The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-26

0HAMl URANAG[
Gov. Johnson Advocates Sys.
tenn That Will Be
Permanent
Gov. Johnson, as the guest of the
Society of Minnesota Engineers and
Surveyors, yesterday declared un-
equivocally for state drainage and the
reclamation of the great areas of state
swamp land. 9The state needs a bet
ter and more comprehensive scheme of
state drainage than it has had in the
past, the governor said. "The present
system should be elaborated and a re-
Volving fund of from half million to
million dollars should be created for
the purpose. The plan of state drain
age should not be conceived on any
temporary structure, but should be for
all time, or until the vast tracts of
swamp lands in our northern counties
are reclaimed and made arabic lands.
Nothing is more important to the state
as a whole than the reclamation Of
these great areas
Senator Brewer, speaking for the
nnance committee, promised generous
treatment of the drainage interests.
The state has been generous in the
past, and the sentiment of the appro-
prlations committees is to be more lib
eral with money for drainage pur-
poses.' he said. They recognize the
value of these great submerged tracts,
and appreciate that complete and
satisfactory scheme Of reclamation
should be employed to put these lands
in the class desirable for agricultural
purposes"
Tells of Swamp Lands
George A. Ralph, state drainage en-
g1neer, In a paper read before the So
eiety, told the surveyors that there are
nearly 100000 acres of state swamp
lands in Northern Minnesota. Of these
lands 80 per cent, with drainage, can
be made suitable for agricultural pur-
poses. One-half are open marshes,
sloughs or bogs, and the remainder is
timbered with trees of varying size.
The average cost of drainage for open
reclaiming the timbered swamps de-
pends on the size and density Of the
timber. From 50 to SO will pay for
d1tching timbered sWamps. Open
sWamps may be subdued for 81 an
acre, and tamarack and spruce
swamps may be cleared for from 81
to $25 an acre, but the timber will pay
the cost. Hay, which can be raised on
any reclaimed swamp varies from So to
"a a ton in RoSeau county to $12 to SIS
in Cass and Itasca.
The state engineer estimated the
benefits of drainage to open swamps
at not less than $5 an acre, and de-
clared that the drainage problem could
not be successfully accomplished inside
the next twenty-five years. He advo-
Gated complete topogra pliical survey
to determine the soil, timber, grasses,
the slope of the surface and the direc-
ton of water courses, and the cost Of
reclamation. Mr.. Ralph suggested the
state be divided into districts to bet
ter accomplish the work. He called at
tention to the absence of engineering
difficulties in the successful prosecu-
tion of state drainage, ard said that
streams in the swamp section often
have a. fall of from 2 to 10 feet mile,
while many big swamps themselves
have slopes of from to feet to the
mile.
Minnesota swamp areas can be re-
claimed more cheaply than in any other
locality; the reclaimed land can be
maintained for agricultural purposes for
less than any other reclaimed lands in
the world. and the benefits to accrue
are greater than any drainage project
of record" Mr. Ralph declared in clos
ing his paper.
Report Is Adopted
The committees report on. the pro-
posed changes in the Grindela1id drain
age law was adopted by the society.
The changes are the work Of a special
committee of three appointed by Presi-.
dent Hill year ago, but as the Grinde-s
land law has been badly mutilated by
the statute revision code the changes
will not become effective unless the
Grindeland law is substituted for the
code provisions by the legislature.
The society re-elected all its old Off
GERS. ]. E. Hill, st. Cloud, was again
chosen president; S. L. Meyer, Monte
vldeo, was elected secretary, and w. r.
Heag, of the state university, was elect
ed treasurer for another term.
The afternoon session of the society
yesterday, held in the senate finance
committee rooms in the new state CAPT
tOl, was devoted to a consideration of
drainage and the drainage laws of Min
neSota. President Hill named a COM
mittee Of nine members to appear be-
fore the senate committee on drainage
at its meeting today, when state drain
age and the drainage question general
ly will be discussed.
The engineers and surveyors devoted
their session yesterday largely to a
consideration of needed legislation. A
committee consisting Of John Aber-
crombie, D. l.. Brigham and r. Z.
Whitley reported an amendment to the
drainage law proposing a compensa-
ton for county surveyors employed on
drainage at Sc per day, the time to be
computed by adding necessary time in
going and returning from the scene Of
the .ditching. A maximum fee of 81
had been provided by the old law, and
it was admitted that the legislature
was expected to cut the compensation
suggested to So.
A committee consisting of Arthur E.
Morgan, st. Cloud; George A. Ralph,
Crookston. and w. r. Hoag, Minneapo-
lis, reported a long list of amendments
proposed to the drainage code. The
amendments generally provided for
reduction of the expense necessary to
the operation of the law, and went into
details in suggesting changes. The
amendments were adopted section by
section. and the society spent nearly all
the afternoon in consideration of the