The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-02

undertaking at s23 100000. So long
as the Mississippi runs to the Gulf st.
Louis may be certain that its trolley /
cars viii move under plainly OF power
and Its arc lights and incandescents
win blaze steadily.
Men have been dreaming of steal
ing the power OF the Mississippi at
Keokuk since the days OF the Next
can war Away back in 1S4S there was
q Mississippi River Improvement AS
ISOLATION, formed with a capital of
100000. They were going to do
great things with that stretch OF the
river that is still know as the Des
Moines Rapids. Nothing came of it,
though the civil war came and went
without any action being taken.
It was dream that kept Keokuk
alive by looking at the water plunging
down the rapids, drop of twenty-four
feet. They saw the possibilities of
| the water power Then the government
| came along a little later and appar-
! emily shattered the dream. A nine
mile canal was dug around the plung-
ing rapids that had demolished so
many RATS and wrecked so many
steamboats,. Three locks were put in
place, and Keokuk, chagrined, tried
to forget all about its dream OF great
water power.
High bluffs flank the Mississippi at
this point. 1t plunges through a gap
in the native limestone The canal
was hard to build and hard to main
tain. 1t has cost Uncle Sam $4,000
a year to keep it in shape for the di-
minishing river trade. Five years
ago, after numberless appointments
a bill was put through congress, au-
thorizing the building of dam across
the Mississippi. Still there was doubt
1 in Keokuk. The dirt had to begin
moving before the doubters would be-
iieve.
i Across the river from Keokuk is the
little town of Hamilton, H. This will
be the originating point of the cur
rent that will leap through the giant
cables toward St Louis. Following
: the rivers eastern bank, the cables
} will pass through Quincy. Quincy ex-
poets to profit by the enterprise of
her up-river neighbor. A part OF the
horse power from the big turbines
will be used in this Illinois town.
Leaving Quincy the cables will pos
: sibly pass through Alton. This is not
definitely settled, as the builders have
not yet decided whether the line of
power transmission will cross above
q or below the little city on the bluffs.
} There Is strong probability that the
:. power will be brought under the Miss
; issippi in the neighborhood of Elisah,
across the spit of land that separates
the Father of Waters and the Big
t Muddy. under the waters of the Mis-
/ souri, and through the country west
t and northwest of ST Louis, finally
: ending near Florissant
e Still another plan is to have the
D current cross the river below Alton
e and brought more directly to the city
(. from the north.
, When the existing power plants are
} fnylly connected with the tremendous
!, influx from the northern dam there
:. will be the strength of at least $780,
n 600 horses purring in the veining of
d electrical cables that will run to
every part of ST Louis If there is
e need of more it can be had. The dam
t and its generating machinery may be
g expected to furnish more than $50,
e 600 horse power in case there is need
However, it will take some years tc
t raise the entire plant TO its fullest
Y power developing capacity
}, 1t will undoubtedly have tremen
= dous effect on the factory interests O
what has been purely agricultural
D country. The power will be read,
7 for the would-be users, Iowa, North
e ern Missouri and Western Illinois
e have paid but little attention to manu-
IT featuring in the past. The cereal mills
z of eastern Iowa have been WORKING
2. under handicap so far as cheal
o power was concerned. ALI this vii
, be changed as soon as the dam-mile