The Coolidge examiner., 1934-11-30

Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washin gton, ID. C--WSU Service.
THE Pontine marshes OF Italy
have changed face. From a
wide expanse Of almost useless
land. they have been gradually
turned into healthy farm lands.
Two years ago Premier Benlto
Mussollni gave orders that by Oc-
tober %. 1885. all the stagnant wa
ter OF this region should be drained
or TO the sea. malaria should be
eradlcated, 1900 farm houses built
and populated with as many peas
ant families drawn from the crowd
ed agricultural provinces OF the
North. and that three cities should
rise on the deserted land: LIttoria,
Sabaudla, and PontlnIa. The waste
and flooded plain at the doors OF
Rome was to become a garden and
supply the needs OF the capital.
Where two years ago wild boars
roamed In the broom thlckets, you
can see today the neat city OF Lit
toria. so called TO perpetuate this
achievement. All the surrounding
land Is dotted by hundreds OF
bright. healthful farmhouses, where
as two years ago, peasants lived In
primitive huts.
Twenty miles TO the south, near
the sea, Sabaudla, named In honor
OF the House of Savoy. TO which
Italy owes tits political unity, is
growing like mushroom In the
midst OF vast forest that will be
Its natural park. And at the foot
Of the mountains Pontlnia will rise
In 1885. recalling the Etruscan pop
ulatlon that, $500 years ago, first
settled and cultivated this land.
This city has not yet been stake1
out, but the date for the Inaugural
tlon has been settled.
This astonishing transformation
could not have been possible had
there not been silent preparatory
engineering work. Since 1926 a con-
sortium, with Senator Natalie Pram-
polini. very capable engineer, at
the head. has been working steadily
and without beating the big drum.
One hundred and sixty miles OF road
have been constructed, 300 miles of
canals excayated. five villages built
In the marshy desert, and 270,OO0,-
600 OF lire (more than $4,000, ,OO0)
already spent.
A huge canal, So feet wide, gath.
ers the torrential waters at the foot
OF the hills and, skIrting the low
land. leads them to the sea. "a miles
away.
Fourteen thousand men are at
work today in the region. The hy-
draulie engineering work has been
the Indispensable premise to the
colonization, an enterprise that has
been entrusted TO the great war
veteran organization. the Opera
Nazionale Combattenu, and to those
land owners who have the nsces-
sary grit and faith to follow the
lead. The veterans will build about
1900 farm houses and the land own
ers about go.
Story OF the Marshes.
We must 20 back in history little
70 grasp the general picture. The
Pontlne marshes are rectangular
plain, about 175.000 acres In extent,
which is hemmed In on two sides by
the Lepine mountains and on the
other two by the sea. But along the
sea runs a dune three miles wide
that prevents the waters from flow
ing to the sea. The region, there
fore, Is like a large shallow basin
In which the water collects and can
not drain. Between the great dune
and the sea lies a series of lagoons.
The old Romans partly solved the
problem by digging through the
dune a gigantic canal called the
Rio MARITIME.
However, as the Roman empire
declined and the barbarians invad-
ed Italy, civilization fell to such a
low ebb that the noblest knights no
longer knew how to scribble their
names. So small was the produc-
ton of writing material that Ro-
man classics were erased from pre-
cious yellum sheets to indite the
contracts for the sale Of pieces Of
land.
During that period public works
were abandoned and the swamps
reconquered their kingdom. Pirates
roamed freely over the seas and the
Pontine coast had to be guarded by
strong towers to prevent the men of
Barbary from landing and putting
the villages TO sack and ruin.
To make things worse, nature
also took a hand in the game. With
that great pressure which causes
the mountains to rise, the broad
sand dune that runs along the sea
was buckled and the bottom Of the
Rio Martino canal was raised a few
feet toward tho center of its course.
The outlet of tne waters was there
by closed off.
After the fall of the western Ro-
man omDire fha pOnfina region