Niagara Falls 100.000-Hp. Development

John Lyell Harper The engineering genius back of the power developments at Niagara Falls whose resourcefulness has made it possible to use Niagara’s ivaters without marring its beauty THE most famous power development in this country, from the standpoint both of the engi- neering it represents and the service it renders to industry, is situated at Niagara Falls. This work stands as a monument to the genius of John Lyell Harper, whose name is as inseparably linked with it as is the wealth of the well-known Schoell- kopf family that has made that development pos- sible. It is due wholly to Mr. Harper’s vision and engineering judgment that there stands to- day on the American side a mammoth station of 250,000 hp. where in 1902 there was a total rating of only 14,000 hp. The recent addition of 100,000 hp. which is described in this issue, built as a war need in record time and at a remarkably low cost, is the latest product of his engineering ability. In developing Niagara Falls Mr. Harper has de- voted much study to ways and means to preserve the scenic beauty of the great cataract. Besides his responsibilities as vice-president and chief engineer of the Niagara Falls Power Com- pany, Mr. Harper has made scientific investigations of the applications of electric service in the elec- trochemical and electrometallurgical industries at Niagara Falls and has developed and patented several electric furnaces. In all his work he has maintained high engineering standards and ideals and has done much to stimulate manufacturers to turn out the highest grade of product rather than simply to meet specifications. One outstanding accomplishment was increasing the over-all plant efficiency from 65 to 90 per cent. Mr. Harper was born at Harpersfleld, N. Y., in 1873 and was graduated from Cornell University with the class of 1897. He first took up practical work with the Union Electric Company at Seattle, Wash. A year later he became associated with the Twin City Rapid Transit Company and the St. Croix Power Company of Wisconsin and spent three years in central-station design and opera- tion. In 1902 he joined the engineering staff of the Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company at Niagara Falls, becoming its chief engineer two years later. Under the stress of war needs, the federal authorities brought about the merger of the power companies at Niagara Falls, and it is a fitting tribute to Mr. Harper’s vision and ability that the developments of the consolidated com- panies were placed in his hands and that in 1919 the responsibility of vice-president was added. Mr. Harper works with his head, his heart and his hands, and, great as his past achievements have been, it is safe to say that his labors at Niagara Falls have only begun.