FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 437 



H 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE IOWA STATE DKAIJNAGE 

 CONVENTION. 



Held at the Iowa State College,. Ames, January 

 15 AND 16, 1904. 



Pursuant to the order of the Iowa State Drainage Association, the 

 proceedings of the State Drainage Convention held in Ames, January 

 15 and 16, 1904, are published in the following pages. 



Hundreds of earnest enthusiastic farmers, land owners, engineers 

 and lawj^ers from all sections of the State attended the convention. They 

 came because they had been face to face with serious drainage problems 

 and realized the absolute necessity for united effort in' behalf of better 

 things. The sentiment which dominated the convention was one strongly 

 in favor of a new. adequate and constitutional drainage law. The mem- 

 bers present earnestly advocated that every legitimate effort be put forth 

 to secure the passage of such a law by the present legislature. 



A strong legislative committee, appointed by the chair, was instructed 

 to prepare a drainage bill and to do all in their power to secure its pas- 

 sage by the present legislature. The committee has been faithful to its 

 trust and the full report of the recent convention is now published Ir. 

 ihe hope that it may aid in crystallizing a widespread public sentiment 

 in support of the "Committee Drainage Bill," known as House file 120 

 and Senate file 97. Without doubt if this bill becomes a law, a series 

 of drainage improvements will be started and carried to completion, which 

 in the near future will increase the agricultural wealth of the State al- 

 most beyond computation. W. H. . Stex-enson. 



Ames. Iowa. February 10. 1904. Secretary-Treasurer. 



EVENING SESSION, JANUARY 15TH. 



The convention was called to order by Prof. C. F. Curtiss, who intro- 

 duced the college president, Dr. A. B. Storms. Doctor Storms stated 

 that the hour had arrived for the meeting, and. as the convention had 

 a full program, he did not desire to take up time. "You are here to look 

 at this question from the agricultural, social and political side. You 

 are here for business. Professor Stevenson has been draining the State 

 of Iowa and has a bucketful of results that I know you wish to receive, 

 while Professor Marston has bounded the duties of the drainage engineer 

 and defined his position quite clearly. 



