the Great Lakes, bears almost the same relationship to the Dominion of Canada that the Great Lakes States bear to the United States. Ontario, having one-ninth of the territory of Canada, has developed one-half the industry. The Great Lakes States, with less than one-eighth the area of the United States, manufacture products totaling more than one-half of our national production. In peace time or war time, the United States holds by far the safest and soundest position among the great powers because of its self -suffi- ciency in food stuffs, essential industrial products, and raw materials. The great essentials of self -sufficiency are: food, power, iron and steel, machinery, chemicals, coal, iron ore and petroleum. The best statistics before World War II indicated that the Great Lakes States, if considered as a trade empire, rank second to Russia in the pro- duction of food, and alone produce more power than Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, or Japan, more iron and steel than any of these six great powers, more machinery than any one of them, more chemicals and coal than any excepting Germany and Great Britain, more pig iron than any of the great powers and more petroleum than any of them save Russia. The Great Lakes States transact more than half of the nation’s whole- sale business and retail business, and own more than half of the nation’s manufacturing establishments. There is another revival of interest in the proposed Great Lakes-to- the-Sea movement. Certain it is that we want a development that will permit the bringing of iron ore from Labrador in our lake carriers to the ports of the Great Lakes. Eventually, it may be to the interest of the Great Lakes and the nation to complete the proposed Great Lakes-to- the-Sea movement, but before proceeding let us look into the whole project with the greatest care. First of all, we do not want such a project primarily to serve political purposes. This country is slipping rapidly toward a socialistic state, and free enterprise and our freedoms are already suffering as a result. If and when we develop the Great Lakes-to-the-Sea project let it be a true American enterprise, shared in by the United States and the Domin- ion of Canada as benefiting partners. Let us be sure that we give suitable protection to our own ships which have built the business of the lakes. 72