Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-12-10

rivers it Is possible to develop more
than as much again.
in other words. we have at hand
in Maine enough undeveloped water
power to take care of our own needs,
assuming they do not increase faster
than they have in the last decade, for
q period of one hundred years.
Maine Losing Million Dollars In
Taxes Each Year
'oThe development Of the upper
Kennebec alone and the building of
transmission lines sufficient to carry
the surplus to the western Maine
border, which is the only direction
in which a market can be found.
would call for an investment OF
somewhere from sixty to seventy-hve
million dollars. This money would
all be invested in taxable property
which never could move out OF the
State of Maine. II 1t paid only
state tax and was valued about as
other property is valued In MAINE
for taxation purposes, it would mean
from three to five hundred thousand
dollars each year paid into the State
Treasury. On the other hand, a
great deal of this property would
be situated in incorporated towns
and would pay more tax than that.
! The chances are that the state and
towns together would receive nearly
one million dollars per year for tax
es. Assuming that this property Is
all to be develol ed at the end OF
fifty years. that being the average
of no development now and full
deyelopement one hundred years
from now, then we are losing mil
lion dollars a year for fifty years. or
fifty million dollars. This million
dollars per year would not be paid
by citizens of tins state, or at least
a large part OF 1t would not, only
that part which represents the power
sold in Maine, but so far as the
power sold outside of Maine goes
would be paid by citizens of other
states. Can we afford this kind OF
luxury?
Losing Industrial Investments
We are losing out in another way
Last summer the engineer Of one OF
the biggest chemical companies In
the world came to Maine. He was
looking for a place where the Com
pany which he represents could
establish a factory. Such factory
as that company has in mind would
consume a great deal Of power. He
wanted something like eighteen
thousand continuous horse power for
the first unit and he had to have
it at a very low price. The price
was so low and the quantity so
, great that it could not be furnished
from any existing development in
! the state. 1t would be possible. how
ever, to furnish it from one OF the
large undeveloped powers on the up
per Kennebec, If the surplus power
over and above that taken by this
company could be sold. There Is no
assurance, however. that this surplus
could be sold in the state and no one
cares to take the chance of building
plant at a cost of fifteen or twenty
million dollars and selling one
quarter or one third the output at a
cost that would pay only one-quarter
or one third of the fixed charges and
taking a chance of selling the bal
ance or going into bankruptcy.
1.-THE result was that this par
ticular company went elsewhere and
the State of Maine lost an immediate
investment of four or FIVE million
dollars and a future investment OF
twice as much more. or, putting the
matter in the terms of state tax,
1t lost a hundred thousand dollars
year for many years to come. Now.
picture IL you will the situation IL
this big hydro electric power were
already built and supplying its sur
plus power outside the state. The
owners would then be able to say
to q customer seeking a large supply
of cheap power-fYes, we can furnish
this power and furnish 1t as soon as
you get your mill ready. We won't
have to take three or four years to
erect a tremendous dam. All We will
have to do is to give our out of state
customers a short notice and begin
supplying this power to YOU when
you are ready.
II a Similar Law Affected Asricul-
turai Produce
"Just suppose that II were against
the law for any farmer in Maine to
ship his potatoes that his own family
could not consume or that could OF
be sold in his own town to Boston
or some other point for sale. How
many men in Maine do you think
would raise more potatoes than they
themselves would use? Suppose 1t
were against the law to ship lumber
out of the state in any form. Would
it not then be likely that our timber
would be growing on every hand.
that 1t would be almost impossible
to keep the settled part of state In
cleared land rather than in woods?
But all products of the soil. not only
as In the case of timber not easily
replaced, but in the case of potatoes
or any other product take away
elements from the soil which can
never be replaced, while water power
run on forever and will be as avail
able a hundred years after develop
ment as when lew. as in the Kenne-
bee River or the Penobscot River
or the Androscoggin River, million
years from today as 1t is today. !
think this is a serious question and
one which should have our immediate
attention as citizens Of Maine and IL
possible should have immediate ac-
ton by our legislature.
Danger Of Losing Market
"As / told you in the beginning,
only within a few years has it been
commercially feasible to transmit our
surplus power to Massachusetts, where
the only possible market lies. 1t
probably is feasible to do 1t today.
certainly to transmit a part Of it
there, but other sections of the coun-
try have their eyes on the power mar
ket in Massachusetts,. There is two
million horse power awaiting develop
ment on the st. Lawrence river.
There is seven million horse power
ready for development in the Province
of Ontario and there Is another seven
million in the Province of Quebec.
There are more than two million
horse power available in New York
outside of the st. Lawrence river and
the owners of these powers are all Of
them awake to the fact that they
must find a market and are trying to
work out a market in Massachusetts,.
If any one of them captures that
market and sells the DILLON or billion