The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-08-06
SOUTHEAST IS
STATES BEST,
SAYS REPUBLIC
Charles M. Morrison, in st.
Louis Paper, Praises the
Drainage Project.
CALLS 1T AS RICH
AS VALLEY OF NILE
Predicts Reclaimed Land Will Be
Best on Earth For
Farmers.

s.. Louis, July 31-Charles VI. Nor
rison, in special article on the South
east Missouri drainage project, says in
the Sunday Republic:
Good bye, "Swampesst Missouri"
This term Of opprobrium, for years
applied Unfortunately to eight coun-
ties forming the extreme southeast
corner of the State-the far-famed
Holland Of Americana longer applies
to any of them.
Within this area Of nearly 5000
square mileS-al area nearly One-half
the size OF Belgium had before the
war-a reclamation project is now
nearing completion which dwarfs any
drainage scheme ever before attempt
ed.
Here in the alluvial lands formed at
the junction CT the Ohio and Missis-
sippi Rivers, more than a score of big
steam dredges are today consummat-
ing a vision which many a pioneer
dreamed
Here almost as much dirt is being
moved as was represented in the PAN
anna Canal or the w2r operations on
the western front in Europe And it
is being moved in the cause of peace
and prosperity, to make homes for
5000 American families and add mil
lions to the wealth of the State and
nation.
The once deSolate swamps are rapid
ly being converted into green fields of
alfalfa, the former stagnant bayous
are giving place to regiments of tas-
seled corn, seas of wheat and the deep
green of the finest cotton grown any
where between the oceans.
For generations men have marveled
at The depth and the blackness of this
soil. Wherever it was farmed it proved
wonderfully productive. But always
there was the dread of the waters
from the north, lessened, but not en-
tirely removed by the building of the
threa-miie GOVERNING mt lavee Just be-
low Cape Girardeau. The waters from
the Ozark foothills came down in
flood and The Castor and the Little
Rivers were not able to take care of
the volume. There were large areas
that were dry for the greater part of
the year, and these were successfully
cultivated. The yields from these
lands were such as to stimulate a de-
sire to operi Up the whole region and
make of it the most productive area in
the whole Mississippi Valley.
the diversion canal, tremendous
cash in the black earth, runs through
the swamps and the timber country
from Cato's Slough west of the Castor
to the Mississippi, may be mile and
half below Cape Girardeau. 1t is
thanked by great levens, the entire
floodway from outer rim to outer rim
measuring more than 1909 feet in
width. The canal is ITO feet wide and
has an average depth of II feet. The
south levee IS 100 feet at the base and
about 90 feet high. The northern
levee Of the diversion canal is 900 feet
from the waters OF the canal and is
100 feet in width and Is feet high.
From levee tC ievee it is capable of
taking care Of phenomenal flood.
There is a total of CPS miles of ditch
es and 40 miles of lcvees in this $4,-
100000 job. More than 100000 Gu
bic yards of earth must be moved be-
fore it is complete. At the present
time 81 contractors and scores of sub
contractors are at work building the
great bitches that carry the water off
to tie south and opening up the small
er canals that gather the water out of
the back country.
A greater part of the region has
been under water for three or four
months of every year, and the volume
of water that must be handled is trem-
endous. About Is per cent of it is now
under cultivation.
The assessed benefits against the
488,500 acres of land in the district
amount to moro than S13,OO0,O00. This
is not a real estate estimate, but the
findings of the court appraisers. As
soon as che engineers, Randolph of
Chicago, and Ockerson of st. Louis,
had passed upon the project and the le-
gality of the undertaking had been es-
tablished by the decisions of the State
Supreme Court, no difficulty was ex-
perienced in floating the bonds at 512
per cent.
Over s1,000,O00 worth of machinery
and equipment is now burrowing in
the black Soil of the district opening |
the canals and piling up the levees.