140 



SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



wiTIT-'p^fwc^ Water i^ower is universally rccoo'iiized as the cheapest 

 preservation, po^yer to be SBCurecl for any species of manufacture, for 

 when once the constrnctional development is at an end 

 the attendant expenses become very small, since, thi'ough 

 the operation of the laws of nature, the water flows with- 

 out cost by day and night, while every ton of coal that 

 passes in at the furnace door represents a certain expendi- 

 ture, and in plants requiring great power this fuel cost 

 ma}' come to represent a large proportion of the cost of 

 manufacture. 



In the past the chief advantage of steam power over 

 water power was the mobility of the former, for steam 

 could be generated wherever fuel could l)e obtained and 

 mills could be built and where the transportation facilities 

 were such as to insure the quick disposal of the finished 

 product. By reason of the great improvements in elec- 

 trical transmission of power, steam has lost its advantage, 

 for water power can now be brought to a mill for dis- 

 tances of man}?^ miles more cheaply than power can be 

 obtained from coal at most points. The water powers, 

 therefore, in the not far distant future, may become as 

 valuable as coal mines, and as the local coal supply l)ecomes 

 more costly bv reason of deeper mining, the water powers 

 will increase in value. 



This wealth should not be wantonly wasted. Its present 

 value can be conserved and its future value increased by 

 the preservation of the forests about the headwaters of the 

 streams; and this preservation would seem desirable, 

 therefore, if for no other reason than this, entirely apart 

 from the wealth-producing capabilities of the forests 

 themselves. 



Aggregate is impossible at this time to give an accurate statement 



water power m ^ ° 



southern Appa- Qf f}^Q total Dower available on all the streams rising in 



lachian region. " _ 



and flowing from this area, for the reason that the power 

 on any stream can not be determined accurately without 

 a survey of the entire course of the stream with this object 

 in view, and any discussion of this, based on the total 

 fall from source to mouth and the average quantity of 

 water carried b}' the stream, would be worse than mislead- 

 ing; for the mere fact that there is on any stream a 

 certain fall within a certain distance, over which flows a 

 certain amount of water, does not mean that this locality 

 constitutes an available water power. Theoreticall}' the 

 power is there, but practically it is nonexistent unless it 

 can be developed and brought to use for a sum which is 



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