The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1947-05-16
New St. Lawrence
fContinued from Page one)

0dudud NlAC tO0AoO ~ SS&ANeA w
ton, to fix the toll charges.
Certain policies are fixed for the
President to follow in these negotla
tions with Canada with the purpose
in view of giving encouragement te
the greatest possible use of the navi
CATION facilities; differential Qower)
rates on bulk agricultural, mineral and
other raw materials as compared with
other types of cargo; that the maxi
mum charges on any type of cargo
shall not exceed the equivalent OF
S1.25 per short ton of laden cargo and
may be lower; that tolls shall apply
only on traffic utilizing the new deep
water navigation channel to be con-
structed in the Great Lakes, exclud-
ing the 14-foot canals now in existence
on the Canadian side and excluding
the traffic within the Great Lakes sys-
tenn, the 500 Locks and connecting
channels from toll charges.
The proposed st. Lawrence seaway
which would provide deep waterway
extending about 2,400 miles from Du-
luth, Minnesota to the Atlantic, in
wolves the construction of new lock
at Sault Ste Marie to deepen the
channels and canals linking Lakes
Huron, Erie and Ontario and to i'm
prove the ST Lawrence river between
Ogdensburg, n. Y. and Montreal, Que
bee Existing locks built by Canada
to the st. Lawrence river will have to
be reconstructed, and main naviga
ton and power dam across the river
at Barnhart Island between Massena,
n Y. and Cornwall, Ontario with a
small control dam farther up the river
The cost of the project to the U. S.
as has been estimated by the Depart
ment of Commerce would be about |
S2S5000,000 OF this total cost, about |
S93,000,000 would be paid by New |
York state which would be given the |
control of the generation and distribu-
ton of power, leaving only roughly |
$195, 100000 to be paid by the U. S.
government Even if the entire cost |
of the project which promises very |
tangible benefits to industry were to
be borne by the government without
any specific return, it would be less
than the cost of three battleships, and
the construction would take no longer.
One of the largest blocs of electric |
power on this continent would be pro-
vided by the st. Lawrence project, and
its need from this standpoint is clear
ly recognized 1t would be the second 4
largest single-dam power source in the
world, being exceeded in size only by
Grand Coulee. The power generated
would be distributed throughout an
area within a 300-mile radius of Mas
sena, n. Y, thus making it possible
to supply New York City, the indus
trial area of Buffalo and a part of
New England However, by shifting
loads over existing and contemplated
lines, the power could
be made available in an emergency
according to authoritative sources, i
an area bounded by Chi
cago on the west, Washington, DC,
On the south and Boston on the north.
The thing that particularly disturbs
he private power barons however, is
hat the st. Lawrence survey esti-
mates that the average cost of power
or farm and residential consumers I
Gould be reduced Ga per cent below
937 rates and the cost to commercial
md industrial consumers would be
educed 25 per cent.
Direct Benefits To Montana /
Farmers
Montana wheat farmers would be
benefited directly by the savings in
hipping charges from Duluth to Liver
,ool, as wheat being bulk commodity
carries low shipping
harges by water. Experts, state that
he saving in shipping charges from
duluth to Liverpool as compared with
he best alternative route would
mount to So cents bushel or STA
ton.
1t has been asserted that reductions
n the cost of exporting wheat over the
eaway would merely reduce the price
f wheat in the world market and that
hus potential savings to the farmers
you'd be wiped out. This assertion
oes not hold water. The price of