THE UTILIZATION OF NIAGARA. 220 



merits 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 Company. The 

 current for the production of aluminum 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 insula- 

 tors arranged upon the pins along the 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 £3 17s. Gd. per electrical horsepower per annum 

 delivered on the wire, or about 2 guineas for a turbine horsepower, a 

 rate which is not to be equaled anywhere, in view of the absolute cer- 

 tainty 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 enter- 

 prise 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 barrels a day. All that 

 oil has first to be gathered from individual wells in the oil region, and 

 delivered to storage tanks with a capacity of 9,000,000 barrels of oil. 

 Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are centers forsimilar systems of 

 oil pipe running hundreds of miles over hill and dale. As for natural 

 gas, that is to-day sent in similar manner over distances of 120 miles, 

 Chicago being thus supplied from the Indiana gas fields; and the gas 

 has its pressure raised and lowered several timeson its way from the gas 

 well to the consumer's tap, just as though it were current from Niagara. 



We must not overlook some of the fantastic schemes proposed for 

 transmitting the power of Niagara before electricity was adopted. One 

 of them was to hitch the turbines to a big steel shaft running through 

 New York State from east to west, so that where the shaft passed a 

 town or factory all you had to do was to hitch on a belt or some gear 



