I said that Harry Brockel was the first witness. I understand has been called to New York, and that he has sent the secretary of Board of Harbor Commissioners of Milwaukee to present his sta ment.

If you will give your full name, please.

STATEMENT OF HARRY BROCKEL, MUNICIPAL PORT DIRECT BOARD OF HARBOR COMMISSIONERS, CITY OF MILWAUKEE, WI PRESENTED BY JULIA M. McCARTHY, SECRETARY OF THE BOA OF HARBOR COMMISSIONERS OF MILWAUKEE

Miss. MCCARTHY. Mr. Chairman, my name is Julia M. McCarthy. am secretary of the Milwaukee Board of Harbor Commissioners. With your kind permission, I would like to present Mr. Brocke statement before this committee.

APPRECIATION OF LEGISLATIVE ACTION ON SEAWAY

Miss MCCARTHY (for Mr. Brockel). Mr. Chairman and gentleme of the subcommittee, representing one of the principal port cities o the Great Lakes, may I express our deep appreciation to the Congres and in particular to the distinguished members of this subcommittee These hearings are evidence of the deep and continued interest of th Congress in the Great Lakes region, the new fourth seacoast of th United States.

The building of the St. Lawrence seaway project, and many impor tant related developments which your subcommittee will no doubt con sider, offer tangible evidence of the new era which lies ahead for the Great Lakes, the new responsibilities of this area, and the enlarged contribution it will soon make to the American economy and to world trade.

On behalf of the city which I represent, may I again express our gratitude to the Congress and to the President for the enactment of legislation which is rapidly making the St. Lawrence seaway a reality. We are deeply grateful to the 84th Congress and to the President for the authorization for the deepening of Great Lakes connecting channels and the enactment of other vital legislation.

These forward steps by Congress, combined with St. Lawrence seaway legislation, will open the Great Lakes region to world trade, will enlarge its contribution to our domestic transportation, and will encourage an ever-growing exchange of goods and services with our friendly neighbor, Canada.

The steps you have taken will in large part remove the traditional barriers which in the past have handicapped and limited the Great Lakes region.

We are especially proud and happy that the distinguished senior Senator of Wisconsin, Senator Alexander Wiley, is serving as a member of this subcommittee. Wisconsin has vigorously fought for the St. Lawrence seaway development since 1919, and never waivered in its faith that the seaway was completely inevitable and would someday become a reality, despite a long and discouraging history of political and sectional opposition.

We are extremely proud that the St. Lawrence seaway bill finally enacted by the 83d Congress is identified for history as the WileyDondero bill, symbolizing Wisconsin's support of the seaway and the vigorous leadership given this project by our senior Senator, Alexander Wiley, throughout his long and distinguished service as a Member of the Senate.

FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT OF GREAT LAKES REGION

May we comment briefly on some of the principal problems and projects which will vitally affect the development of the Great Lakes region and which, if favorably resolved, will assure the fullest economic development of the Middle West, and a maximum contribution by this area to the fulfillment of our highest destiny as a Nation.

1. ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY PROJECT

The entire Middle West and, we are sure, most of the Nation is grateful to the Congress for the enactment of the Wiley-Dondero Act, which assures the completion of the St. Lawrence seaway_project. We are grateful to the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and to the United States Corps of Engineers for the vigorous and prompt dischage of the assignment given by Congress, to build the seaway with dispatch.

We note from the reports of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation that construction of the seaway is moving on schedule, and that the target date of 1959 for completion is reasonably sure to be achieved.

INCREASED CONSTRUCTION COSTS

We are informed that the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation is confronted with accelerating construction costs. Should the corporation be compelled to review its financial program with the Congress, in the light of increasing construction costs, we would like the subcommittee to know that the costs of marine projects throughout the Great Lakes region are accelerating rapidly.

The port of Milwaukee, in preparing for the impact of the St. Lawrence seaway project and the new commerce which it will generate, is in the midst of a large port development program in the range of from 6 to 10 million dollars, for new port facilities, handling equipment, and improved rail and highway access to the Milwaukee municipal port area.

In placing large segments of this program under contract, we have encountered bid prices running as much as 30 percent beyond the estimates of a competent engineering staff. There is apparent a sharp inflation in marine construction costs, intensified by long delays in delivery of structural steel and by shortages of marine equipment, in great demand all the way from the Atlantic to the head of the Great Lakes for navigation and port-development projects.

We would therefore respectfully request that the Congress review sympathetically with the Seaway Development Corporation and the United States Corps of Engineers any revised financial program which may become essential, bearing in mind that the estimates of cost upon which Congress acted in 1954 were prepared in 1952. In

the intervening 4 years there has been an unprecedented acceleration of marine construction costs, which is inevitably reflected in the relatively high bids now being received by the Seaway Corporation.

In any event, the seaway project must go forward, by cooperative action of our Government, the Dominion of Canada, and the power authorities of New York and Ontario. The power and navigation projects are so interwoven as to be inseparable, and must be highly coordinated from a construction standpoint.

ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITY FOR STEEL DELIVERY

In addition to reviewing the capital requirements of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, should that become necessary, may we suggest that the Federal Government if necessary give consideration to the establishment of a limited method of priority for steel delivery, to assure that completion of the vital St. Lawrence seaway and power projects will not be crippled or delayed.

The benefits of this great project have been so long denied to Canada and the United States that a further delay in reaping the benefits of this great undertaking would be untenable, and certainly not in the national interest.

2. DEEPENING OF GREAT LAKES CONNECTING CHANNELS

The entire Great Lakes region was gratified beyond words at the prompt and decisive action of the 84th Congress in authorizing the deepening of the connecting channels of the Great Lakes. This project might be described as the second phase of the St. Lawrence seaway. program.

The seaway will provide a 27-foot channel from tidewater to Toledo. The deepening of the connecting channels assures a 27-foot system of navigation throughout the Great Lakes and will bring the full benefits of the seaway to the ports of Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior.

Congress promptly backed up the authorization bill by the appropriation of $5 million for the initial phase of the connecting channels work. The United States Corps of Engineers has indicated that it will give high priority to the connecting channels project.

The volume of work involved, and the limitations of marine equipment available, indicate that the connecting channels project may not be completed until 1961 or 1962, 2 or 3 years following the opening of the seaway to deep-draft navigation.

While recognizing the factors mentioned, we respectfully urge: (1) That the Congress promptly appropriate to the United States Corps of Engineers the sums required for completion of the connecting channels project within the shortest possible time; and

(2) That the Congress urge upon the Corps of Engineers an expedited program, with a view to completing the deepening of Great Lakes connecting channels to coincide as closely as practicable to the target date for the opening of the seaway.

3. SURVEY OF GREAT LAKES PORTS

With respect to this important topic, we are again indebted to the 84th Congress for prompt action in authorizing the United States

Corps of Engineers to undertake a survey of the principal ports of the Great Lakes, with a view to determining channel-depth requirements and costs involved to prepare the principal ports of the Great Lakes for their new responsibilities in serving deep-draft lake and ocean shipping.

We have every confidence that the Corps of Engineers will expedite this survey of the lake ports, to assure that Congress will have before it at the earliest possible date the full report of these requirements.

The present hearings by your honorable committee in themselves serve notice of the continued interest of Congress in these important matters, and we are sure will provide additional incentive to the corps to move this vital study expeditiously.

Milwaukee, a well-established lake port, and a rising ocean port, looks forward to the opportunity to prove its case before the Corps of Engineers. We are confident that we, as one of the major ports of the Great Lakes, will fully justify the deepening of Milwaukee harbor channels to St. Lawrence seaway drafts.

We are equally confident that a substantial volume of lake and ocean shipping will utilize the deepened channels as soon as they become available to us, and will provide economic justification for any such program undertaken by the Congress.

4. MAINTENANCE OF HARBOR CHANNELS

Recognizing that the commerce moving through lake ports is predominantly interstate or foreign in character, Congress has authorized Federal maintenance of the principal navigation channels of most of the major and secondary ports of the Great Lakes.

Unfortunately, the various authorization bills for maintenance of harbor channels have not always been implemented by appropriation bills. The result has been a rather spotty and irregular program of Federal maintenance of these essential channels of commerce.

For example, the city of Milwaukee has on several occasions since 1945 been compelled to make municipal appropriations for the maintenance of navigation channels, for which Congress has authorized maintenance, but has irregularly appropriated funds therefor.

With the growing importance of Great Lakes shipping to our foreign and domestic economy, with the increased size and draft of lake ships, and with the approach of salt water shipping, we sincerely hope that the Corps of Engineers will be provided with the means to maintain Great Lakes harbors to authorized project depths regularly and systematically, as compared to the irregular pattern of Federal maintenance which has prevailed during the past 15 years.

5. ESSENTIAL TRADE ROUTES

The Great Lakes region took another long stride forward when the United States Maritime Administration early in 1956 established Essential Trade Route 32. Since 1944, the Great Lakes area has sought to have Great Lakes-overseas shipping made eligible for construction and operational subsidy.

The action of the United States Maritime Administration assures that the American flag will take its rightful place on the St. Lawrence

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seaway route, in fair competition with the many fine foreign-flag services now linking lake ports with many principal ports overseas. We respectfully urge that Congress follow this matter, as one of the essential phases in the full development of the Great Lakes region. We trust that maritime legislation hereafter considered by the Congress will give full weight and consideration to the needs and to the potentials of Great Lakes, in terms of both foreign and domestic shipping.

6. WATER LEVELS

The Great Lakes region and the city of Milwaukee await with interest the results of an intensive engineering survey of Great Lakes levels and water level control methods, now in progress by the Corps of Engineers under congressional authorization.

In this connection, we respectfully urge that Congress refrain from authorizing diversion of waters from the Great Lakes, pending the completion of the water-level study by the Corps of Engineers.

For these reasons, the city of Milwaukee opposed the enactment of various bills to authorize increased diversion of water from Lake Michigan by the Chicago Sanitary District. We are grateful to President Eisenhower for his veto of H. R. 3210, which was passed by Congress despite vigorous opposition by our representatives from practically all parts of Great Lakes.

7. RECREATIONAL HARBORS

There has been up to this time scant recognition by the Federal Government of the recreational value and the economic stimulus of pleasure boating throughout the Great Lakes region. Practically every national magazine and scores of newspapers have in recent years pointed to the phenomenal increase in pleasure boating as one of the outstanding characteristics of the postwar development of the American people, and as one of the major aspects of the higher standards of living now enjoyed by our people.

Unfortunately, the full development of recreational boating, and its many social and economic benefits, have been retarded throughout the Great Lakes area by an almost complete lack of protected anchorages and suitable harbor facilities.

We believe that recreational boating has assumed so permanent a place in the American way of life that Congress and the Corps of Engineers should give major consideration to recognizing recreational boating as a proper element in the development of lake ports and their

facilities.

We are confident that any reasonable program of Federal assistance will have widespread public approval, with equitable participation by the localities to be benefited.

8. PROTECTION OF GREAT LAKES REGION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

In 1959, the St. Lawrence seaway project will be opened to commerce and shipping. Passage of the Wiley-Dondero Act by Congress in May 1954, was a great victory, and marked the successful conclusion of a 40-year struggle to connect the Great Lakes with the Atlantic.