Evening star., 1927-09-20
FIGHT FOR POWER
SITES IN CANADA.
lseA NH EM 4 III I'M ~
u. S. Capitalists Have Beat
en- Native and European In
terests in Dominion So Far.

Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
MONTREAL. September 90. - \
three-cornered struggle is now in
progress for the great water-power
sites of Canada, which promise to
place the Dominion in the van of in
dustrial nations before the present
century draws to a close.
American, European and Canadian
CAPITALISTS are engaged in the battle.
The Canadian and British interests are
combined to a certain extent. but the
American financierS have led the jump
on their opponents so far. and what
the latter hope to do is to salvage
what is left>
Improve/ methods of transmission
have cu11Maste and made it possible
for~Ntirfent to be transmitted over
MEsat distances. There is. no part of
Canada which cannot now be served
from the storehouse of power con-
cealed in her lakes and rivers. The
demand for cheap power from indus
tries manufacturing on a quantity
basis and selling in highly competitive
markets has sent millions rolling
across the Canadian border.
Built Plants i'm Canada.
the export Of Canadian power to in
dustries established on United States
soil but this did not stop the Ameri-
can manufacturers. They immediate
ly changed their policy to include
plants within the Dominion. This, ac-
cording 10 Canadian and British au-
thorities, threatens the supremacy OF
Canada in her own industries and i'll
world markets.
In Quebec province the Aluminium
Co. of America and affiliated interests
have secured a large part of the
500, 600 horsepower which the Lake of
St John and the Saguenay River are
capable of generating. The American
interests prominent in the Interna-
tional Pulp & Paper Co. are supreme
In the Gatineau region, where, only six
miles from Ottawa, capital of Canada,
there has been $4,000 horsepower de-
veloped, while series of storage
dams is capable Of greatly enlarging
the possible current production of this
turbulent tributary of the Ottawa
River.
The vast water power of the st.
Maurice and st. Lawrence Rivers is
being largely developed by American
capital, and the same tale can be told
of conditions in western Canada.
Lumber interests from Wisconsin are
making use of the water power at
the head of Lake Superior and Ameri-
can capital is investigating the possi-
bilities of the northern Manitoba
region, where the power development
will go hand in hand with the open.
ing of a rich new mineral region.
There also has been a northern mi.
grafton Of capital into British Co
lumbia.
Field for Investment.
The British group already is en-
gagged in picking up what may be OBJ
tanned in Quebec Province. In On
tario the battle has been won for
Canada against all foreign capitalists
by naturalization of water power and
operation on a cost basis for the
public. However, there remains
vast field for the investment Of
private capital. AT present the pulp
and paper industries are the largest
consumers of power, but the expert
ments of the Aluminium Co. have
shown it can be profitable to import
raw bauXite ore from South America
and convert it into articles of domes-
tic use when a supply Of cheap, con-
ttnuous and reliable power is assured
in Canada. The operations at Arvada,
the new aluminium city which has
sprung up on the Saguenay River, is
an object lesson in those facts.
If the present demand for power
continues an annual investment Of at
least $65,000,000 year for 90 years
in new projects will be required to
keep pace with it. OF this amount a
large part will be provided by Ca
nadians, but huge sum must come
from sources outside Canada.