The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-18
BY w. C. INCLUSION

4 Newton ID. Baker, Secretary Of
War during the Wilson administra-
ton, speaking at the Maritime
Code hearings in Washington
stated:
THE Great Lakes industry con-
sistS almost entirely of transporta-
ton Of bulk cargoes, consisting Of
iron ore from the Lake Superior
iron region, movement South and
East, coal from the Lake Erie and
southerly ports to the northern
lake ports at a particular season OF
the year, and the transportation OF
cargoeS of grain; and the vessels
previously devoted to the transpor-
tation of coal and ore are washed
and made water-tight bulk carriers
for grain, and the less inviting, but
still important similar task of car
rying limestone, which is used as
fiux in the making of IRON
In his description of the shipping
industry on the Great Lakes, it is
not what Mr.. Baker says that is so
4 important, but what he fails to say.
1t is true that grain and iron ore
are the basic cargoes of Great
Lakes vessels, but still more i'm
portant is the concentration of the
steel industry and grain elevators
on the Lakes and the inland water
ways. Ninety per cent Of the steel
mills In the country are so located
that they can receive raw material
and ship their finished product in
dependent of the railway system,
and grain elevators capable of
storing the entire wheat production
of the United States are located on
the Lakes.
Steel Mills Are FortresseS
The steel mills are located and
planned SO that at moments no.
tice they can be turned into verit-
able fortresses. In all important
steel production centerS from the
Calumet Area on Southern Lake
Michigan to the Lackawanna on
northeastern Lake Erie, are found
highly fortified areas with arma-
ment and defenses comparable to
the elaborate coast defense Cor Of
fense) system. C.C.C. camps, Ma
/ tional Guard barracks, and regu-
lar army posts also abound in this
region. Constant dredging opera
tiOns under the supervision of the
United States Engineer Corps are
constantly being carried on in or
der that docking and other water
front operations can be changed
from their present locations at a
moments notice.
| Connect with Atlantic and Gulf
The Great Lakes are connected
with the Atlantic Seaboard through
the Erie Canal, Welland Canal and
the st. Lawrence River and the
deepening of the Chicago Canal
already been decided upon by the
Roosevelt administration. Through
a system of feeder highways, short
railways and by virtue of a Slight
deepening of the Chicagol Cana
and its extension with small dredg-
ing operation on the upper Missis-
sippi, it will be possible to have a
connecting inland waterway system
from the copper mining region of
Montana direct to the Atlantic, via
the Great Lakes and connecting
rivers and canals, and direct to New
Orleans via the Mississippi River.
Already the Eastern Ohio and
Western Pennsylvania industrial
area is shipping directly to the
Gulf of Mexico by way of the Ohio
and Mississippi Rivers. This can
easily be extended to the Atlantic
by improving the old Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal. y
Lake Tonnage Important Factor
Nine hundred and twenty -one
ships are registered and are in con-
dition to operate Immediately. Of
these, 598 fly the American flag and
have a registered gross tonnage OF
100000 tons, while the remaining
323 ships are of Canadian regis
try with gross tonnage of 1000
With only portion of the total
number of ships operating, they are
handling, in addition to grain and
other cargoes, 100000 tons of ore
and 100000 tons of coal annu-
ally. Without increasing the total
tonnage now available they are
capable of furnishing the raw ma-
terial and transporting the output
of the entire steel industry at full
blast. For the escort and "protec-
ton" of this vast inland fleet, the
U. s. Government maintains large
and modern Coast Guard Navy"
which maintains constant patrol
in the industrial areas.
Army Supplies Transported
In preparation for wer, when they
face the possibility of political
strikes against war on a broad
scale, the army and navy have al
ready initiated a war maneuver"
on the lakes. Foodstuffs, milk, but
ter, eggs, etc, are shipped entirely
by water from Duluth, Mimi, to
the Atlantic Seaboard although 1t
would be more economical and
rapid to do this by rail- avoiding the
numerous transhipments now re-
quired.
The Great Lakes shipping indus
! try is one of the highest trustified
industries in the world and is the