Arizona republican., 1911-06-02
SPEAKS 0N DRAINAGE
 OF SWAMP LANDS
ONE AND ONE-HAlF BILLIONS
 WILL BE ADDED TO MA. TIVE WEALTH.
Many States Will Be Benefited by
 Work of Irrigation Congress.

hSiIed or WduSdu, former attorney
 general of Wisconsin. and now secre-
 tary of the Wisconsin Advancement as-
 sociation. the guest here of the Chi cago board of control Of the national irrigation congress at the boards fifth monthly luncheon given in the East
 room, Hotel La Sale, sang a song of big figures relating to the reclamation
 of swamp lands in the Badger state
 and in the Mississippi valley to the
 accompaniment of interest on the part
 of his hearers that became astonish- ment before the speaker resumed his seat at the head of the table.
 1 Surprising his fellow diners. who numbered fifty men of Chicago and ! Illinois of high attainment in civic, commercial and financial circles. with the information, based on government reports. that the reclamation of the S0,O00.000 acres of swamp lands in the central and eastern portions of the na- ton would add a value of $l 500, ,000,- coo 10 these now worthless areas, with out attempting to estimate the future, rise in the value of the lands. and that the reclamation of the two and one half million acres of marsh lands in Wisconsin would add a value thereto
 Of s41,000,000. MT. Mylrea urged that
 the task was too gigantic for the states
 to dispose of individually ana that it be recognized of such economic import ance to the nation as a whole that
 the government be asked to lend na-
 tional aid in the work.
 He suggested that the government
 be petitioned to employ some of the
 money accumulated in the United States treasury through the establish ment of postal savings banks for swamp land reclamation if it was found difficult to enlist the government in the work in any other way. Describ- ing how the swamp lands were deeded to the states years ago and telling of the difficulties which likely would arise between one state and its neighbors if the states attempted to wrest the worthless swamp areas from their present condition and place them at the command of the husbandman. MT Mylrea said
 The estimate furnished by the gov ernment chief Of drainage investigation shows that if the swamp lands that lie almost wholly east of the Rocky mOun- tains were reclaimed by modern meth Ods that in addition to paying all of the cost of the work the value of the swamp land would be increased in l value over the present by the sum of | S1.500. .000, and that in addition. the ! increased annual productive power | would bring to the public each year | over s275,0O0,O00.
 The state Of Illinois has within its | borders nearly 1.000.0O0 acres of swamp | lands. It would cost Illinois to reclaim | these lands about fourteen million dol lars. When finally reclaimed there would he added to the present value of ! these lands the sum of s20. 0.500, ,00O-this aside from repaying all the cost of rec lamation. The increased annual pro- ductiOn would bring a profit of two and one-half millions. When oomplet- ed, it would increase the value of these lands in excess Of all expenditures for the sum of s5O.OOO. 900, and increase the productive power of the same area in the sum of s6.720, 900. These figures are based upon the pres ent values of land and the present amount of population. As population increases and land becomes more valu- able who can foretell the value of these ands, reclaimed, in half d century?
 For my own state of Wisconsin the ralue of this swamp reclamation may De roughly computed by just doubling he figures 1 have cited for Illinois-a title more than doubling them, as we lave something over two million acres # such lands subject to reclamation. while Illinois has but one million Icres. It is most difficult for the or linary man to comprehend the national 'alue. I might say the world value, of his swamp reclamation movement.
 However, as no one man. uncivilized. , an civilize himself. so it is true in a way of our swamp land situation that , 10 one state can civilize itself. As ,rOwth is the law of life with men. so , { is with nations and with states. our tates need in this movement the aid f outside forces and with that a fact , is appropriate that the national irri- ( ation congress, which has launched ( his movement for the reclamation Of wamp lands, should have it's home in I 'hicago this year. The congress has ( one many big things for the western ' Ortion Of our nation and with the CO., i peration of the big men of Chicago { -ho are trained to accomplish what ( hey set out to attain, the organiZa ion without doubt will create such f lterest in this broader scope it has { lken for itself as will result in far q eaching good as lasting as the many | reat developments in the west that Iand as a perpetual monument to its C forts ' Many of our states have such large ' reas of swamp lands that it would 2 impossible for the states alone to . nance any undertaking for their i'm rovement by the unaided aid of the 'easury. The first. last and only re- 1urce of this reclamation is the na- onal treasury. Let us obtain this aid. Tisconsin is with you men of Illinois 5 such wholesome work as this. . Statistics tell us that the births eX sed the deaths in this country by |, 000. 900 per year There are no more c nds in America today than there N ere when Columbus first saw our f. lores. In addition to our own increase a 7 birth. the immigration has reached a le million mark annually. Since the a migration is nil. these figures mean if n addition of 45,000,O00 within the i,