Evening star., 1952-04-27
SeoWoy:
Opposition SporkpIug
Girds for New Fiqht
By George Kennedy

By George Kennedy
The st. Lawrence Seaway is COM
ing up for a vote again in Congress.
The brain trust of the opposition,
Carroll B. Huntress, is girding him
self for another battle.
1t is doubtful that Theodore Roose-
velt would have been able to over
come the opposition of the railroads
and build the Panama Canal if he
had been up against a man of Mr..
Huntress' ability using modern pub
lie relations techniques.
In fairness to Mr.. Huntress, the
Panama Canal might not have Of
Tended his sense of the fitness of
things as does the seaway. After
ALL" he says, "the Panama Canal is
a year-around operation. The st.
Lawrence Seaway would be able to
operate only seven months of the
year."
Every President since World War I
has been for the seaway. Mr.. Hunt
ress, as representative of the railroad
and coal interests, has been one of
the leading organizers of the opposi-
ton.
He Is, likely to wax indignant, with
some justification. if any one tries to
narrow the opposition down to rail-
roads and coal. BY the time his
parade of witnesses completes testi-
mony against the seaway. the con-
gressional committee is left with the
impression that the whole country
Is against the project. These wit
nesSeS include representatives of
labor, port officials and business, and
come from as far away as Texas and
California.
How Does He Do 1t?
How does Mr.. Huntress do it? For
one thing. he was ahead of his time
in recognizing the political power
OF labor. In the old days, only the
United Mine Workers and the rail-
road brotherhoodS were in the op-
position. The miners worried about
the hydroelectric aspects of the
project, and the brotherhoods feared
loss Of traffic to shipping. Mr.. Hunt
resS got the American Federation of
Labor committed to opposition, and
brought in the unions of the coastal
ports.
For another thing, the railroads
have increased their political power
IN recent years. Seventeen years ago.
the Western railroads were for the
seaway. Then, in 1885. he Joined the
Association of American Railroads,
and the Western roads changed their
tune to conform to that of the East
ern trunk lines. Today the railroads
are unanimously against it.
Nowadays, the railroads like their
local executives to join chambers of
commerce and other civic groups.
Then, when the question of the sea-
way comes up in a local chamber,
the railroad man is right there to
persuade the chamber to oppose it.
Just q Port-T Time Job
It is little disconcerting to dis
cover that all. this has been but a
part time effort of Mr.. Huntress. He
is not only chairman of the National
ST. Lawrence Project Conference
Subtitle: "A Nationwide Organiza-
ton in DEPOSITORY, but he is also
Eastern vice president of the Repub-
lie Coal & Coke Co. and head of it's
sales Offices in New York. He usually
spends three days a week at the
Washington Office of the conference
which is conveniently located in the
Transportation Building near those
of the Association of American Rail-
roads.
One of his minor regrets is that
his old home town of OgdenSburg,
N. Y, gave $4,000 last year to sup
port the SeaWay. Ogdensburg men
play important roles in the st. Law
renee fight. The No. man in the
Great LakeS-St. Lawrence Associa-
tion, which is dedicated to getting
the project through Congress, is Hugh
Burns, former secretary of the Og-
denSburg Chamber of Commerce.
Mr.. HuntreSS encountered Mr..
Burns at the recent Senate hearings
on the Seaway and asked how things
were in the old home town. II am
afraid" Mr.. Huntress said bit visit
fully, that they would want to run
me out if went back"
The record shows that the fight
against the Seaway has been COM
pelling interest that took possession
of very able man. Mr.. Huntress
would not let his hair down when
asked what motivated him into de-
voting so much Of his life to this
fight. He merely handed over the
conferences latest list of arguments
against the Seaway.
Three years ago Mr.. Huntress had
every reason to believe he had won
his fight-that the seaway part of
the project had been killed. No one
doubts that the rapids Of the st.
Lawrence will be harnessed for power
some day. But the further study"
which had been in progress since
the turn Of the century. when
Niagara Falls power made the Ma
ton aware of this great natural re-
source, could go on for years.
Then the M. A. Hanna Co. of
Cleveland began developing ore re-
serves in Labrador. They discovered
that the area probably contained the
largest deposit of open-pit, direct
shipping iron ore in the world. Han
ma and the five "little" steel COM
panies, which are financing develop
ment of the Labrador area, want
the seaway and they are contribut-
ing real money to the pro-seaway
lobby. There have been defectionS
among Ohio politicians who were op-
posed to the seaway. The United
Automobile Workers, who feel the
ore helps their industry, and their
parent CIO have come out for the
project.
The Selfish Interests .
Mr. HuntreSS who has had the