Proceedings of Sixth Annual Meeting 137 



How does the value of land in New Jersey comlpare with the 

 value of land in other States? Let us take, for instance, the State 

 of Illinois. There the average value of an acre of land is $95, 

 while in New Jersey the average value of an acre of land is only 

 $48. Why should an acre of land in Illinois be valued at almost 

 double that of an acre of land in New Jersey? There are three 

 reasons for the existence of such a condition — industrial develop- 

 ment, commercial development and a minimum amount of waste 

 or undeveloped land. We cannot ascribe the higher valuation of 

 Illinois land to any greater industrial development in that State 

 than exists in New Jersey, neither can it be said that Illinois sur- 

 passes New Jersey in valuable water-front property. We are, 

 therefore, forced to the conclusion that New Jersey land suffers 

 in value when compared with that of Illinois solely because New 

 Jersey is burdened with a greater proportion of waste or unde- 

 veloped land. 



We have proof of this conclusion in the accurate information 

 that there are hundreds of thousands of acres of waste and un- 

 developed land in this State. In eight South Jersey Counties there 

 are 631,000 acres of land, the estimated value of which is $56 an 

 acre. The greater proportion of this land adjoins marsh lands 

 where mosquitoes are bred. This land is being farmed at the 

 present time, but the mosquito pestilence makes living conditions 

 so unpleasant in all cases, and so absolutely unendurable in a ma- 

 jority of instances, that satisfactory development is not possible. 

 This mosquito infested territory is practically devoid of road im- 

 provements and other betterments that add to the comfort and con- 

 venience of living conditions. It thus becomes undesirable for 

 homes or for agricultural purposes. The successful pursuit of 

 agriculture cannot be accomplished where proper transportation 

 facilities are lacking. 



Exterminate the mosquitoes from the marsh lands adjoining this 

 territory and such development of the land will follow as would 

 increase its value from $56 to $150 an acre — a clear gain to the 

 State of $59,000,000 in principal. 



In addition to these 631,000 acres of land being farmed in this 

 section, there are 600,000 acres of what can be classified as waste 

 farm land. The estimated value of this waste land is $20 per acre. 

 This valuation, it is estimated, could be increased to $100 an acre if 



