VAST SCHEME

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23516, 2 June 1938, Page 11

VAST SCHEME

UNITED STATES AND CANADA DEVELOPMENT IN GREAT LAKES AREA RECIPROCAL TREATY PROPOSED (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) WASHINGTON, May 31. (Received June 1, at 9 p.m.) The Secretary of State (Mr Cordell Hull) has submitted to the Canadian Government for approval a tentative treaty for the development of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River basin, envisaging reciprocal production of cheap power and a waterway to the sea. tapping vast mineral resources and giving both nations a powerful defence weapon in the event of war. The treaty would give the United States one of the biggest hydroelectric power plants in the world. It would be remote enough to be safe from enemy bombers but close enough to supply the vast eastern industrial area with emergency power should existing facilities be blown up. Construction of -Channel Mr Hull said the United States was prepared to hurdle the first major obstacle by financing the development of the international rapids of the St. Lawrence River to provide a channel for seaborne commerce and to make possible power development from the rapids whenever desired by either country. It is proposed that a commission should prepare plans for the project, to allocate the construction between the two Governments, and to devise plans for the development of power at Niagara Falls and for preserving the scenic beauty of the falls.