The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-06-24
IMAGE COMMITTEE MEETING.
Col. Watson is Optimistic of Out
come of Conference Next Month.


National Drainage Congress, having
charge in cooperation with the Sc
cretaries of agriculture and Of the
interior the administration measures
providing for the establishment of
new federal bureau or body of like
character to have in charge all mat
tiers relating to reclamation of low
lands by drainage, f1ood-control, for
estry, regulation of stream flow, etc.,
yesterday announced that he had call
ed a meeting of the special committee,
to be held in Washington on July 10,
at noon, in the McLachlen building.
This committee on federal action was
named at the recent conference in
Washington with President Wilson.
Secretaries Houston, Lane and Garri-
son, Vice President Marshall, Speaker
Clark and other democratic leaders.
The idea was for the committee work
ing with officials to be designated by
Secretaries Houston and Lane to pre-
pare a proper bill for enactment by
congress meeting all the requirements
and designed to eliminate opposition
as far as possible.
Will Prepare Bill.
Considerable work has been done by
the members of the committee since
the recent gathering in Washington,
and at the meeting on the 10Th it is
probable that a satisfactory composite
measure can be made ready for con-
gress.
Secretary Houston has designated as
conferees on the part of his depart
ment Prof. A. ]. Henry, of the Unit
ed States weather bureau; Raphael
Zon, of the forest service, and S. H.
McCrory, of the Office of experiment
stations.
Secretary Lane has recently made
special recommendation to congress
for tie enactment of such law au-
thorizing the drainage and reclama-
ton by the United States of public
swamp and overflowed lands in any
State and territory.
Drainage Projects Included.
While his recommendation relates
primarily to the reclamation of public
lands, it authorizes inclusion in the
drainage projects, under specified con-
ditions, of State or privately owned
swamp land contiguous to the public
land or located in the same drainage
basin. Secretary Lane believes that
this would be notable step in the
reclamation of public lands and in the
establishment of homes and farms up
on areas now unjnhabi,able and
worthless"
The personnel of the committee of
which Commissioner Watson is chair
man, having this important work in
which so many sections of the country
are deeply concerned, is as follows:
Thomas p. Littlepage, Washington, D.
c.; Frank B. Knight, of Chicago, con-
sulting engineer and expert on exca-
waiting and drainage machinery; Nor
ris Knowles, consulting engineer of
the food commission of Pittsburg: j.
L. Craig, president of the river regu-
lation commission of Stockton, Cal:
L. L. Lawrence, Laurel, Miss, treasur-
er of the Railway Development asso-
citation Joseph Hyde Pratt, State
geologist of North Carolina; ]. S.
spiker, consulting and sanitary en-
gineer, Vincennes, Ind, and Reid
Whitford engineer of the Charleston
sanitary and drainage commission of
South Carolina.
WATSON is UpuHl1Stlcs
Commissioner Watson stated yester-
day that for five years he has been
working to get the federal govern
ment to do something substantial to-
wards the reclamation of the valuable
lowlands of the South. He says he
believes that at last something really
worth while is going to be accomplish
ed; if nothing more is done than the
getting underway of actual work to
reclaim the 100000 acres of law
lands of the nation, he thinks that
the administration will have accom-
plished from the standpoint of public
health and national productivity the
greatest piece of constructive legis-
lation of the age.
In Washington on the same day the