The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1920-02-21
zuyDER ZEE TO
Be RECLAIMED
Work on $125,0OO,OO0 Engineer.
! ing Project Will Start
This Year.
PROVIDE LAND FOR 100000
Dixie Thirty Miles Long is Part of
Plan to Add New Province to Hol-
Iand-Area Of 1927 Square Miles
to Be Rec!s;711

The Hague.-Work is to begin this
year on the retaining of the Zuyder
Zee. one of the worlds greatest en-
;gineering projects, by which it is pro-
posed to restore to Holland within 35
years what was once hers but was
taken away by storms of many GEN.
turtles.
When the work is finished not only
the original land will be restored, but
many thousand acres which always
have been beneath the sea will be
ready for cultivation.
According to pre-war estimates the
entire work Of retaining the Zuyder
zee would have cost approximately
$S9.SOO,O0O, but, with the increased
cost of labor and materials in the
last six years, it is believed the cost
will he well in excess of S125.ON" 900.
The Work will be done and paid for
by the state, through special loans,
and the state, through rental of the
land reclaimed, expects the scheme
to pay for itself within few years,
and thereafter yield handsome rev.
enue.
Will Support 100000 Persons.
The total amount of land to be re-
claimed will he S27 square miles,
which will constitute a twelfth prov
ince of Holland. capable of support
Ing population of 100000, and where
in several cities Of ancient trading
fame are expected to be restored to
commercial Importance. The engineer
ing work is now we'll under way.
Centuries ago, at the beginning Of
the Christian era, when the Romans
had their settlements in Holland, much
OF the space now occupied by the Zuy-
der Zee was land and the south part
of the present sea was a lake, called
Flevo. Northwest tempests swept the
North Sea, washing away the tract
OF dry land between the sea and the
lake. One large, shallow body of wa
ter-the Zuyder Zee-was formed
The towns situated on its bank
thrOve as the merchantmen came into
their ports. But as ships became larger
and Of deeper draught, traffic was di-
verified to deeper seas, leaving the
once famous towns on the Zuyder's
shore mere fishing villages, which they
are now, while Amsterdam's commerce
came to her through canal leading
direct to the North sea.
To Build Dixie Thirty Miles Long.
DR.. A. A. Beekman of The Hague,
who has devoted nearly all his life
to the idea of reclaiming the Zuyder
Zee, explained the plans to the Asso-
ciated Press correspondent. He is
now member of the state council
which will carry out the work
'The first thing to do" said Doctor
Beekman, "is to construct a gigantic
dixie to keep out the North sea. This
will be 80 miles long, stretching
from Wieringen to- the Tristan coast,
where the water ranges in depth from
33 to II feet. 1t will be everywhere
16 to II feet above the sea level. There
will be a double-track railway on top
Of the dixie. It's construction will take
nine years and its cost, by pre-war
estimates, will be more than $2O,OOO,-
600.
'The total surface to be reclaimed is
1927 square miles. There will remain
lake of 600 square miles, which
will act as reservoir during the Pc
RODS when, owing to northwestern
storms, the water of the River Yssel
and of the canals cannot be emptied
into the North sea. The water of the
lake will be let out into the North
sea through five great sluices at the
Wieringen end Of the dixie.
"Most of the land to be reclaimed
now lies 10 feet beneath the sea
level. Part of it is expected to be
dry within IA years, as pumping out
will begin as soon as the dixie is COM
pleted. The last Of the land is ex-
pected to be dry within SIS years."