spring from the preservation of the beauty and majesty of the Falls in their natural condition. Over 800,000 people visit the Falls annually, deriving pleas ure and inspiration from them. The nations of the world have always recog nized the great value of parks and reservations, and throughout the civilized world they have preserved places of natural grandeur and beauty and furnished parks, artificially beautified, for rest, education, and the elevation of their people. An illustration may be given in the case of the city of New York, one of many hundreds. There the municipality has acquired, in Central Park, property which is estimated to be worth $225,000,000, and has spent millions upon its improvement and ornamentation. The United States Government has reserved lands of striking picturesqueness, grandeur, and interest, regardless of their value. These illustrations would seem to prove conclusively that the people are not inclined to offset mere commercial values against the intangible but none the less great advantages found in the preservation of the great works of nature. 30. It is probably not expedient to attempt the recovery of the rights granted to companies which have taken full advantage of them. In the case of the Niagara Falls Power Co., on the American side, the franchise authorizes it to develop 200,000 horsepower. It has constructed works having about half that capacity, but has not begun the construction of the additional works, and we believe, has no present intention of doing so. In the case of the Ontario Power Co., on the Canadian side, the construction of works under the agreement of April 11, 1900, has been indefinitely postponed. The authority for the additional works in both these cases could probably be withdrawn without inflicting an unreasonable hardship. All franchises of which advantage has not been taken should be extinguished. 31. The following is a summary of the foregoing statement of facts: (a) The glory of Niagara Falls lies in the volume of its water rather than in its height, or in the surrounding scenery. (b) Works are now authorized and partially completed at the Falls which will divert from the Niagara River above the Falls about 27 per cent of the average discharge, and about 33 per cent of the low-water discharge, which is more than double the quantity now flowing over the American Fall. In addition to this, water naturally tributary to the Niagara River is being diverted through the Chicago drainage canal, and for power in addition to navigation purposes through the Erie and the Welland Canals. (c) The effect of this withdrawal of water is to injure both the American and the Horseshoe Falls in nearly equal proportions. While the injury will be perceptible, it may not be destructive or disastrous. (d) Improvements in the transmission of electric power and increased demand will make a market for all the power which can be developed at Niagara Falls, and will cause a destruction of the Falls as a scenic spectacle if the development be allowed to go on unchecked. (e) Charters have been granted to corporations which propose to divert additional amounts in quantities not now limited. (f) The sums of money invested, or being invested. in the works now in operation or under construction, and in the industries dependent upon them, amount to many millions of dollars. It is probably not expedient to attempt the withdrawal of the rights thus utilized (g) The commercial value of the water power at Niagara Falls is very great. but if compared with values set aside by wealthy communities elsewhere for park purposes this value is not too great to be devoted to similar purposes. The place is visited annually by about 800,000 people. 32. If the Falls are to be preserved it must be by mutual agrement between the two countries. As a step in that direction we recommend that legislation be enacted which shall contain the following provisions, viz: (a) The Secretary of War to be authorized to grant permits for the diversion of 28.500 cubic feet per second, and no more, from the waters naturally tributary to Niagara Falls, distributed as follows: Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co.- Erie Canal or its tenants (in addition to lock service) Cubic feet. 9,500 8,600 400 10,000 (b) All other diversion of water which is naturally tributary to Niagara Falls to be prohibited, except such as may be required for domestic use or for the service of locks in navigation canals. (c) Suitable penalties for violation of the law to be prescribed. (d) The following prohibition to remain in force two years, and then to become the permanent law of the land, if, in the meantime, the Canadian Government shall have enacted legislation prohibiting the diversion of water which is naturally tributary to Niagara Falls, in excess of 36,000 cubic feet per second, not including the amounts required for domestic use for the service of locks in navigation canals. It is assumed, however, that an understanding upon this subject would be reached by treaty. The object of such legislation would be to put a stop to the further depletion of the Falls, and at the same time inflict the least possible injury upon the important interests now dependent upon this water power. The amount to be diverted on the Canadian side has been fixed with a view to allowing to the companies on that side the amounts for which they now have works under construction, which are: Cubic feet. Ontario Power Co--- Canadian Niagara Power Co... Electrical Development Co- Niagara Falls Park Railway Co--- Welland Canal or its tenants (in addition to lock service) -- 9, 500 12,000 11, 200 1, 500 1, 800 34. One of the effects of such legislation would be to give to Canada the advantage of diverting 7,500 cubic feet per second more than is diverted in the United States. The advantage is more apparent than real, since the power generated on the Canadian side will to a large extent be transmitted to and used in the United States. In the negotiation of a treaty, however, the point should be considered. 35. The substance of this report was submitted to our Canadian colleagues before the passage of the joint resolution, with a view to uniting in a joint report under the general law providing for the commission. There was a substantial agreement in the statement of facts, and such differences as developed with respect to the recommendations which ought to be made did not seem insuperable, but our colleagues desired time for further consideration. We have no doubt of their sympathetic interest in carrying out that part of the instructions contained in the resolution which requires us "to exert in conjunction with the members of said commission representing the Dominion of Canada, practicable, all possible efforts for the preservation of Niagara Falls in their natural condition." REPORTS UPON THE EXISTING WATER-POWER SITUATION AT NIAGARA FALLS, SO FAR AS CONCERNS THE DIVERSION OF WATER ON THE AMERICAN SIDE-REPORT BY THE AMERICAN MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WATERWAYS COMMISSION. INTERNATIONAL WATERWAYS COMMISSION, OFFICE OF AMERICAN SECTION, Buffalo, N. Y., November 15, 1906. Mr. SECRETARY: The American members of the International Waterways Commission have the honor to return herewith the report dated October 5. 1906, by Capt. Charles W. Kutz, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, upon the subject of permits for diverting water on the American side at Niagara Falls, referred to them by your indorsement of October 13. In our report' dated September 29, 1906, we gave a brief description of the four kinds of permits authorized by the act approved June 29, 1906, and we concurred in the recommendations contained in Capt. Kutz's report of August 15, 1906, which referred to permits of the third kind, or those for transmitting electrical power from Canada into the United States to the aggregate amount of 160,000 horsepower. The report by Capt. Kutz now under consideration 1 Printed in War Department Document No. 284, Office of the Chief of Engineers. refers to permits of the first kind, or those for diverting water from the Niagara River on the American side to an aggregate amount not exceeding 15,600 cubic feet per second. The conditions prescribed in the law for this kind of permits are that— 1. They must be issued "to individuals, companies, or corporations which are now actually producing power from the waters of said river or its tributaries in the State of New York or from the Erie Canal." 2. The amount of water to be allowed must not exceed that “now actually in use or contracted to be used in factories the buildings for which are now in process of construction." 3. The amount to be allowed "to any one individual, company, or corporation as aforesaid " must not exceed 8,600 cubic feet per second. 4. The total amount to be allowed "to all individuals, companies, or corporations as aforesaid " must not exceed an aggregate of 15,600 cubic feet per second. Applications have been received from the Niagara Falls Power Co. for a permit to divert 8,600 cubic feet per second, from the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co. for a permit to divert 6,400 cubic feet per second, and from numerous industries at Lockport and at Medina, using small quantities of water from the Erie Canal. After a careful examination of all the circumstances which should affect a decision as to the amount of water to be allowed under the act, including the capital invested, the present capacity of the works and their present output, the quantity of water now actually in use, the contracts made for furnishing power, with the dates of such contracts, the future capacity of the works as projected, and the charter rights under New York State law, Capt. Kutz reaches the conclusion that a permit should be granted to the Niagara Falls Power Co. for the maximum amount allowed, viz, 8,600 cubic feet per second. He finds that the company and its tenants have that amount actually in use and may reasonably ask for the whole of it, and in that opinion we concur. He is in doubt whether it should include the water which is occasionally used for sluicing débris and ice. The amount of this is not accurately known, but it is estimated at between 600 and 700 cubic feet per second during the sluicing process. It is used only intermittently. The total amount thus used in a year would, if distributed throughout the year, be but a small average per second. The law is explicit in prohibiting a permit for any amount whatever in excess of 8,600 cubic feet per second, but it seems a reasonable interpretation to take that as the general average and to allow the company to use a slightly less amount during the greater part of the year in order to accumulate enough water to supply the demands of sluicing upon the occasions when it is needed. After a similar careful examination of all the circumstances relating to the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co., Capt. Kutz reaches the conclusion that a permit should be granted that company for the diversion of 5,743 cubic feet per second, exclusive of the amount required for sluicing, or for 6,403 cubic feet per second if the water for sluicing be included. The latter is estimated at 660 cubic feet per second. It seems to us desirable that the permits to the two companies should resemble each other in their provisions for sluicing. If to the 5,743 cubic feet per second just mentioned there be added 107 cubic feet per second as an average for sluicing, an allowance will be made for the accumulation of water which will provide 660 cubic feet per second for sluicing during 1163 hours of each month, or 59 days in each year, an allowance which is ample. Under this arrangement the amount to be granted to this company for the use of itself and its tenants would be 5,850 cubic feet per second. The industries using water from the Erie Canal are numerous, and the quantity of water diverted is comparatively small. At Lockport 27 persons or corporations are using water taken either from the upper or the lower level. It is understood that most of the water from the upper level is returned to the canal; but the arrangement of tunnels is such that the water has two outlets, and it is impossible to determine what portion is permanently diverted into Eighteenmile Creek. Many of these industries are located one below the other on Eighteenmile Creek, and use the same water successively, taking it from the lower level. The quantity of water permanently diverted from the canal at Lockport is found from measurements taken above and below all diversions to be upon an average 193 cubic feet per second. Industries at Medina, N. Y., use about 165 cubic feet per second. The num ber of the industries is not given, but it is understood that they are in general of about the same magnitude as those at Lockport. The total amount of water diverted from the Erie Canal is therefore 358 cubic feet per second, and the number of industries using it is between 30 and 40. Many of these industries have made application for permits; but many others have not, and of those applying many use the water which has previously been used by one or more others. Manifestly there is difficulty in apportioning the proper amount among so great a number. After apportionment there would be difficulty in the enforcement by the Federal authority of the provisions of the permits if granted. The canal is owned by and is under the exclusive control of the State of New York. The State engineer protests against the granting by the United States of any permit which shall impose an obligation upon the State. Capt. Kutz suggests that the difficulty may be met by treating all these industries as tenants of the State and granting the permit to the Sate, as it is proposed to provide for the tenants of the Niagara Falls Power Co. and of the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co. by the permits of those companies. He recommends that a permit for the diversion of 358 cubic feet per second be grauted to the State of New York. The objections to this course are that the State of New York has not applied for a permit and might perhaps not be willing to accept one, and it is a somewhat forced interpretation of the law to include the State among the "individuals, companies, or corporations which are now actually producing power," to whom the privilege must be restricted. It is our opinion that the person first using the water after it leaves the canal should have a permit directly from the Secretary of War, and that persons using it afterwards may be allowed to do so without a permit. The information necessary for the issuance of these permits is not now at hand. We have taken steps to secure it, and if the honorable Secretary of War concurs in the opinion just expressed we propose to submit a supplementary report upon the subject as soon as possible hereafter. We accordingly recommend that permits for the diversion of water from the Niagara River be granted to the Niagara Falls Power Co. for 8,600 cubic feet per second and the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co. for 5,850 cubic feet per second, it being understood that these are average amounts, and that the larger amounts occasionally required for sluicing may be accumulated by using generally smaller amounts. REPORT BY CAPT. CHARLES W. KUTZ, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, October 5, 1906. GENERAL: 1. Referring to the orders of the Secretary of War dated July 14, 1906, in reference to the power situation at Niagara Falls, and to the report dated August 15, 1906, in reference to the Canadian power companies and their associated transmission companies, I now have the honor to submit a report in reference to those companies seeking permits to divert water on the American side. 2. The law limits the present granting of permits for diversion to those individuals, companies, or corporations which are now using water for power purposes from the Niagara River, or its tributaries, or from the Erie Canal. 3. The only companies coming within the scope of the act of Congress are the Niagara Falls Power Co., the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co., and numerous small industries at Lockport and at Medina, N. Y. 4. Upon request, the two large companies prepared specific replies in writing to each of the questions propounded by the Secretary of War, and copies of these replies are appended hereto, marked Appendix I and Appendix J. The Niagara Falls Power Co. 5. This company was created, organized, and continued by six acts of the legislature of the State of New York, as follows: Chapter 83 of laws of 1886. chapter 489 of the laws of 1886, chapter 109 of the laws of 1889, chapter 253 of the laws of 1891, chapter 513 of the laws of 1892, and chapter 477 of the laws of 1893. In section 2 of one of these acts (chapter 513, laws of 1892) it is provided "that nothing contained therein or in any of the former acts concerning said corporation shall be so construed as to confer an exclusive right nor any right to infringe upon the State reservation, or to obstruct the navigation of the Niagara River, or to take therefrom more water than shall be sufficient to produce two hundred thousand effective horsepower." 6. The general construction adopted by this company for utilizing the energy of the Falls is as follows: A short canal has been excavated at a point about 1 mile above the Falls on the American side, its direction being approximately at right angles to the river; this canal is 250 feet wide at the mouth, narrowing to 100 feet at its upper end; its depth is about 12 fee. Two power houses have been constructed on opposite sides of this canal. The water is carried by the means of penstocks to the turbines which are installed near the bottom of the two wheel pits under the two respective power houses. After leaving the turbines the water is discharged into a horseshoe-shaped tunnel with an area equivalent to that of a circle 21 feet in diameter, which carries it to the lower river, a distance of about 7,000 feet. 7. In power house No. 1 the turbines discharge their water into the tailrace openly without draft tubes. In power house No. 2 draft tubes are used, making the theoretical effective head 144 feet in power house No. 2 as against 136 feet in power house No. 1. These power houses have a combined generator capacity of 105,000 horsepower. 8. In addition to the above, water is supplied from the intake canal to the International Paper Co. and to the pumping plant of the Niagara Falls Water Works Co. 9. As a result of more or less recent tests made by the engineers of the power company, it was determined that an average in the two power houses of 0.101 cubic foot of water per second was required to develop 1 electrical horsepower at the switchboard. If this determination is correct, the development of 100.000 electrical horsepower, the nominal capacity of the plant, would require 10,100 cubic feet of water per second. This amount exceeds by 1,500 cubic feet the amount computed as necessary under the assumed efficiency of the turbines and the theoretical effective heads noted above. This difference is due to certain defects in the design, the tail water in the two wheel pits standing at such a level as to materially affect the effective head. 10. The plant of the International Paper Co., one of the power company's tenants, consists of 6 turbines, each rated 1,600 horsepower, and 2 centrifugal pumps, representing about 69 horsepower. The amount of water used by this company was determined by test made in 1904, using a current meter placed at various points in a given cross section of the paper mill's headrace. These measurements were taken with an average of 87 per cent of gate opening, and showed a flow of about 660 cubic feet per second, or about 750 cubic feet per second with full gate opening. 11. The hydraulic plant of the Niagara Falls Water Works Co. consists of two Pelton water wheels, each rated at 400 effective horsepower, and the amount of water used does not exceed 75 cubic feet per second. The officers of the Niagara Falls Power Co. are of the opinion that the use of water by the Water Works Co. for developing power to run their pumps is exempted from the prohibition of diversion on the ground that it is indirectly used for domestic and sanitary purposes. 12. Deducting the amounts used by its tenant companies, 825 cubic feet per second, from the maximum amount for which a permit can now be granted to any one individual, company, or corporation-that is, 8,600 cubic feet per second-there remains 7,775 cubic feet a second for use in the power plant. Again, deducting the amount used in the exciter turbines, stated to be 35 cubic feet per second, and using the ratio obtained from the company's tests above mentioned, the maximum electrical output of this company is limited by law for the present to 76,630 electrical horsepower. 13. This limitation does not take into consideration the water that is occasionally used for sluicing débris and ice, the amount of which is not known. It is questionable whether water used for this purpose should be included in that for which a permit is considered necessary. Such use is intermittent, and |