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Show Quoddy Dream Teaches Lesson Congress Frowns on Huge Works Started by President. Two public works projects, the Passamaquoddy Dam and the Florida Flor-ida Ship Canal, have become the present Administration's prize white elephants. The President has dropped both projects "for the present." Both were started under the New Deal system of executive allotments, substituted for the old-fashioned old-fashioned way of approval and appropriation ap-propriation by Congress. The President Pres-ident already had allotted $7,000,0)0 for the dam. Of this amount $5,000,-000 $5,000,-000 already has been spent, $1,000,-000 $1,000,-000 has been "obligated" and $1,-000,000 $1,-000,000 remains to tide things over until the end of June. Meanwhile, at the upper end of Moose Island, near Eastport, Maine, there has blossomed blos-somed a model community of New England Colonial homes, built by the Government at an expense of $1,000,000. This Quoddy Village of 130 houses Is now Inhabited by 1,200 persons. The villagers are United States Army engineers and relief workers and their families. This Is the town for which It was proposed to have two grandfather clocks for each home, love seats and other last words In abundant living. An Engineering Dream, The Quoddy Dam was to have been composed of several dams enclosing en-closing a "lilglitlde" bnsln. Its designers de-signers proposed to harness the tides of the Bay of Fundy, creating hydro-electric power from the water wa-ter as It ruslied in and out of the basin. This engineering dream of making the moon supply electric power met with tlie following objections ob-jections : It has twice been rejected by expert ex-pert engineers. It has been turned down by PWA board of review. It was rejected by the Federal Power Commission. Experts have found It would cost more than $30,000,000 to complete, whereas a steam generating plant of equul capacity at the siitue i!ace would cost only $10,000,00:). Cost of power generated would make It Impossible for (juoihly to compete with steam generated power pow-er rates In the Boston area. There Is no present or prospective prospec-tive market for the Quoddy power. Power, when needed, could be generated more cheaply on Maine's undeveloped rivers. Crfngresi In Revolt. Engineers had planned to use a reservoir to supply power at low tide. Water was to be pumped Into the reservoir by power created by the tides. It haw now been found that the location of the dam makes this method too costly and the engineers en-gineers recommended that a Diesel power plant be constructed to pump some of the water. In other words the moon needed a helping hand. The final obstacle to the fulfillment fulfill-ment of the spectacular plan was a revolt In Congress which caused the President to abandon the schemes. When Congress delegated power to the President to use $4,-880,000,000 $4,-880,000,000 work-relief approprla-tlon approprla-tlon as he saw fit, It was believed a cure for log-rolling In public works projects had been found. The allocation al-location of funds, It was hoped, would not be influenced by politics. The promoter of the Quoddy project Is Dexter P. Cooper. Cooper and his associate and two others were members mem-bers of a special committee appointed appoint-ed by Secretary Ickea to pass on the practicability of the" scheme. The committee approved It and their verdict was accepted. Having spent or tied up $7,000,-000 $7,000,-000 on the dam the President bad asked Congress to appropriate an additional $9,000,000. Congress refused. re-fused. Harry Hopkins has promised prom-ised that if Congress passes the pending works-relief measure that none of the $1,500,000,000 It appropriates appro-priates will be spent on harnessing tides. The Florida Canal. Under Somewhat similar circumstances circum-stances the President allocated $5,-400,000 $5,-400,000 for the construction of the Florida Ship CanaL To complete the work It Is estimated that as much as $200,000,000 would be required. re-quired. The project had been disapproved dis-approved by Administrator Ickes of the PWA and by two divisions of PWA. In spite of this Mr. Roose, velt again used funds delegated to him to use as he saw fit and preliminary pre-liminary work was started. Heads of large corporations and of shipping companies asserted they would not use the canal if completed, com-pleted, denying that It would save time and expense. Residents of Florida Flor-ida In the area south of the proposed pro-posed 200-mile canal vigorously op-pose op-pose the project on the ground that It will cut off their supply of fresh water. Congress refused to appropriate an additional sum to carry on the work started by presidential order. Forgotten 7 Bernarr Macfadden, magazine publisher, said In a New Yor) speech recently that Mr. Roosevelt had found the forgotten man and immediately ,ent a tax collect! after him. |