Show HUDSON BAY PORT HANDED BLACK EYE fear city of churchill will be white elephant ottawa ont when a grain laden vessel smacked its nose against an iceberg tn in hudson straits and went to the tha bottom recently americas mo most t northerly seaport port churchill an W hudson bay received a black eye canada had gambled to the extent of ft on tho the navi navigability gabill ty of her ber water route and the dominion government had just succeeded in convincing the shipping insurance burn ce underwriters that no special d dangers angers a attached t to the hudson bay water route an and that they could cut insurance ce rates materially th the wh whole ole hudson bay railway venture together with its costly terminal and port facilities Is generally regarded by politically versed canadians as a white elephant born of f political exigencies both parties responsible tho the canadian middle west had wanted I a hudson u bay railway and port for be decades cades and a few years ago when the political balance as between liberals and conservatives was finely proportioned both parties vied with each other in their support of the demand thirty or forty political constituencies west of the head of the lakes would throw their support to the party most strongly advocating construction of the railway present day responsibility rests evenly upon both canadian political parties for both alternately in power pushed the project to completion there was a blunder connected with the earlier selection of port nelson as the railway terminus charles dunning as minister of railways in the old mackenzie king government ern ment found that the peculiar nature of the subsoil sub soil soll at this point precluded successful dredging so with already spent trying to develop port nelson this site was abandoned for churchill has haa fair first year government statistics for the present grain shipping season show that the new port of churchill has been active to the extent of bushels of grain shipped out this looks fairly impressive for its first year of operation alongside of montreali Mont reals and vers bushels but it does not constitute a fair commercial comparison for the government in its efforts to establish churchill has been carrying the grain free of elevator and other usually incidental ci costs at the new port about six european freighters each taking away about bushels have called at churchill this year and taken out grain cargoes |