Memorandum for the Record, Meeting of Sherman Adams and Wilbur Brucker Regarding the Saint Lawrence Seaway

CONFIDENTIAL ( cag Gen sappies August 20, 1957 MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD: BE D. Governor Adams met at 2:30 PM on August 16th with Secretary Brucker on the subject of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Mr. Brucker's briefing of the Governor was as follows: Under Public Law 358 the St. Lawrence Seaway is being constructed and will be operated under the supervision of the President. This responsibility is delegated to the Secretary of Defense and is currently subdelegated to the Secretary of the Army. A conflict exists within the purview of the Secretary of the Army. By Section 8 of this law the Corps of Engineers, a part of the Army, is under contract to St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to construct and exercise technical assistance in the operation of the Sea- way. Also, under Mr. Brucker's supervision directly is the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, completely separate from any military connections. (As background, Mr. Brucker offers the estimate that the 14-foot channel will be completed by 1 July 1958 and the 28-foot channel in May or June of 1959, after which there will be some continuing construction involving the connecting waters.) The difficulty arises in the fact that the St. Lawrence Seaway Develop- ment Corporation has let out a contract to the Corps of Engineers whic h will terminate on 1 October 1958. Mr. Castle, the head of the Corpora- tion, plans to discharge the services of the Corps of Engineers after that. Mr. Castle plans to do all the administration himself, and General Itschner, the Chief of Engineers, feels that the Engineers should actually perform the physical operation of the Seaway. The merits of the case, as Secretary Brucker sees it, are as follows: 1. The Corps of Engineers has experience in the field of inland water- ways. On the statutes it has responsibility for many inland waterways. Further, the Corps of Engineers says that it has primary responsibility in this country for the operation of canals and locks and that Congress did not mean to exclude them on a specific deal. DECLASSIFIED Geidesines Authority DAD s STATE By OTH NLE Date 3/6/98