The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-22
Many Other Bene-
fits to Accrue and
Operation Costing
$1OO,OO0,OOO Will
Pay for Itself

~ lttI llOii Ddllh " paih ~ '''' -
about 1000 yards wide.
The plans call for a series Of sluces
within this artificial waterway by winch
the passage of craft will be restricted t"
boats having a maximum beam of 30
feet. This system will serve a twofold
purpose; it will facilitate the control of
the tidal movement of the. outgoing wa
ters of Yssel Lake, and it will constitute
a defensive measure against the intrusion
of enemy warships
New Land Ready in Fifteen Years.
In the eighth year, with the sea dixie
substantially finished, work will be begun
on the northwest polder, and the building
of the inclosing wall and the draining OFF
of the impounded water will take about
six years. That is to say, within fifteen
wears after the start of the undertaking
the first reclaimed area will be ready for
cultivation. This will make available 3d..
600 acres, of which 1920 acres are ex-
pected to furnish fertile soil.
In the eleventh year operations will be
taken Ill Hdllu lOI anu iN'Ahiii
ing of the largest or southernmost polder.
Something like thirteen years will be
needed to finish this section. The third,
or southwest, polder will be commenced
in the twenty-first year, and finished in
the twenty eighth; and the last or north
east polder will be started in the twenty
fifth year and completed in the thirty
third year. Therefore from start to fin
ish the entire project will compass
period of whole generation.
The Hollanders have purposeiy elected
to take up progressively the various
phases of the scheme in order To distrib-
ute the total burden over thrty-three
wears and thus to limit the annual inter
est charges on the borrowed money. That
is to say, the non productive part of the
task will not be for n longer time than
fourteen years, and during that span there
will be appropriated yearly a sum Of
1904, 900 to defray the interest on the
bonds that will be issued TO carry the en-
terprise through.
Kent al SlS an acre
The Government expects to receive an
annual rental of $l3 an acre for the re-
claimed soil. The average rent paid for
agricultural and horticultural land in Hol-
land prior to the war ran about $lS an
\ acre.
The entire scheme will involve total
disbursement of substantially S90,00O.00O
and will give to Holland 523, 440 acres of
new land, of which certainly 100000 will
be susceptible of cultivation. The cost per
acre of the unwatered land will not ex-
coed $l72
The Netherlands have at present total
area of but 1900 square miles. and the
acquisition of virtually 800 more square
miles of potentially fruitful fields is of
prime importance. According to the ad
vocates of the project the new lands will
provide space enough for 1000 farms
farms that will be worked intensively,
and at the same time accommodate fully
100000 dwellers.
But the benefits are by no means re-
stricted to those already mentioned. ANY
one familiar with Holland knows how
much of an obstacle the Zuyder Zee has
long constituted to rapid intercommuni-
cation between Friesland and the busiest
of the coastal towns and cities bordering
more or less directly upon the North
Sea- The traffic has been limited almost
entirely to roundabout rail routes. which
have had to make wide detour in order
to follow the shore lines of the Zuyder
Zee.
With the construction of the great
sea dixie. with It's double tracked railway,
it will be practicable TO link these COM
paratively remote provinces by fairly
short lines Of steam hsulage, eliminating
many miles of expensive transpor-
tation Finally. with the creation Of
Yssel' Lake water carriage will be ma
terially improved. because it will be fea-
sibls 10 employ in this service faster and
bigger vessels than have heretofore been