St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1912-03-09
THE LAND DRAINAGE oycREss.

IdE LAND DfSAlNatfHTs&stlNER
| New Orleans, March Geo. Il
Maxwell, the man who organz as: sh
peorle CT the dry west in; their sue
cessft'l campaign to secure nationa
IRRIGATION, has taken charge CT tn
work Of organizing the peen'e of tn
wet delta for their fight for drain
age. His object is to make tn
National Dse-ore Cone~ess, whicl
is to be hc'1' II sg Orleans Apri
| 10th to 18th q "a success t,
attract the attenl1.1 4 3 countr,
It large to the cheaper cost of Twins
lside to the drainage of the $4,000,
300 acres of wet lands in 40 state.
in SO forceful and potential manner
as to bring Congress into close touci
with the drainage problems Of thu
United States.
Mr.. Maxwell has organized. the
merchants and business men of New
Orleans under 100 chairmen; the
householders of New Orleans under
special committee; the railroads;
the hotel men; the land men AMI
other branches of civic life, all
pledged to put their shoulders to the
wheel and turn the machinery OF
their business to account in q CO.
ordinate plan to draw a minimum
of 10000 delegates to the National
Congress, New Orleans, April 10th
to 18th, inclusive.
He is also organizing a national
movement, with general headauart-
|ers in Chicago and division head
quarters in New Orleans, Pittshurg
and Los Angeles to sustain and car
ry out the work that will be done
by the National Drainage Cong ess.
This organization is to be known as
the National Reclamation Associa-
ton. A minimum membership of
1000 will be secured in the Mssis-
sippi Valley, which will report to
New Orleans; 1000 in the East
which will report to Pittsburg; 1000
in the West, which will report to Les
Angeles.
In this way the Newland's River
Regulation Bill, which stores the
floods at the headwaters Of the riv-
ers, supplying water for irrigation
where needed and food prevention
in the lower rivers, will be pushed
through Congress. Other necessary
legislation will be devised and it's
passage urged upon the federal gov
eminent and State Legislatures, and
the full scope Of the movement will
be placed before the people of the
in it's true meaning.
In discussing his plans to-day Mr..
said:
Irrigation has made immense
areas in the West prosperous.
Drainage will provide homes for
more than 100000 farmer families,
Increase the food supply of the coun-
.ry and decrease the general cost
# living. River regulation will rem
Ter dry lands as we'll as wet lands
labitab1e and cultivable. Demo-
ratio votes in the South got irriga-
ion TO rthe people of the West, and
he people of the West stand ready
md willing to aid the people Of the
'outh and of all OF the wet lane
'tates of the country to secure the
ssistance Of Congress in taking the
urplus water off their lands. The
of the East, in work
ng for the drainage Of the wet lands
'ill be doing nothing less than open
ng up new and prosperous markets
or their manufactures.
Irrigation has proved SO highly |
enefcial, that the people of the
Tnited States will look with favor
n the big drainage policy that the |
|ational Drainage Congress will |
aunch here in April.
Agricultural lands have become |
carce, and the 100000 acres of |
ighly fertile wet land must soon be
lade available to the pillow if the |
ountry would avoid further high |
est of living troubles.
THE question of food prevention
; fast reaching stage where levees
i'll no longer answer, and the a.dCp-
ion by Congress of q proper river
equation policy has beca..sa a nsces-
ty.
"We are going to make the Ma
onal Drainage Congress SO big
nccess that it will attract the atten
on of the entire country, and with
ne entire country behind us we viii
0 to Congress and ask fer what VIZ
eed and what We must have in orde,
, make the 100000 acres of wet
lnds, north, south, east and west
reduce the food the people must
ave and the commerce that the
0untry will require to maintain its
'ade supremacy"