Evening star., 1926-03-10
HOOVER OUTLINES
WATERWAY SYSTEM
Lays Development Project
for Middle West Before
G. o. P. League.

! by :he Associated Prcss.
CHICAGO. H.. March lO.-Herbert
Hoover. Secretary of Commerce, last
. night outlined complete ina nd
waterway system. pointed out it's
economic necessity for the Middle
West. and said he believed 9.foot
+ 'hannel from Chicago To the Gulf was
in sight. lie appealed for settlement
Of lake-ievel disputes 10y spending
money "on concrete and steel. rather
han on the lawyers"
He addressed the thirty-second an
nual banquet of the John Ericsson Re-
publican League OF Illinois.
Secretary Hnver's prepared speech
did not touch upon politics.
He pictured the Middle West as
Girdled by row of toll gates com
posed Of increased rail rates and
maintenanc nee of ocean freight rates at
virtually prewar levels. with agri
culture suffering more than industry.
Sees Section Suffering.
"A study by the Department of
Commerce of these combined factors
in their effect upon the Middle West
indicates" clearly great pressure
against her interests.
In any examination of our country
for remedies we naturally turn To the
development of our iuagnifice ut
our natural waterways by deepening
them SO to permit modern harges
on the rivers and ocean shipping 20
the lakes"
Railways have reached their highest
efficiency in their history. he said, and
rate reductions cannot he resorted to,
the Panama Canal cannot he closed.
nor can sea rates he raised arbitrarily.
He NiSua allied two great inland
waterway systems. the Mississippi SyS-
tenn Of modern barge lines and the
Great Lakes system of ocean steam
ers. the latter of first importa nee.
despite the great economic value Of
the LakeS-tothe-Gulf route. compile
tion Of which is in sight.
IF we examine our possibilities in
this vision we And that the rivers Of
the Mississippi drainage between the
ANeghenies and the Great Plains are
disposed toposra phicallN in such
fa shion that by deepening them we
could project n 9,000-mile coDsolida ted
system through which 20 States coul l
find cheaper ira importation for their
import and export raw materials and
much advantage in interior distribu-
ton"
Could BE Ready Soon.
The system could comprise an east.
west trunk, 300 miles along the ONO,
Mississippi and Missouri from Pitts
burgh to Kansas City, and north
south trunk from Chicago to New Or
leans. both deepened to feet, with
lateral rivers mostly developed to .
feet. bringing In the area comprising
st. Paul and Minneapolis Omaha and
South Dakota points. Chattanooga.
Nashville and Little Rock Compile
tion OF the coastal canal would bring
in Houston and Galveston. and so on
with other possible rivers. The trunks.
excepting parts of the Kansas city
st. Louis system. could be completed
within FIVE years.
Two routes for the Great Lakes
TO the Atlantic route. the ST. Law
renee and the New York ship canal
are being investigated. he explained,
with the comparative merits to he
hammered ont In debate when en-
gineering facts and conclusions are
ready.
Meanwhile the levels of the lakes
demand attention. During the seven
wears past, a steady fall in the lakes
has brought drop of or 3
feet in levels. which la st season alone
caused an estimated transporta ton
loss Of s19.00O.00o.
The secretary quoted United States
engineers as reporting something less
than one-siXth of the drop due to
diversion from Lake Michigan at
Chicago. and fve-sixths to the cli
matte cycle.