Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-05-02
OUR WATER POWER ASSETS,

From the Montpelier Journal.)
A recent issue OF the Manchester Union
contains an article an the available water
powers of Now Hampshire. by Charles F.
| Bowen.
The article opens with the following
sta tement:
The thesis OF this article is the folly
of lining with gold the pockets of the
coal operators while allowing vast wastes
of energy to continue within the State.
New Hampshire is unfortunate as regards
It's coal supply. True, 1t has vast areas
Of wooded land. but it has no coal fields.
Every pound OF that fuel which is con-
sumed in the furnaces OF the State is
brought in from some OF the great min
ing States.
TO indicate the possibilities for good
sized commercially valuable. easily-d
veloped sites on the various streams OF
New Hampshire. an attempt has been
made, for the ilrst time so completely, to
make species of a photographic survey
TO show the amount of waterpower at
present being developed, and that which
II Is really economically wasteful to leave
undeveoped al the present prices of other
fuels"
The power possibilities of New Hamp-
shire streams including developed and un-
developed power Is given as $4,000 horse
power. In 1905 the Census Bureau made
report on the number of water powers
OF l'un horse power or over In the var
ious States Of the Union and the total
horse power developed in each. In this
list New Hampshire is credited with SO
water powers and a total developed
horse power of 1876
Vermont is accredited with a consider.
ably larger number Of water powers. L.
las but the developed horse power Is
given - III, 90. a little below that Of New
Hampshire. Nine States OF tho Union ex-
coed Vermont according 70 the Census
Bureau report In number Of water powers
az follows: Alabama, l.ss2: Georgia. 1886:
Maine. log; Massachusetts, 1870; New
York, al%S; North Carolina. 2.sl4: Pennsyl.
vania. S,721: Tennessee, 1873; Virginia, D.
a43 Ten States report more developed
horse power than Vermont as follows.
California. %iS.744: Maine S4a096. Massa-
chusetts. $50, Sc; Michigan. 2fG.ol9: New
Hampshire. 1916; New York, $751; >
oregon, 2ai,27S; Pennsylvania go, 9so
South Carolina. 37.242; Wisconsin. 2oO,sl6
'''S """"AHs iot vermont IL not one
of which her citizens need be ashamed
In his article MIR. Bowen says
every estimate OF power in the table
accompanying this article must be re-
sarded as conservative. There Is no doubt
that the actual development In many
cases would exceed that given and it
might seem unfair to exclude from con-
sideraton the hundreds OF plants of Is.
90, 81, 100 30, 800 horsepower that are
scattered along the banks Of SO many OF
The rivers OF New Hampshire. However,
taxing these facts into account and the
additional one that the powers given are
not maximum developments, II will be
regarded as fair II we assume that our
waterpowers are capable Of producing
100000 horsepower, anyway. On the as
sumption. then. that New HampshiYe's
rivers can be depended upon for this
amount of power. what does II mean to
the people in dollars and cents
Taking twenty tons Of coal as the
amount necessary to produce one horse
power OF energy tor twenty-four hours
per da> Tor one year Ia very low esti-
mate) ana translatins the horsepower
OF III. waterfalls into coal. II means that
they are as valuable 10 New Hampshire
as coal mines able to give up 6uJo Nv
tons OF coal per year.
stating this fact in dollars and cents
Il means that with coal at 81 per ton,
we should have an annual development
from the waterfalls which If produced
from coal would cost US NS.0W.0W. And