Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-01
JOURNAL TRAVELLER
IN SECOND DISTRICT
Business, Politics and Gossip From the
Note Book Of a Wide Awake News
Artist on the Road.

I ing room. Here President Bacon of
the Construction Co. himself sets up
and prints circulars, advertising copy
and booklets TO advertise the plants.
These have original designs drawn by
Mr.. Bacon, who was a draughtsman
of the Bath Iron Works before estab-
fishing this boat business for himself
a dozen years ago and the typograph-
zeal work is equal to that from more
pretentious publishing houses. In his
booklets the cuts stand out clearly
and the reading matter is all in prop
er form.
Getting Lightning Out of the Sea.
II was. by the way. off the wharf of
the Marine Construction Co, that last
summer the model of the patent OF the
Macdonald tidal power patent was
demonstrated. The model was built by
9tblic-spirited Bath men to prove that
ocean tides can be utilized for contin-
uous power for the driving of industri-
al power. The Macdonald system is so
simple that wnen one evening last sum-
nler Governor Plaisted was shown the
model in operation he remarked Il am
amazed that no one ever thought of the
plan before" The idea in practice for
industrial power is to dam two eoves
leaving one empty and allow the other
20 fill while the tide is running up.
When the full high tide is on. the water
in this cove is as high as the tide and
when that tide starts to run out the
automatic gates of this cove close shut
ting back the water for use. 1t is used
by being led through a main upon
the machinery. The waste water runs
off into the empty cove whence it dis
charges automatically by a gate into
the river or sea at low tide and on the
return Of the tide this gate automati-
cally closes while the gate in The water
cove opens to admit the tide.
In the model. there was a partition
dividing the big tank into eompart-
ments. one representing the full cove
the other the dry one. The turbine
wheel in the dry part received the wa
ter from the fun one and turned an up
right steel bar which revolving kept
ribbons flying continuously night and
day for three months or more, showing
that the principle was correct The
plan was to harness the Kennebec tide
Fl Winnegance Creek at the south end
Of Bath, and two factories, one for
shoes and another for making utensils
for Ten Cent Stores stood ready to
come to this city whenever the power
should be obtained from the system.
There has been difficulty in finance
Ing the proposition and the leader of
the New Jersey Co which has the pa
tent was taken i'll so that this scheme
for Baths Industrial advancement is
still waiting. The cost of the needed
dams to obtain an estimated 1900 horse
power at Winnegance has been placed
at 100000. but the Macdonald people
would, they said. give the first mill to
run here through the use of this power
practically free power forever. Wizard
Edison, shown the model i'm operation
stated that he thought the Macdonald
people We're ION the right track"
Sooner or later the coast of Maine will
be using the tides of the sea to obtain
practically perpetual power out of the
rise and fall of the ocean tides for the
development of industrial power and
the storage Of electricity with all its
uses.
New and Bio Industry for Bath.