The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-10-02
GREAT NATIONAL DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
GUY Elliott Mitchell.


AS the western desert is being
made to bloom under Uncle Sam
tutelage, so the waste swamp places
will be made to contribute their
quota to the great total OF Amerl-
can farm homes. The country has
authorized the appropriation and
expenditure Of $50. 100000 for the
construction Of huge irrigation
dams. canals and tunnels to subJu-
gate the Great American Desert;
why should it not look with equal
favor upon the redemption OF the
65, 900, 900 acres or more of swamp
lands, now equally as useless as the
desert, but equally fertile and pro-
ductiye when reclaimed?
AS matter Of fact the national
drainage idea has already made
great progress and is growing apace
so that it would cause no great sur
prise among those who have kept a
watchful eye on the movement,
should congress pass such a law next
session. There are number OF
reasons why government drainage
should appeal to the country even
more strongly than government lrrl-
cation. In the first place every
eastern state has large areas OF
swamp lands and instead OF being
located in thea midst Of forbidding
deserts it is situated in compare
lively populous sections of the coun-
try with transportation facilities al
ready developed and in the second
place the regeneration of these lands
would be a simple and cheap engi-
neering task. While government ir-
rigation reclamation is costing in
the.neighborhood of $50 an acre, the
official estimates of swamp reclama-
ton run from So to Sc and 81 an
acre. Instead of being called upon
to voterfor... improvements of far
distant lands, thousands of miles
away from their constituencies, ev-
cry congressman in voting for drain
age would directly benefit his own
state. Having already helped the
west by favorable irrigation legis-
lation, why should he not assist the
me-seekers in his own district to
secure fertile farm?
GREAT VALUE OF REDEEMED SWAMPS.
The value of such lands when re-
claimed considerable has already
been accomplished by private enter
prise runs from $50 to 5000 an
acre. With all our swamp areas
thus improved, and taking $50 as a
basis, we would be annexing an in
land empire worth three and four
billion dollars and adding to the
country's productive farm area a
territory equal to the great states
of Illinois and Kansas, or to all of
New England states with Pennsyl-
vania and Maryland added, or to the
combined states of Virginia, Ten
nessee andlLouisiana.
The query as to whether such rec
lamation is practicable is answered
by the engineers .of the irrigation
service itself..whose already COM
pleted great topographic surveys,
started years ago, would enable
them to at once begin active drain
age reclamation.
But again, even with every east
ern state selfshly interested, will
congress feel like appropriating
great sums of money for the pur-
pose? The huge surplus in the
treasury today could not perhaps be
put to better use, as it would not on
ly create homes and national wealth
out of nothing but give employment
to great army of men. Direct ap-
preparations, however, would not be
necessary any more than they were
in the passage of the national irri-
cation act.
CONGRESS BELIEVED TO BE FAVOR
ABLE.
Last winter, a bill, introduced by
Senator Flint, California, was fav-
orably reported by the senate pub
lie lands committee, appropriatinq
the money derived from the sales
of government lands in the eastern