VOL. LXVII
INDIANAPOLIS, APRIL 27, 1912.
NO. 17
National Drainage Congress
National   Interest  in Reclaiming Swamp Land.
MANY  BENEFITS TO  BE  DERIVED
FROM DRAINAGE.
Some big things are expected to result from the second annual meeting
of the National Drainage Congress
which was held in New Orleans April
10 to 13. Delegates from thirty-three
states and representatives from others
were gathered together to discuss topics of national Interests relating to the
reclamation of vast areas of unproductive swamp and over flow lands.
It is estimated by the Government
Department of Agriculture that there
are ln the United States over 75,000,-
nno acres of this sort of land. In ad-
•lition to this vast area there are 150,-
<*00,000 acres, classified by the Department as cultivated but which
■vould produce twenty per cent more
in crops with proper drainage. This
swamp area east of the Rockies is
c'lual to the area of the three states,
Illinois,   Indiana  and   Ohio.
In many sections of this country the
'luestion of reclamation might not
seem very important. The movement,
however, is not limited to a particular district; these reclaimable lands
are scattered through more than forty
states, ranging in extent from 2500
acres in West Virginia, to 18,500,000
acres in Florida. It is estimated that
in our own state there are 1,000,000
acres of unproductive swamp land.
Illinois has 2,688,000 acres of such
land, and in Michigan the area covers
'100,000   acres.
tion of individual projects,' from engaging 'in the sale of land, water
rights, bonds, stock or other evidence
of ownership or interest in property,'
and from promoting, endorsing or advertising any individual,, corporation,
project, scheme or locality except for
the purpose of illustrating the need
for or the benefits of drainage, or
humid land reclamation. It is purely
a public association, organized  not for
not asking Uncle Sam to become too
paternalistic, is not asking him to
spend the public money primarily to
benefit   individual   land   owners.
"The present effort of the Congress
is to obtain the creation of a National
commission which shall make surveys
and estimates of cost and work out a
comprehensive plan of national reclamation in connection with the several states. This does not mean that
the National Government shall be involved in the reclamation of the
swamp lands in the same way that it
is involved in the reclamation of the
arid lands of the West.
Corn Sown Broadcast, Uncultivated on Reclaimed   Land   in   Louisiana,   Yielding 70  Bushels to Acre.
Drainage Problem  Most Urgent.
Mr. Edmund T. Perkins, former acting president of the National Drainage Congress, clearly sets forth the
1'iirposes and the benefits to result
from the work of the organization, in
1 talk, extracts of which  follows:—
"There came a time when It was no
linger possible for the man from the
cast to settle upon his 160 acre-home-
I, break the ground, sow his seed
"nd harvest a big crop. Forests had
'o be cleared away, dry land had to be
irrigated, swamps and marshes had to
''" drained.
"Thus three phases of agricultural
development and settlement have
steadily progressed; a vast amount of
clearing and drainage work was accomplished ln the nineteenth century,
"Ut It was small in comparison with
'he settlement of the more favorably
'"cated lands and attracted little at-
'ention.
Hut the time has come now when
Practically the only way in which to |
'"crease the tillable farm acreage of
he country is to reclaim the swamps
ar,d the deserts and tbe forests. Of
'he three, the forest area is the great-
***. the reclamation  of the arid  areas
> most expensive, and the drainage
^oblem the most urgent.
The National Drainage Congress is
prohibited by its constitution from en-
m?   *"*   Commercially or otherwise,  in
e Promotion,  exploitation  or exhibi-
Individual profit, but for the purpose
of helping to increase the prosperity of
the entire country.
Method of Carrying on Work.
"The first task before us was to decide upon a method by which the various interests of the National Government, the States and individuals might
be brought together in a concerted, cooperative effort to reclaim the swamps
and add billions of dollars to our national wealth, exterminate the disease
breeding spots and the malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and improve navigation.
"The National Drainage  Congress  is
"Correspondence and personal discussion with the most influential and
clearest headed men of the country
appear to condemn as impracticable
any plan or scheme which contemplates that the National Government
shall do the detail work of swamp
land reclamation and undertake to get
its money back through a charge upon
the land.
"It is my belief, however, that the
Government may, within the constitution, regulate the flow of navigable
rivers and so prevent floods and
droughts and protect all lands from
overflow, and open out the groat channels    necessary    to carry    the    waters
Harvesting   Rice  on   Reclaimed Land  In  the South
from the drained districts away from
the reclaimed land, thus preventing
the water from backing up and flooding these  lands again."
Wliat the Reclaimed Land Will Do.
Another speaker at the Congress
brought out the vast wealth that would
result to this country if the now unproductive lands were drained. He
said:
"As you probably all know, the
swamps and marshes are the reser-
viors or plant food. From all of tho
humid uplands nature has been continually taking toll of the best soil and
putting it into these reservoirs.
"And there is in waiting our conquest; enough of it to produce all of
the long staple cotton now grown in
the world, at the same time enough to
produce all of the sugar used in this
country, and at the same time to produce enough animal products to supply the reasonable needs of a hundred
million people It has taken three
hundred years to make the United
States of to-day.
"A score of year ought by utilizing
the wet lands of our country to provide
food and clothing for as many more
people as wc now have. And it can
bo done and will be done with the surplus capital and labor not needed In
other fields and without strain upon
our resources."
Drainage Would Aid Good Roads.
Governor Sanders of Louisiana in
his address brought out another great
benefit that would result from big
drainage projects. It was the improvement of highways which in turn
would bring our farms closer together,
He said:
"You cannot have good roads without drainage. No matter how much
you spend on a road the money is
thrown away unless you drain the road
and this cannot be done without drainage. All roads are good after a drouth
and the best In a drouth are the worst
on the rainy seasons. You cannot
have the one without the other—roads
and drainage are the two questions
that spell prosperity in years to come.
Poverty No Excuse for Roads.
"There are no people in the world
so poor but that they can afford to
have and must have good roads. The
greatest tax on the American people
to-day is attributable to bad roads and
consequently   bad   drainage.
"Every man knows that a dollar today barely goes as far as 50 cents a
few  years  back.
"Men in the city are consumers, and
to the country we must look for our
dally bread.
"If there is one cause to-day driving the people to the cities it can be
attributed to the loncsomeness of
county life and this is due to bad
roads.
"If between your farm and mine—
only a, mile apart—we are as good as
a thousand miles apart if there is only
an impassable mud bole for a road."
Drainage   and   Public   Health.
One of the speakers brought the
point that drainage would be of national benefit as a means of improving
public health. He said that the draining of swamps would save thousands
of lives annually. He spoke of the
national interest    taken in    Dr. Dow-