Milford chronicle., 1919-01-03
DRAINAGE WILL BRING THOUS-
ANDS OF DOLLARS TO
DELAWARE

= north to the Atlantic Ocean and I'M
{ Maryland line in the south OF Della
e ware, there are located thousands O.
acres of what can be made the bes
producing land in the State which j;
: now comparatively idle simply By
q reason of the encrOachments OF the
e ever aggressive and greedy waters
: which create marsh lands because oi
, the lack Of drainage.
A very small part OF these marsh
lands have been drained in recent
years and they have since demonstrat-
2 ! ed that they will grow the finest crops
; of wheat, corn, tomatoes, oats. pota-
toes. hay, and even other vegetables
which grow well in Delaware, and
this down to within a few yards Of
the brea king waves Of the Delaware
Bay. am a man aged in years and
experience and have travelled to some
considerable extent, and / state as
fact that / never saw in the western
prairie lands wheat more rank or
heavier than that which has been
grown upon the drained march lands
OF Delaware
The question naturally arises, Why
have the people of Delaware not de-
ve,oped and utilized these lands ?" The
answer is that the people have not
been educated to the value OF this
work to them in dollars and cents.
The rich and highly developed king
dom OF Holland in Europe is one OF
the most remarkable illustrations OF
draining water from land and affords
a fine demonstration for educating our
people as to the personal benefits to
come to them.
Many years ago, when the Spanish
lnquisition was applied and the Prot |
estants were briven from their homes |
and escaped only with their lives, they |
were permitted by their prosecutors /
to 20 to the wet and inundated coun- |
try lying along the North Sea, which |
was then continuously subject to high |
tides. 1t was believed by their cruel |
religious prosecutors then that these /
Protestant refugees would perish in
the wet lands and that the world would
he cleared of the hated Ito them)
heretics. But God, who watches over
and cares for his own people, put into
their minds to raise dykes, or embank-
ments. to stop the tidal waters out
and reclaim for themselves a home.
l have been on the river leading from
Holland to the North Sea and at high
tide looked down upon the green and
fertile fields, where fiocks of sheep
were grazing and cattle waxing fat
upon the lush grasses, while the farms
well kept and prosperous
and all kept in safety by the famous
dykes, some of which are twenty or :
more feet high. No waves from the
sea could surmount them.
During the cruel four years OF war
which has just swept over the world d
the people of Holland have been the
most Independent nation in Europe; {
and only for the great dykes there y
would be no Holland, where thousands
Of people, war scourged, have sought
a haven of rest.
The old written law, Heaven helps l.
hose VINO help themselves" can be 5
applied 10 the people of Delaware, and l.
those who live along our )
lay and ocean front. If a system of d
lrainage and dyking were carried out Il
Is it can be and should be carried out, {
,nough new and fertile land would be
made to produce millions of dollars ,
worth of food stuffs. The individual g
an not do this-it must be done by
state or L. S. Government aid. In HOl-
and the Government promoted the Il
lans and encouraged the people to
uild the dykes, and now the dykes rS
re their safety and the source of their o'
'ealth. by protecting their land from OF
he selfish nav of the North Sea, and II
lade them an Independent people. rt
Let us apply these facts to our own
xisting conditions But what are our
WI conditions? 81
Delaware has a low fiat country, ia
ithout a shore dyke, and this country DC
the richest land in the State But III
is subject TO storm tides which spoil oi'
for seasons after their invasion. The oV
reat storm tide in the spring of 1918 IN
as the greatest recorded in more 10
ian sixty years, and utterly robbed 10
e farmers for half-mile or more on
ON the bay and river shores of their
Ost fertile land This also robbed the TIC
Looming lands known as "high land"
itb the salt water ana undonbtodI,, ev
will in the next fifty years become me
hat is known as "ea1t n,arsbr and so Tin
lost to cultivation. VIC
Let the following experience illus ere
ate my meaning. About fifty-eight PR
al dSO WdS Il HEiuDcE Oh q mill
ry company and we then drilled on me
e marsh at Cedar Beach Hotel. Our WI
i'll grounds were then about 400 rec
rds directly east of the present ser
ildings at Cedar Beach. and the drill
ounds then are now covered by the G.
lters of the Delaware Bay
1t may be asked, What are we TO !
20 My answer is, we belong to the Sta
of Delaware and all EN-
rec of our counties are affected in tiOl
ike manner hea
Delaware mas always provided for To-
citizens and their prosperity, and ma
Commonwealth will provide means onl
protect and improve itself. This Hol
Il be granted when the facts are set a p
'ore the Legislature and advocated all
the men who are capable of seeing
J benefits Of the future. We believe has
It Delaware under such conditions exc
j grant the application of its citi- whi
IS by enacting drainage laws which the
] reclaim and redeem its eminent the
main. to
Though Delaware is small in co,,ara l.