Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-11
DRAINAGE OF LANDS
UNDER ZONE SYSTEM
Federation of Boards and
Committees in States Un-
der Consideration.
RELATION OF SWAMPS
TO MALARIAE DISEASE
Prevention of Floods by Artificial
Means Theme of Address at
National Conference.

ST. LOUIS. April 1.-THE delegates to
the national drainage congress began
today the work of organizing the various
local drainage boards and committees
into national drainage federation Plans
1or such federation were explained at
one of the many side conferences.
A conference to discuss malaria at
which the relation of swamp lands and
HOODS to disease was considered, also was
held today, and the report was submitted
to the general meeting of the congress
While the congress was waiting for this
report 1T heard an address by Frank r.
knight of Chicago on The Business
Mans Interest in Flood Protection"
Col. w. E. Piper of Chicago, chairman
of the legislative committee of the Ma
tional Fraternal Congress, spoke on the
interest Of fraternal insurance orders in
drainage as it affects actuaries' tables
of longevity.
Government Bureau in View.
The executive committee was not ready
to report its plan for the creation of
national department Of public works I'M
der the supervision of cabinet member
The committee has not yet reached an
agreement as to what branches of the
government service should be placed UNI
der the new department.
DR.. Joseph Hyde Pratt, state geologist
| of North Carolina, Will speak late this
afternoon on the reclamation of North
| Carolina Swamp Lands
| Prevention of floods was presented as
profitable business proposition by Mr..
| knight.
The floods we have faced today, last
year and In this long series of calamities
| that have passed have been due to the
| reckless disregard of known laws of ma
| ture by the business men of this coun-
try" he said
Control of Water Discussed.
To-day the same men are slowly awak-
| ening to the fact that even yet, by ar
| tificial means, We may control water, by
| dams, food reservoirs and flood channels,
levees, drainage and reforestation and
| thereby regain the wealth We have lost,
| and add the new wealth we have not
yet realized to power development, real
| inland navigation, protection of life and
! existing industry and adding an inland
empire of the most productive land the
| world has ever known.
| What would it have meant from a
| strictly business point of dollars lost,
production stopped. commerce and traffic
crippled, IL the floods had not occurred
in Ohio and Indiana? What has it cost
the manufacturing and mercantile estab-
lishments of Dayton alone, and what
would these institutions have given, could
they, by thus giving, have prevented the
| disaster?
In 1912 the Mississippi valley suffered
the worst flood probably within history.
The recorded damage to property was
about $25O,OOO,00O.
An Undeveloped Empire.
| Why do our business associations
spend SO much money and send their
representatives to the orient to develop
a Chinese trade, the very elements of
which they do not understand, when
we have an undeveloped empire along
the Mississippi river?
"Your attention is challenged to the
fact that the drainage area of the Mis-
sissippi river and its tributaries cor tains
about two-fifths the total area of the
United States, in which most productive
portion of the country you are faced
every year with the losses caused by
floods, the interference with transporta-
ton and commerce and consequently re-
duced purchasing power of the people.
Methods of Fighting Malaria.
At the malarial conference DR.. w. A.
Evans of Chicago said malaria could
be annihilated in the south by fighting
mosquitoes, draining swamps, educat-
ing the people to sleep behind screens
and distributing quinine to those who
couldn't buy it.
He said that a swift, spectacular cam
paign would wipe out the disease.
| In addressing the congress Dr. Evans
| said the extinction of the mosquito would
| add $40 to the value of every acre of land
| in the south, and under anti-malarial
| conditions the total corn crop would be
doubled.
| DR.. Evans said that in Illinois malaria
practically has been eliminated, partic-
ularly in Chicago. He said negroes
brought from the south to work on the
Chicago drainage canal infected mos
| quitoes with malaria, and then it was
necessary to take measures to stamp out
the disease.
Thirty years ago. he continued, "Chi-
| cago, New York ond Brooklyn each had
more malaria than any southern state
| has today. The fight against malaria is
nothing new. India, China and Italy have
| had to handle the problem
| CO|| FGf MIN IN Capital