Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-01
HAVE THE CAPITAL
Men Promoting Drainage OF Bos-
ton Bay Of Large
Means.
OPTIONS ON GREATER PART
Meeting May at AIedo to Organize
District of 10000 Acres-Is Vast
Undertaking.

Eastern capitalists are back of q
project to drain the entire district
| from Drury's Landing in Drury town
ship to New Boston, comprising some
| 80, 900 acres. The district has been
divided into three sections, the upper
one including 1000 acres from Drury's
| Landing to the vicinity of Copperas
creek, the second of G,000 acres lying
| along the outlet of Copperas creek
| through the bottoms. and the third Of
100000 acres lying below and including
| the remainder or what is known as
Bay island. The larger district has not
been organized, but will be at a meet
ing to be held at Aledo May 7. The
eastern capitalists have secured OPP
tons on enough land to give them con-
troll of the situation in the lower dis
trict.
In the middle district the organiza-
ton was recently completed, as pre-
viously noted in The Argus, and the
contract let for the dyking of .Copperas
creek for a distance of two miles to
prevent overflow down through the
bay Work will shortly be begun by
Mr.. Stevenson of Geneseo. The con-
sderation will be about $1,000 1t is
to be completed by Feb. 1 next.
Is Big Undertaking.
The entire project is one of the
largest that has ever been attempted
in this part of the state. The land to
be drained is immensely rich, but has
been for the most part useless save as
fishing and hunting grounds hereto
fore. Since the drainage project has
been agitated the price has been adj
vanccd, and now swamp land that two
years ago could be had for $40 an acre
is held at four or five times that sum
The prim difficulty in retaining the
Mississippi river bottom is that the
fall of the river from Muscatine to New
Boston, about twenty miles. is ONLY
seven inches. Therefore u levee only
will not do the work. An immense
pumping station void have to be put
in where the levee would cross Stur-
geon bay. Natural reservoirs, to care
for surface water, would have to be
maintained within the district by
deepening with dredging the numerous
small lakes. 4 complete system OF
bitches would be required TO traverse
all the land in the district. The very
highest engineering talent would be
an absolute necessity, and an unlimited
supply of money would be necessary to
back up the project. When accomplish
ed, the farmers and truck gardeners in |
the bottom would not have to move off
when the stage of water is as high as
at present, nor when it is at the high
water mark
Cost More Than Land Value.
1t is a job for a government or for
men with great wealth, because the |
cash outlay for retaining properly |
done, will be as much or more cost to |
the owners than the present value of |
the land If not entirely reclaimed or
protected beyond any suspicion of |
doubt, the land will not sell at the |
price of good upland. Whether the |
owners can work together and can put |
up the money and can secure the cngin- |
ecring talent, are the questions which |
must be satisfactorily answered before |
the problem of reclaiming this district |
can be solved.
1t is simple thing to say, Build |
a levee," but the problem is one of
bitches as well as of levee. There was
a drainage district organized in 1856 |
that covered this entire territory. |
Three levee routes were surveyed. |
The entire cost of the levee was to be |
$4,000. Taxes were assessed, con-
tracts were let, $4,000 was spent In |
1894 the work was abandoned.