Evening star., 1934-01-14
ST.LAWRENCEPAC
HELD ENDANGERED.
Friends Of Project Say Sen
ate Reservations Would
Bring Rejection.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Friends of the st. Lawrence seaway
pact warned last night that one way
to kill the treaty was to append to it
the reservations proposed in some Sen
ate quarters.
In diplomatic quarters and on Capitol
Hill, there was a belief that Canada,
the second party to the compact signed
in 1882, would refuse to accept such
reservations to the treaty as were pro-
posed yesterday by Mississippi Valley
Senators.
This development brought to the fore
a second threat to the success OF the
pact for which President Roosevelt has
taken up the fight. Opposition leaders
already had claimed they could muster
substantially more than the necessary
33 votes to beat ratification.
In some quarters, the word that res
ervatiCns were being considered by
Democratic Senators who previously
have opposed the pact, aroused be-
lief the step would swing SUFFICIENT
votes to the proponents to assure ratl-
ficatiOn. This was offset by the new
opinion that it would spell eventual
death for the pact through rejection by
Canada.
Reservations Outlined.
The hint that reservations might be
forthcoming. given in the opening day
of the Senate debate Friday, material
lied yesterday when Senator Clark.
Democrat. of Missouri. outlined three
reservations he proposed to offer.
ClarkS reservations were designed 10
answer two outstanding objections 70
the treaty based on the charges that Lake
Michigan, wholly surrounded by United
States territory, would be ''internatlon-
allied" by the treaty and that great
ma jority of the workmen and OF the
material for the project would be Ca
madam.
Involved in the Observation-Disclosures
charge was the question of diversion OF
water from the lake into the Mlssls-
Sippi
Clark's amendment would declare
"the American position that Lake
Michigan was wholly an American
bounded lake and allow this country TO
divert as much water from it as is nee
esSary for navigation purposes on ma
tiOnal projects"
If this reservation should be turned
down by the Senate. Clark SAID. ne
tion was viewed as Of a retallatory
nature. prohibiting Canada from Oil
yerting more than 500 second feet OF
water into her Georgian Bay project
This same diversion limitation has been
: fixed by treaty and affirmed by the
United States Supreme Court Tor the
Mississippi diversion, effective Decem-
Der 81 1888.
Canadian Opposition Seen.
On the subject of labor and materials
for the international section, Clark said
| he would propose a reservation per-
mitting the United States to employ
American workmen and materials on
the section of the project Wnere II
,, would pay the entire cost.
Canada was expected by some ON
cialS to oppose Strenuously any attempt
to amend by reservation pact IN the
negotiation of which it had worked Tor
six wears. While the prelimlnarleS OF
the negotiations dated back TO April,
1927. when former Secretary OF state
Frank B. Kellogg formally notlhed the
Canadian Minister at WASHINGTON that
the survey work OF the Joint Boaro OF
Engineers was complete. 1t was not un-
til November. 1881. that the Canadian
Minister. w. D. Herridge, and former
Secretary Stimson began discussions.
Almost eight months Of dickering be-
tween the envoys and their assistants
followed before the pact was signed by
| Herridge and Stimson in July. 1882.
Clark said the Mississippi Valley area
favored development of the st. Law
renee and all other rivers. but objected
| to specific treaty provisions which he
| believed would shut out" that area
from shipping advantages.
He contended the Supreme Court de-
cision limiting Chicago diversion to
500 cubic feet a second did not take
into consideration the proposed lakes
to-the- e-gulf waterway. but only the Chi
cago drainage requirements. and If more
| water were found to be needed for the
| former. Canadian consent would have
| to be gained under the treaty.
| His conditional Georgian Bay reserva-
ton. he said. was based on tentative
plans in Canada for an all-Canadian
| project from Georgian Bav to the Ot-
tawa River, coming into the st. Law
renee above Montreal. This, he said.
would give Canada a great advantage
in navigation. and would hold great
power possibilities.