The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-03
0trmunt 0aatthman.
vERMONT'S "wHITE COAL"

oIdJ6 water supply OOllullSSlOuy
submitted to Governor Hughes and
the State Legislature yesterday, esti.
mates that at present 100000 horse
power, having an annual rental value
of $15,000,000 is running to waste in
New York. 1t is estimated that
100000 horsepower can be devel-
oped ultimately on the interior
streams of the State without count
ing the Niagara and the st. Law
renee. This is equal to nearly one
third of all the water power in use
in the United States and is sufficient
to displace all the power now derived
from coal.
Believing TIL: # properly controlled
a vastly greater market for electric
ity may be developed the commits
sion proposes four grcat storage res
ervoir projects for power develop
ment and food control These in
clude the Sacandaga and Schroo1
Lake reservoirs in the Hudson re-
gion, the Portage reservoir on tie
Genesee and the Upper Lake res
ervoir on the Raquette, Other in
vestigatiors have been made Oh the
Oswego, Black and Oswegatchie wa
tersheds and along the Salmon,
Grasse, st. Regis, Chateaugay Chahy,
Saranac, Ausable, Boquet, Susque-
hanna, Chenango and Allegany riv-
ers. The most ambitious plan in
cludes constructing a dam at Conk
lingville, on the Sacandaga River, fifty
miles north of Albany and six miles
above the confluence of the Sacanda
ga and the Hudson, a storage reser-
voir with a capacity of 10000 100000
cubic feet, converting thirty miles of
the present river valley into an arti
fetal lake as large rs Lake George.
The estimated cost, with power de-
velopment, is $4,650,000 The total
fixed charges and cost of maintain
ance are set at $237,70O, the estimated
annual gross earnings are $427 500,
which leaves an estimated annual net
revenue of $1S9,S00 for the State. If
these figures are accurate the cost of
the reservoir would be paid in fifty
years, leaving an immensely valuable
property in the States possession.
The estimated cost of the Portage
reservoir and dam is $4,51S,000.
There are many large manufacturing
cities and towns near the sites of
these proposed reservoirs, assuring
a large market for electric power.
Even more ambitious j.: the plan
proposed for the little mountain re-
public of Switzerland, which was
described by Frederic c. Howe in an
article in recent number of the
Outlook in an article entitled THE
White Coal of Switzerland By
means of State control and develop
ment of the water powers of that
country it is proposed to furnish
cheap power to the farmer as well
as to the city dweller. Mr.. Howe
says The public authorities have
already carried electric power into
the most obscure villages, to the
cottages and the home of the poorest
peasant farmer. Over ninety per
cent of the townships have light and
power at their doors and more than
two-thirds of the people have them
available for their use. Not only are
the cities lighted by electric power,
but the smallest villages and coun
try districts as we'll. In some dis
tricts the country roads are lighted
for miles and miles. In time all Of
Switzerland will be illuminated by
means of the water power of the
mountain sides The writer then
trio motors into the country homes
where the hand loom is used for the
manufacture of lace and embroidery,
and matchmaking. On the farms
grain can be threshed, butter churn-
ed, food for cattle cut, and water
pumped by electric power as well
as the performance Of a great variety
of other operations.
The construction and operating
costs of steam, gas, petrol and water
electric power on basis of four
horse power motor, 5000 working
hours a year, is given in the Outlook
as follows: Steam, $657; gas, $475;
petrol, $465; water electric power
$191. The cost per horse power hour
is: Steam, SAG cents gas, 800
cents; petrol, 3.OS cents; water cleo
trio power, 1.59 cents. On this basis
it is claimed that the generation Of
electricity from water power will
cut down the light and fuel bills OF
the Swiss people from fifty to ninety
five per cent
Vermont, which is more than hal
as large as Switzerland, must have
relatively as much white coal" d:
the Alpine republic possesses. The
last Legislature provided for an in
vestigation of the water resources o
the State in conjunction with thu
United States Geological Surve.I
and for this purpose $1,000 was ap
propriated for the year 1909 and |
similar amount for 1910. This is