Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-25
DRAINAGE DISCUSSED
First Annual Congress Opened
at Baltimore Today.
MANY REPRESENTATIVES
Welcome Addresses From Gov. War.
field and Mayor Mahool.
MILLIONS IN RECLAMATION
Relation Of the Geological Survey to
the Great Work Exploited by
Director Smith.

BALTIMORE. Nd, November 25.-The
National Drainage Association met in its
first annual congress here today at Nc
Coy Hall of the Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity, with delegates representing more
than score OF states in attendance The
sessions will continue for three days. The
morning meeting today was given over
to welcoming addresses by Gov. War1eld
and Mayor Mahool, to which the response
was made by George E. Barstow Of Bars
tow, president Of the association.
The object Of the National Drainage AS
ISOLATION Is to get people interested in
| the reclama ton Of swamp lands and to
| induce the national government to ad-
vance money enough to start the work. A
bill providing for this is now before Con-
gress. and has been favorably reported in
the Senate.
There are 100000 acres of swamp
| land in the whole country, distributed
over thirty-seven states, the reclamation
Of which, according to drainage experts,
would not only add to the wealth Of the
| nation about 5000, 900 annually, but would
greatly improve sanitary conditions as
| well.
This latter problem has drawn the at
| tentlon of the anti-mosquito forces to the
congress, and papers showing the rela-
tiOH VI OTdlHdS0 TO mosquito eXLefmlQa-
ton and the mosquito as sanitary prom
lem will be offered by leaders in the mos
quito determination movement.
The reading of papers and discussions
thereon began this afternoon.
Director Smiths Address.
George Otis Smith, director of the
United States geological survey, presented
valuable paper detailing the relation of
his department to the great work of
reclamation.
LAS a national problem he said, "the
reclamation Of the swamp lands Of the
terest as the reclamation of the arid lands
Of the west. We might trace the history
Of this movement and note that the
earliest work in American swamp recla-
nation was that of Col. Byrd and
George Washington, both of whom made
surveys. before the revolution, Of the Dis
NAL Swamp and planned drainage prof.
years, however. that the full Importance
Of the problem has been realized.
I'm two branches of its regular work
the geological survey is contributing
the data which are so essential to the
proper solution Of the drainage problem
Of stream gagings. Topographic map
ping has been extended over nearly one
third of the area of the United States,
and the maps made in recent years are
based upon such detailed surveys as to be
Of the greatest value for engineering pur-
poses. They show where the swamps
occur and their relation to the natural
drainage channels, as we'll as the topo-
graphic configuration OF the surrounding
country which is of the greatest i'm
portance in planning the drainage Of
swamp areas. With these maps in the
hands of the drainage engineers, the works
can be economically constructed where
formerly hundreds Of thousands Of dollars
were wastefully expended because of
this very lack Of accurate general knowl-
edge Of the problem.
mo less important are the records Of
stream measure ment and the study Of
river flow, based thereon in relation to
the drainage problem. A necessary pre-
lininary to any intelligent drainage work
is the study Of the run-off. Drainage in
wolves an increase Of run-off SO that the
rainfall for the area must be known and
a study made Of channel capacity.
In word, just as the irrigation work
Of the reclamation service was based upon
the earlier photographic and topographic
work Of the geological survey. so now the
integrity Of any great drainage works
must ultimately rest upon the preliminary
work of the photographic and topo-
graphic branches OF the geological sur
vey."