street cars, factor
fes, furnish light for homes, buildings
and streets. That is the sum total OF
the Keokuk project, where the
s15,000,OOO dam is to be built at the
foot Of the famous Des Moines rapids,
& beginning the coming autumn,
n Taking into consideration the
worlds great engineering feats, the
n & Nile dam, Niagara, the New York City
reservoirs, the plans looking to the
completion Of the dam at Keokuk. Ia,
y compare favorably and SO immense is
this project that hundreds of men will
pleted; thousands Of tons Of masonry
and materials will be hauled from
seven states in the U MON and much
will be learned OF the things to be met
with in "harnessing the Mississippi
hitherto a feat practically unattempt-
ed by mankind.
To imagine the street cars OF St
! Louis being operated with power de-
veloped almost 200 miles away, to tele
phone from one part of the city by the
aid OF power generated by the falls OF
the Mississippi at one Of the points
considered in upper river" territory
IS perhaps. step forward in progress
the average ST. ,Iouisan has not look
ed for. at least until the present cen
tury has scrambled out of knee pants
To imagine giant turbines throbbine
through the long day and night at Keo
kuk to enable St Louis people te
cook breakfast on electric stoves are
phases of Twentieth Century possibili
ties which seldom enter the house
wifes head, though the Keokuk plans
are more than mere possibilities. We
are assured that work will begin OF
the huge dam before the year is up.
It is dam that will be over 5000
feet in length; 1t will be thirty fee
above low water mark; eight months
Of the year this monster plant, made
possible by the erection of the dam
will send over 100,000-horse powe
throbbing down immense cables to th'
y City of st. Louis for cars, telephones
\ cooking and lighting the homes an,
running the wheels and looms OF man,
+ factories. The gorge through whic'
A the rapids run is ia miles long, an
Of solid limestone foundation. TIL
average fall within distance Of fiv
miles is about twenty feet unde
natural conditions, and the dam vii
increase this force greatly when erec'
ed It is a dam that will give 10000
morse power at minimum. It VII
supply a territory inwhich over 5000
700 people live. one of the riches
agricultural anG industrial areas i
the United States
Making Rapids Valuable.
The Des Moines rapids in the Miss
lssippi River have long been gree
mpediment to river traffic. The Uni
So states Government many years ag
quilt locks at Keokuk for the purpos
y lfting water craft over the rapid
an order that they might continu
.nelr voyages up stream. 1t is sal
mat the dam at Keokuk will not onl