SHALL UNCLE SAM DRAIN THE 



SWAMPS? 



'"PI I K joeuhr statement was made 

 * recently l>y OIK- of the best <|tial- 

 ified observers of Congressional K-- 



lation. in >peakin^ of the chances for 

 enactment of the various measures ad- 

 vocated hy the I 'resident, looking to 

 the conservation and utili/ation of the 

 Nation's internal resources, that a Na- 

 tional drainage enactment of some 

 sort \va> practically assured. >ince the 

 majority in both branches of Congress 

 had introduced swamp bills. \\hile 



mated at this session; but for an Iss 

 which has heraofore scarcelj been 

 spoken of, eei'tainly remaikable \<r- 

 ^re-- ha> already been made, and the 

 Xational I )raina-v I '.ill now ]>endi' 

 a very comprehensive, hoinc-makin^ 

 measure, appropriating about - 

 OOO, i^ well alon^ on the Senate calen- 

 dar and likely to pa-- that body at an 

 early date. It i-> grounded on the 

 same vital principle as that upon 

 which the Irrigation Act i- ba-ed. 



M ___ 



\ 



One cf the present inhabitants of the land to be reclaimed In the 



Florida Everglades 



the gentleman has withheld his "re- 

 marks" for a possible slight revision 

 of the figures, it is nevertheless a tact, 

 as >hown bv the Congressional Rec- 

 ord, that for a new legislative i-Mie. a 

 lar.u'c number of bills have been intro- 

 dnc< d jiroviding for the drainage of 

 swam]) and overflow land- by the Fed- 

 eral (lovernment. and much intere-t 

 ha- been >hown by various Senators 

 and Representative^ in the subject. 



It is hardly to be expected that 

 drainage le-i-'ation will be 



This principle, embodied nearly a dec- 

 ade since in the tirM irrigation reclam- 

 ation bill. intP'ducid b\ Senator Xew- 

 lands of Nevada, ]>ro\-i.le- a lrip])y -ol- 

 uti"ii. for the time bein-'. "f the prob- 

 lem of -ettinu; annual sums from ( 

 gress f<>r internal improvement ; name- 

 ly, an automatic appropriation into a 

 "reclamation fund" of the money re- 

 ceived by the Government from the 

 sales of public lands. The I >rar 

 Hill appropriates the proceeds of s, u -h 

 sales fr 'in ]<)<)_' to date and hereafter. 



