The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-02-28

This morning the, delegates of the
international drainage conference
were late in assembling and Mayor
Sharp did not call the session to or
der until 1880 o'clock.
The first speaker of the morning
was the Hon. d. II. McFadden, pro-
vincial secretary of the province of
Manitoba. Mr.. McFadden said that
the aid given the project preventing
the overflow of the Red river by the
province of Manitoba, must be largely
normal, as the stream was nayigable
and international and came under the
supervision of the federal government
at Ottawa. However, he assured the
conference that anything the pro-
vtncial government could do in the
way of memoralizing the Ottawa gov
eminent, or along any other line to
assist, would be done. He was au-
thorized to speak for the government.
Mr.. McFadden had had experience
during the floods Of 1882, 1893 and
1897. In fact he had been a heavy
loser by all of them and had studied
the matter and come to some con-
illusions. The floods are caused by
the waters from the heads of the
streams and not from the waters
along the course of the Red river,
This Is proved by the facts that the
foods usually occur after the ground
has dried of in the spring and seeding
lis under way. A flood has never oc-
Cured In the last thirty years except
after the ice has gone out. The Hood
of 1882 followed winter of heavy
snow and did not come until the river
( was broken up and the ice gone.
Drainage has been gone at back
wards in the valley. the local drains
have been built first when the Red
river channel should have been taken
care OF; 100000 spent thirty years
ago by the United States government,
would have saved untold wealth in
the valley since then.
Ice Not Factor.
Mr.. Fellows asked Mr.. McFadden II
the ice was factor in the floods. He
said it was not. The floods always
camA after the ice was out. MI.
Ralph also stated that the ice was not
factor. It goes out of the Red river
from April ! to Is and out of the
Fed Lake about May /. The Red
river is usually almost back to nor
NAL from the local breakup before
the waters from the lake arrives.
G. H. Dancer, chief engineer of pub
lie works for the province of Mani
toba, talked very briefly on the sub
ject of local drainage in the province
and what 1t had done for lands. His
experience was much the same as the
engineers on this side of the line.
Mr.. Ralph Of Minnesota in his adj
Dress traced the history of drainage.
Russia was the first nation to under
take the drainage of large areas. Italy
had done more than any other. nation
along this line and would shortly
have all arid lands reclaimed, Eng
land was doing a great work in
India and Egypt to say nothing of the
islands and Canada. The United
States has just begun the work and
had reclamation fund of $35, 600, 900.
!. of which North Dakota was entitled
to $4.500,0O0.
Important Factor. tt
The reclamation Of lands is vital
question. 1t adds that much more to
the public domain and builds up the
country and towns. There are three
classes of soils, productive, partially
productive and unproductive. The
latter class can be reclaimed and the
second improved by drainage and irri-
cation. The wealth added to the coun
try by judicial expenditure along
these lines cannot at present be esti-
mated.
The first thing needed isSa complete
survey, Typographical and as to soil;
engineers can do nothing without data,
Both Minnesota and North. Dakota are
) rapidly gathering the necessary data,
to enable the engineers to furnish
proper plans. 3l5 y. K \. :;
The cost of reclaiming the lands Of
, the northwest is very cheap; from
one-tenth to one-fourth of what It
usually costs. The lands to be irri-.
gated cost from $40 to $40 per acre.
In Mississippi and Louisiana, drain
age costs from 81 to S.. in Illinois
from "a to $25. The same work can
& he done here from 81 to - per acre