Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-12-05
HARNESS GREAT LAKES TO.
PRODUCE ELECTRICITY
Would Furnish Power to Every
City, Town and Farm in New
York and New England.
fBy Associated Press.l

CHICAGO. ILL, Dec. I'll. c.
Gardner, president OF the Great
! l'akcs-St. Lawrence Tidcwater Asso-
ciat!on, characterizes the conservation
phase Of the 81. Lawrence improve
ment as fundamentally the most i'm
Fortant of ALL
lie said that the electricity gen.
Grated by harncssing the flow of the
Great Lakes to the sea would furnish
power TO every city, town and farm
stead in Northern New York and New
ENGLAND He quoted estimats that
mi.i''n zen OF twenty years the annual
coal saving would amount TO lOo.-
600. 600 tons.
Reviewing the proposal of a water
way from the Great Lakes to the
said:
From its junction with the Gulf
or 81. Lawrence for about $50 miles
10 Montreal. the mighty St. Lawrence
sea than a river. Al it's mouth Il is
eighty miles wide. and it is no wonder
ihat the famous French navigator,
SSaqIes Cartier. who discovered the
france and reported TO Francis l.. the
reigninS monarch. his strong hope
mat at last the westward passage"
20 the Indies had been found Indeed,
he seems to have been quite mystiiiei
by the situation developed when. in
the fall OF 1885. his explorations
reached the site of the present city
Above Montreal for the remaining
distance. approximately 1870 miles to
the rivers outlet from Lake Ontario
me width OF the great stream aver
ages close 10 two miles. II is in
inns part OF the river that there occur
the great rapids. with their total fall
OIL -2O !cct. and aggregate length of
soine' forty-hve miles. that must be
overcome by the works of man be-
lore the st. Lawrence will become the
| hntirinE and ccaselesS slave 1t is des-
tined soon to be.
The flow OF the stream averages
10000 cubic feet per second. winter
and summer.
1T is these characteristics and con-
ditionS that prompted Congress, when
II Instructed the Internal iOnal joint
commission TO investigate and report
on plan TO improve the river 50 that
",SSean-soinf ships may freely enter
the Great Lakes, to include in their
. instructions the making of plans and
estimates for developing and utilizing
the hydro electric power which for
all The centuries has run to waste.
lNe chief benefits OF the improve
ments assuming that the international
joint commissions report will he ia
vorablc and that the United States
Will be these:
The farmers and industries of the
whole region that Is nearer to the
Great Lakes than to our salt water
ports Will reap the advantage of low
or transportation costs. Herbert
Hoover estimated this al saving OF
certainly cents per bushei on wheat
and II Will he corrcspondingly as
much on other grains. Over 90 per
cent of all the many thousands OF
tons of meat products. lard and ami
NAL oils that each year are exported
from this country are produced in tho
Central West, and on every pound n
large saving could be made by load
Ing into ships at our lake ports
The people OF Northern New York
| and New England will he benefited
even more than their Western broth
rem. for they will not only have the
improved transportation by water.
but will have electric power for dis
tribution to every city, town and
farmstcad. Their trunk line railways
can he electrified. and they can Danish
the coal famine specter.
But fundamentally the conscrva-
ton phase of the st. Lawrence i'm
provcmcnt is most important OF all.
Where on our own continent is there
region that is not vitality Interested
in development that will every year
for all future time save lis from the
need to burn millions OF tons OF our
black diamonds. and use instead the
white coal that benef1oent Provi-
dence has laid ut our doorstep? Some
good Judges estimate that within a
decade or two, after the power de-
mand shall have grown to meet the
supply, this annual coal saving will
amount to 1oo.000.000 tons.s