DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL


447


sustained findings to the President of the United States. I think the deadline
itself confesses that the procedure is purely a formality, and that I am justi-
fied in saying again that every Senator is voting upon his own responsibility
when he votes for the amendment, and is deciding for himself whether he is
satisfied to proceed with Quoddy and with the Florida ship canal.
 Mr. President, let us look at another point in the amendment which is
equally transparent. There is in the amendment much pious language, under-
taking to soothe the tax nerve to the extent of promising that if the estimates
for the Florida Canal, as reported by these three self-choseh advisories of the
President shall exceed $150,000,000, or if the Quoddy estimate shall exceed
$42,000,000, the President may not go ahead. That sounds at least like protec-
tion down to the point of $150,000,000 on the canal and down to the point of
$42,000,000 on the Quoddy scheme.
 But it is no protection at all. I mean that literally. Suppose the estimate
 is made in good faith-and I do not question the good faith of anyone in respect
 to this operation-and shows that the canal can be built for $150,000,000 and
 that Quoddy can be built for $42,000,000. Suppose 3 years hence it develops
 that thty cannot be built for these amounts, but that they will cost infinitely
 more; what would happen? We would go right ahead with a larger expendi-
 ture. There is nothing in the world to protect against it.
 Is that an illogical prospectus? Not at alL The original estimates for the
 Florida Canal were submitted on the basis of the June trade index for 1934.
 That is where they got their $142,000,000 to which the Senator from Florida
 [Mr. Fletcher] is referring. That was only 2 years ago.
 Since that time the price index on most construction materials, according
 to the testimony of the Chief of the Board of Rivers and Harbors Engineers,
 has increased 25 percent. There goes that part of the estimate out of the
 window. Those figures last June were based upon the ordinary contractual
 operation in building the Florida Canal Instead of that, the contractual
 operation was abandoned and the whole thing is being done under W. P. A.
 on a work-relief basis; and the labor factor thereby increases at least 50
 percent.
 If we had been proceeding under the terms of the Robinson amendment 2
 years ago, we could have smugly said to ourselves, "Well, we are protected by
 an estimate of $142,0000000"'; and yet 2 years later the estimate would not have
 been worth the paper on which it was written, not because of any dishonesty or
 incapacity on the part of the engineers who made the estimate but because the
 sheer force of human events had wiped out the estimate as a reliance. The
 same thing may happen again. Indeed, these two particular projects are loaded
 with that contingency. 'If those persons in central and southern Florida are
 right who think that to cut the main water artery at the north of their State
 will reduce their fertile acres and areas to the status of a Sahara Desert, as
 one of them indicated, in whatever degree this happens the Federal Government
 will be responsible in damages that are incalculable and immeasurable. Where
 does that come into the estimate?
 Up yonder at Quoddy within the past month those in charge of construction
 have had completely and entirely to revise half of their plans. Why? Because
 they are dealing in a totally novel, unexplored, unillnminated undertaking. No-
 body knows what problems are to be met when we march out to sea with our
 power dams. Within the past 4 weeks, I repeat, the authorities in charge of
 Quoddy have had completely to change half of their program. Suppose they
 have to change it again and again and again-and I was told this morning by
 an engineer in whose opinion I place complete confidence that there is no more
 assurance at this moment that the existing plans are feasible than there is that
 the sun will go backward in its course. That whole contingency is yet to be
 explored and resolved and stabilized. What good is an estimate that the ex-
 pense is not going to exceed $42,000,000? It does not amount to the paper on
 which it is written. It is just one more nice little piece of window dressing to
 make it easy for those Senators who wish to turn their backs upon their obliga-
 tions to the citizens of the United States and change their minds upon this
 proposal to do so and have an excuse for doing so.
 Mr. President, let me tell you something else about this amendment. Pretty
 soon, if you will be patient, I shall interest you immensely with some real bed-
 time stories about Quoddy and the ship canal; but at the moment I wish to
 pursue the clear demonstration that this joint resolution, offered in the form
 of an amendment to the pending bill, is sheer and colossal nonsense and nothing
 else.