Tesla's Dream

He Has a Plan to Send Niagara Falls Power Through to New York by Electricity's Aid.

ALL EYES ON NIAGARA FALLS.

Supt. of Public Works Hannan Feels that the Niagara Power Company Can Wire the Canal and Operate Boats — Gov. Flower Gives Some Advice.

An Albany special has the following in regard to the recent test of the possibilities of electric propulsion of canal boats: Edward Hannan, the Superintendent of Public Works, is highly gratified over what he considers the successful demonstration on the Erie Canal at Brighton last Saturday that electricity can be used in the propulsion of canal boats. Speaking about the experiment today he said:

"I think it was clearly made evident at Brighton that canal boats, by using the trolley system of supplying themselves with electricity for electric motors, can get sufficient power to be driven with their ordinary cargoes from one end of the Erie Canal to the other. As to the cost of putting trolley wires along the Erie Canal and of supplying electricity, as well as the cost of putting electric motors in the canal boats — this will have to be learned by many computations."

Not a State Expense.

"Do you favor the suggestion that the State should put up the trolley wires?"

"I do not. The governor asked my opinion of the State's undertaking such a work and I told him that in my judgment it was not feasible for the State to put up electrical wires or go to any expense of like nature; that it ought to be left to private enterprise. In my opinion this Niagara Falls Electric Power Company will eventually be able, if it chooses to do so, to put up trolley wires all along the line of the Erie Canal and supply electricity for the canal boats."

Commenting upon this declaration of the superintendent, George Westinghouse, Jr., when asked by the writer on Saturday what distance it would be commercially profitable to send electricity, replied: "I think that now it can be sent with profit a distance of 200 miles."

Transmission of Power.

Nikola Tesla, the eminent electrician, said to the writer: "I have plans for sending electricity from Niagara Falls to New York city — plans which I believe will ultimately be accepted by capitalists and carried out."

Mr. Bannister, vice-president of the Westinghouse Electric Company, said on the same topic: "I have just come from Southern California, where in San Bernardino county we gather electrical power at a reservoir in the mountains, where we have electric dynamos driven by water power; and we distribute this electric power in a circuity of 80 miles. Electricity there can be sent a distance of 80 miles at a commercially profitable rate."

As bearing upon the same matter a statement by Henry W. Box, who was here yesterday, may be quoted: "We recently ran cars on our Buffalo, Bellevue & Lancaster street railway by electric power obtained from the Buffalo Street Railway Company, and at the extreme point in Lancaster the cars were 14 miles from the power house in Buffalo."

The writer then asked Supt. Hannan if it were possible to use a storage electrical battery upon a canalboat. "I do not," he replied, "and I am astonished that it has been suggested by some canal men, for it has never been shown that the storage battery system is successful. The most economical system is the trolley system, and that is why I favor its use by the canal boatmen. We must keep their expenses down."

Gov. Flower's Sound Advice.

In this line, it may be stated that Governor Flower said to George Westinghouse. on Saturday: "You manufacturers of electric motors for canal boats should put them at the lowest possible price you can afford. If these electric motors now sell for $250 you should try and get them down to $150. You will make more money by doing so, and in behalf of the State, I ask you to do it. The great problem to solve will be the relative cost of propelling canal boats by steam or by electricity, as to which costs the most. Therefore if you put the electric motors at a low figure you will give the State authorities considerable assistance in changing the present methods of propelling canal boats to the proposed new one of electricity. My sole thought about this matter is. to hold within this State the grain trade of the West. The Canadians and the railways of other States are trying to get it, but if we lower the cost of transportion to a point where they cannot meet it we shall get a far larger quantity of wheat and corn for transportation that we have now. I firmly believe that this electrical power will enable us to lower the cost of transporting wheat by canal; only we want you electrical machinery manufacturers to supply us with electric motors and canal trolley standards at the lowest price."

Mr. Westinghouse smilingly replied that the electrical apparatus manufacturers would do the best they could for the canal boatmen.

A Meager Appropriation.

Supt. Hannan said today: "I think it was unfortunate that the Legislature did not give me at least $40,000 for these electrical canalboat propulsion experimenta, for then I could have put up trolley wires myself and could have aided other inventors of electrical canalboat machinery to try their new inventions."

Possibly the Legislature will take in mind this suggestion of Supt. Hannan and appropriate $40,000 the coming winter to go on still further with these experiments of propelling canalboats with electricity.