Are we now to feel that these developments are solely for others and not for us also? Are we to be considered a second-class group of citizens as far as our industrial future is concerned? Milwaukee is one of the great steelworking centers of the Nation. The people there are convinced that the Great Lakes area will need Labrador ore to sustain this steel economy. We do not want our industries to wither away with the whole Great Lakes steel economy for want of this ore. We believe that the United States ought to participate in this new development and we are most seriously concerned about it. Its benefit to us will be a benfit to the Nation. COMPARABLE SEAWAY RECENTLY OPENED IN U. S. S. R. In the February 22, 1952, issue of the United States News and World Report, there is an account of the opening of an internal waterway in the Soviet Union, the Volga-Don Canal. This canal will be open only 7 months of the year. Presumably it, too, is subject to destruction by air attack; yet in a nation as heavily committed to arming as the Soviet Union, the building of this canal is considered a great morale booster for the people, in addition to its commercial value. The point to us must be obvious-that our own defense, our industry and our commerce, and our sense of national achievement require the further development of the St. Lawrence waterway, jointly with Canada. Thank you. SEAWAY AND MILWAUKEE ECONOMY Senator WILEY. I want to compliment you, Mr. Mayor. The CHAIRMAN. You are already on the Great Lakes? The CHAIRMAN. Milwaukee is on the Great Lakes? Mr. ZEIDLER. We have been for about 104 years, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You have been there ever since you were a baby, haven't you? Mr. ZEIDLER. I was, yes. The CHAIRMAN. Since Milwaukee was a baby. Naturally, you think this project will help Milwaukee? Mr. ZEIDLER. We feel our whole economy is tied in with the Great Lakes area, our commerce, and so forth. The CHAIRMAN. All right; who is next? PROCEDURE FOR EXPEDITING HEARINGS Senator GREEN. American Federation of Labor unions. Here again, Mr. Chairman, it seems to me that in view of the long list of other organizations to be recognized, we might hear one speaker and thenand I think I made the suggestion a little late in regard to the Farmers Union-let the others go to the foot of the list to be heard then if there is time. Otherwise, let them file their briefs. Would that meet with your approval? The CHAIRMAN. That suits me all right. STATEMENT OF GEORGE A. HABERMAN, PRESIDENT, WISCONSIN STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR Mr. HABERMAN. Mr. Chairman, we haven't been able to determine who is supposed to make the presentation here on behalf of the American Federation of Labor organizations in the area from which we emanate. The CHAIRMAN. Whom do you represent today? Mr. HABERMAN. I am representing Wisconsin State Federation of Labor, and I have telegrams privileging me to represent North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Indiana. The CHAIRMAN. All right. Mr. HABERMAN. Mr. Chairman, my name is George A. Haberman. I am president of the Wisconsin State Federation of Labor, AFL. Our organization is completely convinced and has been completely convinced for many years of the fundamental merits of the St. Lawrence seaway and power project. We support completely the legislation before you. SINCERITY OF UNITED STATES DEMOCRACY AT STAKE We cannot believe that the Congress of the United States will decline to join Canada in the immediate construction of the St. Lawrence seaway and power project. Throughout history, nations have sought control of strategic waterways and it is unthinkable that the Congress will abandon our national equity in the St. Lawrence River and permit its development by a foreign though friendly neighbor, without a proper voice in its development. If Congress declines to ratify the 1941 agreement with Canada, it will nullify to a large degree the tremendous and costly effort which has been made since 1945 to convince the rest of the world of the fundamentals of American democracy. If we cannot agree on a great project in the public interest with our nearest and best friend and ally, how can we convince the rest of the world of the sincerity of our particular product-American democracy? I come from a region which is heavily dependent for its economic existence upon the processing of iron and steel products. We in Wisconsin are completely convinced that unless iron ore from the new iron range in Labrador flows into the Great Lakes region, inevitably, over the next 50 years, Great Lakes steel production will decline and will eventually migrate to seaboard areas which will be better located in proximity to overseas sources of iron and steel. CONSEQUENCE OF REJECTING SEAWAY If we as a Nation propose to shift our steel industry from the shores of the Great Lakes to exposed locations on the seaboard, to make that industry dependent upon ocean supply lines, and to accept the vast economic dislocations that will follow, that decision should be made. with complete awareness of the risks involved. To the region which I represent, that decision will spell economic catastrophe for us and it is conceivable that it may imply military catastrophe for the entire Nation in the future. Wisconsin, bordered on three sides by navigable waterways, has a keen appreciation of the value of water transportation to our agricultural and industrial enterprises. We know the historical importance of the Great Lakes in development of our State, and in making possible a high degree of industrial efficiency and a high standard of living for our people. Wisconsin labor, and particularly my organization, has a full ap preciation of what water transportation and foreign trade has meant to us in the past and will mean to our State in the future. Thousands of jobs on Wisconsin farms and in Wisconsin factories are dependent upon foreign trade, either in terms of processing essential raw material imports or in terms of producing for American markets abroad. The city of Milwaukee alone has a foreign trade production of $100 million per year, a figure which probably can be doubled for the entire State of Wisconsin. SEAWAY A DIRECT ROUTE TO ATLANTIC OCEAN The St. Lawrence seaway means to Wisconsin a direct route to the Atlantic Ocean and to the ports of the world. Such a direct link with the ocean means cheap transportation. Cheap transportation means that we can maintain our competitive position and can bid on foreign business with some assurance of competitive equality with seaboard areas and with foreign countries. For several years past, we have had forceful examples of how Wisconsin industry has been able to land substantial orders in overseas markets by use of ocean vessels direct from Milwaukee and other Wisconsin ports. I have personal knowledge of half a dozen major instances where large orders have been secured, under highly competitive conditions, only because direct ocean shipping made it possible for Wisconsin industry to meet sharp competition from areas more favorably situated with respect to world trade. ECONOMIC PROSPERITY Based upon long study of the seaway and its implications, we are convinced that untold thousands of new jobs will be created in lake ports and throughout the Middle West when the seaway is completed, due to expanded shipping operations, shipbuilding, and the many related aspects of foreign trade. The large volume of commerce which will move through Great Lakes ports will mean added business for railroads, truck lines, stevedores, warehouse laborers, brokers, banks, and all of the other forms of enterprise associated with maritime activity. Entirely aside from its local effect on a healthy labor market, the seaway will mean new foreign trade opportunities for midwestern industry and new markets for midwestern farms. These fundamentals translate into healthy economic conditions for farm and factory. OPPOSITION TO SEAWAY This committee has heard much and will hear more of the national defense implications of the St. Lawrence seaway and power project. To us, it is almost inconceivable that in the light of world affairs today, the seaway should continue to receive opposition from special interest groups, who, without justification, fear its competitive effect. If the whole history of the United States had been controlled by this kind of philosophy, the United States would still be confined to the Atlantic seaboard. The whole history of this country has been one of expansion. The St. Lawrence seaway is one of the few great frontiers left. The opposition to the project is highly localized, and, in my opinion, does not in any way represent national thinking nor does it represent the best interest of this Nation in these critical times. Unfortunately, we cannot decide national policies by referendum, but if it were possible to poll 150 million Americans concerning the seaway project, I am confident that 95 percent of them would vigorously support this project. It is in the best American tradition, and it is the kind of thing that Americans understand and approve. Most of the American industrial machine is geared to steel production, 90 percent of which is centered on the shores of the Great Lakes. The economic implications of a major shift in the steel industry away from the Great Lakes, which is a definite possibility unless Labrador iron ore is tapped, are so vast that to spell out its implications fully would classify me as a prophet of doom. SEAWAY AND NATIONAL SECURITY In the same manner, the implications for the national defense are tremendous. I share deeply the convictions brought to this committee by Secretary Acheson, by the Secretary of the Army, and the Chief of Engineers. They are your advisers and the country's advisors in the field of national defense. We recommend strongly that you accept their advice concerning the importance of this project to the national safety. Surely, if all other considerations fail, local interest must give way to the national security in these critical times. The United States must marshall every bit of its national strength for the critical years ahead if we are to meet our world responsibilities adequately. Might I submit these telegrams, Mr. Chairman, to the clerk, permitting me to represent these various other States? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. (The telegrams referred to are as follows:) GEORGE HABERMAN, 1012 North Third Street: OMAHA, NEBR., February 25, 1952. Would you kindly testify to the effect that the Nebraska State Federation of Labor favors the immediate passage of legislation enabling the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway project at once. GORDON C. PREBLE, President, Nebraska State Federation of Labor. DENVER, COLO., February 22, 1952. GEORGE A. HABERMAN, President, Wisconsin State Federation of Labor, 1012 North Third Street.: This is to inform you that Colorado State Federation of Labor, AFL, is and has been in hearty support of St. Lawrence Seaway project. We feel this project is not only essential to national defense but of inestimable value to national prosperity. We urge its immediate passage. COLORADO STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR, Secretary-Treasurer. GEORGE A. HABERMAN, LANSING, MICH., February 22, 1952. President, Wisconsin Federation of Labor, Room 321, 1012 North Third Street, Milwaukee 3: The Michigan Federation of Labor request that you represent them before the proper congressional committees with regard to the proposed joint United States-Canadian Seaway. The Michigan Federation of Labor in convention assembled has respectfully requested the Congress to enact the enabling legislation necessary to construct and develop this project. We believe this project is necessary to protect the economy of the Middle West thereby strengthening the national economy. ROBERT P. SCOTT, Secretary-Treasurer, Michigan Federation of Labor. ST. PAUL, MINN., February 22, 1952. GEORGE A. HABERMAN, President, Wisconsin State Federation of Labor, 1012 North Third Street: Understand you are to appear before foreign relations committee on St. Lawrence Waterway. The Minnesota federation wholeheartedly behind this project. Unable to be represented. Hereby authorize you to speak in behalf of Minnesota State Federation of Labor. Kindly testify to the effect that the South Dakota State Federation of Labor does favor the immediate passage of legislation which would tend to begin the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway Project at once. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR, AFL, FRANCIS K. MCDONALD, Secretary Treasurer. GEORGE HABERMAN, HAMMOND, IND., February 25, 1952. Hold for Arrival, Hotel Hamilton, Washington, D. C.: Indiana Federation of Labor unanimously endorses St. Lawrence seaway project. We urge congressional action now. CARL H. MULLEN, President. FARGO, N. DAK., February 25, 1952. GEORGE A. HABERMAN, President, Wisconsin State Federation of Labor, 1012 North Third Street: Please represent the North Dakota State Federation of Labor in your appearance before the Committee on Foreign Relations favoring the St. Lawrence seaway project. It is the belief of this federation that a service to the general public of the United States can be rendered by joining with Canada on the building of this project at once. W. W. MURRAY, President of the North Dakota State Federation of Labor. The CHAIRMAN. You are aware, are you not, that other representatives of labor unions are appearing against the project? |