The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-01-08
"Quick-Stop" for Cough.

produce at Keokuk has been taken,
but the facts, as developed by inquiry
among officials of the Mississippi
River Power Co.. owner of the Keo-
kuk dam, are that the company has
limited It's present capacity only TO
the demands for electric current
made on it.
c.. w. kellogg, manager of the
property for the Stone & Webster in
terests, which control it, said the
company even now had power to sell
in excess of the contracts 1t had.
Can't Sell to Capacity.
horsepower. We never have general
sale for it, The largest amount we
have generated and sold is 114.000
horsepower.
with our present mechanical
equipment we could generate about
one-third more energy than we do,
and by doubling our equipment we
could generate approximately twice
as much as our present capacity"
Kellogg, while admitting the pos
sibilities OF the plant. took the posi-
not unusual with managers OF
public utilities, that the prices OBJ
tanned for Keokuk power were not
sufficient, and that the company could
not afford to sell more power to ST.
Louis at the price obtained for the
sc, 600 horsepower now delivered UNI
der it's contract with the Union Elec-
trio company.
He did not, however. point out any
physical obstacle in the way OF de-
livering power to st. Louis, merely
saying that an additional transmits
sion line would be necessary. The
present line, he, said, was in use to
it's capacity. g..
The task Of building transmits
sion line, however, is confined to buy
ing the materials which go into its
construction, the company already
owning a 100-foot right Of way from
Keokuk to st. Louis, and, according
to engineers, there is nothing to pre-
vent another line being constructed
on this right of way.
Water Flow Some Factor.
Kellogg pointed out that the
amount of water in the river affect
ed the generation of current. and
that when the river was very low,
less power could be generated than
when there was a good flow OF water
through the plant, but he made plain
the fact that his company was not
selling all the power it could gener-
ate, and that the addition Of new
generating units awaits only the time
when there is demand for the cur
rent they would generate and profit
able market for the current.
In generating at its Ashley street
station the current which it could
buy from Keokuk, the Union Electric
uses approximately 1000 tons of coal
a day Engineers estimated for the
Post-Dispatch that there probably is
an additional 500 tons used in other
and smaller steam plants generating
electricity, which could be served by
power from Keokuk.
These figures mean that each day
there are approximately 200 coal cars
in constant use between the mines
in Illinois and st. Louis. If the keo-
kuk dam was generating the electric
ity which this coal generates, these
200 cars could be turned to purposes
for which they are so urgently needed
by the government.
Could Get Federal Aid.
Engineers to whom the Post-Dis-
patch correspondent talked said they
were unable to estimate the cost or
increasing the capacity OF the keo-
kuk plant to meet the requirements
Of st. Louis, out it was pointed out
that in the present emergency the
federal government could be called
upon to aid in any undertaking which
would relieve the coal shortage and
the car shortage.
While it is true that industries OF
all kinds are finding 1t difficult to
obtain machinery because of the gov