Evening journal., 1917-03-03
DRAIN LOWER PART
Of sussex COUNTY
Company to Cut Canal From
Cedar Swamp to POGO
moke River
L. L. LAYTON, JR., AS
ENGINEER IN CHARGE

Special to THE EVENING JOURNAL.
SELBYVILLE, Del, Mar. "a pro
ject to drain the Pocomoke river low
lands seems to be coming to a head,
and an action by the Worcester Coun-
ty Commissioners this week may be
a forerunner OF great results.
For many years the question OF
draining the lands along the upper
waters Of the Pocomoke river In Wor.
cester county has been agitated, and
the people Of lower Delaware have
also been very much interested in the
matter. In 1908 the United States
Department of Agriculture made sur.
veys of Pocomoke river in Maryland
and of the Cedar Swamp in Delaware,
for the purpose of developing plans
for the better drainage Of these sec
tons
In the report on the Pocomoke
river no part of the Pocomoke river
in Delaware was considered the sur
vey having begun at the State line
and ended at tide water near Snow
Hill, Md. The actual work has been
put off, and nothing was done toward
carrying out the idea of draining the
Pocomoke river lands until Senator
Orlando Harrison, of Worcester coun.
ty, introduced a bill in the Senate Of
Maryland at the 1914 session provid
ing for an appropriation of $4,000 by
the State of Maryland toward paying
for the cleaning out OF the Pocomoke
river to facilitate the draining. The
bill passed both Houses of the Legis.
lature without practically any oppOsi.
ton. but Governor Goldsborough We.
toed It.
At the last session OF the Maryland
Legislature a bill was introduced by
Delegate n. ]. Wimbrow empowering
the county commissioners Of Worces-
ter and WicOmicO counties TO take
steps, whenever they deemed proper
to do so, to drain the lands along the
Pocomoke river. This bill was sup.
ported in the House by the Worcester
delegation and in the Senate by Sena.
tor Harrison. II passed both houses
and became a law by Governor Ear.
rington placing his signature on it.
To Drain Sussex County
Recent developments show that the
people of lower Sussex county have
drainage scheme in mind and on
which they are now at work, which
may help to solve the Worcester
county problem. The Sussex county
scheme is being carried to fulhllment
by /. l. Layton, Jr, Of Georgetown,
Del civil engineer, and John r. Has.
well, senior drainage engineer, u. S.
Department of Agriculture. These
men were in Snow Hill last Tuesday,
appeared before the county commits.
sioners and presented plans for drain
ing the Sussex and Worcester lands
into the Pocomoke river. They were
represented. by John w. Station.
The Delawareans interested in the
project propose to put to work a large
dipper dredge and clean out a drain
age canal six feet deep and twenty
five feet wide They will dig this
to the Maryland line at the expense
of the property owners forming the
Drainage Company and they obligate
themselves to dig four and one-half
, miles into Maryland until they reach
Duncan's Crossing at their own ex-
pense.
Mr.. Station explained the PROPOSE
ton Of the Delaware Drainage Com
pany to the county commissioners and
proposed a resolution to be passed
naming L. L. Layton, Jr., as the engi-
neer to represent Worcester county.
which resolution was unanimously
adopted by the commissioners. He
will serve without pay After this
was done Messrs. Layton and Has
well went to Salisbury to take up the
matter with the Wicomico county com.
missioners.