OCR Text |
Show VAST WATER POWER. A Teport just submitted by Jules Cels, under-secretary of public works for France, shows that the republic has a total capacity of 9,000,000 horsopower in its natural waterfalls. The survey conducted con-ducted under the direction of M. Cels has been unusually complete, and will be made tho basis of possible reclamation reclama-tion projects of gigantic proportions. Of the vast water power possible of development in France, 750,000 horsepower horse-power was utilized before the war. About 500,000 horsepower has been put into operation since 1914. There is now undof consideration in the chamber of deputies a bill regulating regulat-ing the cession of water rights, by the enforcement of which should it be adopted 7,750,000 horsepower units will be made available for possible, and, it is hoped, speedy development. The chief need of utilizing its water power for France lies in the country's present dependence upon other nations for coal. It is estimated that if France turned its tremendous hydraulic power to account it would have the equivalent of 78,000,000 tons of coal burning annually. an-nually. This is 1S,000,000 more tons than France consumed before the war. France requires 20,000,000 tons of coal yearly in excess of its own production. pro-duction. At the present prices the purchase of such a supply means the payment in foreign markets of nearly a billion and a quarter francs, a situation situ-ation which naturally has a material bearing upon French exchange. If France develops the power latent in her waterfalls she will require little or no coal with which to drive her industrial in-dustrial plants. In turn, the lack of demand for coal in France would relieve re-lieve the pressure on production in England En-gland and elsewhere, so that, in the end, the effect of the turning of the wheels of industry in Franca- by electricity elec-tricity would be felt throughout the world. |