Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-15
Continued From Third Page.)


Beauharnois Canal, with 5000, 600
behind them, are going right aheac
with their big ditch, regardless of SHARP
divisions, of public opinion and of com.
missions of inquiry, one of which j:
now investigating the agreement which
permitted them to start construction
in 1929.
Night and day shifts are at work or
the power house and the ship channel
Workmen's camps, hospital and thu
greatest concentration of giant machin.
cry Canada has ever seen are centereC
at Beauharnois Many miles of exca.
walton have been completed, and a pay
roll OF $500 employees draws wage
every Saturday.
Plan Expected to Go Through.
Exigencies of politics may lead tt
minor notifications of the original
plan or may make it more difficult fol
the promoters to obtain the further
rights which II is their intention tt
request of the Dominion and provincial
governments in order to bring theil
scheme to full fruition; but that it vii
be abandoned or in any serious degree
impeded Is inconceivable when consid.
Grafton is given the tremendous inter.
ests involved, the enormous amount o.
work already accomplished and the i'm.
portance of the enterprise to Canada:
future as an industrial nation.
The men behind the Beauharnois en-.
terprise aim to establish in the area
between Beauharnois and Valleyfleld 9
new industrial center. second Pitts
burg. with great mills and factories
drawn to this location by the lure OF
cheap power.
The st. Lawrence is unique in its
almost entire freedom from flood OF
drought conditions. The rise in the
river in Spring is inconsequential SC
far as its effect upon power delivery
Is concerned; nor has its fall in the
late Summer and Autumn any notice
able influence.
From the Great Lakes to the gull
the st. Lawrence flows ceaselessly be-
tween its banks, never inundating the
countryside, as does the Mississippi;
never drying to q trickIe as do many
other streams upon which power plants
have been established. The average OF
year around delivery of power through
out the world is 10 per cent OF plant
capacity. At Beauharnois the new de-
velopment is prepared to guarantee loo
per cent delivery every day in the year
Beauharnois as a power site has a
history dating back 100 years. In 1900,
less than 40 years after the British
conquest Of New France, the selgneur
Of Beauharnois built a small feeder
canal from Lake st. Francis to the
headwaters of the little stream called
the st. Louis River to assure himself
of sufficient water to operate a grist
mill on a site near the location OF the
great new power house.
In due time the water rights on the
st. Louis River passed into the hands
of the Robert family. J. B. Robert and
him son, w. H. Robert, occupied them
selves over a long period OF years with
the acquisition of further diversion
rights in the district, dlmly envlSloning
the tremendous potentialities locked IN
the swiftly flowing current OF the 81;
Lawrence over this stretch OF rapid
water In 1902 the Roberts organized
the Beauharnois Light, Heat IL Power
Co. in which these rights were con-
solidated.
In 1926 r. o. Sweeney, a brilliant
Young Canadian engineer, investigated
Beauharnois and was impressed by ltS
possibilities. With some friends ne
purchased the assets of the little Beau
harnois Light, Heat & Power Co. from
w. H. Robert for $1,000,OoO end lmme-
diately set about organizing OF the
present enterprise. Mr.. sweeney negotI-
ated with several wealthy synoicates
before he was able to make definite
progress. A number of prominent Ca
nadians and some American financiers
have been in and out of the Beauhar-
nois project since it began.
One of Sweezey's earlier partners
was Frank p. Jones, organizer OF the
Canada Cement Corporation and one
of the Dominion's greatest financial
figures for the last quarter OF q cen
Sweezey over methods of financing and
three wears ago the Jones group sold
out for $3,000,000. Frank Jones has
stated before the parliamentary COM
mittee inquiring into the details of the
Beauharnois deal that his personal