Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-08-30
WATERWAY is
NATIONAL PLAN,
SAYS SPEAKER
Should Not Be Considered as
to Effect on One
Locality.
ADDRESSES ROTARIANS

I'VE must learn to take a long view
Of our national problems. There always
| has been too great tendency to look at
| immediate gain and to ignore ultimate
consequences. The time has come when
the thirty day-stght viewpoint must be
| replaced by one Of far-reaching benefits
to all the American people and to the
future generations OF our people," said
| DR.. R. S. McElwee, ex-director of the
/ United States Bureau Of Foreign and
! Domestic Service, at the weekly lunch
, con Of the Rotary Club at the ClaypooI
Hotel today, speaking in the interest Of
| the to-the-ocean waterway psoject.
| He is touring the Middle Western
States under the auspices of the Great
Lakes-St. Lawrence Tidewater Associa-
ton.
! In speaking Of various features Of the
project, DR.. McElwee said, in part:
There is opposition to the plan In
some quarters. This opposition may be
grouped in three catagories: those who
think the st. Lawrence route will hurt
the commerce of New York, those who
fear for the already vanishing commerce
Of Boston, and other New England ports
I Canal through New York State.
]
merce. The port is already taxed to its
utmost and has been turning business
away, except recently. The costs through
/ New York area are so great that vast
amount of commerce lies below the econ
omic cost line and does not move at all.
Given an outlet this commerce would
move over another route and the result
/ ing stimulation TO general business and
/ banking would be felt by New York as
g nv oil rFh -,
country. 1t was the same sort of oppos-
( itiOn that was made by the printing
trade when the linotype was invented.
Narrow minded and ignorant printers as
/ serted there was only a certain amount
of printing to be done and any machine
that would make 1t possible to do the
work Of several compositors would mean
that all others would lose their Jobs. In
fact. the linotype has so stimulated
printing by reducing costs and saving
time that the printing industry has in
! creased beyond the widest expectations
/ The result has been that there are more
hand compositors employed today at
high pay on special work than when the
new facility was introduced, and there
are all the linotype operators at high
wages IL addition. Facilities make com
merce and a new facility will make new
commerce that could not exist before.
This stimulates commerce in general al
along the line. New York with its SUI
periOr liner service will attract the high
class freight for which time is more i'm
pOrtant than the freight rate. The more
! foreign commerce the country builds up
the more Of this fast freight will move
through New York; the more milk there
/ is the more cream there will be for the
/ port Of New York to skim.
The same argument applies TO q GER
/ tain extent to New England. In any
case the New England ports at the pres
ent tine have very little to lose. There
would be the added advantage Of the
cOastwise trade between New England
/ ports and the ports on the Great Lakes
to SUPPLY the present very inadequate
/ transportation facilities between New
England and the West.
AS TO the Barge Canal, shat very fine
inland waterway can only be benefited
Statistics Of many years show the Eris
Canal traffic was only one fourth through
and three-fourths local. Figured 80 five
different ways, the industries IN the arra
traversed by the Barge Canal should sup