112 



THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



TO MEMBERS OF NATIONAL DRAINAGE CON- 

 GRESS AND THE PEOPLE OF THE 

 UNITED STATES: 



Your Representative in Congress and the Sena- 

 tors from your State have been sent the following 

 letter: 



"Dear Sir: We ask and urge your active sup- 

 port of the efforts of the National Drainage Con- 

 gress to have the Congress of the United States 

 create a National Drainage Commission with ample 

 powers and funds immediately available to evolve 

 and put into effect a comprehensive plan for 



"1. The protection of the public welfare by 

 the drainage and reclamation of the 75,000,000 acres 

 of swamp and overflowed lands in the United States, 

 and their utilization for agricultural purposes; 



"2. The protection, by drainage and reclama- 

 tion, of the public health, which is constantly men- 

 aced by the existence of these swamps; 



"3. The protection, by levee construction and 

 other means, of the people and their lives, their 

 homes and their lands from floods, storms and tides ; 



"4. The protection of the financial interests of 

 the United States, the various States, and the indi- 

 vidual land owners, by co-operation and an equable 

 sharing of the expense of carrying out this plan, 

 in proportion to the benefits received. 



"Our next meeting will be in St. Louis and our 

 aim is to assure you that there is no work you can 

 do which will be of more value to your constituents, 

 and that immediate action is a national demand. 



"We also ask you to become a SUSTAINING 

 MEMBER of our organization and to sign the en- 

 closed application and return it, with check payable 

 to the Treasurer. 



"Will you please also give us a full expression 

 of opinion on this subject, and permission to give 

 your reply the widest publicity in your state and the 

 country?" 



If that letter meets with your approval, please 

 write your Representative and Senators, asking 

 them to actively support the National Drainage 

 Congress. 



The Reclamation Act has caused the expendi- 

 ture of $90,000,000 of government money in the 

 reclamation of 3,000,000 acres of arid lands in the 

 West, but has added many times this amount to 

 the total wealth of the country. There is no more 

 important question before the .people of the United 

 States than the reclamation of the 75,000,000 acres 

 of swamp and overflowed lands and the regulation 

 and control of our rivers. This is an engineering 

 problem which can be solved, and though the ex- 

 pense will run into millions, the benefits to the 

 country will be so tremendous that the expenditures 

 will become comparatively insignificant. 



"We feel that it is the duty of every citizen of 

 the United States to aid in this work, and we not 

 only ask you to write the letters requested, but 

 also urge you to join us in this work by immediately 

 becoming a member of the National Drainage Con- 

 gress, if you are not already such, in accordance with 

 the terms of membership indicated on the enclosed 

 application blank. Please make your check or 

 money order payable to A. M. McLachlen, treas- 

 urer, but send same with application to this office. 



Yours very truly, 

 EDMUND T. PERKINS, Chairman Board of Governors. 



CONSTITUTION OF NATIONAL DRAINAGE CON- 

 GRESS. 



Whereas, Our national prosperity, well-being 

 and commercial supremacy rest now and must ever 

 remain in the soil, and to maintain our prestige, 

 support a rapidly increasing population and sub- 

 serve the interests of the whole people there must 

 be a complete and scientific utilization of our agri- 

 cultural resources throughout the United States of 

 America; and, 



Whereas, There are now nearly 75,000,000 acres 

 of unproductive swamp and overflow land, the 

 greater part of which may be reclaimed and made 

 productive, and 150,000,000 acres more which, al- 

 though now productive, would be largely enhanced 

 in value by drainage; and, 



Whereas, There are undevelpoed possibilities 

 of transportation and marketing in connection with 

 such reclamation projects by the utilization of drain- 

 age canals and existing streams for navigation ; and, 



Whereas, There is urgent necessity for the con- 

 servation of our agricultural resources through the 

 restoration and preservation of our soil fertility, 

 and the gathering and dissemination of information 

 relating to these subjects; and, 



Whereas, The swamp and overflow lands of the 

 United States are a menace to public health and 

 constitute, by reason of state line complications, a 

 problem that one state alone cannot solve, it is the 

 duty of the United States government, by the 

 exercise of its powers for pacification and harmoni- 

 zation, to remove this menace by the drainage of 

 said swamps; and, 



Whereas, There is great need for a national 

 congress having for its objects the study and solu- 

 tion of problems and the initiation and prosecution 

 of plans pertaining to the above; 



Therefore, There is hereby organized the 

 National Drainage Congress. 



The objects of the congress shall be (1) to 

 promote and to diffuse knowledge concerning the 

 reclamation of lands in all those states of the Union 

 where drainage reclamation would be beneficial, 

 and also concerning the artificial application of 

 water to lands requiring irrigation in such regions ; 

 (2) to promote navigation by canals built for drain- 

 age and by improvement of the natural streams into 

 which such streams are discharged; (3) to conserve 

 and impound water for drainage, humid-land irri- 

 gation or flood .protection purposes ; (4) to conserve 

 and control natural resources pertaining to agricul- 

 ture ; (5) to restore and preserve soils by rotation, 

 fertilization and overflow of silt; (6) to remove the 

 menace to the public health of the nation which the 

 presence of undrained lowlands constitutes ; (7) to 

 facilitate conference and deliberation among the 

 people of the country concerning drainage and re- 

 lated interests, especially to promote agreement and 

 concerted action among those organizations inter- 

 ested in the conservation and proper utilization of 

 our natural resources, to the end that united efforts 

 may be toward agreed-upon ultimate results ; and 

 (8) to provide means for bringing the needs of the 

 people and the country before state and federal 

 governments. 



