Show St. St Lawrence Plan Not Defense Aid By S. S BURTON HEATH NEW YORK YORK YORK-It If national defense and to ald really are our prime concerns right now then It ii Is a fools fool gold god brick that President Roosevelt Is handing us In his St St. Lawrence power and navigation project From the defense vIewpoint viewpoint viewpoint view view- point It It- ItIs Is not power It Is not navigation and it is not but very much more It may be that the nation wants to develop the International rapids section Uon of the St. St Lawrence river n to produce two to million electric horsepower one horsepower one for us and one for lor Canada The country may want to build a deep waterway from Montreal to Duluth with stops stopa at Buffalo Cleveland Detroit and Chicago Perhaps we are In La position position tion to divert from the national defense and to spare thousands thousands thousands thou thou- thoua sands of skilled d workers for somewhere somewhere somewhere some some- where between four tour and ten years Congress and the courts will have to decide The president can get geta a majority In congress for anything to which he pins the defense label Theirs not to reason reeson why National unity is the watchword F DR knows best But after congress has stamped rubber the proposed I law It will be for the courts to say whether a treaty which treaty which re reQuires requires requires re- re quires two-thirds two acquiescence Inthe in inthe the senate senate senate-Isn't Isn't what was required required required re re- re- re all the time Nine years ears ago Mr Roosevelt believed such a treaty was needed Now he thinks he can get gel by with a law Studies Made Before congress yields Ields to the plea pica of national defense there are several sev sev- sev- sev oral eral considerations which undoubtedly edl edly will wilt be called to its attention All bf bt them rest upon authoritative impartial studies Each is well documented and available to anybody any any- body Interested in facts None Is unknown to the president A stage single-stage dam to turn the St. St Lawrence rapids' rapids energy Into electricity would cost by the presidents president's figures These seem reasonable In 1931 a group of ot topnotch engineers put it at al The margin margin mar mar- gin ought to take care of increased costs COlts in the interval To canalize the International rapids stretch for sea deep-sea ships would cost But of this is common to both navigation and power The overall cost of ot raises no question of price price so so far farAS faras as It goes But theres there's the rub It goes only from Colquhoun Island to a little above Croll Island a distance of about 15 miles miles but but it Is miles from Montreal to the foot of ot Lake Ontario and another another an an- other 1160 miles to Duluth Project D Described Speaking of navigation for we will have prepared some 15 miles of St. St Lawrence to handle ships drawing 25 feet of water whIch water which is to say more than hall half of those which ply the waves from Europe to the U. U S. S We shall have remaining some miles of the river between Montreal and Lake Ontario which will be canalized canal canal- for lor vessels drawing no more than 14 feet feel of water To send freighters from Britain to the mouth of the Niagara river below low the falls we and Canada will wm have to dig up funds lunds to deepen the canals above Montreal by at least 11 feet To get them to Buffalo Cleveland eland Detroit Chicago Chicago Chica Chica- go and Duluth it will be necessary to expand or replace the Welland Weiland canal deepen the channels between the upper lakes and enlarge the lock at Sault Ste. Ste Marie Twenty years ago this was Wal estimated estimated esti- esti mated to involve a further cost of almost It would be beno beno beno no l less s now So either the program is a or S more project sneaking project sneaking up on us us- us or else the navigational aspect ha Isa is h isa S a fraud an and J a delusion If all aU we weare weare S Sare are to have Is 14 loot navigation It Is there now If foot 25 channels they will cost more than we are being told If foot 30 the foot the depth from the Atlantic to Montreal Montreal- the whole may cost up to Four Your Yeses Year Needed The minimum time UnI estimated for the power project la Is I four years i Engineers believe lIe e that five Is more I probable and say that relatively minor delays delay might make It require six II years ert The time Ume estimated for foi forthe forthe the navigation project is about abou eight years If ie either of these can be fitted into the national defense defense- and to scheme then we w. must start now digging ourselves in for lor a pretty lon long war arI ar I If 11 we need more power for lor de de- de- de feast ferae production we can get it quicker la In other ways was One is by building steam plants where here the theare they are see needed The power the they pro duce duel would cost more at the bus bar in the generating station but bu little if U any more at the factor factory where it is La us used d The plants themselves would be cheaper t to construct and could be made available avail aval able more quickly Another is b by increasing the permissible diversion at Niagara Falls where the existing existing exist exist- ing Industrial metropolis centering upon spon Buffalo can be expanded Either of ot these plans not only would give gin us L power In time Urne to tome use me it for tor national defense defense if j if that really is 1 what we need it for for but but would save sa-e us from building ghost towns In the fields of northern New York or In the alternative hiving having to I spend nd enormous normous additionS additional addition- addition t i S al aI sunu suma for transmission lines toSS to toN N SS- bring the power from to our f factories Copyright 1911 1941 McClure kv S Syndicate l S SS S S |