The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-17


 Sterling A. Wood, w. H. Kettig, F. r Anderson, A w B. Johnson, W. w. Crawford, H. M. Beck, B. W. Barrett r. M. Jackson, W. P. G, Harding. John L. Parker, Richard F. Johnston, A. D. Lightner, E. P Hogan, James J, Smith. John L. Raul, George Gordon Crawford Joseph IF. Johnston, Harrison s. Mat i thews, Robert Jemison, James Wealth erly, Erskine Ramsay, B. B. Burton. Oscar c. Turner. Louis Saks. Walker Percy and R. B. Collins.
 Board of Directors Meeting
 President Massey then proceeded to make a verbal report of the meeting held during the afternoon of the board of directors of the/ chamber. He called the attention of the meeting to the Bir- mingham folder recently gotten out by the advertising committee of which T. A. Weller Is chairman. This folder was distributed at the meeting last night and shows a string of IS of the most attrac- tive views of the city and district. In the way of advertising the president also called the attention of the members of the chamber to the illustrated article about Birmingham appearing In the last folder of the Old Dominion Steamship line, "The Pilot" and stated that vote of thanks had been voted by the board
 
 erosty in granting the space.
 Among other things that came before the meeting of the board of directors President Massey took occasion to state that the work of the committee for the promotion of wholesale trade, of which Murray Brown Is chairman, had received the commendation of the board. Like wise, he said, that the directorate had gone into the details of the plans of the newly created industrial bureau, of which M P. Messer Is chairman, and that these plans had met with the approval and commendation of the board.
 Hear Reclamation Experts
 With no further business to come before the meeting President Massey proceeded to enlighten the members of the chamber on the work and plans of the Proclamation special" operated by the Illinois Central in cooperation with the United States department of the interior and geological survey for the reclamation of swamp lands at present inundated. He then introduced the first speaker c. J. Blanchard sta tisrician of the United States reclam- ation service, who presented an illus trated discussion of the work Of the government in the irrigation of the arid lands of the west. MT. Blanchard said;
 "The reclamation law which was passed in 1902 is unique. It provides flat the revenues received from the disposal of government land in 16 arid states and territories shall be loaned for a period of 10 years without in terest. under the direction of the gov erument engineers this loan is ex- pended in the construction of irriga- ton works which will provide the water needed to reclaim the desert lands and make them fruitful.
 "The practicability and wisdom Of the 1ry daf17 1Gf1 taI already Nearly million acres of vir- gin desert have been reclaimed and l4,- 900 families have found homes upon the land. Cities, towns and Villages have sprung up in the midst of these new agricultural communities, railroads have extended their branches into the desert to connect these farms with the markets of the world.
 "The farmers who have taken up the land are now paying back to the government in annual miscellaneous the investment made to reclaim their land.
 "The reclamation of our waste lands is conservation in it's truest and full est sense. As long as there are land less men and manless land 1t Is the obvious duty of the federal govern menc to bring them together. There Is no more important work before our national lawmakers than that of pro- viding the opportunity for our home
  Ing such opportunities lessons the men, ace of congestion of population in our cities and retards the exodus of our best citizens to other lands in adjacent countries. Every other civilized nation on the globe Is actively engaged in similar work under methods which our lawmakers will do well to consider carefully"
 Leighton's Illustrated Talk
 NJ O. Leighton, chief hydrographer of the United States geological survey, made an extended discussion, illus trared by lantern slides of the swamp and overflow conditions of the lands in the United States.
 According to the statistics given there are in the United States over 70, GOO, 900 acres of swamp and overflow land that can be reclaimed and made valuable for agriculture. The reclam- alton of this land affects every state in the union except five-sonle of them, like Florida. Alabama, Michigan and Minnesota, have enormous areas of swamp land covering from one-f1fth to three quarters of the entire area of the state The problem therefore Is not sectional one. every part of the country being interested in the devel- opment that will make homes of the places which are now avoided, because