Mexico Missouri message., 1904-12-01
PROPOSE TO BUILD
LONG DRAINAGE DITCH
Plans Adopted for Retaining Million
Acres in Missouri and Arkansas.

NAfuLneFSNllle, MO- n uIhluhbS ultIh
seventy.two miles long, forty feet
wide and from twelve to fifteen feet
deep, TO cost nearly a quarter OF q
million dollars, was proposed and I'M
dertaken by the Mississippi Valley Inn
proyement Association, which held its
annual session here last week.
Senator ]. X. Browning Of Piggott,
introduced a bill at the last ses-
sion Of the State Legislature pro
posing a drainage district composed
of Clay, Greene, Craighead and Poin-
sett counties in Arkansas.
A similar bill will be introduced in
the Legislature Missouri asking that a
drainage district be formed of Dunk
lin and Mississippi counties in Mis-
souri,. The sentiment of the Missis-
sippl Valley Improvement Congress
was that the United States Govern
ment should be asked to bear one-third
OF the expense Of building this ditch.
This appropriation will be asked I'M
der the river and harbor improvement
act, although by a large part of the
congress it is regarded as impracti-
cable, many delegates maintaining that
the Government cannot legally lend
any aid to the scheme, even If the
authorities should be willing.
According to the estimates Of the
congress, the ditch will drain more
than a million acres of the country
in the St Francis River spreads, most
of which is now OyeTflown by the
water carried from the swamps in
Southeast Missouri by bitches built
In that section of the State. The
Southeast Missouri section, composed
of New Madrid, Stoddard, Mississippi
and Dunlllin counties, has been drain.
ed by bitches built by State aid, but
the water instead of being carried to
the Mississippi is carried to a lower
section of the State, which 1t covers
to an average depth Of two feet.
The section which it is proposed
TO drain has been covered by one or
two feet of water almost from time
immemorial. At least, it has not been
at for anything except hunting since
the seismic disturbance of 1912.
The section drained in Southeast
Missouri is the same sort of land. and
It has been found since the drainage
that the former swamp lands, for
years considered worthless, now pro-
duce from forty to sixty-ive bushels
OF corn to the acre, and as much in
the way Of peaches, apples, small
fruit and tame grasses as the most
farfIIa Iopdo In Tpdiopo opd IIIipoie
On either side OF the Cotton Belt
Railroad. from New Madrid, Mo, to
Piggott, Ark, there are within mar.
ket distance of the roads stations
nearly 100000 acres of land now
worth SS5 an acre that, FIVE years
ago, were worth less than 81. This is
true only of the sections that have
been drained.
The spreads OF the st. Francis
River which II IS proposed to drain
by the big ditch undertaken by the
Mississippi Valley Improvement AS,
ISOLATION in its congress at Caruthers.
vile arc reported by the boards of
agriculture OF Missouri and Arkansas
to be the most permanently produc,
tive sections OF the two States, hav,
Ing a soil much stronger and much
thicker than is TO be found in any
other part Of either one of the States
Three Of the great life insurance
companies Of the United States and
one from Liverpool have, in the last
four months. sent loan men into the
drained section of Southeast Mis-.
souri,, and the report of each of these
agents is that this section is the most
promising of all the undeveloped land
In the United States. One farm in
New Madrid county, on which one
company loaned $500 two years ago
is free from Indebtedness, but is re
commended for loan OF $4,000 BY
the agent.
The land in the st. Francis countrs
which 1t is proposed to drain is now
selling at less than Sc per acre. Three
years ago 1t was worth only $1.25 al
acre, and there were very few buy
ers at that figure. If the plans of the
Mississippi Congress in the matter
Of Federal aid fail, the legislatures O
the two States will be asked t.
authorize the assessment of a tax sui
fcient to build the big ditch, which
1t is stated, will be the longest ant
most expensive in the United States