The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1921-06-04
GcienfJHe A,,,erlcsr)

igation on the great expanse of deep water of
Lake Erie for 219 miles. 1t passes 25 miles Of
the Welland canal, with its seven locks, and then
has 160 miles more of deep water and open nav-
CATION across Lake Ontario 1t has 1872 miles
from Lake Ontario to Montreal, but of this dis
tance only about 20 miles canal navigation.
AT present there 46 miles of canals, but In
the proposed improvement, with sack-water navi
CATION behind the dams, there would be less than
20 miles of restricted channel Down the St
Lawrence river to Belle isle distance of 1908
miles, ships navigate regularly today, and the
route offers great obstacles during eight months
of the year. From Belle isle to Liverpool there
Is of course, the ocean crossing of 2, 1876 statute
miles of open navigation. Less than IA miles of
improved channel and SOL miles of canals would
interrupt full-speed steaming from Superior, Du-
luth, Milwaukee Chicago England The bar
riers that separate the farms and cities Of the
great West and Middle West from the can
be overcome by channels not as long nor as diff
cult to navigate the Panama canal the Kiel
canal, the Suez canal. and would cost only a
fraction of the expense of construction"
The possibilities of the development of hydro
electrical power are large. The normal mean
flow of the st. Lawrence its outlet from Lake
Ontario Is 100000 second-feet There is between
the head of the rapids Ogdensburg n. Y.
and the foot of the lowest rapid at the City of
Montreal total fall of 221 feet. If 10 per cent
of the power can be realized the development
would amount to over four million horsepower.
The first 113 miles of the river from it's outlet
from Lake Ontario is fnternational-that is 1t
constitutes the boundary between the two coun-
tries. The fall in this section, confined TO about
forty-two miles, is nnety-two feet the power pos
sbilites of this section the basis would be
practically one and two-third million horse power.
Normally one-half of this would be Canadian and
one-half United States. 1t would seem, therefore,
that the minimum power that may be developed
from the St Lawrence and distributed through
northern New York and New England would be
eight hundred thousand horsepower 1t is not
unlikely, however that in the final bargaining be-
tween the two countries the United States may
assume some of the expense of Improvement below
the International section OF the river and in return
receive more power
In an address by Alexander 7. vogelsang, first
assistant secretary of the interior, before the
river and harbor congress of 1919, read into the
Congressional Record, these statements made
among others: The United States share of the
St Lawrence river power would have an annual
yalue of about, S12,000,000 Much of New Eng
land is within transmission distance of $50
miles This power is the equivalent of 7,750000
tons of coal annually. This power would furnish
sufficient energy to supply large part Of the
power now generated by fuel in this dominant in
dustria district. The power production will pay
the entire cost of all the project.
With the enlarged Welland canal available with
the proposed dams and their great locks built,
big cargo carriers of many thousands of tons
coud traverse the whole length of the st Law
renee to and from Lake Erie With improved fa-
cilities at the 500 and deeper channels through
the Lakes here and there, Duluth Superior, Mil
YANKEE Chicago Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland Buff
fao and other lake ports would have an unham-
pered outlet to the ocean So says the Middle
West.
And with the mighty st Lawrence harnessed
for mower purposes and the energy distributed
through Industrial New York and New England
many problems that affect the cost of living would
be made easier of solution So say the promoters
of the St Lawrence-Tidewater project