Evening star., 1940-03-14
Political Battles
Reach Rivers,
Harbors Par|ey
St. Lawrence Treaty,
!. c. c. Regulation
Are Opposed

The fronts of two current po-
htical battles moved today to the
35th annual convention of the Ma
tional Rivers and Harbors Con-
gress, opening at the Mayflower
Hotel, where blasts were loosed at
two undertakings favored by Presi-
dent Roosevelt-the proposal for
the st. Lawrence waterway treaty
and the bill that would put inland
waterways transportation under the
control Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
Representative Wilmington, DEM
ocrat. OF Mississippi, chairman of
the House Flood Control Commit
tee, told the convention waterway
trafhc regulation would mean yir-
tual disappearance Of the traffic.
The regulation bill is now In con.
ference. being urged to passage by
Senator Wheeler, Democrat, Of
Montana, who complained to the
President a few days ago that Sec
retary OF Agriculture Wallace and
Secretary of War Woodring were
opposing the measure. The Presi-
dent upheld Senator Wheeler's
opinion.
The delegates to the congress- re-
ceived a memorandum from the
Niagara Frontier Planning Board.
Buffalo, N. Y. which is leading the
tight against the st. Lawrence wa
terWay, a power and navigation
project supported by Mr.. Roose-
velt since he was Governor of New
York. The first step toward con-
struction Of the waterway would
be a treaty with Canada.
Neutral Question Posed.
Inc boards memorandum said:
The st. Lawrence navigation plan
would be exceedingly detrimental
not only to the Niagara frontier
but also to the State of New York
and tile rest of the country.
ALSO of national concern at this
time is the neutrality question, and
we feel that. despite disclaimers
OF the State Department, such a
treaty with one OF the belliRerent
countries might lead to serious in
ternational complications.
What is Of even greater i'm
portance. In our judgement, however,
Is the distinct probability that this
treaty or the debate incident to it's
rejection might result in sowing such
seeds Of discord that the longtime
friendly relations between the
United States and Canada, our good
neighbor to the north, might be
seriously strained"
Hazen Sounds Welcome.
Commissioner Hazen made the
address OF welcome to the CONGRESS
this morning. The convention has .
busy two-day program, under the
general Craftsmanship of Frank r.
Reid Of Illinois. Today's schedule
was divided into three parts: A
morning session. with Representa-
tive Driver. Democrat, of Arkansas
presiding as chairman of the con-
gress' Board of Directors; a luncheon
session. with Representative Short.
Republican, of Missouri presiding
as president Of the congress, and an
afternoon session.
The other speakers on today's
program include Maj. Gen: Julian L.
Schley, chief of Army engineers;
Senator Bailey, democrat, of North
Carolina; Representative White,
Democrat, of Idaho; Representative
Rayburn, Democrat, of Texas, the
House majority leader; Representa-
tive Martin, Republican, of Massa-
chusetts, the House minority leader:
Senator Barkley, Democrat, of Ken
lucky, the Senate majority leader,
and Senator McNary, Republican,
OF Oregon, Senate minority leader.
Mayor Stewart of Cincinnati,
Representative Brooks, Democrat, of
Louisiana; Representative Snyder,
Democrat. of Pennsylvania; Senator
Thomas, Democrat, of Oklahoma;
Rear Admiral Waesche, comman-
dant United States Coast Guard:
Capt. G. S. Bryan, the Navy
photographer; John c. Page, COM
missioner of reclamation; Col. Jarvis
J. Balm, Beach Erosion Board, Army
Engineers; Dewitt Smith, national
director of Red Cross disaster relief:
Chester c. Thompson, president of
the Inland Waterways Corp, and
A. D. Strong, secretary of the Upper
Mississippi River Waterway Associa-
ton.
Examines Requests for Projects.
The Rivers and Harbors Congress
is composed of experts from all sec
tions Of the country In flood con-
troll, reclamation and irrigation.
The congress annually examines re-
quests for projects from the entke
country and presents its recommen-
dations for construction to the Ma
tional Congress. More than $50
such projects were presented to the
Projects Committee, which con-
cluded two days of hearings yes