The Enslaving of Niagara

Abstract

The article discusses the harnessing of Niagara Falls for its power use. The article begins discussing 1889 when the "Cataract Construction Company, an American corporation, whereof Mr. William B. Rankine, of New York, was the leading spirit, and had associated with him such men of money and brains as Francis Lynde Stetson, J. Pierpont Morgan, D. O. Mills, Morris K. Jessup, W. K. Vanderbilt and John Jacob Astor." The author then discusses the development of other companies, "while the Canadian Niagara Power Company is the first in the field it is by no means alone on the Ontario bank for two other companies, viz., the Ontario Power Company and the Toronto and Niagara Power Company are hard at work getting into shape for business. Of these the first names is a purely American concern, and the second a purely Canadian one, Mr. William Mackenzie, of Mackenzie & Mann, Colonel Pellatt, and Mr. Frederic Nicholls being the leading spirits. The Ontario Power Company first proposed to build an open canal from the Welland River, above Chippewa, to a point near Queen Victoria Park, and thence conduct the water in pipes laid underground to their power-house, which is to situated at the foot of the cliff, not far below Table Rock, the used water then falling into the river directly without any tail-race tunnel being required. The company intends to develop, at least, 100,000 horse-power, but its works can hardly be complete for a couple of years yet. Finally there is the Toronto and Niagara Power Company, whose intake and power-house will be upon the same spot at a location about half-way between the intakes of the other two companies, while the tunnel to carry off the used water will be cut through the rock under the bed of the river until it comes out at a point somewhere beneath the Horse-Shoe Falls themselves".