Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1930-05-22


fore making the final run across the
ocean.
read on:
If that would be a cheap bargain.
what-from business viewpoint
would be dear one?
If that would be good investment of
the taxpayers millions. what-from a
business viewpoint-would be a bad one.
A good bargain in busness-in a ma
tons business-doeS not consist in pay
ing out the least possible amount of
money. 1t consists in getting the great
est value for the amount of money paid
out. whether that amount be large or
small.
British Canadian canal would be
dearly bought if only 100000 900 of
American money were to be spent.
An all-American canal would be cheap
by comparison. even though it cost
$500, 900. 600 more than a waterway on
foreign soil.
But $500. 0OO. 900 is vast sum! The
objection is made daily by Representa-
tives and Senators.
1t is a vast sum. Three hundred mil
lions is vast sum even for the people
of the United States. Yet year by year
such vast sums have been spent by the
American people for other nations than
their own.
Yes. and these vast sums have been
lavished upon others with the assent
of Senators and Representatives and
under the countenance of the govern
ment in Washin gton.
In the last two years nearly s3OO.OOO.-
900 of American money has been lent to
I&nIx, f<,..f =,
barren purpose of "stabiizing the ex-
changes which never are stabilized.
but grow steadily less stable.
Besides. many times S3O0.O00.OOO have
been or are being RENTED by the United
States government to those foreign ma
lions which owe American taxpayers
the huge debts contracted in the late
war.
This is not essential to the argu-
ment, Mr.. Chairman, but l include it
in order that the full text of the edi-
torial may be entered and that there
may be no chance to say that it has
been garbled.
To continue:
If hundreds of millions in American
capital are handed out thus light-heart-
eddy for reproductive purposes in dis
tant lands. is it in order to begrudge
an appropriation of 5000. 100000 to an
all-American enterprise for all-America's
welfare?
We have heard considerable in the
Northwest, in my state of Minnesota.
about loyalty to the flag. We know
something about loyalty. The battle
fields of the Civil war, Of the war
with Spain, and of the World war are
consecrated with the blood of Mime
sofa soldiers. 1t was Minnesota
regiment that turned the tide of bat
tie at Gettysburg. and when that bat
tie was over less than 10 per cent
of it's men were left to respond to the
roll call. We in the Middle West are
living up to that high tradition, but
we have come to inquire when we see
the flag being waved just for what
purpose the waving is being done, and
what benefits are to be derived by
the flag waivers, provided their plan,
rather than some other plan, is
adopted.
Does the editor of the Herald know,
/ wonder, does my honorable friend,
Mr.. Dempsey, chairman of the Rivers
and Harbors Committee of this House,
know, | wonder, that an all-Ameri'can
plan is not possible-that, as Senator
Willis, of Ohio, said the other day.
God did not make the continent that
way" If you are going to have an
"all-American" ship canal we may
as well begin digging now, for we
have some job ahead of us. But this
is the fact, that when the 500 canal
was built the Canadians built a lock
and we built a lock. and later on We
built some more locks, and today. be-
cause of the increase in size of the
boats, by far the larger part of Cana
dian grain moving down from the
Northwest passes through the Ameri-
can locks and nobody gets excited
When the boat gets down into the st.
Marys river it is first in Canadian
territory, then back into American
territory, and nobody gets excited over
that either. The Welland canal is
owned exclusively by Canada, but
American shipping and American
goods use it just as freely as it is
used by the Canadians. The st. Law
renee canals above Montreal carry
American wheat and coal. and nobody
has heard until recently that it was
un-American to do So
The fact that we have obtained by
treaty Joint ownership for navigation
purposes with Canada in the waters
of the Great Lakes and their connect
ing waters and in the ST. Lawrence
down to the ocean, Ind for either ma
tion to say to the other. and particu-
larly for this nation to say to Canada,
that We must and will have an ALI
American" route from the upper lakes
TO the sea is absurd economically.
And politically it is the last word in
bad form. If we build, as Con gress-
man Dempsey and the editor of the
Washington Herald desire US TO do,
a canal from the Atlantic to the head
of the Lakes exclusively in American