The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1921-05-21

steadily on while the proposed structure is in
course of erection. But nature is ready 10 lend
help which would make the execution OF such
project far easier than one might imagine ollland
The walls of the gorge above Fosters Flats rise
sheer several hundred feet from the tideway, but
contiguous to the Flats the gorge is considerably
wider and on the Canadian Side especially, the
bank slopes at a comparatively easy gradient
terminating near the river in a fairly expansive
lOw-lying area. At the same time, the rivers path
Is considerably narrower at that stretch of its
run. Owing to this state Of affairs, the Flats pre-
sent strategic base of operations from which to
start the rearing of DAM That is to say, some
thing like 30 per cent of the contemplated Struc-
ture can be completed on dry land before any of
the work trespasses upon the present of
the Niagara at that point. Let US be more spe
cifc.
As designed, the dam has a spread in cross sec
ton of about 600 feet at the base, and 30 feet or
more of this lower portion will reach below the
line of the riverbed and have its footing the
underlying solid rock. With q total height of 40
feet the dam will be of an extremely massive char
acter. The bottom section of the dam-at least
that half of it that will rise from Fosters Flats
will be pierced by large temporary openings of
cuverts, and channels will be dug TO them on the
upstream side to serve as sideways for the
tire volume Of the Niagara when it becomes neces-
sary TO divert the river Ia order to bare the
NAL bed for building purposes along the line of
the contemplated barrier. With this DONE it will
then be a relatively easy engineering task to dam
the usual natural water to facilitate
excavating the rock and erecting that portion Of
the dam that will terminate on the American
shore. When the dam is finished. then the Sluce-
ways will be sealed and the waters impOunded
until they accumulate and carry the surface level
back from the crest of the dam to the very foot
of the Falls.
AS most everyone knows, great quantities of ice
are carried the Falls and down the river dur
ing the winter and the breakup Of that rigorous
season, and the impact and the pressure of these
foes must be withstood by any rigid obstruction
rising in their path. Therefore it is essential
that these stresses be minimized and that the
currents be free to carry the ice onward with a
minimum of opposition while the bulk of the water
is held in check. To this end the dam will be
fashioned with long slopes on the up and the
downstream sides.
The dam will serve the double purpose of i'm
pounding the waters of the Niagara for distance
of nearly five miles and of housing the great turbo-
generators that will transform the force of those
waters into 100000 horsepower Of electrical en-
ergy. According to the estimates, this undertake
ing would involve a total outlay of approximately
$1OO,OOOOOO; and from start to finish would take
something like three years On the basis of coal
consumption previously cited for the development
of horsepower year, l. e.. tons, this scheme
would be tantamount to saving 100000 tons of
that fuel annually. At $40 ton this would repre-
sent an economy of $160OO0,OO0 every twelve
month. But quite apart from these considerations,
there would be that inestmable gain in the mat
ter of electrical energy that could be utilized for
innumerable industrial purposes. Not only that,
motive impulse at a moderate cost would be
available for domestic services of many sorts.
We have led the world in the varied character
and the magnitude of our electrOchemical indus
tries and maintain position in this
respect only by continuing to provide great blocks
of low-priced current TO meet the increasing de-
mands for the commodities manufactured at
or near Niagara Falls. Finally, let it be recalled
that the two projects might prove exceedingly val
liable sources of energy for that great superpower
zone which is to embrace far-fung section Of
the states Of our northeastern seabOard Isn't it
worth while to have at our disposal 3.50OOOG
horsepower without burning a single pound of
coal? Can we be Indifferent to undertakings
that will enable us to increase vastly our produc-
tiveness while cutting the fuel bill by hundreds
of millions of dollars yearly2