The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-06-11

want govern
 ment power expansion, for the 192
 New York State Power authorit,
 act prohibits private utility iron
 operating on a navigahle stream, Railroads, particularly the eaSterl
 roads, are opposed to 1t because 1
 Is q competitive threat that wateI transport always gives land trans port in forcing downward readjuSt'
 ment of ratsS. Western roads, how
 ever, are inclined to favor the sea-
 way because they feel the cheaper
 water routes east of Chicago woulS enable them to ship more goods tI the Atlantic Seaboard.
 PORTS FEAR LOSSES
 Port authorities at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore anS even Norfolk fear that opening thu St, Lawrence and Great Lakes tC ocean going vessels would cut dowr the business of their harhorS, NeN York state barge canal from Buf. falo to New York might suffer. Mis- sissippi valley, particularly port oi New Orleans, opposes for the same reason,
 Pennsylvania Ohio and West Vir- ginia coal producers oppose 1t not only because water power always compstes with steam generated power, but also because they fear the loss of Canadian coal markets if the St, Lawrence is opened to cargoeS of British. Nova SSotian, or even South American or European coal which could be hauled in as ballast on the return voyages ot grain vessels,
 This one is bit hard to figure, U. s, coal exports to Quebec and On- tario are now Il million tons Q year. In spite of a tariff of 75 cents a ton against U, s. coal which has to es rail shipped from Lake Ontario to Montreal, U, S. coal has been outSelling British coal 75S,O00 tons to l9S,000 tons, and the Nova Scotia mines have an additional capacity of only 2,8 million tons, only Q fourth of the present U. s. sales. ABOUT THE DEFENSE ANGLE
 The big argument for the St, Lawrence project now Is that 1t is @ defense measure, but Q big battle will wage over just how much of a defense project this is.
 Its vulnerability is unquestionable. One well placed bomb on any of the l6 sets of locks could put 1t out of business, It would be closed by win ter from Nov, l5 to April l5, making 1t useless five months every year.
 The National Economy league and plenty of others argue that the country can't afford 1t now, and there is no question that 1t would cost money-$ll6 million federal funds, 800 million from New York state, $60 million from Canada plus another $50 million from all sources for deepening harbors, dredging the Sault Ste, Marie locks and other shallow channels to accommodate T-foot bottoms of ocean going yes. sels.
 It would take from two to four years to complete, maybe longer.
 Is the manpower available to do the job, particularly in these days of skilled labor shortage? Engineers say the average employment would be ten thousand men, much of it unskilled or semi-skilled labor, which Is one of the things the country seems to have Q six mil. lion abundance of.
 WOULD SPEED SHIPBUILDING
 The power shortage and the need Tor more Shipbuilding facilities are two of the principal defense argu- ments Of the seaway supporters.
 All this buildup on existing power shortages has been good st. Law renee propaganda, but there Is no question but that the New York area can well use the two million horse. power the St. Lawrence dams could produce for the big electro- chemical, alloy, aluminium and kindred indus~ tries which center around Buffalo,
 As to shipbuilding, there are 30 shipWayS In the Great Lakes which can take vessels of 800 feet and over. Most of them are idle now, or used only for repairs, The long.range idea Is to use these protected, inland sea dlydocss for the construction Of cruisers, which are i8 months or more on the ways, releasing the coast facilities for building ugly and the like, which are on the ways only three or four months. Cruisers even up to the Wichita class, 600 feet long, 6i.foot beam, 2O-foot draft, could easily be built In the Great Lakes yards and get through the Welland canal locks, the "bottleneck" which will pass vessels up to 860.foot length, a0- foot beam, H-foot draft.
 Those limits, by the way, would permit "a per cent of the worlds freighters to come right to Detroit or Chicago. And on the voyage out. bound, they would have Q thousand miles less open ocean to navigate on the great circle route under Greenland and Iceland, to England.