Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-10-18
Government Will Sooner or
Later Have TO Under
take the Work of
Drainage.


are becoming scarce and the gov
eminent has sho .vn what 1t can DO
to water the barren deserts of the
west, the people of the country are
beginning to realize that the gov
eminent might be equally successful
in removing superabundant water.
The fact has been established that
by drainage these waste swamp
lands may be rendered habitaole
and productive. Since the govern
ment has set aside millions OF dol
lar for the reclamation of the desert
lands of the arid west through the
agency of irrigation, this fact is
specially interesting, for the vast
swamps of the lower Mississippi
valley and of Florida, of the Sacra-
mento valley of California, OF
northern Minnesota, and the south
eastern coastal plain are now the
only great remaining sources OF fu-
ture agricultural lands.
The effort to drain swamp lands
began, like the movement to irrigate
the deserts, with the individual,
was taken up by the corporation or
colony, and is now fast becoming
the concern of the state. In north
ern New York, Ohio. and Wiscon-
sin corporations as we'll as indi-
vidua1s have drained some OF the
larger swamps and now raise in
them the finest quality OF celery,
onions, and asparagus. In Califor-
MIA the state has aided in drain
ing the tule lands, as the extreme
1y fertile swamp lands of the lower
Sacramento valley are called. There
are grown crops of asparagus,
onions, and other vegetables that
love rich and moist soil. In Flori-
da a governor has recently won an
election on the drainage issue, and
the people of that state are hoping
to drain not only their more access
ibIe swamps bat possibly even the
great Everglades. In Minnesota
and North Dakota a state drainage
commission has been organized and
vast areas are being drained and
settled under state auspices.
The state, having taken hold OF
the subject, it soon became evident
that they were unable to cope with
1t, because of complications due to
the possession of these lands by pri-
vate individuals, by the federal gov
crnment, and by the states them
selves. AS demonstrated by the
history of irrigation development,
the only possible agency through
which drainage works can be plan
ned and constructed in broad way
on modern principles, without the
complications resulting from divid
ed ownership is the federal govern
ment. Realizing this, members o
congress have introduced bills 70
the drainage of swamp lands. Nom
of these has been enacted, but sew
-eraI received the careful considera
ton of the proper committees durin
the last session of congress. 1t
safe to assume that favorable legis
lation will eventually follow and
is to be hoped that it may take
form analogous to that under whic
the similar problem of reclamatio
by irrigation has been worked OF
in recent years by the Reclamatio
service of the United States.
When the subject of reclaimin
arid lands by irrigation was frs
under discussion, it became at ono
evident that the vast area whic
has been geographically mapped
Offered the first and simplest poii
of attack in the preparation OF plaI
for active work. Similarly, il d
ve1ops that this survey has alreaC
mapped many hundreds of thou
auds of acres of swamp lands.
scrutiny of the maps made fro
such surveys shows many possih
drainage projects worthy of hmm
date study.
All of the sixty million acres
swamp lands ia the country can Il
of course be reclaimed by drainas
Unfortunately, many years ago co
gress enacted legislation patenti
these lands to the safes, provid
they were drained and reclaim
by the states. Except in the f
cases mentioned above, this has I
been done. When necessary,
rangements can doubtless be ms
with several states, as has be
done in the matter of irrigati'
for carrying on the necessary VIZ
under Federal auspices
Evidence of the extent to VIII
drainage has already been und
taken IN small Way by individ