Evening star., 1928-04-23
URGES DEEPENING
|. Of LAKES At ONCE
Dempsey Declares Work
Should Be Separated From
st. Lawrence Project.
by the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Consideration OF the st. Lawrence and
Great Lakes waterway problems as a
unit would tie up Great Lakes i'm
provement work indefinitely, Chairman
, Dempsey of the House rivers and har-
| bors committee declared today In a
digest of recent correspondence on the
subject between the State Department
and the Canadian government.
| He contended that the channels OF
without delay. and said that the COM
mittee had unanimously passed a
resolution asking the engineers to
report on the project as soon az possible.
Our Secretary OF State has accepted
most of the suggestions made by
Canada" Mr.. Dempsey said I'm dis
cussing the correspondence. including
that of treating these improvements AZ
unit.
What will be the effect II this course
Is adopted? The agitation for the inn
provement OF the st. Lawrence had gone
on not alone with nothing done. but
with no agreement even 10 do anything
for third of century. There is now
no greater prospect OF action or even
of an agreement than there has been
the United States and Canada to agree
upon depending the channels of the
Great Lakes. we will no doubt wait
indefinitely. or for third OF a century
more.
Pay Higher Rates.
And all the time we wait the wheat
growers of the West, the food consumers
OF the East, the great iron and steel
business of the country, and all who
use iron or steel products. and every
family in the Northwest which uses a
ton of coal, will pay higher trans
portation cost on the Great Lakes be-
cause its channels are too shallow to
enable the Great Lake freighters to
load TO capacity. The losses from the
DELAY everywhere will be enormous and
It Is unnecessary. and therefore. of
course. inexcuSable."
Mr. Dempsey contended that Canada
would suffer no loss from delaying
deepening of the Great Lakes channels
and could afford TO await, since that
country already has an oversupply
of transportation facilities while the
United States is short of such agencies" :"
We do not believe that Canada will
herself be ready for long time, II
ever. to negotiate a treaty for the ioint
improvement by the Dominion and the
United States of the st. Lawrence River
for the reasons stated by her In this
correspondence. he said.
THE St Lawrence, when deepened.
would take commerce from Canada's
government operated railways TO their
loss and at the cost OF the Canadian
taxpayer.
win Not Assume Cost.
Canada will not care to assume any
cost of deepening the St Lawrence until
her financial situation Is changed
Canada will not approve this project
until a number of financial and
economic difficulties have been solved
"Canadas approval of the project
viii be withheld until fundamental en-
gineering disputes as 10 the improve
ment of the international section Of
the river have been settled
Dislike Tariff Wall.
Canada states that our tariff duties
on Canadian farm products and fish are
among the factors which have con-
tributed TO bring IL about that public
opinion in Canada Is not so clearly
crystalii2ed in favor of the waterway
project as appears TO be the case In
the United States
In Canada, constitutional questions
are involved which must be determined
by the courts before she could agree
TO this Improvement.
-..- The Dominion OF Canada must con-
suit with the Province of Ontario and
Quebec before, making an agreement
IF Canada reaches the point where
she is ready to agree 10 the innprover.
ment. the United states could not afford
10 make the terms which Canada pro-
poses"
- Discussion Continued.
Discussion OF the outstanding prob
lens affecting the Great Lakes and the
st. Lawrence River are being continued
by Secretary Kellogg and Vincent Mas
scy. the Canadian Minister, and 1t was
said today at the State Department that
the outlook was hopeful.
The United States has expressed its
willingness To extend the discussions on
the st. Lawrence ocean shipway project
to include the diversion Of water at
Chicago and elsewhere. thus bringing
the important problems together for
settlement
The presence In Washington OF the
Canadian minister OF the interior,
Charles Stewart, was thought 10 have
some bearing on the subject. but Sec
retary Kellogg had no engagement with
him
The Canadian government. Mr. Stew
art said. is prepared TO continue It's
refusal to recognize the diversion OF
water and would not discuss compen-
satory works. as proposed by Secretary
Kellogg, II that course involved an as
sumption that the present abstraction
through the Chicago Sanitary Canal Is
! 10 continue