Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-11-20

Federal Government Will
Aid in Retaining Flood
i ed Acres.

M, L., now IV.--F10rDoFt
IA. Hard. secretary Of the North Da-
Mkota reclamation commission. left Bis
narck yesterday with the governors
& assurance Of $4,000, more with which
NO carry on the preliminary work
the commission has undertaken
I with q view rsSsassseclaiming from swamp
sands hundressof THOUSANDS OF acres
the Red River valley, The states
&continued support means more than q
mere Sc, 900, for the evidence OF sin-
kerest which the commonwealth has
given in this project will assure fed
&eral assistance to the extent %0f $685.
boo pledged by. Carl VroomanS assist
Int secretary of agriculture. aome
FSr the first time in history FEDERAL
= hid has been procured for a Red River
valley drainage project. This is true,
Akhe commission believes, because for
I've first time Uncle Sam has been
epproached through q reclamation
bare argument that the raging Red is
navigable stream of q commercial
& Importance warranting an expenditure
5Tof some millions has been used, and
Npetitions have gone in through the
#war department. This time Engineer
Hard put up the proposition in its true
5skght, as4-reclamNtion project,-an he
J 7 II1lOuSK tIll0 Sl1lc1lI VI,
agriculture, the war department
acefully. and with evident relief,
SS51eepping aside, and the result was inn
IMMEDIATE recognition.
sSss Three thousand Of the additional
funds appropriated by the state for
4 Nngineer Hard's preliminary work will
$ssUay Office expenses, while the other
federal funds in payment, for field
. work. Whether. further aid will be
y Forthcoming from the state and ma
ton cannot be said. Secretary Hard
Aas enlisted commercial clubs, BUSH
hess men and farmers In his scheme,
~ and has educated them to a point
where they can talk about assessments
Of one dollar an acre as a Of
financing this1big project without get
ting lockjaw. Mr.. Hard believes ulti-
mately the cost Of draining the low
lands in southeastern North Dakota
will range around 81 per acre for the
territory benefited, but he points out
that Illinois years and years ago. un-
Il der even more difficult conditions, in
N vested much more than Sc per acre
b its great system OF drainage bitches
j and that no one today, holding land
4. worth $175 to $500 the acre, questions
\ h wisdom of the investment. He
notes further that the loss in crop
alone Every year the water remains
on this land amounts to several times
So the acre.
Richland county, in North Dakota,
Traverse, Big Stone and SWilkin, in
Minnesota, and Roberts county sin
4 South Dakotassk Ire in on this project,
and theyssefe~stsoNsfn& sangaggressiXe
6eterminatfpnfp dossonething. The
North Dakota project. is the largest Of
the three, sinvolvinE, as it does, the
necessity Of extending far back into
the highlandsTotst the S%heyenne with
a system of reservoirs to hold back
the flood waters which every spring
descend on the Red River valley with
such a rush that they cannot be cared
for by the sluggish stream. Mr.. Hard
returned to- Harvey yesterday to COM
plete his work or the Sheyenne, which
~contemplates the building Of a series
'& dams which will not only furnish
pleasant artificial lakes, but, he hopes,
will develop enough power to ulti-
mately pay for themselves. Somewhat
Similar work is necessary on the Wild
Rice, the Pembina and the, Bots de
Sioux, and before the project has
finally worked itself out millions of
dollars will have been spent.