The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-02-21

Reprinted by permission from TIL
Outlook of February 9, 1861
In the February issue of the Out
look Hugh l.. Cooper contribute
the following article on Water Pow
err" which presents reasons why Their
should be development of the nat
ural resources of our country in tina
economic conditions may improv
and the welfare Of our people be bet
ter conserved. The editors of thu
Outlook credit the author with beint
one of the we'll known hydraulic en-
gineers, his best known work being
the great hydroelectric plant in the
Mississippi river at heokuk. The
Outlook says that Mr.. Cooper speaks
with experience, knowledge and
authority on the subject Of water pow
err. The article follows and is re
produced in The Gate City through
| the courtesy Of the editors Of the
Outlook:
To gather the streams from
| waste and to draw from them en-
ergy, labor without brains, and so
to save mankind from toll that 1t
can be spared, is to supply what,
next to intellect, is the very
foundation Of all our achieve
ments and all our welfare.
From a decision handed down
by Justice Holmes in the United
States supreme court on January
"a, 1916.
The strength of any nation can In
a large degree be measured by the
intelligence shown in the development
OF its natural resources. While the
United States is endowed with a great
natural resource in it's water powers,
only about thirty per cent of our wat
err powers have been developed, and
the remaining seventy per cent are
lying idle. and practically no new de-
velopments have been inaugurated in
the last seven years. The question
arises, what is the matter? A reply
would seem to comprehend some his
torical data, the value Of these re-
sources to the public. how to secure
these values. and what results may
be reasonably expected if the industry
is restored to healthy state Of
growth.
Water power as a provider Of hu-
man necessity is an agency several
thousand years OF age, but more pro.
sress in its use has been made in the
last twenty-five years than in all of
he time that has gone before. Pres
snt day industrial and economical
standards have made power a public
necessity, and invention, notwithstand-
ng all it's losses and failures, con-
inues to furnish new facilities for our
leeds at a rate which makes intelli-
,ents realization Of them an fmpos.
,ibility. For example, the modern
1se of water power has become pos
,ible only through the Instrumental
ty Of much intricate and special ap-
'aratuc. Ons instance is the present
lay hydraulic governor, which is an
factor in any hydro
electric plant, though representing
'nIy about one per cent of its cost.
ts function, as its name indicates. is
o control, which it does automatically
nd instantly 1t regulates the amount
f water delivered to the water wheel
o suit the various conditions imposed
" the consumer. 1t has cost fifteen
ears OF time and around two millions
f money to perfect this governor.
III of the apparatus and parts consti !
uting the remaining ninety-nine per |
ent cost of a hydroelectric plant !
would serve for approximately similar |
Illustration. and the scrap piles in the |
wake of their development and per- |
ection are monuments to innumer !
BILE failures and losses such as are |,
Incident to the evolution of every :
reat mechanical and industrial I!
Many new twentieth century bless /!
ngs might be enumerated, and the |
uestion arises, How did they come |
nto practical being?" BY legislative !
lat and government control? No, they !
re the direct result Of brain compe !
itions in which the spirit of achieve !
1ent and the hope for the regard OF /
heir fellows and reasonable financial |
eward have spurred on countless
thousands Of men through defeat after ,
efeat to final success. The spirit OF .
overcomes the greater ,
art of the obstacles in human prog I
ess. thus providing most Of the bless .
ngs we enjoy. and the corresponding )
list in the fat column is painfully :
mall
Water power development IN the .
Tnited States is at very low ebb, !
nd many are asking why. The ever
Using standards Of living make the !
emand fer power greater each year. .
n 1850 we used three-tenths of ton !
# coal per capita per annum. Today .
sc use twenty times as much, and
most Of this is for industrial power
purposes Seven hundred and fifty |
thousand miners produced the coal we !
consumed in 1915. at the rate Of 760 /!
ons per miner per annum. BY the !
Jear 1910 We will probably be using /,
200 900 900 tons Of coal per annum
md require 100000 miners A prac-
ical economic question may well here
arise, have We the coal and what will
BE the probable cost Of it? Statistics