The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-11
WEALTH IN WATERS
HOW MANKATO COULD BE MADE
INTO FACTORY CENTER.
Utilize the Power That Is Going to
Waste Is in the Minnesota River
An Interesting and Instructive Ad-
dress That Was Delivered BY Col
Onel James H. Davidson On the
North Side Last Night.
From Thursdays Daily.


Mankato should not become great
manufacturing center and take her
place among the greater manufactur-
ing cities of the middle west, if the
immense amount of water power Which
lis being allowed daily to waste could
be utilized. This is the belief of
Colonel James II. Davidson of St.
Paul, who last evening spoke before
the Mems club of North Mankato.
Colonel Davidson. is chairman of the
Waterways Commission of Minnesota
and has studied the subject of the improve
ment of waterways, not only in the
various sections of the United States
but in France, Germany and Holland
and speaks from out his vast amount
of knowledge and experience.
Guest of the Mems Club.
Colonel Davidson spoke in response
to an invitation extended by the Mems
club of North Mankato, and this club
had invited in members of the mems
clubs in Mankato. Several hundred
responded and the meeting was held in
the Methodist church on Belgrade aven-
ne.
Colonel Davidson was introduced to
the audience by C. E. Ball. The col
onel is an interesting speaker, and
is well acquainted with his subject,
Deep Water and Proposed Improve
'ment." He pointed out to the audience
the enormous possibilities of the Mime
sofa river, in way many OF them had
not thought of before. No other
state in the Union is more blessed
with waterways than Minnesota. "We
have within our borders three hundred
and four million acres of water, every
acre of which if used to it's best adj
vantage is as valuable as an acre of
the best land. In these lakes is an
immense amount of water power, ut
terly useless as it is at present, which
could and should be used for manu-
featuring purposes"
Estimate of the Power.
According to the estimates of the
Great Northern Development associa-
ton and the electrical department of
the university of Minnesota, the pow
er which could be obtained from the
rivers of Minnesota, if properly con-
served and converted into electrical
power, would produce 100000 sixteen
candle power lights per annum or
about three such lights for every
man, woman and child in the state, or
lii none was used Tor lights or in COM
merce but was converted into heat,
it would produce heat equivalent. 70
that produced 10y burning 100000
tons of coal in an ordinary stove or
|if used i'm an electrical oven, the
equivalent OF 2O,9OO,OOO tons of coal
ANNUALLY.
In the year 1908 there was con-
sumed in the United States 5SO,OOO,OO0
tons of coal. AT this rate the entire
coal supply of the United States win
be consumed by the year 2,O03.
Problem of Harvesting Water
Then this problem of Harvesting the
water power which is now being was
ted and converting into heat, light and
power will become real one. But in
order to have a sufficient flow of water
throughout the year to furnish this
power, the water which pours into the
rivers in the springs causing disastrous
floods must be turned into immense res
ervOirs have already been made but
many more must be made. Every city
which wishes to prosper should avail
itself of all available water power.
The utilization of the water power
has been the great cause of Minneapo-
lis great growth and prosperity and
could as easily be the cause of many
other cities situated on the river IN
our state.
Wool produced in Wyoming, Mon
tana and Minnesota is sent to New
England to be manufactured, is then
shipped back and sold to the very
people who produced it. This wool
should stop in Minnesota, be manu-
featured in Mankato or some other
lefty as favorably situated and sent
down the valley as manufactured
product.
State Should Gain Control
A most important point is for the
state to gain control of the desirable
water sites before the trusts and cor
porations have gobbled them all up.
Not few of them have already been
taken by far-sighted corporations which
are able to appreciate the enormous
benefit TO be received from them No
man or group of men should be al
lowed to gain control of these. Such
natural resources are God given
gifts which should be regulated by
the state and delivered to the people
at reasonable prices.
But the production of power is not
the only important phase of this
question. An equally important one
is the question of transportation. The
cost of transportion is a phase which
is of interest not alone to the manu-
facturers and merchants but to every
person who must buy goods shipped
from another part of the country.
(, Transportation by water is always
from one third to onehalf cheaper
than by rail. 1t must necessarily be
slower, but for many kinds of heavy
freight, as cement, iron, molasses, ETC..
| that would be no drawback and by
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