Evening star., 1936-12-30
VANDENBERG HITS |
SHIP CANAL PLANS.
AssaiIs Favorable Report on
Project in Letter to
Army Engineers.

proposed Florida ship canal. costing
up to 5000, ,0o0, 900, Senator Arthur
H. Vandenberg of Michigan said in
q letter today to Maj. Gen. Edward
M. Markham, chief Of Engineers,
u. s. A.
Attacking the favorable recon-
mendations made by a special board,
the Michigan Senator urged the
Board Of Rivers and Harbors En-
gineers in the War Department to
decline to submit q favorable report
to Congress on the canal. He in
sisted that the use Of $162 2,000. 900
and more for this project would
destroy any semblance of good faith
in the matter Of reasonable econ
omy and a balanced budget"
In in letter to Gen. Markham
Senator Vandenberg said:
II respectfully submit that the self
confessed process by which the Special
Board painfully figured economic
Justification is untenable, unsupport-
able and denied by the facts. Far
from sustaining the Special Boards
conclusions, I respectfully submit that
its hypothetical calculations are fatty
contradicted by its own data, and
utterly repudiated by q realistic check
against the Special Boards complacent
assumptions.
Estimate Termed False.
'The Special Board arrived at its
hypothetical estimate of economic
benefits Sufficient to meet annual
upkeep and carrying charges) by
counting all potentially available 1881
traffic in these related waters; by then
adding 80 per cent for increased mari
time activity in 1885, and by then
counting 80 per cent of this grand
total as actually transiting the canal.
1t had to count 80 per cent in order
to get margin over annual cost. But,
according to its own report, its own
referendum of "a ship operators in
these waters showed only IA whose
replies were construed as favorable
This is not 80 per cent, it is only 10
per cent.
"A fortnight poll Of these IA oper.
ators Immediately discloses the further
monitory fact that even they, in most
instances, did not intend to be counted
as supporting witnesses; that some Of
them Indignantly deny the status i'm
puted to them; that few offer any
assurance of large canal transits, and
that the whole pretense of economic
Justification thus falls Like the house
OF cards which it is. I quote from q
few Of the 'l9 per cent upon whom
the Special Board relies:
"(a). Our letter to the engineers
should not be construed as an indorse-
ment Of the PLAN
"(b). We are not interested in this
matter as operators
"(c). We feel that q canal across
Florida would be economically unjusti-
fable, and as taxpayers are strongly
against building of the same
Other Comment Cited.
sd. Being q foreign flag company,
we hesitate to express our views as to
desirability or necessity
"(e). We do not believe from a
purely economical standpoint under
the present conditions of water trans
portation that it is economically justi-
fed.
20. If the idea is abandoned. this
corporation will not suffer any hard
ship or loss.
"(g). We do not recommend the
expenditure as there does not appear
to be any real necessity and the navi-
CATION benefits are so small that in
the light Of the cost of construction
they can be disregarded.
"(h). I know of no reason why we
should be listed among the ship oper-
ators who are favorable to the project
No one authorized to speak for this
company has given expression to such
thought
"An Of this material and more, Is
available to your board in full detail
I respectfully submit that economic
Justification is wholly lacking in view
OF these exhibits, that it becomes
largely fiction in the face of specific
testimony. and that under the critica
tests usually applied by your distin.
guished board it is impossible to con.
done the waste of millions of dollars
OF public money upon this prodiga,
project. I respectfully add the re.
minder that as relief measure Il
was conclusively rejected by P. w. A
Repeat Opposition.
"Your board should be further ad-
vised that I have rechecked the other
major ship operators who reported
adversely upon the canal one year
ago; and that in every instance the
operators repeat-and often empha-
size-their previous opposition and
their denial of any purpose or expec-
tation of using the canal if built,
II have no interest in this matter
except the public interest of prevent
ing, if possible, the colossal waste of
an ultimate $2Oc ZOO, 900 (minimum)
of public funds. This letter touches
but one of many adverse factors
not the least of which is the well
justified fear of half Of Florida itself
that her ground-water supply will
be damaged beyond repair. (The
Federal Government certainly must be
adequately indemnifled against the
possibility Of subsequent enormous
damage claims If these fears are ig-