Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-08-17
Of DRAINAGE
An Illinois Contractor Talks
About the Growing Need Of
Ditching In Iowa
LAND BECOMING TOO VALUABLE
Owners Cannot Afford to Maintain
Duck Shooting swamps at Present
Price Of Land-eis Tracks CONVEX
ted Into TiIIabIe Land by Means of
Modern Drainage Methods.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republicans
Fort Dodge, Aug. 17.-Mr. A. M. Ly-
ons, representing the Inland Dredging
Company Of Nation, Ill, is at the
Crawford hotel, having come from
Buena Vista county Tuesday
night. He was one of the bidders on
a large drainage contract that was let
at Storm Lake yesterday, but did not
get the job.
The contract requires the excava-
ton of approximately 100000 cubic
yards, is seven miles long and was let
to w. F. Cook, of Des Moines. The
bids were as follows:
w. F. Cook, Des Moines. 1890 cents
per cubic yard.
John Ward, Audubon. 1898 cents
per cubic yard.
T. Foohey, Fort Wayne, 1925 cents
per cubic yard.
Inland Dredging Company Nation.
13.47 cents per cubic yard.
w. N. Lowell, Minneapolis, 1880
cents per cubic yard.
The drainage engineers had figured
that they ought to get the bid of about
9 cents per cubic yard. but the con-
tract was let on a higher basis.
In an interview for the local papers
Mr. Lyon talked interestingly of drain
age, which is one of the most impor-
tant problems the farmers in large
portion of Iowa have to consider. He
said:
Nobody who has not investigated
can begin to realize the benefits that
are coming to Iowa farm owners thru
the drainage of lands. Why, land
about Nation Is worth all the way
from 1925 to s175 an acre = well i'm
proved, Of course. But I have seen
land that was swamp fifteen years
ago, good for nothing but duck shoot
ing, bought for about $40 an acre and
be converted In this short time into
the most valuable land we have.
"You know that slough land is the
very richest land for farming If you
take the water off. 1t is enriched by
the decayed vegetation of centuries.
actually know Of a piece of slough
land of eighty acres which after be-
ing drained raised 125 bushels OF corn
to the acre.
DRAINAGE Law Confirmed.
Nov that the Iowa law has been
confirmed by the supreme court ana
there is no chance of illegality OF
bonds the contractors can give their
lowest prices and the farmers of the
state can go ahead, getting up their
ditch petitions with the knowledge
that the cost will be equitably distrlb-
uted. Within a few years there will
have been lot of this work done in
the state for it is needed badly and
as fast as the good results are shown
there will be a clamor for more of the
work.
"Illinois is getting pretty thorough
Nv drained and / have had people ask
me what I was going to do when my
occupation is gone, but after a trip
over Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota ana
the Dakotas, can see where there Will
be drainage work to do for as many
years as am in business.
Easy Compared With illinois.
Towa has an easy proposition COM
pared with Illinois. Our land Is nat
while here it is rolling and an OUT
let is secured without unreasonable
expense. In Buena Vista county that
contract that was let yesterday mas
fall of thirty-two feet to the mile
while in some places In illinois they
are glad to get two and three feet. "A
good fall helps good deal i'll Keeping
the ditch clean SO it does not nave
to be dug out again. That IS one
thing where you can make mis-
take There should be no ditch dug
with narrower bottom than six feet
The wider the better.
Outfits Are Expensive.
"rhe expense Of preparing for. a
drainage contract is heavier than is
generally supposed. Our firm has five
outfits and it is no uncommon thing
to get ten thousand dollars tied up In
plant before turning shovelful.
These outfits are big enough to dig
canals. We have to build floating
platforms and have special machinery
built according to the width and
depth of the ditch. We start often
right in the middle of the slough of
lake-like dimensions. That is the
starting point of a drain and the wa
ter follows us as we move on in the
direction of the drains course. 1t is
no light job to handle all that ma
chinery in putting it UP ready to start
work, some pieces weighing couple of
tons. One reason why I want to get
some of these jobs in Webster county
is because you have good machine
shops here. Another reason Is because
this is the center Of a large area of
country that must be drained.
Too Much Wet Land.
"F'rom here to Waterloo and from
here to Storm Lake on the west;
from Fort Dodge to Des Moines on the
south and north Of here all the way
to the state line and over into Min
nesota there are many thousands of
acres of land made unfit for use by the
water. 1t isn't good for farming and
it can't be used for pasture. The time
has gone by for that condition to ex-
ist Iowa farmers cannot afford to
follow. duck shooting and muskrat
trapping for a living. 1 repeat, that
land is your richest and most fertile
soil once you have taken the water
off,
How about dry seasons? Is it fact
that drainage by bitches and thing
| is not harmful in dry seasons?"
Most certainly drainage is a good
thing at any season and time. Exper
fence has shown that in all cases"