The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-08-15
The Genie Of the Aladdin-Like
Creation at Keokuk, Seen in His
Normal Surroundings, a
Master Of Big Things

twenty-five years ago young
man OF twenty-five, keen-eyed, re-
eourceful and far-seeing, possessing
that vision which makes for future
accomplishment, was talking with an
intimate friend, Il have an ambition"
said he, ito do something big in the
vay OF power installation. I am go
Ing to search this earth over for op.
uortunities. expect to scour Europe
and am going down into South
America. Before am middle aged
propose to build successful power
development plant. and to be large
owner in It"
Hugh l. Cooper, chief engineer OF
the Mississippi River Power COM
pany, the controlling genius of the
wonderful construction work going on
at Keokuk, stood, the other day, at a
point Of vantage overlooking the Will
derness OF monolithic structures, arch
ways, derricks, steamshovels and rail-
road trains, constituting the present
conditions and activities Of the site OF
the great hydro-electr1c undertaking
there, and turning to the person at
his side, said, with a comprehensive
sweep Of his hand across the scene Of
intense activity:
and there you are!'
Hugh L. Cooper's boyhood dream
was about to come true. 1t had come
true, In fact.
Going on little farther, where
some towering falsework supported
the finishing touches on the great
lock gate, Mr.. Cooper paused again
and pointing downward to a puddle
Of fresh concrete setting into a mold
that looked to be about ten feet
square, but was In reality forty, said:
There is heart interest for me in
that hardening puddle. When one
has accepted contract to erect two
and two-tenths miles OF solid concrete
structures such as these, and finally
after strenuous twenty-five months
OF time, looks down on patch OF
work like that and realizes that 1t is
the last bit of that two and two
tenths miles, he is inclined to feel
strange thrill OF satisfaction, or relief
or whatever you may call 1t. do not
know how to explain It, but am
tempted to wonder why the thing is
not finished in half an hour"
The Last Link.
The bit Of work upon which Mr..
Cooper and his companion gazed was
the last stretch OF the great wall that
is to turn the Mississippis resistless
power into endless energy for the up
building OF industrial and commercial
prosperity in the middle west. It is
to be the short wall connecting the
great government lock with the dry
dock, completing the long procession
OF archways that bind Illinois to the
Iowa shore. So rapid will be the
work on this section OF the structure
that by the time this article reaches
the eyes Of the newspaper reader it |
will be ready to resist the pressure
of water which is to be turned into
the forebay this week. Asked when
the water would be admitted through |
the Golfer embankments that have
held 1t out for nearly two years, Mr..
Cooper said:
Tt is now race between myself
and the Almighty as to which one Of
us will let that water in, and don't
much care who wins. II the river con-
tinues to rise and pushes those big
cakes OF ice down on the wall, burst
ing It In, we'll and good. can get out
of this hole in forty-eight hours. Let
1t comet"
Thus, with the water racing through
the broken embankment of the Golfer
dam into the foretay that will i'm
pound 1t for the creation Of the power
that Is to turn the turbines, the great
work that has engaged the attention
and engineering skill OF Mr.. Cooper
for five years, will have been finished.
Before and After.
There are two pictures on this
page. One Of them is view of the
Mississippi river from the Iowa bluff,
at the point now covered by the dam
structures, showing the scene on May
81. 1910, just before the first work Of
construction was begun. The second
picture is view of the same locality,
taken from somewhat different
angle, showing the present condition
OF the construction work. 1t was a !
tremendous undertaking which Mr..
Cooper essayed on that spot twenty
two months ago, and the scene as
presented today Is triumph which
VIII make Mr.. Coopers name great
among those of constructive geniuses
OF his times With few people having
faith in the successful outcome of the
great endeayor. he pushed forward |