The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1903-12-31
RIVER IMPROVEMENT.
An Interested Party Writes In
terestingIy on the Subject.

| AOt OOdiS'I VIZ S'S SSSlSSS
EDITOR TINES:
As an interested party desire &c
present my views on the drainage
question in Bates county.
Idesire to say in behalf OF thost
who promoted the passage of the
law we now have, that they are to b.
commended for the push and energy
in trying to accomplish something o.
vital interest to the entire county
aud OF doubly vital interest tn the
owners OF bottom land, but their : 1
( ,rts are along wrong lines
To begin with Missouri, excepting
Bates county, has a drainage Law
second to no state in the union. II
Is copied after the drainage law oil
Indiana, a law that state has been
wears periectiug, and it has been test
ed in the highest courts 1t occurs
to me experience counts for more, il
possible, in drainage matters 'han in
many other business enterprises.
am 10th to have myself classed
with the kickers IA | am always in
favor NJ progressive enterprises and
in favor OF doing things; but | am
not able To ste how anything OF ma.
tarial advantage is To come from the
efforts making under the special act
OF the legislature.
Do any OF the promoters OF the
law, or any OF the ditch commission.
ers, or any one else, familiar with
conditions, and the provisions of the
law, undertake to sa, that after they
have worked five or six years under
shis law, that they will have increas,
ed the insured earning capacity OF
our land even a very little? Yet We
will have been paying the tax all the
while. That is wherein the burden
comes so the bottom land owner.
He pays the tax with no results, or
increased earning capacity Vi his
land given in
We have all been taught from boy
hood to "never send a boy to mill,
Figuratively speaking that IL what
we are doing under this law in my
opinion.
The thing to do is to raise sufficient
money and raise it at one time, to
do what is needed TO be done to pro.
tect us from overfows. do not be-
lieve any owner OF bottom lands
would object to paying as much az
So 90 per acre tax or even SO 90 or
81 90 il he was assured enough was
going to be done to ben, fit him, and
increase the earning capacity OF his
land, and he have time on such tax;
40 that he could more than pay thu
tax off Of the increased earnings frou
his land. The whole theory ofdrain-
age taxation is based on the idea
that the beneficiary is to have earn
ing capacity Of land taxed, increased
sufficiently to pay additional tax
and that time being necessary to do
that, he is given time on his tax. No
extensive drainage proposition in
farming community was ever accom-
p'ished any other way.
| want to give my idea as to the
successful way to handle the drain
age o! the Marias Des Cygnes bottom
lands, and when an experienced civil
engineer goes over the ground, if he
1oes not practically agree with my
ideas, want the privilege Of "settin'
EN- up My plan is this. Cut al
entire new channel, commencing some
where near the west side of the coun-
ty and run as near the hill land on
the south side of the river as is posi-
BILE keeping on the lowest land, but
making the channel as straight az
possible, abandoning the lowest land
if necessary in order to keep the
channel straight. Follow down the
river in that way to q point a little
west and south of Papinville, where
the channel should cross present
channel and run east, entering the
old channel near the mouth of vii
low creek This would practically
eliminate all the most crooked part
OF the river. This channel should be
A to 4G feet wide at commencement
and from where it crosses the old
channel to where it again enters the
river SIS to 60 feet and from 10 to ] 2