The time has come to resume in a moderate way the opening of our
intracoastal waterways; the control of flood waters of the Mississippi and
of the Colorado Rivers; the improvement of the waterways from the Great
Lakes toward the Gulf of Mexico; and the development of the great power and
navigation project of the St. Lawrence River, for which efforts are now
being made to secure the necessary treaty with Canada. These projects can
not all be undertaken at once, but all should have the immediate
consideration of the Congress and be adopted as fast as plans can be
matured and the necessary funds become available. This is not incompatible
with economy, for their nature does not require so much a public
expenditure as a capital investment which will be reproductive, as
evidenced by the marked increase in revenue from the Panama Canal. Upon
these projects depend much future industrial and agricultural progress.
They represent the protection of large areas from flood and the addition of
a great amount of cheap power and cheap freight by use of navigation, chief
of which is the bringing of ocean-going ships to the Great Lakes.
Another problem of allied character is the superpower development of the
Northeastern States, consideration of which is growing under the direction
of the Department of Commerce by joint conference with the local
authorities.