The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-11-03
FACT VERSUS FICTION.

FACT VERSUS FICTION.
The Quincy Herald of recent date
had an article in reference to the
project that in point OF misinforma-
ton and false assumptions outdoes
anything heretofore printed concern
ing the great enterprise. If the wri-
ter had deliberately set about to
mislead his readers on all points in
volved in the matter he could hardly
have achieved a larger degree of sue
cess.
The article begins with the assump-
ton that the keokuk Water Power
Company is beginning to have trouble
from outside thrust upon it, because.
as is alleged, 'the Lsclede Electric
! Company of St. Louis IS seeking TO
have the contract for power with the
dam company annulled" The refer
ence is to statements in an article
I published in the ST. Louis Globe
Democrat and reproduced in. full in
The Gate City. The article In the
Herald goes on to say:
J
4 in certain quarters that the building
OF the dam was premature. and that
while eventually a demand might
spring up for power which would
make the construction of this great
water power a legitimate one. this
| demand at the present time was not
a sufficiently pressing one to warrant
the enormous expense attaching TO
In ~ ,s,t.- lla, -t<ar
across the Mississippi by private
capital"
Consequently it is no great sur
prise that this statement from St.
Louis is received. 1t does not re-
4 fleet upon the real worth of the
water company's project, but it does
seem to imply that the construction
of the dam at this time is prema-
iture. Like in many other projects
which are considered desirable, at
some future time, capital is loatf
to commit itself until vital need
make, itself felt.
The Keokuk dam and the deep wa
terway from lake to gulf are in
4 thu same category. There is no
question but that they are both very
worthy projects, yet until there is
an actual pressing demand for them,
it is doubted if either will be car
RED through to final completion"
4 The foregoing extracts contain the
gist of the Herald's article Now
mark how plain a tale shall put them
down:
]. Instead of the demand being in
sufficient at the present time to war
rant the expense of constructing the
dam by private capital, it was and is
sufficiently pressing to induce cap
italists to invest over s2o,000,00o In
it. Instead OF being an academic prop
osition, the project was fully and
finally financed months ago and the
actual work of construction has been
in progress since January 10, last.
It is further to be said in reference
TO the demand for power and in jus
LITIGATION Of private capital undertake
ing to develop it that enough power
has already been contracted to make
the enterprise commercially profitable.
Enormous as is the expense of the
undertaking, the demand for the pow
er being developed Is such as to war
/ rant completion at the earliest pos
| sibe date as the contracts on file
abundantly attest.
II What the Laclede company of
St Louis wants to do or may do or
may leave undone cuts no figure
whatever in the matter The Keokuk
and Hamilton Water Power company
is not concerned one way or the 9th
er, because its contract for power for
! ST Louis is with the Mississippi Riv-
er Distributing Company a wholly
l solvent corporation, to which it will
deliver the power and from whom IT
will receive its pay The matter OF
4 distributing the current to various
companies in st. Louis is matter
2 within the province of the latter
: named company and concerns 1t alone.
, Even if the Mississippi River Distrib-
uting Company should release the La
clede Company from its contract the
s Distributing company would lose a
I customer for only 5000 Of the 10000
/ horse power 1t has contracted for
e and It would have no difficulty what
1t ever in disposing of It to other com
81 panies which expect TO make use OF
W the power generated here.
O. a charitable view Of the matter is
'e that the author Of the article in the
tx Herald undertook to write on sub.
se 1ect with which he was not familiar
# and that he made the further mis-
ut take of drawing sweeping conclusions
e. from insufficient and incorrect data
IL Instead of there being an insufficient
Or demand Tor power to warrant tbs
u construction of the dam, as he as
sumes,the only insuffciency, 1T is plair