Niagara's Power: Past, Present, Prospective

Gentlemen of the Empire Club,-

When, at the invitation of your President, Colonel Mason, I consented to prepare a short paper, dealing with the development of electrical power at Niagara Falls, I had little idea of the difficulty of the task. With so much material at hand, I knew I could easily fill in the allotted time of thirty minutes, but my troubles arose from the wealth of material with which I was confronted. When I commenced to jot down the various matters about which I thought my audience would like to hear, I found that instead of one-half hour, it would take very much longer to even touch upon the various matters of interest connected with the title of the paper. Condensation is much more difficult than elaboration, and I have necessarily to omit much, but trust that what I have chosen to place before you may awaken sufficient interest to induce you all to again visit Niagara Falls, and witness the stupendous engineering problems that have been already overcome, and those which are in process of being solved.

Many writers and poets have enriched our literature with romantic tales and thrilling narratives of the Niagara region, but time forbids me to dwell upon these, and, besides, I have undertaken to deal only with more prosaic matters. Should you desire to refresh your memories regarding the occupation of this historic district by the North American Indian, its discovery by Jesuit Fathers, its alternate conquest by France and England, each in turn aided and beset by various Indian tribes, such authors as Parkman, Fenimore Cooper, and others will treat you to fact or fancy to suit your inclinations.

Much, however, has been written by scientists in reference to the early geographical history of Niagara Falls. Mr. J. W. Spencer, F.G.S., in a paper read before a meeting of the American Association for the Advanceemnt of Science, in 1894, refers to many historical facts. Although the computed age of the Niagara River is 32,000 years, it was not until about 8,000 years ago that the waters of the Huron Basin were discharged by way of Niagara; their course having previously been along the Ottawa Valley, but owing to many geological upheavals and deformations, the water-shed of the Great Lakes has changed from time to time. Mr. Spencer, who has made a life-long study of this subject, concludes that at the present rate of terrestrial uplift of the rocky floor of the Niagara at the outlet of Lake Erie, the drainage of the Great Lakes will be diverted into the Mississippi, by way of Chicago, within the next five or six thousand years. An elevation of 6o feet at the outlet of Lake Erie, would bring the rocky floor of the channel as high as the bed of the river at the Chicago divide, and an elevation of 70 feet would divert the drainage, and history would repeat itself by again diverting the overflow of the Great Lakes into a new channel, with this difference, that, while the Ottawa Valley outlet of ancient times was entirely within what is now Canadian territory, and the present outlet is in international territory, with about 8o per cent. of the available water flowing over the Canadian Falls, the Mississippi outlet will be entirely within the boundaries of the present United States, but, as we are promised not less than 5,000 years within which to take advantage of conditions as we now find them, we can safely leave posterity to take care of this phase of the question.

A more imminent danger, perhaps, than the terrestrial uplift is the rate of recession of the Canadian Falls. Before the survey of 1842, the only data for estimating the rate of recession at the Niagara Gorge were observations of the people of the neighbourhood, and it has been variously estimated to have been from one foot to three feet per year. Modern investigators, basing their calculations on the, surveys of 1842, 1875 and 1883, estimate the recession of the Canadian Fall at from three to five feet per year. The principal cause of this recession is from the fact that the cliff between the upper and lower rivers is not composed of solid rock, but is divided into five strata, which dip towards the south at the rate of about 25 feet to the mile. The upper stratum consists of compact Niagara limestone, about 8o feet in thickness. Underneath is comparatively soft Niagara shale, of about the same thickness. Numbers 3 and 5 are also strata of hard rock with a softer rock intervening, so that the matter of recession is very easily understood. The softer rocks more rapidly wear away, thus undermining the harder rocks above, leaving them to project over and finally to break off in huge fragments. The continuity of the under-lying soft strata insures the continuance of a projecting stratum at the top and a perpendicular plunge of the water when passing over it.

If we compute the possible recession at the maximum estimated rate of five feet per vear, it will take several hundred years before the various power developments can be injuriously affected, and several thousand years before the outlet from Lake Erie will be reached. In 1896, my good friend, Mr. .Thomas Commerford Martin, editor of The Electrical World and Engineer, read a paper before the Royal Institution of Great Britain, entitled " Utilization of Niagara "; and I quote some of my facts, from his carefully prepared statistics. He states that at Niagara there is discharged, through two narrowing precipitous channels, only 3,800 feet wide and 160 feet high, the contents of 6,000 cubic miles of water, with a reservoir area of 90,000 square miles, draining 300,000 square miles of territory. The ordinary overspill of this Atlantic set on edge has been determined to be equal to about 275,000 cubic feet per second, and the quantity passing is estimated as high as one million tons of water per hour. The drifting of a ship over the Horse Shoe Falls has proved it to have a thickness at the centre of the crescent of over 16 feet. Between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario there is a total difference of level 0f 300 feet, and the amount of power represented by the water of the River has been estimated on different bases from 6,750,000 up to not less than 16,8oo,ooo horse-power, the latter being a rough calculation of Sir Win. Siemens, who, in 1877, was the first to suggest the use of electricity as the modern and feasible agent of converting into useful power some of this majestic, but squandered energy.

Having thus briefly referred to the early geological history of the River and Falls, coupled with such explanatory statistics as will enable my audience to better follow the description of the power developments which are referred to later, I will commence at once to deal with the material interests of modern times, although it is with regret that in so doing I have to delete much interesting matter dealing with other episodes of the Niagara River and district. You are all familiar with the efforts of the late Lord Dufferin, when GovernorGeneral of Canada, to secure for a public park the lands immediately adjacent to the Horse Shoe Falls and Upper Rapids. As a direct result of Lord Dufferin's efforts, an Act was passed by the Ontario Legislature on the 5th of March, 1880, the preamble of which reads as follows

Whereas, it has been proposed that the Government of the Dominion of Canada and the State of New York should take steps to restore to some extent the scenery around the Falls of Niagara to its natural condition, and to preserve same from further deterioration, and also to afford to travellers and others facilities for observing the points of interest in the vicinity; and whereas it is desirable that any action the Government or Parliament of Canada may desire to take for the purpose of acquiring lands in the neighbourhood, with a view to the said object, should be handled in manner hereinafter appearing as relates to any matter within the authority of the Legislature of Ontario; therefore. Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows

As will be noted, this Act of the Province of Ontario, passed in 1880, was for the purpose of permitting the Dominion Government, with the consent of the Ontario Government, to acquire the lands necessary for park purposes, as Sir Oliver Mowat, the then Premier of Ontario, who most heartily favoured the park projects, took the ground that the park should be a national one, and that it was the duty of the Dominion Government to take the necessary action for its foundation, but owing to the Dominion Government not having availed itself of the opportunity thus afforded, practically nothing was done during the next ensuing five years. The Ontario Government then took the matter vigorously in hand, and during the Session of 1885 passed another Act, the preamble of which reads as follows

Whereas, the Government of the Dominion of Canada has not availed itself of the provisions of the Act passed in the forty-third year of Her Majesty's reign, entitled An Act Respecting Niagara Falls and the Adjacent Territory, and as it is desirable that other means should be taken to restore, to some extent, the scenery around the Falls of Niagara to its natural condition, and to preserve the same from further deterioration, and to afford travellers and others facilities for observing the points of interest in the vicinity; therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows

This Act, in addition to enacting methods whereby the lands, privileges, etc., were to be acquired, provided for the appointment by the Government of three Honorary Commissioners, whose first duties were: " To report as to the plans which, in their opinion, should be adopted for securing the permanent preservation of the properties, and as to the way in which the same should be managed, and in the establishment of same as a public park, with such other matters as the Commissioners may think fit." The Commissioners first appointed were Sir Casimir Gzowski, J. W. Langmuir, and J. Grant Macdonald. The Commissioners lost no time in making their first Report, which is dated September 18th, 1885, or a few months only after the passing of the Act. This Report was followed closely by others, and, if time permitted, much of interest and value could be learned therefrom. 'Suffice it to say, that the Commissioners finally secured the various lands and privileges necessary, and on the 5th of March, 1887, they reported the completion of their labours in this regard, and advised the Government that $525,000.00 would be required to pay the sum awarded by the arbitrators for the purchase of the lands and privileges. During the Session of 1887 another Act was passed, increasing the number of the Board of Commissioners from 3 to 5, vesting the lands heretofore or hereafter to be acquired in the Commissioners, and giving authority for the acquiring of additional lands and privileges. From this time until 1899 the Commissioners were engaged in the work of reconstruction, and in beautifying the Park by removing unsightly structures, and by constructing roads, walks, bridges, etc., which would afford facilities to the public to view all the points of interest, many of which had been more or less inaccessible. No provision, however, had been made by the Government when creating the Commission, for the maintenance of the Park other than by allowing certain moderate tolls to be charged for passengers crossing the Dufferin Island bridges, etc., and in the Report of 1889 the following doleful paragraph appears

The Commissioners, after carefully considering the question are forced to admit that even with improved conditions the source from which the revenues are now drawn will prove inadequate to meet the annual cost of maintaining the Park, exclusive of the payment of interest and sinking fund on the debentures.

This brings me to that point in the history of the Canadian Palls where electricity first looms up as a factor in the situation. The Commission had cast about for ways and means whereby they could increase their revenue. One scheme was the establishment of a line of coaches to run at stated times between the Mowat and Dufferin gates; another, more wisely adopted, was for the construction on the brink of the river of an electrical railway between the Park and Queenston, and the Report goes on to say: " The privileges of constructing a railway along the brink of the river, in the opinion of the Commissioners, should be a very valuable asset for the purpose of increasing the annual revenue of the Park." Having secured the consent of the Government to award the franchise for the construction and operation of an electric railway, an option to secure such a franchise was given to a syndicate of English capitalists, which was ultimately forfeited by their inability to raise the necessary funds.

An agreement was then entered into, on the 4th December, 1891, which authorized a Canadian Company, represented by Messrs. h. B. Osler, Wm. Hendrie, H. C. Hammond, and R. B. Angus, to construct and operate a railway, thereafter known as the Niagara Palls Park and River Railway Co., paying therefor an annual rental of $10,000.00; and the income thus acquired not only assisted the Commissioners in making the revenue account more nearly equal to the expenditures, but was the first rental received from any electrical development at Niagara Palls.

I have pleasant memories of the construction of this line. The Canadian General Electric Company, which was then in its infancy, was awarded the contract for the manufacture of the electrical apparatus. This was our first large contract, as electrical contracts went in those days, and I remember standing by the Zoo H.P. generator at the time this line was publicly opened, proud to know that it was the largest generator which up to that time had been manufactured in Canada; and nothing will more clearly exemplify the march of progress in electrical science than to refer to the fact that, while in 1902 a Zoo H.P. generator was the largest that had been built in this country, we are now building a number of 15,ooo H.P. generators, which are the largest in the world, and which will generate power to be derived from the same Niagara River at the power house of the Electrical Development Company.

The next step towards electrical development at the Park was, when, during the same year, the Commissioners gave an option to another body of English capitalists of the sole right of using for power purposes the waters of the Niagara River within the Park, at an annual rental of $25,000.00 This option was renewed by the Commissioners from time to time, upon the payment of an annual sum of $25,000.00, so that from this time forward the Commissioners were in receipt of an income of $10,000.00 from the Railway and $25,000.00 from the proposed Power Company, making in all a total of $35,000.00 per year on account of possibilities of electrical development, as against $4,000.00 per year from tolls, which had originally been expected to defray the cost of maintaining the Park. When all the concessions now granted are developed to their full capacity, the Commissioners will have an annual income of not less than $250,000.00 per year. Colonel Albert Shaw, who held the option for a monopoly of the power rights, being unable to interest the necessary English capital, associated with himself Mr. Wm. B. Rankin and others in the United States, and on the 4th of April, 1892, an Act of the Ontario Legislature was passed confirming the agreement made between the Commissioners and Colonel Shaw, Wm. B. Rankin, and others, who had organized as the Canadian Niagara Power Company.

Mr. Rankin has since associated with himself some of the wealthiest and brainiest men in the United States, and is at present Vice-President of the Canadian Niagara Power Company, operating, however, under different conditions of franchise from those first granted, and his Company is the first of the three large Power Companies on the Canadian side to commence active operations. I have mentioned that the Canadian Niagara Power Co. is operating under a different franchise from that first secured under the Act of 1892, and I must briefly dwell on this subject, as were it not for the surrender of their monopoly clause there would be a different story to tell. The first franchise was in all for a period of one hundred years, and the monopoly clause reads as follows

The Commission shall not grant Or confer upon any other Company or person any right to take or use the waters of the Niagara River within the limits of the Park, so long as this agreement is in force, nor will the Commissioners themselves engage in making use of the waters to generate electrical or pneumatic power except for the purposes of the Park, saving always in so far as regards the exceptions contained in paragraph 12 of this agreement (i.e., the electrical railway franchise already granted).

With this franchise went the obligation to have completed water connections for the development of 25,000 H.P., and have actually ready for use, supply and transmission 10,000 developed electrical H.P. by the first day of May, 1897; or over five years in which to construct. Without further comment, I may say that the Canadian Niagara Power Company, for some sufficient reason no doubt, failed to develop 10,000 H.P. within the time allowed by their franchise, and a new era commenced when the Commissioners were again authorized to lease to others such additional power sites as were available after the final location by the Canadian Niagara Power Company of the limits of their concession. In order to be as brief as possible in dealing with what I consider to be historic negotiations, I will skip from the year 1892, when the monopoly franchise was granted, until the year 1899. The Park Commissioners' Report of this year contains a full account of the negotiations which led to the abandonment by the Power Company of their monopoly. The Commissioners say that

As public sentiment appeared to favour the cancellation of the monopoly clauses in the Canadian Niagara Power Company's agreement, and the granting of equal rights to other Companies desirous of using the water power of the Falls for commercial purposes, the Legislature at its last session passed an Act conferring upon the Commissioners authority to negotiate with the Canadian Niagara Power Company for the surrender and abandonment of the sole and exclusive right to use the waters of the Niagara River within the limits of the Park, granted by the agreement of April, 1892, upon such terms and conditions as might appear to be necessary in the public interest.

A new agreement with the Canadian Niagara Power Co. was negotiated and entered into without delay, and during the same year another agreement was entered into between the Commissioners and the Ontario Power Company, which was the second company to secure concession for utilizing the waters of Niagara on the Canadian side for the development of electrical power. No doubt the Commissioners congratulated themselves upon the fact that these new agreements largely augmented their income; but I doubt if at that time they were optimistic enough to believe that within three years yet another Company would apply for a franchise. Up to 1902 all of the privileges on the Canadian side were being operated by United States capital, and Canadians had no part in the development of their magnificent birthright. The Niagara Palls Park and River Railway had been promoted, constructed, and, for a short time, operated by a Canadian company, which finally sold out to the International Railway Company. The Canadian Niagara Power Company and the Ontario Power Company are both controlled by United States capital, and much credit is due to them for their foresight and enterprise in being the first to take advantage of this opportunity for the investment of capital.

In 1902, however, Mr. Wm. Mackenzie, Colonel H. M. Pellatt, and myself, made application for a site in the Park for the development of power on a large scale. Before this time the ability to transmit electrical energy for long distances at high voltages had not been commercially demonstrated, but as soon as it was known to be both feasible and successful, the question of generating power at Niagara Palls for transmission to Toronto became a live topic. After protracted negotiations between the Syndicate, the Ontario Government, and the Park Commissioners, a franchise was finally granted and an agreement entered into on the 29th day of January, 1903, and on the 18th day of February following, the Electrical Development Company of Ontario, Limited, was incorporated for the purpose of proceeding immediately with the development of their concession. The capital of this Company has been exclusively subscribed and paid for by Canadians, so that I am glad to be able to say that a more or less international reproach has been removed, and a Canadian Company will be in a position to engage in keen but, I hope, friendly rivalry with our enterprising neighbours who have spied out our land and shown their belief in its future by their deeds.

Having endeavoured to set forth chronologically the various undertakings and agreements precedent to the construction of their works by the three large Power Companies on the Canadian side, I will, before proceeding with the description thereof, refer as quickly as possible to their relation to the present and prospective flow of the river; because many people fear that when the power houses are in operation the flow of water will be so diminished as to appreciably interfere with the scenic beauties of the great cataract. I have previously mentioned that the total estimated horse power of the river passing over the Falls is from six to seven million, and a later authority, Mr. James Wilson, Park Superintendent, estimates that, after making liberal deductions, a total of 5,500,000 H.P. electrically can be safely assumed', 9o per cent. of which is at the Canadian or Horse Shoe Fall.

When all the Companies who are operating both on the Canadian and United States sides of the river have developed their concessions to their maximum output, which of course cannot be for some time to come, only about 78,000 cubic feet out of 223,000 cubic feet per second will be diverted, leaving 144,000 cubic feet plus 25,000 cubic feet (which is taken from the United States side), or a total of 16g,ooo cubic feet remaining on the Canadian side to perpetuate the scenic effects of the Horse Shoe cataract. Whether this deduction in years to come, of about 23 percent of the water passing over the brink of the Falls will detract from their grandeur, can only be estimated, but as a mere spectacle I am inclined to think that a depth of water of, say, from is to 14 feet projecting into the abyss below will be as aweinspiring as ever.

It frequently happens that a strong wind blowing from the north holds back the water in Lake Erie, thereby reducing the head of water at the Falls by not less than two feet, and yet none but close observers can distinguish the difference. In fact, the cogent argument has been advanced by Dr. Martin, that a reduction of the quantity of water will actually help to conserve the scene as it exists today, for the terrific weight and rush of waters over the Horse Shoe Fall is eating it away and breaking its cliff into a series of receding slopes and rapids, so that even a slight diminution of the whelming mass of wave will to that extent lessen its disruption and decay.

If, as all hope, and most of us believe, we can, without diminishing the scenic effects, turn to good use this mighty power which Edison has termed " the greatest storage battery on earth," and which for countless ages has simply been running to waste, so far as its economical use is concerned, surely something will have been accomplished for the good of mankind. In every part of Ontario today coal is being used in the mills, the factories, and the homes. This coal, which has been mined in a foreign country, is toil-won from the bowels of the earth, and after passing through many grimy processes is laden on cars or vessels before finally reaching its destination. If we can secure our power and heat in a more acceptable form, without the grime and noxious fumes incidental to the use of coal, I say that something has been accomplished for the general good, and it is now my privilege to point out, not only how this is being done on a large scale, but how this more acceptable, but invisible and mystic power, which men call electricity, will be transmitted along slender copper wires to great distances, and having silently entered our mills, factories and power houses, over still more slender wires, will, like the genii out of the bottle, expand into a force that is terrifying when uncontrolled.

It is the vocation of the modern engineer, however, to devise methods and machinery whereby this mighty force is absolutely under human control, led hither and thither at will, and divided and sub-divided as circumstances dictate. It is used for the propelling of mighty locomotives that can draw heavier trains, at a greater speed, than any steam locomotive ever built. It can drive the heaviest machinery in mill or factory, or from the same wires can propel the tiniest electric fan. It can, when used through the medium of the searchlight, project illumination through miles of space, and thus defend the fortress or the battleship from attack or disaster, and when held in bondage by a storage battery, may be used, as the reserves of a great army are used, only in times of stress or of critical emergency. It is used as an implement of the wrath of man, when in the interests of justice the murderer atones for his crime in the electric chair of death, and again, and in sharp contrast, man, when in nobler mood, uses its subtle healing and health-giving properties to alleviate pain and prolong life.

I have said this much in defence of those of us who, while as anxious as any to see the beauties of nature undefiled, believe that much good can be accomplished by utilizing Niagara's power, without doing violence to the aesthetic tastes of the antiquarian, the artist, or even a Cook's tourist. The Park Commissioners, in their own wisdom, but at the expense of the Power Companies, have been rigidly insistent upon the various works of construction being so planned that when completed they will not only not detract from the physical beauty of their surroundings, but add thereto those monuments of engineering skill and modern achievement which I am about to describe, and which has been made possible only by the optimism of capital; and it is cause for congratulation that most of the possibilities of power development at Niagara are on the Canadian side, for although two of the three Companies are controlled by United States capital, each of the agreements contains a clause providing that not less than 50 per cent. of the power they may develop shall be held for use in Canada in the event of a demand arising therefor.

I estimate that the completed cost of the three great works now under construction will be from fifteen to twenty million dollars; and as the major portion of this vast sum is being expended in Canada for labour, materials, and machinery, and as at least one-half of the total output accruing from this expenditure is conserved for Canadian use, I submit that the Government and the Commissioners, while encouraging investment, have made excellent bargains with the Power Companies. The first to commence construction was the Canadian Niagara Power Company, they being quickly followed by the Ontario Power Company, and later by the Electrical Development Company : and I will refer to the special features of each plant in this order.