The Indianapolis times., 1932-09-13

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Tidewater Association, a voluntary
organization of twenty-one states
which believe the waterway will be
an economic boon, has sent out
from its headquarters here news re-
leases, pamphlets, and economic
treatiSes depicting the wheat belt of
the United States and Canada as
the future food basket of the world
a land-girt and fertile area which
needs only an outlet to the ocean to
consummate its destiny.
Sees Great Gain
Four hundred million bushels of
grain will be available for traffic
over the st. Lawrence waterway, ac-
cording to survey made for the
association by Alfred H. Ritter,
transportation and port specialist.
United States and Canadian grain
farmers will realize transportation
saving of $44,000,000, he estimated,
plus price enhancement of $780,
100000 on grain sold in domestic
markets.
Contending that transportation
cost benefits would range from 6
cents a bushel as far south as
Wichita, Kas., and as far west as
Teton, Mont, to 12.1 cents bushel
in the areas contiguous to lake
ports, Ritter calculated an average
minimum benefit of 5 cents bushel
to the farmers throughout the
Great Lakes grain trade area.
In contradiction to Ritter's glow
ing prophecies are the findings of
Edwin G. Nourse, agricultural
economist Of the Brookings institu-
ton, who contributed chapter on
agricultural traffic to book on the
st. Lawrence project published by
that institution.
Little Saving Seen
Not more than 238 100000 bushels
of grain, estimated Nourse, can be
counted as available for traffic on
the waterway. Probable saving on
transportation costs, he said, would
range from cents buShel at the
lake ports to zero where the Great
Lakes grain market area merges
with the Pacific coast and gulf ex-
port areas.
NourSeS calculations we're based
on figures available in 1929, when
the Brookings institution book was
published. The rapid decline in
wheat exports since that time have
tended to strengthen his position.
In 1924 the United States export
ed 29.5 per cent of it's wheat crop;
in 1926, 24.8 per cent; in 1923, 16
per cent, and in 1890, 13 per cent.
In quantity the exports declined
from more than quarter billion
bushels in 1924 to slightly more than
100,000000 bushels in 1880.
Russia has replaced the United
States as the leading wheat pro-
ducer of the world, and there has
been a tremendous expansion of
wheat production in Canada, Ar
gentina and Australia.
Conclusion Is Challenged
Another point made by Nourse
was that comparatively the north
west states, because of higher pro-
duction costs and transportation
charges, were destined to lose more
than the Gulf and Pacific Coast
areas in the expectation of wheat.
His conclusions were not left un-
challenged.
"The exact extent to which any
given state or province may expand
its agricultural production program,
and the direction that expansion
will take, is not a matter for dis
cussion," wrote Hugh j. Hughes, in
a pamphlet published by the Tide
water Association.
"It is sufficient to say here that
within the area contributary to
seaway traffic, there are reserves of
land and crop production margins
sufficient to safely predict an
ultimate production twice that of
the present"
But Nourse has not retreated from
his position.