Evening star., 1925-10-03
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL ]. COLLINS.

This is an age of world making proj-
ectS, and the promoter is sanguine OF
financial backing.
II successful. il will mark a revolU
ton in world industry and commerce.
far Surpassing the SueZ and Panama
Canals. Not only is the Bay Of Fundy
project itself greater in power pro
duction than Niagara and Muscle
Shoals combined. but the successful
demonstration of the ability to couple
up the ocean tides in industry will
carry with il other projects of like
nature beyond the dreams of any
previous mechanical or engineering
achievement.
The tide in the Bay Of Tundy rises
49, feet. and by building dams equip
ped with turbines il is to he translated
into power. both as ii is rising and a.
1t is flowing out. The dams will nor
be the largest in -America-one is L.
be 1000 feet long. another 1000 feet.
the main one having a depth of l11
! feet. Such dams will never suffer from
droughts or floods. for the flow of the
ocean tides can he measured years
ahead. The engineers compute from
100000 to 700. 900 horsepower from
the Bay of Fundy tide.
Behind these dams will he two nat
ural reservoirs or pools one with
an area of 100 square miles. the other
| half as large. The great area of the
pools gives a continuous flow he
tween tides. with an immense volume
of water.
The total potential horsepower. OF all
our inland waterfalls is $4,000. 900.
most Of which is not developed. and
will not be utilized for many genera
tionS. The horsepower OF the Bay Of
f'undy alone is calculated at about
one-eiehth of that possible total in
| land power. 1t makes Niagara and
! Muscle Shoals small in comparison.
The mouth of the bay is almost
closed by a group of islands. They
will lessen the amount OF dam con
struction. There is an abundance Of
granite nearby suitable for the dams.
| The proximity of population and in
dustry will constitute Il market for
the electric power TO be produced.
which is an essential factor OF such an
enterprise.
Cooks Inlet i'll southern Alaska has
tide of 1913 feet. which would also
be IL feasible tide to harness. except
for the absence of any suitable rock
for dams. and the absence of market
for the produced power. Davis Strait.
with its Frobiesher Bay tide of A.
feet would offer a site for a dam of
equal power. but the coast is not ST.
attractive. and the vital factor is the
absence of population in that Arctic
region. The same applies to Ashc
Inlet. Hudson Bay, with n tide of 3O1
feet, and also the Strait of MaGellcn
South America, with its tide of 40 feet
The Bay of fundy, therefore. Is in
class by itself in possessing all the
elements for such Development TO-
Eether with the interest of the one
nation in the world which has the
necessary capital and enterprise
Along most of our coasts, both Ea..
and West. the tides are less than
| feet.
France has a tide of 43 feet along
her north coast, and has made an
abortive attempt at harnessing ii near
Brest, but lacks the capital now ''in
these piping times of (alleged) peace
to develop the project.
The west coast of England has a
tide of 4l.S feet. but her finances.
and especially her political and labor
situation, make any effort to develop
it into power difficult The plan to
harness the tide of the Severn has
been abandoned or Indefinitely post
poned.
Great tides. ranging from 25 to Sc
feet, exist also in Australia, China
Korea and Brazil, and while in none
Of the countries named is there any
such project now contemplated, the
demonstration of feasibility at the Bay
Of F'undy will tend to encourage sim
liar efforts in other parts of the world
wherever the tide exceeds 20 feet.
The farreaching future possibilities
Of the Bay Of Fundy demonstration
are thus suggested in similar works in
other countries.
Copyright 1895. by Paul '. coirins.a