Omaha daily bee., 1922-03-02
East-West
Debate on
WattrWa aY
Cold Facts Feature Discus
sion Of Great Lakes Project
Between New York and
Kansas Governors.
Herrick Opens Contest
BY Z. c. SNYDER
A sshinston Correspondent Omaha Bee.

Telegram. 1.-The joint debate be-
tween Governor Allen of Kansas
and Governor Miller OF New York
on the question OF the advisabillty
OF constructing a ship canal between
the Great Lakes and the Atlantis
ocean via the Welland canal and
the 81. Lawrence. was the magnet
which brought together today a no.
table audience OF business and pro-
iessional men, legislators, engineers,
steamship owners, hydroelectris
power operators and plain dirt
farmers. who are vitality interested
in the big subject OF transporta-
Ton.
The Rivers and Harbors congress
was rne forum selected for the de-
bate between two OF the big men OF
,he country. an added starter having
seen chosen in the person OF Il.
Fl. Herrick OF Chicago, awell-known
banker OF that city and a former
president OF the Mississippi Valley
association. who opened the debate
tIlE plppolltuls Vi wv ''NuN
Lakes-St. Lawrence project.
In many ways the debate took
on the aspect, figuratively speak
ing, OF a great gladiatorial contest
in which cold, hard facts We'd with
oratory. vision with the common
place things like tonnage, hydro
electric power, bond issues and Sec
tionalism, although the latter was
denied bv all three participants in
very memorable debate that was
conducted under the most approved
gladiatorial rules.
Tells of Great Dream.
IN opening the debate. which
reused the partisans of the par
ticipants to noisy demonstrations at
times as telling points were made,
Mr.. Herrick asked his audience to
cast aside all sectionalism and con-
slider this great problem in its bear
ing upon the interests of the whole
United States.
1--WE, out in the central states,
said Mr.. Herrick, "the middle west
crn states, the district sometimes re-
ferred to in this connection as the
territory of the Great Lakes, ever
have that country was first settled,
40 al I'D tie great dream common
OF A. nlahkad through all the ages,
.s."It Irav1Ing ing access 10 the sea.
~ ns been no theory OF an i'm
practicable character. When we re-
fer to the Cheat Lakes as the
American Mediterranean, we are not
merely dreaming for today in N meas as
ured tonnage NShave l24,OOO,0Oo
tons on the Great Eakcs, on freights,
water borne, the gfEatest tonnage
OF its character i'll the world. We
have developed water carriers, load
ing and unloading into ships, on that
American Mediterranean to a point
not known anywhere in the world"
Then that the audience might
have Clear conception OF the sec
ton most interested in the building
of such canal, he enumerated the
following states as behind the prop
csition: Ohio. Michigan. North Da-
kota. Nebraska. Montana, Idaho,
Indiana, Wisconsin, South Dakota,
Kansas. Colorado, Utah, Illinois,
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wyo-
ming and Oregon. section OF the
republic containing upwards OF A.
100000 people, who pay more than
a third of the taxes of the United
States.
Would Pay for Itself.
He said that engineers had esti-
mated that it would cost $250000,- :
600 to build the canal, which would
result in the development OF l,4oO,-
600 hydro-electric horsepower which,
il sold at approximately one-third of
the present price obtaining in the
metropolitan district of New York
city, would produce sum sufficient
to pay the interest on bond issue
for the entire cost, to amortize that
bond issue so that it would be en-
tirely retired in so years and to pro-
ducc a sinking fund for further de-
vclopment of about S2,500000 per
year.
When Governor Allen was intro
duced as the "Virile executive of the
great state of Kansas" the audience
rose en-massc aud accorded the
gladiator a most tumultous ovation.
The reception evidently pleased the
governor for he made "humdinger'
OF a speech, as Kansas City news
paper man remarked during its de-
livery. :,
Governor Allen said that the le
states whose commission ne bore,
represent the surplus food produc-
ing area of the United States"
"Seventy per cent OF all the
wheat the governor said, produced
in the United States, Go per cent OF
all the corn, 80 per cent OF all the
oats, 20 per cent OF the barley pro-
duced in Mississippi valley and con-
tiguous states, and for all time we
have had present before US always,
the tragedy OF transportation, while
the others of you have been thinking
OF transportation in terms OF rivers
and oceans and coming here for your
annual appropriations which we have
come to term good naturedly pork
barrel appropriations. Out in the
middle west we never have raised a
voice against any appropriations tor
a waterway, although never have we
had advantage of a waterway.
Pay for Own Funeral.
Even when it has come to the
noint in the past that we paid dis
criminatory freight rates charged by
the railways to make up the dehcis
.hev have been allowed to create IN
favor OF some theoretical water COM
netine point. They have created a
def;cit for the purpose OF stamping
out competition and they know they
fr,,, 4. PAGE Two, Csluna I've.