ELEVENTH A.NNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 165 



we are going to draw heat from the sun and use it don't dispute him. 

 But one thing I do know; I know that every day of the year for 365 or 

 366 days there are thousands of horse power of water running down 

 the Cedar River and all the other rivers in the state of Iowa that we 

 might be using. Don't say anything about navigation. It is a conser- 

 vation proposition that I am considering. Thousands of dollars in value 

 are passing by us unnoticed. We can see the Pacific Ocean but we can't 

 see a dam on the Cedar River 100 feet away from us. Why is that? I 

 want to get the eyes of the people of this state fixed upon Iowa and its 

 great conservation proposition. This western conservation proposition 

 has been brought about by reason of the fact that individuals, companies 

 or corporations have sought to get control of those interests. I don't 

 know whether you are aware of the fact or not but certain individuals, 

 companies or corporations have their eyes fixed upon Iowa's conservation 

 propositions and I know that in one of the little streams of this state a 

 non-resident corporation has bought up three or four of the dams for the 

 purpose of controling the water power of that stream. 



At the last session of the legislature we established a commission 

 which we call a Water Ways Commission, to institute an inquiry into 

 some of these great questions. These men have said to me that after 

 they had made their surveys of some of the streams and determined the 

 place where water power sites could be located that these corporate 

 interests have endeavored to learn of the location and the value of these 

 places in order that they might acquire them. You say, haven't we any 

 laws? Yes, but my judgment is that they are not adequate. So it is 

 time to turn your attention to Iowa's conservation matters. 



One of the greatest conservation questions that has ever come before 

 our state is that of drainage. I have just come from what a few years 

 ago we would have called the slough water district of Iowa. I rode 70 

 miles over Calhoun county and before we had gone 50 miles we passed 

 a slough that is not yet drained out and the only one we saw in that dis- 

 tance. One of the men with me said, "If you had taken this trip three 

 years ago you would have passed 100 of these." I inquired what had 

 become of them. He said, "That corn over there is growing where I used 

 to wade through the water with hip boots and often got in over the boot 

 tops." We have drained these sloughs. I made some reference to it to 

 the county treasurer and he handed me a card and said: "Last year we 

 collected in this county $418,000' of drainage tax. Nearly twice as much 

 as all of the rest of the taxes we paid." 



While Mr. Marsh has suggested one of the most important conserva- 

 tion matters to you, I have suggested two or three others, and were it 

 not for the fact that Mr. Haugen is here to address you, I could talk on 

 this matter for an hour. I think I have said enough to help you to un- 

 derstand that there are a great many questions in Iowa that must be 

 solved. You folks through your representatives and through your state 

 officials ought to unite and turn your attention to these things and help 

 us to solve them. We need to protect our soil, our coal supply and our 

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