The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1921-03-24
Our Water Powers.

DR.. George F. Swain, head of the Har-
ward Engineering School of Harvard Uni :
versity, who made the second survey of
the water powers of Maine for the cen
sus in 1880, addressed the members of the
legislature, on the above subject, few
days ago. Dr. Swain said:
MAN has passed through three ages,
the >tone age, the bronze age and the
iron age, but for the last $50 years It has
been an age of power There are but
two sources of power known at the pres
ent time-that of combustion of fuel,
such as coal, oil, etc, and water power
Every pound of coal that is burned is
gone forever, it is not recoverable, and
coal Is needed for other important pur
| poses than for the generation of power.
The heating of buildings for the comfort
and health of the people of the earth, the
use and conservation of chemical by
products There is great hazard faced
by the people of the world in strikes of
men employed in the coal industry when
lew thousands of men may cause ire
parable damage and suffering.
In 1917, "a, 900, 600 tons of coal were
used by the people of the United States
and today that figure has probably in
creased to more than 70,000,00 Eight
per cent. of the worlds population is in
the United States and we have so per
cent. of all the coal deposits. OF the i'm
mense amount of coal used in the United
States the railroads use one gu lrter and
more than IS per cent. of the railroad
traffic is in COAL"
Referring to oil as fuel, DR.. Swain
stated that in 1918, $3.50, 600, 600 barrels
were produced in this country and this
enormous quantity was not sufficient for
the needs of the country, that it was
necessary to call upon the reserve guam
titles and to import oil from foreign coun-
tries
"The source of water power is, under
favorable conditions, haustible," said
Dr. Swain. ut is force, however, that
must be developed and we must bear in
mind that every pound of water that is
not used is wasted. The United States
has between 100000 600 and 10000, 600
morse power undeveloped at the present
time and $4,000, 900 horse power is suffi-
clent to the needs of the country. At
present we are using 4l,OOO 900 horse
power from coal and but 1900 900 from
developed water power. Two thirds of
the available water power is located in
the western States and two-thirds of the
demand Tor this power is in the eastern
States, so it will be necessary for the
eastern States to always rely to great
extent upon coal.
Or. Swain declared that it would seem
as II the United States and the States
should encourage the development of
water power in every way but they have
done the opposite, especially the federal
government
"A water power varies from floods at
one time in the year to a very dry con-
dltlon at another time, in other words
there is no continuity about it," said Dr.
Swain.
Another disadvantage in the develop
ment OF water power is that it requires
large initial investment. 1t would cost
four or five times more to develop water
power than it would steam power of
the same capacity. The history of water
powers has not all been strewn with roses
and many of them have been strewn with
wrecks. A great engineering knowledge |
Is required to develop water power.
knew where water powers have fail
ed because there was no record kept of |
them. want to urge upon you the de- !
STABILITY of continuing the Maine Water |
Power Commission.
The State should know where the de-
veloped and undeveloped water powers
are and how much is, capable of develop
ment. The State of Maine has about one
half the area of New England and has
more water powers than all the other
New England States.
The situation as regards water power
is more favorable at Washington than it |
has been
DR.. Swain said that this State ought to
have somebody looking to the changing !
OF the federal water power act and to see
that these changes were the proper ones. |
He did not look to see the railroads |
electrified right away, but believed that |
many OF them would be eventually.
He said that Maine should eventually !
bring coal to this State and with it gen.
crate electricity and these plants should |
be linked up with water power plants and !
then Maine would be Independent of the /
world.