Fitzgerald enterprise., 1906-10-16
TO DRAIN SWAMP LANDS.

The Editor of the Enterprise has for long
time teen interested in the above mentioned
question. We have record on that SUBJECT
therefore we have unusual interest IN the
following taken from the Dublin Times:
''As bills will probably be introduced IN Con"
gress this winter by many Senator's and Repre-
sentatives from Southern States providing for
drainage and irrigation work in the South,
report recently gotten up by the United States
geological survey will prove exceedingly inter-
esting."
Among the Southern mem bers who will
probably introduce bills are Senator Daniel, of
Virginia, Senator Simmons, of North ECarolina,
Representative Small of North Carolina. and
Representatives Legare, Patterson and Lever,
of South Carolina.
"There are in the United States over 10000,
900 acres of swamp lands. Now that gric u l.
tural lands are becoming scarce and the govern
ment has shown hat it do 10 water the
barren deserts of the west, the people OF the
country are beginning to realize that the govern
ment might be equally successful IN removing
superabundant water. The fact b a S b e
established that by drainage these W ste
swamp lands may be rendered hab1table ana
productive. Sioce the government has set aside
millions of dollars for the reclamation OF b
desert lands of the arid West through the agen-
cy of irrigation this fact is specially interesting,
for the vast swamps of the lower Mississippi
Valley and of Florida and the sout hea S t e n
coastal plain are now the only great remaining
sources of future 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 Northern New York, Ohio and
Wisconsin corporations as we'll as individuals
have drained some of the larger swamps and
now raise in them the finest quality Of celery,
onions and asparagus. In California the State
has aided in draining the tule lands, as the ex-
tremelv fertile swamp lands of the lower Sacra-
mento valley are called. Here are grown crops
of asparagus, onions, and other vegetable that
love rich and moist soil. In Florida Governor
recently won an election on the drainage issue,
and the people of that State are hoping to drain
not only their more accessible swamps but pos
sibly even the great Everglades.
The State having taken hold of the subject,
it soon became evident that they were un-
able to cope with it, because OF complications
due to the possession of these land by private
individuals, by the Federal government. and by
the States themselves. AS demonstrated by
the history of irrigation development the only
possible agency through which drainage works
can be planned and constructed in a broad way
on modern principles, without the com plcatlons
resulting from divided ownership is the Fed
eral government. Realizing this, members
of Congress have introduced bills for the drain
age of swamp lands, None of these have been
enacted, but several received the careful consd-
GRAFTON of the proper ommittees during the
last session of Congress. 1t is safe to assume
that favorable legislation will eventually follow
and it is to be hoped that it may take form
analogous to that under which the similar prob
lem of reclamation by irrigation has been work.
ed out in recent years~by the reclamation SER
vice of the United States.
All of the 6O,O0O,000 acres of swamp lands in
the country can not of course be reclaimed by
drainage. Unfortunately, many years ago Con-
gress enacted legislation patenting these lands
to the States, provided they were drained and
reclaimed by the States. Except in the few
cases mentioned above this has not been done.
Speaking of the reclamation of swamp lands
u fhe s0ufh = draIasgs the Raltimors $40