Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-16
CONTINUED from First .pagel


known as 100 per cent Amerieanism
which would result from locating on
American soil a canal 10 duplicate the
work of the Canadian Weiland Canal.
The United states possesses fun
treaty rights for equal treatment in
the use OF the Nelland. and the
Canadian government would have Ike
treaty guarantees of equal use in An
American canal. So the advantage. eN-
cept for sentimental reasons is aues-
tionable.
Concerning the Ontario-to-H Hudson
route. which follows the New York
Barge Canal from OsweEo 10 Albany.
it has ALREADY been made the subiec'
for investigation by Army engineers.
who undertook the study at the direc.
ton of Congress and completed il last
Nav. Its chief disadvantages lie in
the expense of construction estimated
at $3.50 .000 Geo: the cost OF mainte,
nance, estimated al S2S.110, 900 annual
~. plus Az per cent interest; the fact
that il would accommodate less tonnage
and that it does not lend itself TO any
waterpower development, Its chief
advantage is that it's commerce would
pass through the American port OF
New York City and that il provides a
shorter haul from the Midwest to Eu-
ropean and South American ports.
But il is chiefly With the ST. Law
renee route that the present article
is concerned. This is the project fa
Hored by the United States st. Law
renee Commission The expense Of
construction is estimated at between
1923, 900 900 and $l4s. 900 200. which
would be shared between the Ameri-
can and Canadian governments.
The dpNRl0nDOpnf of the 1T. l,;lW
renee, the report points out. is neccs-
sarily also development of the huge
hydro-electric power from the rapids
which now obstruct navigation on the
river. The complete practical power
development on the river will provide
a total of about 6000.000 installed
horsepower, of which about 100000
lies in the upper rapids along the in
fernational section between New York
State and the province of Ontario. the
remainder lying in the lower rapids
and wholly within the Dominion OF
Canada.
The st. Lawrence provides not only
the largest possible hydro-electric
power development on the American
continent but the report Of the com
mission. based on the findings OF en-
cineers. Indicates that the capital out
lay per horsepower is less than most
of the hydro-electric installations now
in progress in the United states. The
DEVELOPMENT of the river for power
would necessarily bring about the
major construction of the ship chan
mel. since the dams necessary for
power create q series of pools IN
place of the present rapids. which.
with locks and canals. would become
ho Cla
need for creation of such power. the
engineers answer with the statement
that BY the time of completion tsome-
thing like 10 years If started lmme-
6iately) there would be a requirement
not only in the Province of Ontario,
but in New England and New York
State, for all the power to be devel-
oped. The returns from the power
alone would go far toward paying for
the development of the shipway.
The report very briefly disposes of
the arguments for an all-American
canal or the Ontario-HudSon pro-
,als. The military engineers al
ready have pointed out that the mill
tary advantages are negligible. the
report answers the contentious that
the St Lawrence development would
intdre the interests of our Eastern
cities by decreasing terminal business
OF lake and seaboard cities, or that
IT would divert from American rail-
ways and endanger American CONNER
fciai and financial control of American
imports and exports. In the first
place. the report shows. the tonnage
available today for transportation |
over this route amount to under
per cent of the tonnage carried by
American railway systems which now
connect the lakes with seaboard. 1t
comprises less than Il per cent of
the sea shipments moving through
American seaports. and the natural
Increase in population and traffic
would quickly recover such amounts.
y x
The report reaches four conclusions
and recommendations, which. SUM
married. are as follows: % The con
sfruction of the seaway is imperative,
both for the relief and the future de-
velopment of the vast area in the
interior to be affected: GU the ship
ghipway should be constructed IN the
st. Lawrence, provided arrangements
can be made with Canada: go the de-
veloprnent OF power should be under
taken by appropriate agencies tand
it. may be noted that the report does
net specify whether such agencies are
FEDERAL or private interests), and 90
srfto with Canada in an endeaVor TO
arrive at agreement upon all of the
subjects.
Herbert Hoover may be called
sipeaner But the dreams that pass
through his mind are not those de-
fined by Mr.. Webster as "a train of
thoughts or images passing through
The mind in sleep" He dreams of
realities and of the realities of to-
nf tod lnn 0f
4he dreams that lies closest TO his
heart now is the launching of his
country on q program of development
of the inland waterways with which
it, is blessed 90 a greater degree than
any other nation in the world. and
which are hardly tapped. His adj
Ngcs4cy of reducing freight rates by
utilization of inland streams might
ba interpreted as leading the railroad
men Of the country TO swear pro-
saneiy. to tear their hair and to telc-
graph To their Washington repre-
eentatives to step around to the De-
xartment of Commerce Immediately
and make Hoover shut up.
But Mr.. Hoover probably thinks of
reducing freight rates entirely apart
from the railroads. There is plenty
of room for both rail and water
TRANSFORMATION. He does not believe
that the country will ever have too
much economical transportation. lie
uoints TO the fact, for instance, that
fn order to accommodate an increase
of 40 600, 900 population in the next
% years. the country must conserve
and develop it's latent facilities of
transportation. If the ton mileage OF
railways increases one-half in the
next % years as II has IN the past,
Tor instance, instead or their present
s....o1 400 nAn 900 COO ION 111ilns theN