The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-12-08
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI GETS
NATIONAL PUBLICITY

In the October issue of the Ma.
tional Magazine, which it published
at Boston, Mass, Allen Hinchey
Secretary of the Missouri Federation
Of Commercial Clubs, writes interest
ingly of the agricultural development
of Southeast Missouri. Mr.. Hinchey
chose as his subject "The Making OF
an Empire in Missouri, and the ar
ticle is well illustrated with cuts OF
interesting sights in this community
among which is picture of the rice
farm of our fellow townsman George
Begley, Jr., and one of Butler coun-
TVS prize winning display of agri-
cultural products exhibited at Cape
Girardeau last year.
In speaking Of the various drainage
schemes that are being constructed
in Southeast Missouri, Mr.. Hinchey
says Of the Little River district:
'In the Little River district re-
clamation scheme, a half million acres
of rich alluvial lands are being con-
verified from swamps into the best of
farms. The district is ninety-five
miles long and from six to eighteen
miles in width, and to reclaim this
vast stretch of country nearly seven
hundred miles Of bitches are being
dredged and many miles of levees con-
structed. From first to last the ex-
penses of the drainage work in this
one district-the scheme for making
an empire-will cost about five mil
lion dollars, and these are Southeast
Missouri dollars, no aid having ben
asked of State or Federal Government.
I'm this great stretch Of alluvial
lands, there is network of railroads,
statistics furnished by the Govern
ment reports showing that in this
section there are more railroads than
in any other rural district It is said
that no acre within the Little River
drainage district is farther than six
miles from a railroad"
Mr.. Hinchey also refers to Inter
River district, which was organized
by the County Court of Butler coun-
ty and the legal points of which are
now, awaiting adjudication in that
court, he says:
another important district, where
drainage work is soon to be started,
is in the Inter-River district, between
the st. Francois and Black Rivers.
The lnter-River drainage district
will reclaim a rich section of country
situated in Butler county, having an
area of 1877, 800 acres Of rich alluvial
soil. This will be an engineering pro-
ject to reclaim a body of land the
center of which is lower than the two
rivers which form its eastern and
western borders.
There will be two hundred and !
eight miles of bitches dug and fifty |
eight miles of levees built in this dis
trict. The estimated cost Of this pro-
iect is S1,250,000, the estimated bene-
its being assessed at $4,000, 900.
And in speaking of the various
srops that may be grown on this Won
Mr.. Hinchey says:
Conditions are so different there
10 any other section of the country,
as the crops of the north and the
crops of the south are grawn side by
tide. In adjoining fields, and often in
The same field, may be seen growing
wheat, cotton, corn, alfalfa, melons,
BATS, sunhowers, COW peas and other
products.
"A Southeast Missourian was asked:
Is it true that any crop may be grown
n your county?'
"'Any cropl Any cropl Why, man,
very crop can be grown, was his re-
by.
SIN addition to fertile lands, this
'egion is blessed in climate. The
growing seasons are longer, the win