The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-11-27
MILLIONS OF HORSE
POWER WASTED IN
MISSOURI RIVER
Up to 100000 Horse
Power Could be
Developed.
IS TASK o U. S.
Doanc Robinson Tells Teach.
ers 1t Should be Goal of
congressman.
IS TASK FOR U. S.

SiouXFalis, S. D.-Doane Robin
sons address before the South Da-
kota Educational association TODAY.
upon "Our Great State was devoted
chiefly TO the potential water powers
OF the Missouri. Spending but a mo-
men1 upoa opening @eneralities he
plunged at oncc into The subject.
In the main his address was as fol-
lows:
"Thc Missouri river flows down
through this STATE on Il slope of
about one foot to the hlilc. having
600 feet fall in South Dakota, or al
most as much az has the Mississippi
from the Faiis OF ST. Anthony to the
gulf. More 5Aan three-fifths of this
fall can be harAessed and WE million
horse power developed from it. Can
YOU conceive what Two million
horse power iueans for the develop
ment, prosperity, comfort and happi-
ness OF Il commonwealth?
But You say. if South Dakota can
and viii harness the Missouri, why
may not any other state through
which The great stream flows do like
wise? God has been good to South
Dakota, and has made it possible for
us to harness the river and made it
impossible for the other states to do
so. Therein lies our unique advant-
age.
Once Ran In James Valley.
1T is not necessary for me to tell
the teachers of South Dakota how the
trough of the Missouri was formed,
but -just a word to refreshen your
recollection OF your physical geogra-
ply. Originally and in very remote
times the great trunk stream of the
continent poured its resistless flood
down the James river valley, but the
coming of the ice sheet damned up
the mighty stream and forced its
waters back into a great lake in the
mountains at the headwaters. The
ice sheet continued, its progress
southwark until it reached the pre-
sen line of the Missouri where it
met and was halted by the warm
breath of the Pacific. BY this time
the imprisoned waters We're piled so
high that they burst around the west
edge of the ice and fell into the old
channel in the vicinity of Yankton.
where they began to c2rye out the
new channel, cutting deep into the
%shales, until was eXcavated three
or -four hundred feet deep. the
trough through which the river now
flows.
From the mouth of the Missouri
until we'll up into South Dakota the
trough is from two to five miles or
more in width, presenting a great
flood plain OF Q~uicksand, forty or
fifty feet deep across which it is not
possible to build a dam, within any
reasonable cost, but when the site
of old Fort Randall is reached, near
the south line of South Dakota, the
rim walls of the river trough sud
denly contract until they are less
than n mile apart, and on up
through South Dakota they alternate
ly expand and contract so that about
once in twenty-five miles there is a
point where damming is practicable.
Between Fort Randall and the north
boundary of South Dakota there are
twelve points where great water pow
ers may be developed, but when
North Dakota is reached the bottom
again widens out to two or three
miles and so continues to the yell
lowstone. Just for South Dakota
alone did God provide the great
water powers of the Missouri.
The Power Centers
sit may interest you to know
just where these power cites are To-
.ntod Tboy ira nc fOllOwc.
Place Head Low water Lgth.