The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-08-10
BENEFITS FULLY PROVED
ARGUMENT BY BARNES

"A nOCaDle contribution to the dis
cussion Of the St. Lawrence project
is an article by julius H. Barnes,
which is printed with appropriate
editorial comment in the August num-
Der of the Review of Reviews.
The following digest of the article
is given by the Minneapolis Tribune
of July 20: =,
Mr.. Barnes assures impatient advo-
cants Of the waterway that the pro-
ject will stand "the most searching
analysis and investigation" and that
they need have no fear that their
theses on the subject will be over
turned.
IF the reports of an expert board
Of engineers-declaring the feasibil-
ity and estimating the cost of this
project at $25O,O00,0o0 are to be dis
credited" he contends, "they should
be discredited only by authorities even
more competent than the engineers
who made the report" The same
principle should apply, in his judg-
ment, to the Information Joint Com
mission which, latter two years of
public hearings and earnest consider
alton, made report in favor of the
Improvement"
So much for the feasibility as an
engineering proposition, and Mr..
Barnes believes it is quite enough.
Naturally he feels more at home per-
sonally when concerned with the eco
nomic phases of the subject, and on
this score he has no hesitancy in say
ing the waterway will be a grand
good thing for the farmer in secur-
ing a larger return for his products
and as lettering his position as a
competitor with the world trade of
the future.
He joins his judgment with those
who hold that because this is work
ing of natural economic law, reduc-
ton of cents a bushel in transporta-
ton expense between the western
farm and the European consumer
would add that value of 5 cents
bushel to every bushel grown in the
territory affected by the radius Of
the Great Lakes ports," and he in
cludes in this radius the states rang
ing from Ohio and Indiana on the
east to Montana, Wyoming and COL
orado on the west, and south to Mis-
souri, and Kansas.
These states show production OF
1000 million bushels of the five stand
ard crops which, at five cents BUSH
ell, would represent the sum of 200
million dollars year, or four-ffths
of the estimated cost of the water
way. Western Canadian farmers
would stand to benefit to the extent
of 5 cents bushel on 500 million
bushels, bringing the total up to 225
million dollars.
Additional justification for the wa
terway, if one were needed, is to be
found in the possible by-product OF
hydro electric power development on
the waterway.
Mr.. Barnes cites the parallel OF
railroad freight rates and their effect
on the farmers return to sustain the
fact of the natural economic law
which he invokes as a reason for con-
structing the waterway. The farm
ers, he says, shave seen the instant
reflection in an improved farm price
of the recent reduction Of rail trans
portation charges between the coun-
try station in the vast grain territory
and the Chicago MARKET" and he
holds that they are on solid ground in
expecting 'proportionate benefits as
an effect of the low water rates that
will be made possible with construc-
ton of an outlet TO the seas, requir-
ing no cargo transfer.