The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1919-10-25
BELLEVUE DRAINAGE
BOARD FORMALLY
ORGANIZED
r,.nk Dimmick, Prominent Cit
;zen Heads the Newly Or
ganized Project
RI CALL ELECTION ON
BOND ISSUE SOON
Members of Board Met at Plan
ters Bank and Permanent
" Organize for Work

The Bellevue-Coulee Croche Drain
ace District board was formally or
.snized when the members of the
a,aipaee board met in this city on
lsst Saturday afternoon. Frank Dim
nick was elected president; Valerie
Ruroue. vice president; L. A. Andre
pout. secretary; ]. A. Perkins, treas
urer: Frank Roberts, engineer, and
Franklin Schell, representative Of
the board.
The taxpayers of the district which
,omprises more than $4,000 acres of
the best lands Of the Bellevue and
CouIee Croche sections of st. Landry,
are vitaIly interested in the project,
and It is said that when the bond is
ms Is submitted to the voters of the
district, the drainage proposition win
Be overwhelmingly carried.
Prominent citizens Of the district,
number Of whom were in town on
Saturday, are behind the project,
momising their undivided attention
snd support Of drainage and express
abelief that the proposition win have
little or no opposition.
The area embraced in the new dis
trict is farm land long settled, but in
the district are many acres that need
drainage badly and, once drained, will
Be among the most fertile lands in the
entire state.
These low-lying lands were once
considered Of little value and only fit
ior summer pasture for during the
winter seasons there was entirely too
much water lying on their surface to
consider them good pastures. Now,
however, the once despised lands are
Known to be Of vast fertility and the
very best corn producing soils in the
state and are being eagerly sought
after, for it is well known that these
lands can be cultivated for years
without once losing any part of their
original fertility. They are what is
Known as made" lands-that is, the
acil has been built up through gene
ntions by the decaying vegetable
natter, and it is said that one can dig
many feet below the surface before
finding the clay subsoil For this
reason there is practically little or no
wear" to the soils fertility and ar
tiicial fertilization is hardly ever re
CURED in order to produce heavy
crops of corn.
Thousands Of acres Of these once
dsspised "bIack" prairie lands once
vent begging on the real estate mar
Ret at a ridiculous price. People
bought that they were only fit for
duek preserves and never once
honght that the high lands would be-
come 90 worn and good agricultural
soi 80 scarce that artificial methods
q drainage would have to be resorted
2 On these despised lands in order to
furnish sufficient acreage to furnish
Feater crops lor the increasing pop
aatiOn. But such has happened, and
sday there is a wild scramble for
lossesiOn of these lands. Years ag }
nsFe we're a few wise men in this
laElsh who saw the immense natural
resources Of these soils and acumu-
NED a number Of acres while the
l1lee was low. Today their invest
aent is proving how wise was their
iaiesght, for the lands have quadru-
Asd IN value and there is no telling
wat the future has in store for the
latunate possesor of many acres Of
'aese rich st. Landry black lands.