Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1903-02-05
The DRAINAGE Question.


for the bitches and the concur
rent action of the Boards of
Supervisors in the two counties
appears to be assured. Nearly
every land owner in the district
affected by the bitches heartily
supports the scheme and every
body says amen let's have the
bitches.
c. w. Kellogg, Attorney
What do l think about the pro-
position to construct a drainage
system in Harrison county? 1t
can be told in a very few words.
The quicker the bitches can be
constructed, regardless of cost,
the better off Missouri Valley
and Harrison county will be.
w. C Fensler, Merchant Too
busy to talk ditches-its up to
the Harrison County Board of
Supervisors them attend
to it.
j. G. Schulmeister, Cigar
Manufacturer "Ditches- first,
last and always"
j. B. Lyon, Merchant The
benefit of the proposed ditch to
Missouri Valley and the country
adjacent to it, on the bottoms,
is almost incalculable. To the
farmer on the bottom the pros
pect of an overflow each season
is a constant menace. Let a
good ditch be constructed that
will carry off any reasonable
overflow and we will see a more
profitable and less unrestful
feeling among the land owners
and what is more, the saving of
thousands of dollars in crops
that with present conditions are
planted with not much hope of
reaching maturity before over
taken by high water. Itcan be
safely stated that enough dam
age has been done the crops
along the bottom in the last
twenty years to have paid for a
good ditch many times.
J. j. Amen, banker-There
are thousands of acres of land
on the Missouri river bottom in
the west side of Harrison coun-
ty that are now practically
useless, that will be worth $lOO
per acre with a good system of
drainage in operation. l would
rather own eighty acres of such
land with the proposed bitches
in operation than $50 acres as
it is now. think the prospect
for early work on the bitches is
very promising at present.
B. w. Carlisle, clothing mer-
chant Systematic drainage
has proved a success wherever
adopted, and can see no reas-
on why it will not do the same
for the low land of the Missouri
Valley. We may honestly diff
fer somewhat in our views as
to the proper location of the
bitches, as for instance | think
it would be better for the land
| own and through which the
Willow creek ditch is surveyed,
if it should run aquarter farth-
er east. However, | believe
the system on the whole is a
feasible one; a magnificent pro-
ject, that will fully redeem the
bulk of the low land of this
county. AS a boy l used to
skate among the willows in the
swamps of the Hockney valley
in Ohio. | remember that some
people then talked of draining
those swamps, but they were
laughed at and called visionary.
That land is now worth $4,000
an acre and / see no reason why
the same experience cannot be
duplicated here.
j. p. Kirkwood, real estate
dealer The drainage question
is one of the most important to
be considered in the matter of
building up a town. There are
but few towns so unfortunately
situated in regard to drainage
as Missouri Valley, Iowa. l be-
lieve with a thorough system of
ditching on the west and the
Strengthening Of the channel of
the Boyer river on the east, the
bottom lands lying adjacent to
this town can be protected from
the frequent overf1ows to which
they are subject at the present
time. | feel elsafe in saying that
we will get the bitches for
which we have fought so long
and SO hard during the coming