Proceedings of Sixth Annual Meeting 139 



land today is valued so highly as to be practically unpurchasable. 

 It was the reclamation of this land that played a mlajor part in 

 the increased value of Illinois acreage. There is no logical reason 

 why the land in New Jersey should not equal in value the land in 

 Illinois, and in my opinion, there could be no greater State achieve- 

 ment than to practically double the land values in New Jersey. 



In setting forth the above opinions the State is fully cognizant 

 of the fact that the ditching of marsh lands solely for mosquito 

 extermination would not be adequate to reclaim such marsh lands 

 for agricultural purposes. The ditching for mosquito extermination 

 would probably cost $5 per acre, whereas, to drain the same lands 

 for satisfying agricultural fitness would necessitate an expenditure 

 of from $250 to $400 per acre. It is almost certain, however, that 

 after the marsh land has been ditch-drained for mosquito exter- 

 mination it would ultimately be drained for farming. Under exist- 

 ing conditions it might not be profitable to drain marsh lands up 

 to an agricultural standard, but after the adjoining lands had been 

 increased in value through mosquito extermination, and subse- 

 quent development, the further development of the marsh lands 

 would prove an investment on which the returns would be grat- 

 ifying. 



There is another phase of this proposition to which I par- 

 ticularly desire to call attention. The State of New Jersey has been 

 requested by the federal government to co-operate in the home- 

 steading plan for soldiers and sailors. Unless immediate steps are 

 taken to develop waste lands, New Jersey is hardly in a position 

 to take advantage of this oflfer, or to do its share in co-operating 

 with the Government. Under the liberal policy proposed by the 

 Federal Government, thousands of acres of land in New Jersey, 

 now unused, could be placed under cultivation, thus providing a 

 much needed increased production which would go a long way 

 towards decreasing the present high cost of living. You must 

 understand that the Federal soldier and sailor homesteading policy 

 does not demand any state expenditure. The Government assumes 

 all financial obligations and enters into an agreemient with the sol- 

 dier or sailor availing himself of the homestead for repayment of 

 the cost of the land upon terms that can never become burdensome 

 or even embarrassing to the homesteader. This, in my opinion, adds 



