276 Mr. Thomas Commerf or d Martin [June 19, 



by contact, in order to make it absolutely water-tight. This cable 

 weighs just over 4 lbs. to the foot, of which 3 lbs. are copper and 1 lb. 

 insulation. 



We have thus advanced far enough to get our current on to the 

 bus bars, and the next step is to get it from them out of the power 

 house. This final work is done by extendinc; our bars, so to speak, 

 and carrying them across the bridge over the canal, into what is 

 known as the transformer house. It is here that the current received 

 from the other side of the canal is to be raised in potential, so that it 

 can be sent great distances over small wires without material loss. 

 Meantime we may note that the Niagara Falls Power Co. itself 

 owns more than a square mile around the power house, upon 

 which a large amount of power will be consumed in the near future 

 by manufacturing establishments of all kinds, and that it is already 

 delivering power in large blocks electrically for a great variety of 

 purposes. Special apparatus for this work has been built by the 

 General Electric Co. The current for the production of aluminium 

 is made " direct " by passing through static and rotary transformers, 

 while the Acheson Carborundum process uses the pure alternating 

 current. Besides this, the trolley road from Niagara to Buffalo is 

 already taking part of its power from the Niagara power house by 

 means of rotary transformers. For these and other local uses the 

 company has constructed subways in which to carry the wire across 

 its own territory. These subways are 5 feet 6 inches high, and 

 3 feet 10 inches wide inside. They are built up with 12 inches 

 of Portland cement and gravel, backed up with about 1 foot of 

 masonry at the bottom and extending about 3 feet up each side. 

 The electric conductors are carried on insulated brackets or insu- 

 lators arranged upon the pins along tlie walls. These brackets 

 are 30 feet apart. At the bottom of the conduit manholes are 

 holes for tapping off into side conduits, and along it all runs a 

 track, upon which an inspector can propel himself on a private 

 trolley car if necessary. Thus is distributed locally, the electric 

 power for which the consumer pays the very modest sum of 

 31. 17s. 6d. per electrical horse-power per annum delivered on the 

 wire, or about two guineas for a turbine horse-power, a rate which 

 is not to be equalled anywhere, in view of the absolute certainty of 

 the power, free from all annoyance, extra expense, or bother of any 

 kind on the part of the consumer. 



It is a curious fact that the proposal to transmit the energy of 

 Niagara long distances over wire should have been regarded with so 

 much doubt and scepticism, and that the courageous backers of the 

 enterprise should have needed time to demonstrate that they were 

 neither knaves nor fools, but simply brave, far-seeing men. We have 

 to-day parallel instances to Niagara in the transmission of oil and 

 natural gas. Oil is delivered in New York City over a line of pipe 

 which is at least 400 miles long, and which has some thirty-five 

 pumping stations en route, the capacity of the line being 30,000 



