Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-10-17
DRAINAGE CANAL
PROVES SUCCESS
SCHEMES WHICH HAVE BEEN
WORKED OUT IN HARRISON
COUNTY ARE VALUABLE.

COUNTY ARE VALUABLE.
The vast Importance of drainage
canals and the important parts that
they play in the development of a
country's resources has been shown in
Iowa and especially in Harrison coun-
ty where they have proven to be a
decided factor toward adding to it's
wealth. 1t is believed that nothing
marks the agricultural interests of
that country SO much as the construc-
ton of the great drainage system
which has been worked out so sue
cessfuIly in that portion of the state
Perhaps no one factor has contribut-
ed to the recent advance of farming
lands and the unusual prosperity that
marks the agricultural interests of
Harrison county so much as has the
construction of the great drainage sys-
tenn that has been launched and car
ried out to state of unlocked for sue
cess within the last few years.
1t was at first believed to be but a
visionary scheme on the part of a few
interested citizens and it was counted
too great an expense to be afforded in
this day and generation. Every farm
er and business man in the county
knew that there were tens of thou
sands of acres of the richest land to
be found on the face of the globe
which was not bringing in enough per
acre to pay the taxes. Everyone ad-
turned into bitches and speedily car
ried from the fiat, swampy lands of
the county that no fairer, no richer
soil could be named than that within
the Kingdom of Harrison" yet they
saw no possible way to thwart the
natural current of crooked rivers and
open up the fiat lands between these
streams.
Lands of this character were to be
found in all the northwestern and
central sections of this county. The
Soldier river, the Boyer river and
others were all within unsurpassed
valleys, famous for their fertility, but
about two years out of five (some-
times oftener) the valleys were COW
cred by waters from these streams
which were so meandering in their
course from the northeast to the Mis-
souri, river that it was impossible to
reap the native hay crops that in dry
seasons were a great source of wealth
to the owners. Agitation, science, ex-
pertinent and "lots of high taxes"
served as forerunners to the great
system that now is looked upon with
general favor.
While there is always some ex-
pense that comes to the land owner
who is not especially benefited by
such gigantic internal improvements,
yet on the whole, every man who has
been taxed for these open bitches in
Harrison county, as we'll as in ad-
joining counties, has in the end been
benefited to a greater extent than
was his original thought. None
would care to have thousands of
acres of waste land and swamps
standing in numerous portions OF
this county, as was the condition be-
fore these waterways were opened
up.
In the cases of the main ditches-
the Boyer and Soldier rivers have
been lessened from 30 to so per cent
in their lengths Where the waters
Of the Boyer used to run forty miles
the straight cut canals has reduced
the stream to about one-half the dis
lance. Where the Soldier ran RAM
pant, overlooking thousands of acres
Of crops and hay land, the waters are
now conveyed by short cut ditch
directly into the Missouri river,
while in places the old river bed is
now dry enough for agricultural pur-
poses.
This county has prof1ted by the
system begun in Monona and other
counties. Lakes and morasses nave
been drained into these big bitches,
and now one finds corn growing in a
soil that would rival the valley of the
famous Nile. A sanitary measure is
lessening the malaria and cutting
short the mosquito crop, which IN
early days was such pest. The
landscape scene is all changed-the
green scum of pond and swamp, the
stagnant pool in the river and creek
have all disappeared since the
drainage bitches have been dug. And
still the work goes forward, and this
year more such improvements are De-
ing contracted for.
It was about 1903 that the first
great channels were cut in this
"MOnOna and Harrison
county ditch" The veteran civil
engineer, j. S. Wattles of Missouri
V alley, was the first in charge of the
work. Then followed the present
drainage engineer, Seth Dean Of
Mills county, and under these experts
the work of producing this drainage
system has gone forward to the
present date. There are now eight +,
drainage districts in this
county, with total mileage of
ninety-three miles Of open bitches or
canals, which have cost the county
s648, $3.50. And other bitches are
now in course of construction, but
nearly all of the open bitches re-
1uired are already made and paid
to-. The average cost per acre for
the $4,000 acres of land drained has
been $69S.