New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1910-12-31
7HE ENTERPRISE
AND OBSERVER. CoNsot,parsp
LOUISIANA DEVELOPMENT
LEAGUE.


New Orleans. Dec. 29.-The oi
ganization this week of the Lou
wiana Development League mark
the second great step\in the trans
formation >oK 100000 acres o
wet and unused prairie land lyin
within a 50-mile radius of Ney
Orleans into gardens, farms AM
country homes. During two year
past a colossal amount Of worl
has been done in the consolida
tion of marshland tracts the ere
alton of new drainage disti Vets
the correction Of state laws. tn
freeing of investment money from
taxation, the development of goo,
roads, the digging and opening VI
of net work Of navigable drain
age canals. and the drainage o
several hundred thousand acres
To-day there is not an acre of re-
claimed matshland remait ng OF
the market awaiting a purchaser
but in the not distant future some
large areas will become available
and in anticipation of the comine
of many honeseekers from othel
parts of the country the business
men, bankers. merchants, Ian,
owners and others have organized
the LouiV ana Development
League which look after the in
terests of this new agricultural
area in about the same way 2
board Of trade, chamber of com
merce. or a commercial club looks
after the trade and commerce
and the upbuilding of any wide
awake city.
The new area that is now being
made available for mans pur
poses is greater in extent thar
Rhode Island, better supIs.ed
with natural and artificial nav
|igable waterways than Holland
and is capable of supporting, as
dense popution as is any 81
milar area on earth.
i. M. Pool. active Vice-Presi
dent Of The Hibernia Bank ano
Trust Company of New Orleans
has been elected President OF th'
Louisiana Development League
and has named many young men
the chaps who have their life 8
work ahead of them, to serve OF
the several working committees.
While the development Of the
Louisiana marshland stands in
class by itself. the experience O.
other sections where irrlgatnor
has been made to turn waste land'
to account have shown the neces
sity for wide spread cooperation
among the people most interested
if the lands are to be occupied ant
cultivated under the best condl
tons by the best class of farmers
and gardeners.
"There is much work for the
T.ouisiana Development League t
do" said President Pool at thu
Organization meeting. Ever
now agricultural products il
some volume are coming to mar
ket from lands around New Or
leans which two years ago hat
never produced anything bu
marsh grass. AS fast as reclaimed
the new lands pass under tht
plow. They are garden truck
etc. and within a very shor
while this new source OF suppl.
will be sending tens of million
lof dollars worth of agriculture
commerce to New Orleans a year
One of the objects of the League
is the facilitating of this new com
merce in every possible way"
The rapidity with which TIM
new commerce will develop is in
ldicated by the fact that a slngl
Indiana corn raiser has lust pur
chased $4,000 acres of bouislan'
marshland which he will plant II
seed corn only just as soon as tn
steam dredges can open up wa:
for the water to flow off the land
Many of Louisiana's most fam
ous sugar plantations are bein!
cut up into twenty and forty acr
farms on which northern an'
western farmers are settling
These plantations hae bee1
drained during 100 years. but a
rapidly 'as possible thhir drr n
age systess are being changed AM
replaced by the modern system
that has been developed by tn
marsh'and reclaimers.
The engineers pp,mfse tha
within five years New Orlean
will stand in the center Of 1000
900 acre garden. What this wi
mean to the city becomes appal
lent when it IS remembered tha
|unlike all other American cities
New Orleans has never had tn
advantage Of suburbs. Until tn
reclamation Of the marsh land
began the nearest town to Ne'
lOrleans was so miles away.