Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-29
Io,ya Progresses In
Drainage Matters as
In Other Things
Special to Times. R Republican.


Lstimer, Feb. 29.-About forty years
ago man Travelled thru the western
part of Iowa with an outfit consisting
of himself and two other men, dozen
yoke of oxen and two ditching ma
chimes, He could cut an open ditch
three feet across and as many in depth
or ne could puI in blind ditch,
whichever was wanted. That was
drainase up TO date, 1876. We are
living in az age of progress" declare
the writers over and over again when
they compare the modern methods with
those Of earlier days, ard the drainage
man like the farmer man and every
other kind of a man, has helped TO
make the assertion true. The proof of
this is TO be observed right here at
La,imer.
Two miles or thereabuuts OF open
ditch have been or will soon be COM
ple!ed by q big dredging outtiJ near
town. This forms the outlet for a
$I65,0oo drainage job that is being put
in, in this locality. The two main
bitches that lead 10 the open portion
are in all about thirty five miles in
length and the whole when finished
will furnish thing outlet 10 drain more
perfectly than at present some forty
sections of land.
IN the corner VI a pasture about half
a mile from the business part of Lati-
mer there has been laid out q sort of
suburb or addition TO the town that
will likely remain liz existence two or
three Years and viii then be torn down
and moved away to some other un
drained part OF the country There are
six neat shacks lined up like the bus
mess street OF a town. These include a
barn for horses. sleeping room for
ditchers, teamsJers' sleeping quarters,
boss cabin. cocks cabin and q home
Tor the cooks assistant. There will be
about thirty men at work on this con-
tract as soon as weather conditions
permit. OF these there are a dozen or
fifteen permanent men who regard the
camp as home" They take an annual
lay-off Of six weeks in mid winter and
in this time disperse 10 different parts
of the country, but like migratory birds
return at & stated season. Some time
which tent and contents were de-
$500. Ii was a sort of incendary affair
minus the element Of criminal intent
unless revenge on bedbugs could be re-
record that any attempt to collect in
surance was ever made.
In what is known as the north ditch
II this gigantic job the lower $50 feet
will be laid with forty-two inch tile:
he next mile will be forty inch. then
about a mile and a half OF thirty-six
nch and gradual change to smaller
diameter un-il the last where twelve
nch tile is to be laid. The large diam
eters, down to thirty-siX inch are hat
s known as segment blocks. something
recent in tile manufacture. as the
tame indicates these tile are ia blocks
which placed together intsrIocn and re-
main in position like the ordinary one
piece kinds. The forty two inch is cum
posed OF fourteen . ses,nents. the
forty inch of thirteen ard the. thirty
six inch Of twelve blocks. The weight
Of segment ot forty-two inch tile.
$ said to be fitIy-se~en pounds max
nS a complete piece two feet in length
weigh almost 500 pounds These blocks
,re hollow and the advantage claimed
,Eer the old kinds is that the air space
gives them greater strength and the
knocked doWa" feature affords greater
Ease in han ding with less liability to.
preakage. They are more expensive
han one piece tile. Four men are re
iujTed 10 handle the segmenrs in lay
NJ the larger diameters.
The ditch varies in depth from eight
10 sixteen feet. A great portion of the
erritory which it is intended to drain
la.s been tiled already but the outlets
n most Of these cases simply turns the
water on the other land and il is to do
away with this condition that this per-
tected outlet is being put in. e..
That this kind of project works a
temporary hardship on many Land
owners is beyond question For in
stance a farmer near Alexander who
owns a ECO acre farm already perfectly
tiled must pay an assessment OF nearly
$ 5000 for ditch he doesn't need, at
all, but his neehbors above him want
TO drain their farms and If they used
his outlet the next man below would
be flooded therefore an adequate outlet
must be established for the well be-
ing OF all concerned. Complete and
scientific drainage of an extensive tract