DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL 139

realized by European countries. Europe, with some 3,584,000 square miles of
land, has more than 28,000 miles of normally navigable waterways, while the
United States, with some 3,028,000 square miles of land area, has probably less
than 8,000 miles of developed waterways. Practically all these older nations
have realized the general economic benefit of full development of their water-
ways and the result in economy and transportation. It is true that America
has embarked upon many worthy public improvement projects and has expended
huge sums for improvements.
 "Take, for instance, the Cape Cod Canal, costing a huge sum; the Tennessee
Valley project, $50,000,000; the Boulder Dam, about $150,000,000; the Muscle
Shoals project, $150,000,000; the Osage project, $30,000,000; the Conowingo
project, $2,000,000; the Coolidge Dam project, $5,500,000; and a large number
of other worth-while projects which are redounding great benefits to the citizens
of one or more States of our Nation. The canal across northern Florida will
greatly benefit the entire Mississippi Valley. The Mississippi Blver is more
than 2,400 miles long and makes accessible one of the largest and most fertile
regions in the world. The Congress is now considering the advisability of au-
thorizing $130,000,000 for fuller development of the upper Mississippi water-
way. The full development of the entire Mississippi Valley, and its resources,
rests on the construction of a canal across Florida, which is the keystone in the
arch of our waterways development program. With the proposed development
of the upper Mississippi, and the construction of the canal across northern Flor-
ida, every possible shipping advantage will be equally restored to all States of
the valley. Any disadvantages heretofor existing to certain States on the ac-
count of the Panama Canal will be fully offset by the construction of the canal
across northern Florida. Vast natural resources in this great valley will be
developed and realized. Millions of acres of available lands in the States of
the lower Mississippi and the Southeast will be filled with people who are now
living to a disadvantage in congested centers. The pulp and timber industries,
the iron industry in Alabama and Tennessee, the oil industry in the entire Mis-
sissippi Valley, the naval stores, and cotton industries, the manufacturing indus-
tries of the East, in fact, 95 percent of the capital now invested in industries of
America will redound great benefits from the construction of this waterway."
 The SPsAmK pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Florida [Mr.
 Gmi] has again expired.
 On April 8, 1935, the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act be-
 came law. Under this act, the President was given all essential
 authority embodied in H. R. 2785 previously introduced by Mr.
 Green, with the exception of the authority to issue bonds. Discus-
 sion of H. R. 2785 was, therefore, not renewed.


 DOCUMENT NO. 69 (U. S. 48 STAT. L 1044), APRIL 8, 1935

 EMERGENcr RELIE APPrOPRIATION Acr on 1935

 The above act provided:
 * That in order to provide relief, work relief, and to increase em-
 ployment by providing for useful projects, there is hereby appropriated, out
 of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated to be used in the
 discretion and under the direction of the President, to be immediately available
 and to remain available until June 80, 1987, the sum of $4,00,000,000, * *
 This appropriation shall be available for the following classes of projects,
 * (h) sanitation, prevention of soil erosion, prevention of stream pollu-
 tion, sea-coast erosion, reforestation, forestation, flood control, rivers and har-
 bors and miscellaneous projects, $350,000,000: *
 This act made possible the authorization and construction of river
 and harbor projects by the President.


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