Evening star., 1941-02-02
Roosevelt Holds Up
Other Bills, Awaiting
lease-Lend Action
St. Lawrence Power Plan
Moy Be Offered in New
Legislative Move
BY JOHN C. HENRY.

Marking time until Congress dis
poses of the lease-lend bill for aid
to Britain, President Roosevelt is
withholding several major legisla-
tive proposals for submission later
In the session.
One of these, joint Canadian
American development of the ST
Lawrence waterway and power
propect was discussed by the Pres
ident In q White House conference
yesterday with Assistant Secretary
of State A. A. Berle and Jay Pier
repont Moffat, Minister to Canada.
Although relatively little is being
said here about this controversial
project, those who have been most
interested in its fate have been
aware for several months that the
administration contemplated an
effort this winter to gain congress
sional approval Of the development.
Senate Rejected 1t in 1884.
Rejected in treaty form by the
Senate in 1884, the project was re-
vived last fall when the President
allocated S1,000,000 of discretionary
defense funds to cover the cost of
engineering tests preliminary to
construction of great hydro
electric plant.
Although emphasis at that time
was on the power aspect of the
project, the President sent word to
the Great Lakes SeaWay and Power
Conference in Detroit in December
that "the United States needs this
great landlocked sea ito be opened
by the waterway developmenD as a
secure haven in which 1t will always
be able to build ships and more
ships in order to protect our trade
and our shores"
Since then, with Mr.. Berle as the
Administrations chief strategist,
plans have been laid to obtain con-
gressional authorization and funds
for the entire project.
Strategy Is Changed.
Attention is being directed prin-
cipally toward action through joint
congressional resolution rather than
by treaty, a procedural change which
would require a simple majority OF
both branches rather than a two
thirds majority of the Senate alone.
Precedent for this Governments
participation in an international
project through resolution rather
than by treaty is believed to exist
and at least one caucus of House
members interested in this venture
has been held. Another, in which
Senate proponents of the project
are expected to participate, is to
be held soon.
Foes of the project have not been
idle and the fact that the opposl-
ton is being rallied is one reason
the administration is delaying for
NAL action until the lease-lend leg
islation Is acted on.
A second presidential proposal
which may precipitate debate, or
at least which contains sufficient
dynamite" to cause fight, is one
JOT GxUGIlSlOll VI lA1l1C Ava cS'S~AN
ment reorganization plans.
No Shake ups Planned at Once.
The White House has indicated
that no specific departmental shake
UPS are Immediately contemplated,
but it is believed that the President
is desirous of retaining his privilege
of shifting bureaus or departmental
Jurisdictions if such changes might
be Judged of value to the defense
program.
Mr.. Roosevelt's repeated insistence
that nomination of a successor to
Associate Justice McReynolds on the
Supreme Court bench is many weeks
in the future leads to belief that this
matter likewise is being delayed un-
til the lease-lend bill is cleared.
Strong support for Senator Byrnes,
Democrat, of South Carolina for the
court vacancy furthers this specula-
ton, since he is valuable to the ad-
ministration in an important legis-