The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-05-18
EVERCLADE
PROPOSITION
Major Abrams Letter No. 3, Showing
the Drainage Scheme Up for
What IL Is Worth.

Jacksonville, Fla, April II, 1910.
Editor of the Metropolis:
have been quite interested and not
a little amused and entertained at the
published articles of his scheme of
draining the Everglades which have APP
peared over the signature of Governor
Broward. He appears to think that be-
cause the drainage of lands in other
STAGES has proven successful and profit
able, that the same result must neces-
sarily follow his drainage scheme.
AN ABSURD COMPARISON.
l have read a great deal about the
drainage and irrigation of lands in Cali
fornia and other Western States, but
there is such a marked difference be-
tween the conditions existing in those
States and those existing in Florida that
comparisons are absurd. To begin,
every large scheme of irrigation or
drainage carried out in these Western
States has been preceded by the most
extensive and thorough surveys, lnvolv-
ing long periods Of investigation and
thorough calculation as TO the approx
mate cost. Furthermore, work on these
schemes has never been commenced
until there was an urgent, pressing de-
InanO lot IIle ldilu6 W bG vi dlilCN VI II I =
gated. In addition to the natural in
crease in the population in these West
ern States, there is an influx of some
thing like a million foreigners pouring
annually into them, taking all available
lands and rendering it necessary to irri-
gate the arid lands and to drain the
swamps AS a consequence, as fast as
these tracts are either irrigated or
drained they are occupied by settlers.
The land hunger in the West was evil
denced by the thousands that thronged
the borders of the Indian reservations
and poured into them as fast as these
lands were thrown open to occupation
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS HERE.
In Florida the conditions are entirely
different We have millions of acres
entirely untouched by the pillow and I'M
occupied by settlers, of as good lands
and as capable of profitable cultivation
as any to be found in the Everglades.
LIMITED DRAINAGE REQUIREMENT.
1t is safe to say that If the lands on
the eastern and western shores of the
extreme southern end of the peninsula,
embracing the two strips Of land
stretching from the ridges separating
the Everglades from the Atlantic and
from the Gulf were drained and occu-
pied these lands would produce ten
times the amount of vegetables and
fruit needed for a population of over
1000, 900 Of inhabitants.
A limited system of drainage has
been going on both on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts for years The Florida and
Atlantic Coast Canal Company have
drained considerable amount of these
lands by means Of it's canal running
parallel with the Atlantic. The Florida
East Coast Railway Company, the
Model Land Company and the Boston
and Atlantic Coast Land Company and
numerous individuals have drained and
are still draining much OF these lands
bOrd sring on the canal
The normal and average price Of veg
etables and fruits grown in the semi
tropical region does not call for any
rapid increase in the area of land de-
sired for the products of that region.
There is, therefore, no demand for any
great amount Of drainage or irrigation
in the extreme southern end Of the
State.
THE SUGAR CANE UTOPIA.
Governor Broward, however, sees
millions of acres converted into sugar
cane plantations by the draining Of the
Everglades, and he makes most un-
fortunate allusion TO the island OF
Jamaica when he compares the ANALYSIS
of the soil there with that of the Ever
glades He does not, however. explain
why, with such redundancy of popua-
ton on that island that thousands upon
thousands Of Jamaica negroes annually
migrate from that island to Central and
South America and Cuba to seek and TO
obtain work, if the cultivation of sugar
cane was so profitable; or why, with
millions Of acres of sugar lands availa-
bleNih the State Of Louisiana, the sugar
cane industry there fails to increase and
gives q bare living TO its investors.
Ever since the beet sugar industry be-
came established, sugar from cane has
ceased TO be Of paramount influence in
the sugar industry. What conditions
may exist fifty or one hundred years
from now, no man can fOretell il; but
it is clear that at all present time there
Is nothing TO encourage the dFa ming OF
land in this State, with view TO estab-
fishing sugar cane plantations. In the
first place, we cannot obtain the labor
even with q tariff on sugar, with which
70 compete with the Cuban. Porto
Rican and Jamaican negro. In the
next place, the beet stgar development
in, the West continues enlarging Ag-
cyreaaivelV In the third place we en-