The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-13
EdmOnds Tells of the Vast
Amount Being Spent in
Movement
INVESTMENTS WILL
TOTAL S3O0,000,O
And Bankers Cannot Afford tdWait
for Growth of Industries to Use
Power, He Says, But Must
Stimulate Development

Nashville May T2.-(Special) LIN an in
terview here today Richard II. Edmonds.
editor of the Manufacturers Record of
Baltimore, said:
THE biggest Industrial movement un-
der way in the south today. representing
more new money and on broader lines of
development than anything else, is the
utilization of our heretofore nnutilized
rivers and streams for the creation of
hyro-eleetric power.
AT the present time GA hydro-electric
power companies are operating the de-
velopment of powers in the south and
mainly in the central lection. The Caro-
mas, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and
tennessee, though nearly all the south is
sharing in this activity. These companies
already have in operation about loo, 600
Eydro-electric power and are now actually
constructing about 900, 600 additional pow
er, which will give the south over 100000
hydro-eectric power when these plants
under construction. and others for which
the capital has been raised, have been
completed
There are also 36 companies, owning
about 100000 available power, now in
the formative stage, and these are seek
ing to enlist capital for development
The magnitude of these developments can
be the better appreciated when it is un-
derstood that the total steam power used
in all the manufacturing enterprises in
the south in 1910 aggregated about $500, 600
horsepower.
THE aggregate investment in the de-
veloped water powers, and in these upon
which work is now progressing, will rep
resent an ultimate outlay of about $780,,
oo0,000. which is equal to nearly cne-third
of the aggregate national banking capital
OF the United States. Nowhere else in
the world is the development of water
power for the transmission of electric
power being carried on on such a gigantic
scale and involving such far reaching
consequences as in the south.
Many of the foremost capitalists of
England Canada and of the north and
west are really running rivalry in secur-
ing water powers not only for immedi-
ate development, but looking to continued
constructive operations as the demand for
power takes up the supply of the existing
plants
There are two features of this develop
ment of the utmost Importance In the
first place, cheap electric power available
at every moment night and day, will
prove an enormous advantage to the eX-
listing industrial establishments; will
quicken their activities, and stimulate
them to broader development And an
even more Importance feature will be the
fact that the great capitalists of Europe,
Canada and the north and west, who are
putting these hundreds of millions of new
capital into the creation of hydro-electric
power will necessarily be compelled to
take a very active part in the creation
of industries to use the power which
they are now developing.
1.-The banking houses which are backing
these hydro-eectric powers cannot sit
down and wait for the growth Of the
south to take care of the power created,
but they must themselves become the
most active factors in creating in the
south new industries to use these powers.
Every dollar which these kanking houses
have staked in this hydro-eectric work
will call loudly for another dollar from
them for investment in other enterprises.
With $500, 100000 being put into the one
particular line of southern development,
these bankers and all their clients, be-
come Immediately deeply interested in
everything which maks for the broadest
development of every phase of southern
resources, industrial and agricultural
alike"