The Washington herald., 1917-11-20
WATER POWERS
FACTOR IN TRADE
Holland Tells Need Of Util-
izing Resources in Post b
Bellum Rivalry.

At the annual melting Of the Invest
ment Bankers association Of America
At Baltimore last week one of the
speakers emphasized the immediate
need Of utilizing the stupendous water
powers In various parts Of the United
Gates, intimating that II this had al
ready been done a great saving in coal
consumption would have been secured
as well a. very large economies in
production Of manufactured commo-
dities and In transportation.
For some days reports have been cur
rent that the message which President
Wilson IL to send to Congress when
that body meets In December will rec
ommend that Congress take such steps
a. will make 1t possible for private
capital IN cooperation with the gov
ernment to make investment In hydro
electric plants, utilizing some of the
great streams, especially in the West.
where abundant water power has been
since the days of the Indians and Is
now going to waste.
There also Is intimatlon that the
President may suggest to Congress
that it will be expedient to enact leg
islation which will enable American
exporters to combine, coordinate or
act IN full cooperation SO far as for
eign markets are concerned
South Using Power.
American manufacturers. especially
In the South, are beginning to utilize
fhA rar{NdnNtinn nj
electric energy, and the results have
: been highly satisfactory.
II Congress should permit a mod
ification of the Sherman law whereby
American manufacturers who are ex-
porters could act IN cooperation and
in combination, exclusively of course
for foreign business, then in view
OF the decreased cost of manufaC-
turing which utilization Of water
power makes possible, our exporters
should be in a position within a year
or two, certainly soon after the close
Of the war, successfully to compete
with other nations in foreign mar
kets.
The men of science, especially those
who are now occupied with the de,
velopment of the eleCtro-chemical in
dustry, are greatly interested in the
movement. which has for its purpose
the persuading of Congress so to
legislate as to make it possible to
utilize there great water powers.
DR.. Aeheson's View.
DIR. Edward G. Acheson, who was
among the first to utilize electro
chemical methods for the production
Of very important commercial COM
modities and to establish plants at
Niagara Falls for the purpose of Sc
curing the advantages which the
water-power there gives. said that
in his opinion the conservation of our
nationwide powers was perhaps the
, most important step that could be
! taken In the direction of conserva-
Jtion Of our national resources.
The time is not far distant when
coal will be exhausted, DR.. Ache
son said That is a natural resource
which is exhaustible and in view of
the enormous increase OF industry
the world over and the greatly ex-
panded use OF the dynamo. larger
and lager amounts of coal are needed
to produce the source of electric
power. This demand upon coal will
continue after the war, for in DR..
Acheson's view the world will enter
soon after peace comes upon an in
dustrial era OF which perhaps few
realize the magnitude.
But our water powers are an mex
haustible natural resource. There is no
conceivable climatic condition or cate,
clysm Of nature which will seriously
impair the water power of the Niaga-
ra River, nor is it reasonable to be APP
prehensive that any of our great
water powers in the West and South
can be seriously impaired by drought
or any other condition. Therefore
water power is an inexhaustible nat
ural resource and its conservation or
rather its utilization for manufactur,
ing and transportation purposes nc
matter how great that may be cannot
diminish this inexhaustible resource.
Railroads and Electricity.
war several American railroads
would have already begun to imi-
tate the example set by the Chicago
Milwaukee and st. Paul, whose man.
ayers ventured upon what seemed
to many a very risky experiment
namely. the substitution of hydro
electric power for steam power upon
nearly 500 miles of their Pacific
coast extension.
Abundant water power. not con-
ceivably ever TO fail, which is found
in the mountain streams in that part
OF the country through which the eX.
tension of the st. Paul Railroad tC
the Pacific Coast passes, has been sc
utilized as to furnish all the electric
power needed for the operation Of
trains over or through these noun.