The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-08-11

"Who are the promoters of the Paw
Paw river drain?' / ask the privi-
lege, as one of the promoters of the
enterprise, of attempting to answer a
few of Mr.. Woodlands questions.
The Paw Paw river over the line of
drain, as proved by actual survey and
observation, is not the beautiful
swiftly running stream sitting and
bubbling over a pebbly bottom that
the opposition would have us believe,
but ~ miles of river channel filled al
all times of the year with water to
within a few inches of the surface of
| the land through which it flows, also
| filled with an unlimited amount of
timber and debris and constituting an
unbroken series of bends, angles and
return curves TO retard in the per-
Torrance of its functions with grade
of only $1,000 of foot per mile.
What the promoters expect to do is
70 reduce the distance TO less than IL
miles, thus increasing the grade to
) 46-l00 feet per mile or its carrying
capacity little over 800 per cent. An
increase in speed of four times itself
means a decrease of three-fourths of
the depth of water in the channel.
As the new one is about feet, being
somewhat deeper than the old one, it
thereby secures drainage benefit to
the land of az feet, practically clear
ing the old channel of water.
One hundred fifty citizens of Hart
ford signed remoustrance. 1t is
safe to say that they have not been
over the ground and do not understand
the circumstances. Any damage to
those people that they might claim
must be high water. The present
condition of the channel over the line
of drain admits of the carrying of
practically no water in time of &C
cumulating flood until it has over
| flowed its banks and comes sweeping
down from one to two miles in width
completely inundating our entire val
ley. But the new drain would be do
ing its work two or three days sooner,
disposing of the water as it came and
combining more of it within its banks,
and as the valley at the terminus is
very narrow, it would allow only a
limited amount of water to pass
through, so if the drain succeeds in
extending the time of disposing of
| flood at this point by commencing
sooner, the high water mark must
necessarily at all times and at all
points be lower, a condition exactly
opposite to that of ours, which is a
vast acreage of valley land with an
INSTRUCTED drain.
SANITARY EFFECT.
The Paw Paw river over the line of
drain, providing that an entire new
channel was cut and the old one en-
tirely abandoned, which is not the
| case, and that some water was left in
it, would only occupy about 10 acres,
which would be the only remnant left
of over 4, 500 acres of flooded lands,
which are covered with water nine
months of each year, converting them
into an insect breeding, malaria gen
Grating, fostering swamp furnishing
practically no pasturage, but covered
with weeds and the coarsest kinds of
swamp grasses and a small amount
of inferior timber. The bayous along
the river at the present time are no
criterion to judge from, as there is
absolutely no drainage above or below
them, thus allowing the water to stand
in them to their entire depth.
BRIDGES.
1t has been said that there would be
needed five new steel bridges to be
built in the township of Waverly
alone. AS the old ones would be
needed over the old, bed, would it
sound reasonable that it would take
less bridges TO span the river now
than it will at a time when its waters
81 AGlilllilS lOLl llllltS dS ldSls VI
would we put in a bridge over the
river and a fill for the old channel?
The fact is, Waverly township has
three wooden bridges, two already
condemned for heavy loads and the
other on the verge of condemnation
and all practically valueless, which it
will be necessary to replace whether
we have river drain or not, and as to
the two new highways now under pro-
cess of construction, there has been
considerable work done on the two
roads in question, but they have been
practically abandoned awaiting the
development of the land, as they can
be constructed more cheaply after the
land is drained than at the present
time. IN fact, the amount of money
to be saved by the townships of Wav-
erly and Paw Paw in the future in
the construction of highways across
the valley will greatly exceed the cost
at large to them of the drain.
LOCATION OF SURVEY.