The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1915-06-25
ARE PUMPING DRY
THEIR zUIOER ZEE
Dutch Busy ca Big Scheme
Despite War;.
COST WILL Be S75,OOO,OOO

Will Reclaim Half Million Acres of
Land on Which 25o,0oo Persons Are
Expected to Find Homes-RaiIroad
on E~mbankment Will Connect North
Holland With Friesland.
Despite the war Holland Is proceed
ing with the giant project of pumping
the Zuider Zee dry. Thus viii be re-
claimed 10000 acres of land, on which
10000 persons are expected to find
a home. The cost will be about $780,
100000. The work will occupy thirty
three years.
Holland owes her independence to-
day largely to the fact that 3S per
cent OF her surface is below sea level.
Any .neighbors that covet Hollands
magnificent seaboard know that to con
quer they have to reckon not only with
the Dutch army, but with the sea the
Dutch would let in between themselves
and the invaders.
The Zulder Zee itself is a result of
the bursting OF the dyke. This hap
pened in the thirteenth century, and
in addition to Holland being cut vir-
tually in two and Friesland being sep
arated from the rest of the country by
a turbulent sheet of water, hundreds of
villages We're submerged and some So
900 persons drowned. In 1927 there
were terrible foundations, in which sew
enty-two villages were swept away.
with the loss of nearly 100000 lives.
When the Dykes Burst.
More terrible still was the disaster
OF 1870, when at one time 1t looked
as If the greater part Of the country
would be blotted out of existence by
the angry seas. A continued and vio-
lent gale from the northwest had long
been sweeping the Atlantic waters into
the North sea and had piled them up
on the fragile coasts OF the provinces.
The bikes, taxed beyond their strength,
burst In every direction. Dutch Elan
ders to a considerable distance in
land was suddenly invaded by the
waters of the ocean.
bort, Rotterdam and many other cit
les were for a time almost submerged.
Along the coasts fishing vessels and
even ships of larger size were loated
up into the country, where they err
tangled themselves I'm groves and or
chards or beat to pieces the roofs and
walls of houses. over 100000 persons
persisted.
A great dam or embankment is now
being built across the north end of the
sea from Wieringen, in North Holland,
to Piaam, In Friesland.
Worlds Longest Embankment.
Ii will have a length OF nearly If
teen miles. easily making It the long
est of sea embankments. On the In
ner, or Zuider Zee, side 1t is to carry
n double line railway and a road for
ordinary traffic, thus affording easy ac-
cess between North Holland and Fries
land. Communication with the North
sea will be maintained by thirty-three
large sluice gates and a couple of locks
for shipping.
The construction OF the embankment
is alone expected to occupy nine years.
Within the embankment four areas
known as the northwestern, southwest
ern, northeastern and southeastern are
to be drained and reclaimed. each of
which is to be a%pportioned to the prov
ince which 1t adjoins. These reclaim
ed sites Will have an area Of 54,270,
7S,S0o, 1871 and 269,410 acres, re
spectively, or a total Of 529,605 acres,
OF which 436,025 are clay int sandy
soil suitable for farming.
The northwestern area will be the
first to be drained. and the method of
procedure will be as follows: After
the great embankment has been built
along its northern end 1t will be divid-
ed into four parts by construction of
low inner dikes, from each of which
water will be pumped out separately.
For this work four team pumps of
/ 1000 each will be erected.