Evening star., 1934-02-02
SEES TRADE LOSS
WITHOUT SEAWAY
New Book Warns That 1t
Will Be $150,000,000 If
Treaty Is Rejected.

American commerce will lose $780,
000,0 annually if the Senate fails to
approve the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
waterway treaty, Thomas Saxton
Ireland of Cleveland, attorney and
editor, warns in a recently published
book.
The volume Is entitled "The Great
Lakes-St. Lawrence Deep Waterway
to the Sea-" It was written after
study which began in 1926. Ireland
began work on the book in the Sum-
mer Of 1888.
The book stresses the practical pur-
poses of the proposed waterway to the
sea as being of even greater i'm
portance than the Panama Canal, and
shows how four out of five ships now
sailing the seas can easily navigate
the proposed 27-foot channel, which
some day may reach from the Strait
of Belle Isle inland to the Duluth
water front.
The proposed gigantic development,
Ireland explains, involves immense
hydroelectric power in addition to
opening up a canal to link the At
lantic seaboard over distance Of
1889 miles with the Midwestern agri-
cultural and industrial region. He
estimates the project would affect
more than 100000 Americans.
Ireland was born in Cleveland 80
years ago. He is graduate Of Har-
ward and Princeton, has Travelled eX-
tensively in Europe and is a member
Of the Officers Reserve Corps.
Potential Trade Sl5O00O, 900.
In the book he cites potential an
nual trade figure of S150,0000O, based
on estimates by Alfred H. Ritter,
transportation and port specialist,
who predicts an annual tonnage of
30,000,000. Against this figure are
the calculations of the Department of
Commerce that the probable traffic
would not be more than 23,700,000
tons annually.
This tremendous tonnage, inclusive
of coastwide, intercoastal and foreign
trade, IS almost as much as the an
nual tonnage of the Suez or Panama
Canal, Ireland writes.
Experts anticipate that SO per cent
Of the total wheat exports Of the
United States will traverse the water
route along with 43 per cent of meat
exports, "a per cent OF agricultural
machinery exports and 80 per cent OF
automobile exports. Total grain traf-
fic available for waterway shipment
Is known, Ireland declares, to reach
100000 tons annually.
And certainly" he adds, "of the
heavy shipments of lumber to Illinois,
Michigan and Ohio from the Pacific
Coast, 100000 tons at the least are
available for the seaWay."
Rail transportation is brought into
focus as Ireland cites its costs today
where a haul of 800, 1000 or 1,500
miles across the country completely
wipes out the margin of profit on
numerous commodities, entering large
" into our foreign trade, and limits
the markets for many others with at
tendant expense of transfer and term
inal delays, including storage and in
surance"
Either this condition must SOON be
eliminated or foreign trade of the
United States will be permanently i'm
paired" he warns those responsible
for our national policies.
Can Give Real Service.
The claim that injury would result
to the railroads from seaway compe-
tition contradicts another contention
that the seaway would not have justi-
fable use, he points out.
If it we're to be only slightly used
there would not, of course, be any
competition. But when completed the
seaway has an opportunity to render
real service, particularly package
freight and transporting large quanti-
ties of bulk commodities loaded by
machinery.
I'm the long run the seaway will
help all the railroads, including East
tern lines. It will call for great new
terminal ports on the Lakes, will make
dormant but potential productivity
along rail lines enter into profitable
production and will set up brisk new
rail commerce between the seaway
area and the South and West"
The book also emphasizes that. for
practical purposes, the proposed deep
waterway not only exceeds the
Panama Canal in Importance, but will
bring to ports on this new seacoast
the full benefit of low ocean rates to
world markets Ireland estimates the
cost of transportation over long dis
tances as ratio of 10 ship miles to
one rail mile. Four out of every five
ships now plying the seven seas will
be able to navigate the anticipated
27-foot waterway channel with ease
The Panama Canal, opened in 1915,