Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-23
Lake-to-Ocean Waterway
One Hundred Miles Of Rapids
Blocks the River at Present

This is the second of a series Of articles
explaining the significance of the proposed
opening Of the Great Lakes and the st.
Lawrence river to ocean navigation. Econ
omists estimate that the increased price of
wheat alone, resulting from lowered ex-
port shipping cost, would add $6,ooe,eoe
annually to the income of Nebraska farm
ers,. to say nothing OF other crops or other
savings
By VICTOR B. SMITH.
The Lakes to- Ocean highway, designed to
bring the Atlantic seaboard to Chicago, Duluth
and other inland cities, is not dream. A large
has been done by the Dominion of Canada,
without help from the United States although
the United States benefits in every degree just
as does Canada. What is proposed now is
merely to complete the project, to build the
final link which will enable the full use of other
work now complete or nearly SO.
Canada has faith in the Lakes to- Ocean
route. Canada is spending $90,000,00O for new
Weland canal, by which steamers pass from
Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, around Niagara
Falls The old canal was too small. The new
canal will admit vessels up to 25 feet draft and
800 feet length. There are no such ships on the
Great Lakes today. Canada could have saved
millions of dollars by building a smaller canal.
But Canada is building the New Welland on
the assumption that Canada and the United
treal to Ontario, Then the big locks and deep
draft of the New Weand will be needed.
The same sort OF faith is shown by the city
of Toronto. Toronto is spending $25000000
for joint harbor, industrial and public park
Improvement, Approximately s6,0Oo,00O going
aton of half million people; it is the second
city of Canada. But it has no commerce today
to justify $60O0,O00 expenditure. 1t has none
in sight-unless the st. Lawrence channel is
opened to the sea. Toronto is preparing for that.
is spending money on the faith that it has in the
III ote p1e ~ he
One smiles today at thought OF a great ocean
steamship-the White. Star liner Megantic for
instance-1ying at pier at Chicago. Yet, bar
ring few odds and ends of dredging and lock
work that will cost only few million dollars,
only 100 miles separates the Megantic from
Chicago.
Big ocean steamers, passenger liners and
freight cargo vessels, dock at Montreal today.
When work now under way is completed they
can pass from Lake Ontario to Lake Michigan,
part of the St. Lawrence river between Mont
real and Ontario. But 100 miles intervenes.
That is the distance of the big rapids of the St.
Lawrence between Prescott and Montreal.
That is where the work still is to be done, if
Nebraska farmers are to ship. their grain by
cago to Europe.
There is drop Of more than $50 feet in the
water level of the St. Lawrence between Lake
Ontario and Montreal. That is 100 feet more
than the drop over Niagara Falls.
To get around the rapids which this drop
entails, it is proposed to build huge dam,
which will back up the water in the St. Law
renee and wipe out certain of the rapids, though
not all. The proposed dams have total fall of
230 feet. Ships will pass the dams in locks,
two of which alone will have lift of over 20
feet each. The water will be used for hydro
electric power The fall is so feet greater than
Niagara $50 per cent higher) and the volume
of water is all that passes over Niagara plus
very considerable increases accumulated from
springs and streams entering the St Lawrence
and Lake Ontario. Niagara is acclaimed as the
greatest water power field in the world. Electric
power from Niagara is used today in Windsor,
Ont, 220 miles away, and is about to enter De-
troit. But this proposed St. Lawrence develop
ment exceeds Niagara nearly eight fold.
The real work involved in the proposed St.
Lawrence river Improvement centers right here
in this single 100 miles stretch For part of
the, distance, the river is the international boun-
dairy between Canada and the United States;
tor part of the way, it lies entirely in Canada.
Details have yet to be worked out, but no one
assumes that the United States will command
less than half of the electric power generated
by the entire project
In fact, the United States stands to benefit
not only in proportion to its share of the in
vestment in this l00-mile development, but in
most of the Canadian governments own work
as well. Treaties between the United States
and Canada forbid either nation to charge tolls
to vessels in international waterways. Canada's
$90,000000 expenditure for the Weland canal
is an absolute expenditure, without hope of d
rect return. Ships of the United States, which
is spending not penny on the canal can pass
through it without tolls, just as will vessels of
Canada and other nations Canada is spending
$90,000,000 because of the indirect returns it
expects to accrue to the commerce of its cities
and to the producers of the commodities which
it has to sell, principally the products of the
farm.
Canada is spending $90,OOOO00 in one lump
for one part of the Lakes to- Ocean highway
and stands ready to spend more. Canada has
100000 people, raises only about 10 per cent
of the grain that the United States does and
has but limited manufacturing facilities at pres
ent. But Canada has faith in the future, par
ticularly the future of sea-shipping and hydro
electric power.
Contrasted with what Canada is doing, the
proposed St. Lawrence project is triAing 1t
contempates S250000000 Improvement, by
joint effort of the United States and Canada
under terms which mean that the project will
finance itself that the entire cost will come back
in the revenue from the sale of electric power
that the taxpayers will pay not a penny.
CA third article on this subject will ap-
pear in The Bee Monday, with others to
follow.