CHAPTER XXXIII 

 THE POWER BEHIND THE ENGINE 



SMALL boys soon learn the power of running water ; swim- 

 ming or rowing downstream is easy, while swimming or rowing 

 against the current is difficult, and the swifter the water, the 

 easier the one and the more difficult the other; the river 

 assists or opposes us as we go with it or against it. The water 

 of a quiet pool or of a gentle stream cannot do work, but water 

 which is plunging over a precipice or a dam, or is flowing down 

 steep slopes, may be made to saw wood, grind our corn, light 

 our streets, or run our electric cars. A waterfall, or a rapid 

 stream, is a great asset to any community, and for this reason 

 should be carefully guarded. Water power is as great a source 

 of wealth as a coal bed or a gold mine. 



The most tremendous waterfall in our country is Niagara 

 Falls, which every minute hurls millions of gallons of water 

 down a 1 63-foot precipice. The energy possessed by such an 

 enormous quantity of water flowing at such a tremendous 

 speed is almost beyond everyday comprehension, and would 

 suffice to run the engines of many cities far and near. Numer- 

 ous attempts to buy from the United States the right to utilize 

 large quantities of this apparently wasted energy have been 

 made by various commercial companies. It is fortunate that 

 these negotiations have been largely fruitless, because the devi- 

 ation of large quantities of water for commercial uses and the in- 

 stallation of machinery in the vicinity of the famous falls would 

 greatly detract from the beauty of this world-known scene, and 

 would rob our country of a natural beauty unequaled elsewhere. 



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