The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-01-04

tee representa- /, the commercial club
OF Fort Madison, which visited Keo-
Euk to confer with Chief Engineer
Hugh l.. Cooper on Monday. was sub
mitted at the regular meeting of that
organization last evening.
TO the Commercial Club: Your
committee, appointed to confer with
Mr.. H. L. Cooper, report that on
Monday, January End, 1911, the
members of the committee went to
Keokuk to confer with Mr.. Cooper;
w. G. Cross, Mayor of Burlington
Mr.. Egan, secretary O. the Burlington
Commercial club, and Mr.. Canning
who were going to Keokuk upon the
same Grand
Upon the arrival o. our train at
Keokuk. We were met by Nj Coop
ers private secretary and three auto
mobiles, in which we we're driven to
the office of the Water Power COM
pany. Immediately after arriving
there and meeting Mr.. Cooper, he
suggested that we leave at once for
the work on the Illinois side. We
drove over to the site OF the dam
We walked over the work, saw the
commencement OF the dam, the big
concrete mixer, which is being con-
structed, saw a number of large
dump carts, which have been pur-
chased, and much materiala Many
men were at work. We returned to
the Iowa side. and dismounting from
the automobiles walked for mile
and a half or two miles up the Iowa
side, were a great deal of excavat-
ing has been done, where three miles
of railroads has been built, many bunk
houses built for the men, and much
material was on the ground. There
are now six hundred and fifty men
employed, and by June LIST there will
be two thousand at work Re-enter-
ing the automobiles, which had been
sent around by the road to meet us,
we had fast and chilly ride back to
the office of the company, where we
had very satisfactory interview
with Mr.. Cooper He showed us
photographs of other power plants
that he had constructed in Brazil, in
Canada and in this country.
"Mr. Cooper stated that the dam
would cause pool, or lake, which
would extend mp the river for sixty
five miles from the dam: that it was
the desire of the company to sell as
much of the power to the people
close in and on this pool as possible
that the company had recently
turned down a very advantageous
contract in St Louis for twenty-five
thousand additional horse power, be
and forty thousand horse power fol
the people on this pool. that the
dam would be finished by July list
1918.
"Mr. Cooper suggested that while
it was not desirable to attempt to
start boom, and that the best way
was to build up our towns gradual!
and solidly, that we should organize
during this winter and prepare oul
campaign to secure factories. He
stated that water power of no greater
magnitude than the Keokuk dam sup
ported population Of two million
and a half in Switzerland, and tina
within twenty years we should have
seven or eight hundred thousand PEG
pie along this pool or lake, sixty-fiv'
miles in length. He warned us tina
! If the people inflated real estate val
ues so that factories could not oh
tain sites at reasonable figures, that i
would retard our growth and defea
our object our desire.
HE suggested that we emplo.
some expert, getting a good man ant
paying him "a good salary, to famil
! iarize himself with our town its re
sources the kind of factories TO
which it was best adapted etc., ant
then to visit eastern manufacturer
and attempt to induce them to locate
here. He said that the Power com
pany would do it's share in the EN-
ployment of such man.
MIR. Cooper has invited us to cal
frequently and see the work, cali a
his office; offered to give lis such in
formation as he can at any time, ant
to help US in any possible way.
AT this time he is unable to stat,
the exact cost per horse power, bu
told us that We could assure manu-
features that the power would b,
very much cheaper than any othe
power they could possibly get, ant
would be as low. or lower than tn,
power furnished by Niagara Falls I,
the manufacturers Of Buffalo and vi
entity.
The first installation OF the dar