The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-03-18
DRAINAGE Will.
BEGIN IN FALL
Government Engineer Enters En-
pIOyment of the State
200 MILES OF CANALS
Many Problems Must be Solved Includ-
ing Control of Lake OkeeChObee's
Waters Money Available

! 1t will be the latter part of August
or the first OF September before the
drainage of the Everglades will begin
on the amplited scale contemplated by
the trustees of the internal improves
ment fund under the recent agreement
reached with the contending land
companies, says The Metropolis.
j. 0. Wright, until recently in charge
of the United States Bureau of Re-
camatiOn, is in Miami as the superin-
/ tendent of drainage for the State.
Mr.. Wright expressed his satisfaction
/ to representative of The Metropolis
at being again in Florida. He was
| first in 1906 when he made preparations
for the survey of the Everglades made
under his supervision at the direction
of the government.
81 am here now" said Mr.. Wright,
"Decauso believe can do some good.
The proposition has developed beyond
my expectations believed in it from
the very first and my belief has become
conviction for all that I believed has
been confirmed. The attention Of the
whole country has been attracted to
this section, money is being invested
here, and it is obviously desirable to
hurry the drainage work up and give
/ the people who have invested something
firm upon which to build hope and
homes. have no previous purpose of
coming here. The fact is had very
snug berth with the government and
had no idea of leaving it until short
time ago received a message, asking
me if | would take the place If it were
| offered me. ! wasn't looking for a
} Job, but the opportunity to achieve
something and work out great plan
of development attracted me and so
am here. / am no longer employed
pby the state of Florida, as the super
intendent of d ainage"
Mr.. Wright said that he would make
a trip to all the dredges now at work
in the Everglades and gather informa-
ton so that he would be equipped to
draw up the specifications necessary
for bidders to make estimate upon. He
calculates that it will require a week
for him to get the necessary data; he
will then return to Tallahassee and it
will require two weeks to draw up the
specification and then the advertise
mcnt will be inserted for a month.
After the bids are opened and the con-
tracts awarded, Mr.. Wright says it
will require from 80 to 100 days for the
contractors to build their equipment.
He thinks it will be necessary to have
machinery especially constructed for
this drainage work, and for this reason
/ it wilreoure some time for the con-
struction Hence it appears, that with
all the despatch possible exercised and
allowing nothing for possible lost time
the amplified drainage operations will
not he started until the last of summer.
Wright says it is probable the con-
tractor will be required to take over the
dredge now owned by the State at
fair valuation. The plan is to construct
200 miles of main canals in adii-
I ton to the mileage already constructed,
and it will be stipulated that the drain
age is to be completed within three
years. The drainage superintendent
says that there are number of prob
lens to be solved, chief among them
being the control OF the waters of Lake
Okeechobee, as it is not desired to lower
the waters Of the lake without properly
conserving them for irrigation purposes.
/ The work of drainage will he facil-
/ itated by cutting from the lake instead
of toward the lake, though it is likely
that the dredges now at work will con-
tinue to work Just as they are now work
ing. 1t was all along realized that the
work would be done faster by beginning
at the lake, but in view of the wide
spread.opposition to the project when
it began it was impertive that the initial
work shodld be done where immediate
results would be easily seen by the peo-
pie.
Mr.. Wright says that for the present
bis Office will be at Tallahassee, hut
when the work begins he will move
either 70 jacksonville or Miami 1t
would he impracticable to retain head
quarters at Tallahassee with the scene
of the operations so far away.
I Through the agreement reached re-
Gently by the trustees with the land
companies that had been lighting the
/ drainage tax the companies agree to
pay all back taxes, amounting to more
/ than $500, 900 and to furnish this money
as required to pay for the drainage work
under the new plan. The companies
agree 20 pay their taxes continuously
to the year 1912 without further pro-
test, which will aggregate more than
million dollars. The details of the
agreement have never been made pub
! lie, hut this in short is the gist Of it.
4 The land companies have withdrawn
their litigation against the tax conditi-
onally in order to see the land drained.
. 10 IN, h., laI Il. IN, ~