310 FORESTS, RESERVOIRS, AND STREAM FLOW 
the established ideas. But a little consideration will show it to be 
not only the best way for both private and public interests, but really 
the. only practicable way. This may be illustrated by a concrete 
example: 
The Government has just completed a survey and adopted a 
project for the construction of what is known as the Lake Wash- 
ington Canal in the City of Seattle. It is a canal to connect Lakes 
Union and Washington with Puget Sound. The discharge from the 
tributary water-shed which will flow through the canal averages about 
1500 cu. ft. per see. The mean fall at the lock site is about 15 ft. The 
theoretical energy is about 2500 h.p., but owing to the tidal fluctuation 
and variations of flow with the seasons (which cannot be wholly elimi- 
nated on account of the necessity of limiting the fluctuations of level 
in the lakes to about 3 ft.), and also to the requirements for canal 
power, lockage and leakage, it was thought that about only 1000 h.p. 
could be depended upon with certainty for outside use. As this 
power is located in the heart of a great city, it seemed as if it ought 
to be turned to good account in helping bear the cost of maintaining 
the canal. Efforts to obtain tentative propositions for developing this 
power were, however, wholly fruitless. The plan was then considered 
of having the Government build the plant and lease it to consumers 
of power. On this basis a tentative offer was obtained from a respon- 
sible consumer to take the plant, operate it, keep up all repairs, and pay 
the Government $18 per horse-power-year. Probably by the time the canal 
is completed, a figure of $25 can be obtained, and as more than 1000 
h.p. will probably be developed, it is likely that the Government will 
receive upward of $30 000 per year for this power—enough to pay the 
entire cost of operating the canal. The extra cost to the project of 
adopting the power-plant feature is $220 000, so that the revenue will 
be nearly 14% upon the expenditure. 
In recommending this plan to the Department, it was pointed out 
-that the true advantage of the Government, even apart from the 
revenue expected, favored its adoption. It simplified the whole 
relation between the Government and the consumer. If private in- 
terests were to build the plant, they would acquire vested rights 
which would always stand in the way of future control, and lead to 
complications if it should become necessary to terminate the arrange- 
ment. With the plant in the possession of the Government, and the 
