The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-10-15
ENGINEERS IN
CONVENTION
Vermont Society Heard In
teresting Speaking in
Brooks House
Fits TALKED OF
POWER CONSERVATION
Engineering School Gave Address
President williams of st. Johnsbury
Presided-Trip to Vernon Plant.

PreSided-Tup to Vernon Plant.
About IS members of the Vermont
Society of Engineers, which is holding |
the third annual fall convention of the |
organization at the Brooks House, en-
joyed last evening addresses by At !
tornev Clarke c. Fits, who spoke on |
the Conservation of Resources. with |
particular reference TO the develop |
ment of water power, and Prof. Rob
ert Fletcher. Fh.D., G. h., director OF
the Thaycr School of Civil Engineer
ing of Dartmouth college, whose sub
;ect was The Civil Engineer and the
Public.
The evening meeting followed u
round table supper served III the par
Tors of the hotel at $50 o'clock, at
which were seated the members of
the society, their wives and few in
vited guests The meal was informal
and those present found opportunity
to get better acquainted.
President d. Williams of St. Johns
bury presided. and after L. H. Miller
had sung very acceptably the presi-
dent intro luced Mr.. Fits as the first
speaker. Mr.. Fits said that in the
early grants Of lands there was no
[
| ian rights Land owners whose prop
critics border on rivers have riparian
/ rights and the only use that may be
made of the river as d highway is for
| the purpose of floating logs.
| In the carly days. before the devel-
opment of large industries. the ripar-
ian rights did not amount to much.
| The Bellows Falls Canal Co. was first
1 L. = ..p-l
/ Conn. which came up the river might
he tioated. There was 10 mention III
the charter of water power.
/ Massachusetts and Rhode Island
were the pioneers i'll the passage Of
laws granting flowage rights Provid-
ling that rivers might he damned for
power purposes and that properties
next above OIL the banks might be
/ paying damages. The Massachusetts,
\ supreme court held in Il test case that
1 dams constructed for power purposes
were Il Public benefit.
Vermont Turned Backward.
The Vermont supreme court in the
grist mill case at Island park de
hounced such IN act in 1867. Up Il
then Vermont had been ahead of New
} but the Turn of the tide came and
5 New Hampshire forged ahead in popu
Iation ami in the development Of in
dustries. for the New Hampshire
courts held that such an act was con
stitutionaI.
: Ten years ago Brattleboro was drag
/ ging along. The business men bega'
the discussion of water development
| and sought from the legislature tht
right to J;.ke lands by the right o.
: eminent domain. 1t was hard prop
! osition, for those who sought the priv
: ilege wer, confronted by the attitude
. of the supreme court in 1861. but tn
right WAS finally obtained. Capitalist
were enlisted and eventually the Yer
. ron power plant was completed. Ac
:. tual tests OF the constitutioHality O
: the charter of the company wer
- avoided il Vermont for such cases a
: came mp were settled through tn
Q courts Of New Hampshire
. Then came the proposition to obtai
similar rights on the Deeriield river
and the speaker said he instituted tn
first test to determine finally the con
Of stitutionaIitv Of the law The stat
l, supreme court took the first step tC
e wards turning over the former dec
l. sion by holding that if the power OF
IS tanned was to be used for municipa
II or domestic lighting purposes the char
o ter, woull be constitutional. Thre
: wears ago the supreme court turne
Z completely over and held that the dt
velopment of water power for powe
| purposes was constitutional.
Mr.. Fits then told the engineer
x how much electrical energy is bein
y developed at Vernon and that tn
70 Deerfeld project is capable of deve
I oping more than 125.0O0 electrict
o. horse power. He said that careful Ell
-. cheering computations have prove
h that the West river is capable OF d'
y veloping 10000 horse power every da
IF in the veal. He discussed in SON
/ detail the, va Iues of these development
n to the industrial work on the Coz
psl necticut and DcerfeId rivers.
s. Engineer Has Wide Outlook.
til Prof. Fletcher, speaking on the sul
Y jeet of The Civil Engineer and IL
I'M Public, avoided technicalities throug
out his address and was happy n Il
ve anecdotes he told to illustrate | oint
e The civil engineer, he said, is 9 phi
rs osopher and is required to have ski
as5 ability, Ingenuity and gumptiot.. !
p told of how Alexander l.. Holly, WI
as introduced the Bessemer process in
T. this country, while working in tt
OF Providence Locomotive works made
wager that he would drive LOGON
tive a mile on a level track withol
water in the boiler or fire under
The only condition he imposed WI