Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-10-04
{ DRAINAGE IN IOWA.

OHAINA0E I'm uO"As
Under the above heading the Chi
cago Record Herald publishes the fol-
lowing editorial dealing with the re-
clamatlon work that has been begun
in Iowa:
The present day has become accus-
toned to the expenditure Of vast sums
on public works. Where these sums
are spent in one place by one body
they secure the attention they de-
serve, as in the case of the federal
government at Panama or Of the Penn
sylvania railway In and about New
York City. But money spent over q
wide territory by large number Of
private persons is less likely to attract
general notice. Yet the state Of Iowa
Is in course of spending 100000, 900
on the drainage of its farm lands, four
fifths of which amount is to be con-
tributed by the owners of the farms.
The movement began naturally in
the thirty so-called wet counties
counties where the land is low and sub
ject to flooding from streams. But it
Is to be continued through the whole
ninety-nine counties of the state
This service will result in the re-
clamation Of thousands Of acres OF
what It is said will be the most val.
liable farming land in the world. The
state, as such, has begun what will
ultimately become an expenditure OF
$50 ,OO0,0 900 on public drain bitches
And it is estimated by the state con-
servation board that four times this
amount will be spent by private
owners in thing their farms and in
digging open drains.
Such work, properly viewed, ranks
in social Importance with the great
engineering undertakings of the time.
1t leads to increased value and pro-
ductivity Of lands and to higher level
OF general sanitary well-being. The
movement might advantageously be
extended through the other states OF
the great northwest.
The Courier has no Information as
to the exact amount Of money that has
been spent by the farmers Of Iowa In
draining their farms. Large sums have
been spent by Individual land owners
all over the state in thing their
farms Many counties Of the state
have undertaken big drainage projects
by building public drain bitches to re-
overflow. But no matter what work
the individual owners and the coun-
ties have done, their work will not be
wholly successful unless the state
does It's part in solving the drainage
problem.
The most Important reclamation
work that Iowa must do Is to prevent
the annual flood waste by straighten-
ing the Iowa rivers. Tiled farms
emptying into drainage bitches. which
ii turn, empty into the Iowa rivers
and creeks, will not solve the question
unless steps are taken to keep the
waters Of the rivers and creeks within
their banks. On the contrary, the
bitches and thing may serve the very
opposite purpose Of aiding to overflow
the land by affording an outlet for the
backwater from swollen streams.
The state as whole will not benefit
from the local Improvements made by
certain counties and individual land
owners unless the streams are straight
ened and deepened. The overflow
water from one farm will De passed
on to the next, the overflow
question may be solved by one county,
but 1t may only aggravate the trouble
for the next county, or tier of coun-
ties, below. There will be no perma-
nent improvement unless the streams
are enabled to do their part.
Iowa might as well look this situa-
ton in the face. The streams must
be Strengthened and deepened to carry
or the water at flood stage. Thou
sands OF acres of the most valuable
land in the state are rendered prac-
tically useless because the owners Of
land in the river bottoms cannot risk
the expense of putting in crop that
can only be counted upon in the most
favorable years.
What Iowa needs to do now is to
send men to the legislature who will
realize the Importance of this ques-
ton. This work is one that will not
be done in day or year. but will
require several years. The only way
lasting Improvement can be made is
by starting at the mouths of the
streams and working to their sources.
This is a constructive work upon
which progress will be slow and the
benefits will not be Immediately ap-
parent But in the long run 1t will be
OF more lasting benefit to Iowa than
any improvement that might be made
by the state 1t will cost money, Of
course, but 1t will save many times
over the amount it will require by
putting stop to the needless waste
and by the increased wealth it will
bring to the state. It will have to be
done some time and 1t will cost less
now than it will ten or twenty years
hence. It will require time to frame
the best plan by which to carry this
work on, and it will require time to
do the work. Those are reasons why
this matter should be taken up at
once.
There are in Iowa million and
half acres Of land subject to overflow
to an extent that makes it almost USE
less. It is estimated by the county.
surveyors of the different counties,
that million Of these acres can be