The Greeley tribune., 1906-03-29
SWAMP LAND
BILL IN CONGRESS FOR MA
TIONAL DRAINAGE FUND
Hundred Million Acres of VAL
liable Land That May be Re-
claimed by Government
Assistance

The man who can provide homes
for industrious and strong armed
citizens is a benefactor to the race.
If Representative Steenerson of Min
nesota can push his swamp reclama-
tion measure to enactment into a
law, he will be deserving of the
praise of not only this but future
generations. His bill is a practical
extension of the old homestead idea,
or rather, perhaps, an application to
the vast areas of our swamp lands of
the idea embodied in the national
irrigation law.
There are IN the neighborhood of
100, 900, 900 acres of swamp lands in
the United States, some 10000, 600
of which have been surveyed, and
the great bulk would make splendid
farms If the excess of water were
drained off.
The Steenerson bill provides for
the beginning of the work Of re-
clamation of these huge areas. The
measure is framed after the irriga
tion law; it provides that the re-
ceipts from the sales Of public lands
in the non--irrigation states shall
constitute drainage" fund to be
expended by the government in great
drainage works, and further, that
the cost of such drainage shall be
prorated among the land benfitted
and paid back by the settlers into
the fund.- to be used over again
for additional reclamation work.
This plan of developing the inter-
nal resources of the country and
making homes of waste places. is
splendid in its scope, and appears to
be entirely practicable and profit
able. Take for instance, the single
example of the swamp lands of the
Kankakee river basin in Indiana
and Illinois. Here are some 400, 900
acres of the very richest of bottom
lands, but subject to overflow. They
are worthless except where they
have been reclaimed through expen-
sive private drainage works. when
they lave become worth 800 and
$3.50 an acre. Yet it is estimated by
the government surveyors and engi-
neers that the entire system could
be effectively drained at cost in
the neighborhood of $40 an acre.
The same can be said OF the lands OF
the Red River Valley in Minnesota.
These include the finest grain and
farm lands in the northwest except
that they are frequently overflowed.
1t would be worth millions OF dol.
lars to the farmers and settlers, who
WOULD occupy these lands In small
tracts, to have perfect system OF
drainage provided. These extensive
systems, however, especially where
they are interstate, seem to be feast
BILE for handling only by the general
government.
This work the reclamation service
is Qualified to do at this very NOM
enr. While primarily an engineer
ing bureau it has, in all its great IT.
rigation projects, to deal olrectly
with the farmer. 1t must outline
comprehensive drainage system Tor
each irrigation project, since there
is as much danger from too much
irrigation as too little, and to 90
this the service has its own farm ana
soil EXPERTS. Some of the irrigation
proiects have distinctively drainage
features, In fact are almost as much
drainage as they are irrigation pro-
jects.
In Florida the everglades alone
almost solid muck beds-woulu
afford an empire of some 1000 ooo
acres: In New Jersey and Virginia
are vast swamps, among them lhe
famous Dismal swamp. In ILLINOIS,
which is generally regarded as a well
settled agricultural state, there are
4 600. 600 acres of swamp land, III
Michigan there are nearly 6,0oo,ooo
,cres Fertile Iowa has about .
600. 600 acres of swamp land. III
Minnesota there are almost 1000, 900
acres of rich surveyed swamp lanes
and huge swamp areas not yet sur
veved Arkansas has tremendous
swamp areas which could be draiheo
and made habitable, and In all there
is a swamp area in the eastern ha',
of the United States which Is equal