Evening star., 1941-06-29
St. Lawrence Seaway Proposal
Aided by Growing Regionalism
Trend to Economic Unity, Laying Groundwork for
Cooperation, Seen Also in Turkish
Agreement With Germany
By Felix Morley.

Between the st. Lawrence Seaway
project and the treaty "of friendship
and mutual confidence" recently con-
cluded by Germany and Turkey there
would at first glance seem to be not the
faintest connection.
Yet a certain relationship exists. 1t
might perhaps be guessed from present
indications that the treaty signed at
Ankara June 18 will soon be followed
by success for President Roosevelt in
getting the waterway and power project
through Congress.
Of course, the connection is very in
direct, or it would be more widely recog-
nized than is the case. There is no
parallelism, or even similarity of any
kind between the two undertakings. Nor
is there any historical relationship.
AS matter of fact, agitation for the
present st. Lawrence project dates from
the period Immediately after the last
war, time when the last treaty between
Germany and Turkey had just been
forcibly liquidated, and when few peo-
pie anywhere anticipated its restoration.
None the less it would be a mistake,
in this period of rapid fundamental
change, to assume that events which are
wholly separated in time and space are
for that reason unrelated. And failure
to recognize these fundamental relation
ships, when they exist, can only result
in giving us a distorted and misleading
conception of the present world up
heaval.
New Order" to Stay, Turks Believe.
The case which has been taken for
illustration may be clarified, first by
considering the underlying significance
of the German Turkish treaty. Then
one should ask why the St. Lawrence
Seaway project is now for the first time
likely to triumph ever the opposition
which has heretofore stalled it. Finally
there should be examination of the
invisible unity between the two de-
velopments which is assumed.
The underlying significance of the
treaty recently signed at Ankara is sug-
gested by the evident conclusion of the
Turkish government that in one form or
another the new order" in Europe has
come 10 stay Because of that conclusion
the Turkish leaders heretofore regarded
as anti-AXis and pro-Russian, have now
bound themselves to take no measure
that is aimed directly or indirectly
against Germany.
1t is wholly appropriate to argue that
the Turks must have been bulldozed into
signing this treaty; that it does not
represent the wishes of the Turkish
people, that it is a dreadful mistake
which Turkey will eventually regret. All
that may be true. But even in total
such considerations cannot conceal the
fact that the treaty has been signed.
One reason for the signing is doubtless
the military weakness of Great Britain
IN the Near East The evacuation of
Greece and Crete has been followed bv
repulse of the mechanical thrust against
Libya and by very slow progress against
a few allegedly demoralized French regi-
ments in Syria. And there has been
nothing in the first phase of German
military operations against Russia to
indicate that the Turks guessed badly in
signing the treaty of Ankara
In German Economic Orbit.
A more important influence. however,
would seem to be the fact that Turkey
has in late years been drawn so closely
into the German economic orbit. 1t has
not escaped notice that pledge of even
more far-reaching commercial exchange
has accompanied the political agreement
between the two countries.
In the last year before the war, half
of Turkeys imports were drawn from
Germany and one-third of her exports
were going to that country. Under
present conditions virtually all Of the
foreign trade of Turkey is Axis con-
trolled AS often happens, an act of
political faith has followed an estab-
lished economic condition.
We turn to the wholly different sub
ject of the st. Lawrence seavay project,
now very much to the fore although
defeated five years ago as treaty by
the United States Senate.
The last five years, however, have
seen great strengthening of the scene