Omaha daily bee., 1922-01-01
for Lakes
Favored by Engineers

contention of the 10 states, ulcnlbcfs
Of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Tidewater association, is thats this
inland sea shall no fonger continue
bottled up but be unbottled aad
utilized for the benefit OF the grea.
interior states OF the nation: and
that no ,one state or seaport should
/. by mere local or selfish interest
. stand i'm thcyway OF its development
for the interest of the entire nation :"
/ Representative Nelson is optimis-
laie Of successful issue. The report
of both the. American and Canadian
engineers has been made. Asa re-
suit. of their investigation OF the en-
ginecring fcatues Of the proposed
ship channel from Lake Ontario 70
Montreal, the engineers representing
the United. States aud Canada have
submitted to the international join.
commission their conclusions and
recommendations, briefly summar-,
lied as follows:
Engineers Make Report.
"The physical conditions are ia
vorablc for improvements for navi-
CATION which will be permanent and
will have very low upkecp costs.
The improvement for navigation
alone is feasible, but it will be more
economical to coordinate navigation
with water power, limiting the latter
development, however, :, to the
amount which can be readily mar
keted. The project proposed, con-
templates improvement for naviga-
ton alone where side canals and
locks can most economically be used
and to provide for power develop
ment in that part of the river whcse
the construction of locks and dams
offer the most feasible means of pre-
venting navigation" ~
The international joint commits
sion, authorized by congress and
the Canadian parliament, consists IF
Obadiah Gardner, Rockland, Me;
Clarence D.. Clark, Evanston, Wyo.;
and Marcus A. Smith, Tucson, Ariz.;
representing the United States, aud
Charles A. Magrath, Ottawa, On
tario; Henry A. Powell, K. c., ST.
John, N. B., and Sir William Hearst,
X. c., M. G,g Toronto, Onty repie-
senting Canada III
According to Representative Mel
sons outline of the proposition, It
is proposed to make seaports out
of such lake ports as Chicago, To-
ledo, Cleveland. Milwaukee, Detroit,
Superior and Duluth.
Advocated by President.
His arguments follow closely.cer
tain suggestions and recommends
ton made by President Harding, n
his message to congress, notably +
with reference to the American mer-
chant marine. In this connection
Nelson said:
"Our interest should not be con-. =
fined tcl making appropriations for
of rivers and harbors,
but that other and more drastic ;
remedies should be applied to ef-
feet a better distribution of COM
nerce through the ports of the
country, to the end that we may J
,e freed, in part at least, from the
tremendous burdens that have been /
placed upon our commerce because
We have, permitted the continuance |
,f conditions which have force blnnh1nc
oreign business of the > CO.
argely through the archaic p2
New York.
I'VE now have large mer
marine and VIC must establish
ions which will enable the vd II
# our commercial fleet to ope !
not only at the port 6f
lew York, but at every port OF. the
ountry which constitutes a logical
utlet for traffic. The great port of
Norfolk, whose natural advanta IS
re. unsurpassed, has been victim
f our lack of transportation policy
evised in the interests of the coun.
ry as whole. Likewise the great
orts of Boston, Charleston, Sa-
annah and Mobile have been unable =.
. take their true places as outlets
Or the territory logically tributary
, them because of our remissness
| allowing the powerful trunk lines
at New ork to control the
Ituation.
"A Monumental Folly
I'VE have committed a monumen-
II folly in permitting the assem-
ling at one port of the shipping
esources of nation and for this -
,lly we are now bearing a burden
to hundreds of millions
I dollars annually. Freight which
ould logically be shipped from
ortland, Boston, Norfolk Whining
N, Charleston, Savannah, Jackson
lle,- Tampa and Mobile directly to
reign destination, now proceeds by
Ill to New York at great cost be-
suse it cannot obtain ship to des-
nation from the port which should
ceive the traffic Are we to- corr
MT ourselves with this situation or =
e we to begin to unravel the tan
es OF our transportation system
id then lay the = foundation on =.
llich all of our important ports on -
e, Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts
i'd on the Great Lakes may hope,
perform their proper functions in
e interests of the country?
"Only in this way can we reduce
e excessive rail hauls that now
irden our traffic AMI handicap us o..
foreign trade. and only in this, =
ay, can we bring about conditions
'ich will enable our large rnel-I,H
ant fleet to. operate successfully"
Detailed statistics have been COM
led by Representative Nelson
owing that the cost of placing the
ilroads of the country in a condi-
IN to properly serve the demands
the country far exceeds the finan-
Il resources of the country.
In replying to. antagonistic propa-