Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-12-02
Work ON Inland Waterways
Urged as Relief Measure

/ six months ahead Of schedule. This
| matter will be pressed upon Congress
President Hoover and Secretary of War
Hurley are said to favor more speed.
The Chicago section of the waterway
must be equipped with necessary term
inalS, and this work must likewise pro-
coed vigorously If the whole project Is
to be hurried 1t does look, after 80
years during which this improvement
has been agitated, that it is to become
reality"
Some doubt is raised, however, as to
the treaty Between the United States
and Canada becoming an assured fact
in the immediate future. The Buffalo
Evening News points out that lin view
of the fact that the two governments
only recently decided to reconvene the
joint engineering board to get an agree
ment upon the general plan of develop
ment to be undertaken in the ST. Law
renee, it would seem that the negotia-
tors still have long way to 60 before
they will be ready to report treaty"
and finds cause for doubt as to early
completion in the fact that "the Sem
ate is VIGOROUSLY SLOW in passing upon
international pacts of whatever char
acter." The Cleveland News Is also a
little passimiStic of speedy construction,
saying: Only as it is considered in re-
lation to other needed expansion prof.
ects of the Government can the water
way receive the immediate Endorsement
Of the Nation end Of Congress"
4 x
Discussing the matter from the view
point of present unemployment, the
Appleton Pcst-CreScent says: THAT a
herculean project Of this kind should
require many months Of planning and
negotiation is easy to understand, but
an administration looking around for
matters of internal Improvement, so as
to employ men usefully on needed prof.
ects, might have Speeded up this great
the prosperity and the development of
position Of the millions who live in this
central empire of the Great Lakes"
The Omaha World-Herald declares that
the inauguration of work on a vast
scale would 60 long way toward meet
ing the problem of unemployment in
those areas where construction work Is
necessary"
Others disagree as to its economic
desirability, taking the view of the
Charleston CIV va Daily Mail: only
real emergency, and one that could
b. handled in no ether way, would JUS
lily large pOnQ issue now. Notwtth-
standing the conceded Importance of an
inland waterway system, there is no
urgent necessity for hurrying 1t to
completion Just when the Nation is be-
ginning to recover from one of the Sc
verest industrial depressions in the
worlds history 1t Is a matter that can
wait without causing serious damage to
any national interests, and there is
reason to believe or hope that Congress
will look at 1t in this light"
AS to the financing of the under
taking, the st. Louis Times concludes:
The proposal that Federal bond is
sue be employed to hasten to c-mple-
ton the inland waterways program now
going forward bv piacemeal will be far
reaching in the discussion it wiz
arouse" Pointing to its relation to
other means Of TRANSPORTATION, espe-
ciallv the railroads, the Times con-
tends: THE real problem before the
waterways workers is to compose the
interests Of the two great carriers.
There can be no question about the
desirability of pushing the river develr
opment to speedier conclusion, but the
most enthusiastic Of deep water advoA
Gates does not care to say that 1t should
be done by dislocating the existing
system"