Niagara Falls 



1895 horse-power on the American side, and to develop at least 

 250,000 horse-power on the Canadian side, it was readily recog- 

 nized how vastly this local development promised, in extent, to 

 surpass the combined water-powers of almost any American 

 State or section. 



The question of the practical importance of the Niagara power 

 being settled, Mr. Atkinson's next question arose as to the advan- 

 tages of Niagara as a locality, and to this, answer was readily 

 made by pointing out that there in the very heart of densest popu- 

 lation, touched by nearly all the East and West trunk-lines, 

 within a night's journey of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 

 Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, 

 Toronto and Montreal, was a natural port of the great lakes, 

 sustained by a salubrious and fruitful country and protected by 

 the orderly and established institutions and traditions of the most 

 opulent and populous of the states of the Union. The existence 

 of manufacturing establishments sufficient to exhaust all of the 

 power then supplied by the hydraulic canal, and the subsequent 

 applications for the new power, were and are the complete 

 answer to the question whether, as a locality, Niagara would be 

 attractive to users of power. 



But the question still remained whether water-power could be 

 used successfully in competition with steam, and there are few 

 places in respect of which this question can be asked with more 

 deadly effect; for, in the city of Buffalo, and indeed through the 

 entire length of the district lying north of Pittsburgh, good steam- 

 ing coal can be obtained at less than $1 .50 a ton. With coal at 

 this price, it would, at first, seem impracticable to establish any 

 power plant capable of operating in competition with steam. But 

 a careful examination has satisfied me, at least, that with coal 

 furnished free at the furnace yard, it would still be economical 

 for the manufacturer to employ water-power such as that at 

 Niagara. 



(The remainder of the article describes the establishment of the Cataract 

 Construction Company, the formation and purposes of the International 



972 



