The Elbert County tribune., 1907-09-26
ILLINOIS

silt washed down from higher levels
and in the decaying luxuriant vegeta-
! tion until an alluvium of great depth
and fertility has formed
Many small submerged areue
throughout the middle and eastern
states have been drained and turned
into agricultural fields, and all along
the borders of the Kankakee swamp
in Indiana and Illinois, the Everglades.
in Flornida, the great Dismal swamp
in Virginia and North Carolina. and
other similar tracts thrifty farmers;
have run bitches, cleared the surface.
of the soil and reaped their rewards
in crops which in many cases more
than repaid the cost of the work the
first year. But the costly mistakes
incident to the evolution of irrigation
in the west have been repeated again
and again in reclaiming the low lying
areas of the east
There is no question as to the
propriety of government reclamation
by irrigation. Why should it not be
as truly function of the government
to take water off land which is too
wet as to put water on soil which is
LOO uTy. ne AREA Dy
drainage is greater than that which
can ever be made productive by irriga-
ton. The cost of drainage is less, and
in such sections as the rich fruit lands
of Arkansas and southern Florida and
in the vicinity of large cities where,
truck gardening is profitable the an
nual returns per acre will compare IA
vorably with those in any section of
the country.
The value of national drainage as a
purely business proposition cannot be
overestimated. 1t would mean the an
nexation of an empire larger than all
New England with several small east
ern states thrown in. Assuming the
reclamation of 50,00O.000 acres, the
taxable property of the United States
would be increased by more than
$4,000, 100000 The annual income from
crops would add over 81, 500, 100000 to
the wealth of the nation. If it were
possible to subdivide this enormous
area into 40 acre farms it would supply
100000 families with homes and put
12.000,000 people upon the lands that
are now practically worthless. 1t is
safe to say that those families will
spend $4,000 in houses and equipments
and improvements for their farms.
This will mean the expenditure on the
waste lands of today of more than
s5,000,000 900. An average family of
five will spend 5000 per year That
will mean to the business interests an
increased trade If $1,500,000,000 an
nually over what is now enjoyed.
Another item which should not be
overlooked is the possibility of the
control of stream flow. Many Of our
large rivers, notably the Mississippi
and the large Maine streams have
their sources in swamp land regions.
The drainage of these lands and the
storage. of the waters in suitable reser-
voirs would make possible in a large
degree the control and equalization OF
the discharge of the rivers, thus pre-
venting damage by floods and at the
same time improving navigation. Con
troll of stream flow would also increase
the facilities for developing dependable
water power.
According to the terms of the meas
ure now under consideration all this
can be brought about without the di-
rect appropriation of one dollar. VIII
the most progressive nation on earth
remain Indifferent to this great oppor-
tunity?
The morning hours of the twentieth
century have already witnessed the in
itiation of one of the greatest works
of internal expansion ever undertaken
the reclamation Of the arid lands of
the west. Let the great work go on
by making glad also the waste places
of the east, adding untold millions to
the nations wealth and. what is of far
greater value, providing countless
| homes of abundance and comfort
where nothing but desolation now
| reigns.