Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1911-08-24
EASTERN MARSHALL co.
IS LAND OF PROMISE
Continued from page one)

Ditch No. SO. Next comes County
Ditch No. 20 which empties into Thief
River in Excel and drains an area of
200 square miles or 12S,000 acres and
constructed at the cost of $780, In
to this ditch empties Judicial bitches
Nos. IL, 10 and 10 from the south,
whose combined cost will be about
100000. Engineer Hamre, of Crook
ston, has charge of Ditch No. 20. The
third and most extensive drainage
system is Judicial Ditch No. II, which
drains an area of 440 square miles or
2S1, 500 acres. The main ditch is 100
miles in length and the laterals 1925
miles, and extends about Is miles in
to Beltrami county. The cost of this
system will be $716,47S, including the
levelling Of the roads. w. R. Hoag,
of Minneapolis. is the engineer in
charge, and the Northwestern Drain
age Company, of Grand Rapids, Wis,
has the contract, which was let March
/, 1910 and calls for completion OF
the whole system in 1912. So energet-
ically have the contractors pushed the
work that they expect to have most
of it completed this year, leaving but
a little to be finished next spring.
The Men and Brains Behind the En-
terprise.
A common day laborer can dig a
small ditch with a spade, but when it
comes to digging for instance the
Panama canal, it requires men with
great engineering skill, expensive and
adequate machinery, and an abund-
ance of capital, to do the job. So
here The expenditure of nearly a
million dollars could not be entrusted
to ignorant and inexperienced men.
First the legal aspects of the enter
prise had to be carefully looked after,
that no flaw whatever should be found
in the proceedings, so that the ditch
bonds could be floated and the neces-
sary financial backing secured. At
torney w. j. Brown, of Warren, was
employed to represent the petitioners
and he at once gave his great legal
learning and tireless energy to the
cause. So well has he done his work
that the best lawyers of the country
sent here at the instance of the bond
ing companies, as we'll as the legal de-
partment of the state, have been I'M
able to pick single flaw. Mr.. Browns
work in this connection has been Of
great value to the county and the
state and he deserves to be ranked as
a public benefactor.
Judge Andrew Grindeland, of the
14th Judicial District, under whom the
proceedings were started and who af-
ter careful consideration ordered the
ditch established, deserves to be re-
in connection with this and many 9th
er drainage enterprises. Long before
he became judge he realized the
great benefits of drainage to this
country and when he was member
of the legislature about ten years ago
he introduced and passed drainage
law that facilitated the construction
of bitches and under which many
bitches have been built. That law in
fact forms the basis of our present
drainage laws. He is Familiarity re-
ferred to as the father Of drainage .
But bitches, in order to be of value
must be constructed so as to carry OF
the water, which stubbornly refuses
to flow up hill A competent engi
neer must be employed to make the
survey and have direction of the
work. Such man was found in w
R. Hoag, a civil engineer of Minneap
oils, who became the hog (Hoag) tx
root the way Mr. Hamre, OF Crook
ston, has also done meritorious worl
as engineer on County Ditch No. 20
The county auditor, the clerk of cour
and also the county board have al
done their share in. furthering tn
great undertaking. The viewers ais
have had an exacting work to perform
and should not be forgotten. The,
are G. o. Cross, of Warren, John S
nnonson, of Excel and Mr.. Hagen, Q
Remidji.
A thing of Importance also was gel
ting competent contractor, one VIII
had the experience and the necessar
equipment for doing the work. N
mistake was made in awarding tn
contract to the Northwestern Drail
age Company Of Grand Rapids, Wis
an enterprising concern which ha
six big dredges, each costing $4,000
at work at different points on tn
ditch and will complete their col
tract many months ahead of tim,