Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, December 9, 1915, Page 25

! THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1915 THE BEMIDJI DAILY PIONEER 3 : Thirty-six Ditches Benefit 1,400,000 Acres County Has 1,397 Miles Of Ditches ToReclaimLand By 0. L. Dent, Ditch Referee. The general public little realizes the magnitude of the task of re- claiming Beltrami County. In 1866, when Beltrami county was set aside, there were very few inhabitants. However, since then it has been opened up by the railroads and lum- bering industries. In 1896 when the city of Bemidji was founded, Bel- trami county represented a great swamp known as the Big Swamp. ‘Within recent years and namely in 1907 when the first judicial ditch was established, there came with it the beginning of a great work. Few people have realized the magnitude of this work. However, at that time and for the next couple of years, there was a great deal of opposition and it was only after several encoun- ters with the Commercial Clubs and other organizations, who were against the reclaiming of these great swamps, believing that they were of no agri- cultural value, that the first judicial ditch was established. Thirty Six Ditches. Since that time there have been 36 ditches projected and established. ‘When these 36 ditches have been completed, Beltrami County will have 1,397 miles of ditches. Each mile of ditch carries a good passable road, making all the territory drained, easily accessible. It will have re- quired 13,700,000 cubic yards of ex- cavation and the cost will be in the neighborhood of $2,750,000. This work is being directed by the Honor- able C. W. Stanton, Judge of the Fifteeth Judicial District. To carry on this work successfully, it requires the services of seven engineers and numerous assistants, in addition to a ditch referee. These men devote their entire time and attention to matters pertaining to this work, and it is a gratifying fact in this vast un- dertaking that the engineering and administrative cost are kept to a min- imum. The total administrative and engineering cost, when all of -the work has been completed will be in the neighborhood of 8 1-2 per cent. This is indeed remarkable, when one stops to consider the numerous pro- jects which are being handled. The question is often asken how many acres will be benefited and reclaimed when all the ditches are completed. A conservative estimate of the num- ber of acres benefited when all the work is completed will be in the neighborhood of 1,400,000 acres. In other words about 5-8 of Beltrami County will have been benefited di- rectly or indirectly. A great por- tion of the land reclaimed is govern- ment land, and is being sold under | * the Volstead Act, which was passed by Congress in 1908, which offers to the citizen with his homestead right, a 160 acres of land at a mini- mum cost, and does not require him to live on it. Complete in Detail. A great feature with this work is that the ditches are put in complete in detail; that is to say, that the nec- cessary culverts and bridges are in- stalled, the spoil banks leveled into a roadway, the old wood section cor- ners, which were set by the govern- ment surveyors many years ago, are replaced with concrete monuments, and furthermore, the swamps are sounded and samples of the soil taken and forwarded to the United States government, which in time, will bring forth, it is hoped, many valu- able returns. This great work has been the means of inducting many new settlehs to come to Beltrami County, and it is said, and the information comes from a reliable source, that there have ‘been 500 new families settled in Beltrami county within the last 5 years. This shows beyond any question the need of and the value of reclaiming the Big Swamp, which in a few years will be a swamp no more, but a country of many of the finest grazing farms that can be found in the northwest. Skeptics, who several years ago, doubted that the vast trea of swamp lands in Beltrami county could be successfully reclaimed by construct- ing ditches and roads, today are its most enthusiastic suporters. . The fact that the lands were all swamp lands, and the belief that it would be of little value after be- ing drained, has been disproven. In- vestigation by surveyors and engi- neers showed that the soil was of the best, and within the past three years settlers have convinced all doubtful minds by growing record crops of clover, alfalfa and all kinds of grasses. There is a small growth of moss on the land and from two to eight feet of black muck, sometimes called peat, but is not a peat soil. It is decomposed vegetation and has no proper name, but is “muskeg.” Practically every acre thus far placed on sale has been taken up, thousands of acres having been sold during the past three years. Many drainage projects are now under way and as fast as the ditches are com- pleted the land can be cleared at a small cost and placed under culti- vation. Attorney A. A. Andrews of Be- midji, who has made a specialty of drainage work for the past five years is without doubt more familiar with the details of this reclamation work than any one man. He has been the attorney for a large portion of the drainage projects in this section and has much valuable information right at his. finger tips. often called Judee: v d o The drainage operations now under way are from eighteen to forty miles from a railroad, the nearest points being Kelliher and Baudette in Bel- trami county and Middle River in Marshall county. Building And Loan Association Assists Home Builders The Bemidji Building & Loan As- sociation was organized in August (¢ 1910, by a number of Bemidji’s busi- ness men who understood the neces- sity of providing means by which the industrial populace of Bemidji could build homes for themselves and pay for them in monthly payments about’ equal to the rental value. ‘While the Bemidji Building & Loan Association is but a small concern, it has had a steady growth and is to- day a sound financial institution, backed by some of the best business and professional men of Bemidji. It offers to the home building public better advantages and more agree- able business dealings than any other institution of its kind doing business in Bemidji, merely for the reason that it is a Bemidji institution and manag- ed by Bemidji people who under- stand the conditions here better than any outside person or corporation. Its officers are well acquainted with Bemidji people which places them in a position to judge with candor every applicant who comes into communi- cation with them. The Bemidji Building & Loan As- sociation has many thousands of dal- lars invested in Bemidji and Nymore mortgage loans. The association is liberal and will assist its clients in every fair way possible, and its whole object is to further the interests of Bemidji and its home seeking popu- lationl i The officers of the Bemidji Build- ing & Loan Association are: J. P. Lahr, President, G. E. Carson, Vice- President, R. H. Schumaker, Treas- urer and Clayton C. Cross Secretary. 'collect for those conveniences. These men are ready to intertain any proposition one might put before them as. regards the building of a home in Bemidji. Other members of the Board of Directors are Frank §. Lycan, George E. Kreatz, W. N. Bow- ser, E. F. Netzer, W. L. Brooks, James L. George and Dr. D. L. Stanton. The Bemidji Building & Loan As- sociation does not make loans outside of Bemidji and Nymore, for the rea- son that their ambitions and interests are for the upbuilding of these two places and. no other. PECULIAR FACTS ABOUT WELL KNOWN PEOPLE Indianapolis, Dec. 9.—Eating pea- nuts has been James ‘Whitcomb Ril: ey’s favorite pastime for years. When he had his health he used to fill his coat pockets with them and. stroll down Washington street with the crowds about 7 o’clock every night. He has abandoned the walks, but not the peanuts. Crawfodsville, Ind., Dec. 9..;Every- thing, even to the ‘slightest serap of paper, is just as General Lew Wallace, author of Ben Hur, left it in the little stone library set apart and hid- den away in his rambling, stone- walled old forest of a place here. The manner in which Northern Minnesota products take first prlul ‘at the state fair and, in fact, wher- ever shown, should be proof sufficient as to the fertility of our soil and the possibilities for growing crops any- where in this section. Incidentially we have several stock farms upon which prize-winning cattle are raised, even when in-competition with the whole country. A city man moving onto a piece of wild land in Beltrami County may miss some of the conveniences he was accustomed to in the ctiy, but happi- 1y, he will also. miss the collector who always comes around regularly to And with most city dwellers it means a constant struggle to satisfy these con- venience collectors. 900000000000000000000000000000000000000 ...0.............O..........'.....Q..OO..}' Let me make a Suit, an Overcoat or both for you ---Yes, to your measure---to please in- dividually--to fit you perfectly--all over. ---Tailor made right here, in my shop, under my personal supervision. ---Not guess work, but superior, careful . and satisfactory work. If you live within fifty miles of Bemid;ji you should have clothes made here, that is if you buy tailor made clothes. don’t buy tailor you should. Why? Just because it costs little, if any more to get a sure fit, made to measure, built -for-you-and-nobody-else suit or overcoat than a ready made gar- ment. When you walk the streets of Bemidji you notice many well dressed men. The better dressed men of those who are well dressed, you’ll find are wearing Brosvik If there’s a doubt in your mind, Made clothes. investigate. There ig still time for that Christmas Come in and see my big suit or overcoat. display of suitings. our. If you made " clothes, PAUL BROSVIK Lumberman Bank Bldg. Third St. vantages as a to Park Rapids. railroad center. *F. G. HALGREN, Mgr. The Gamble-Rohinson Bemldjl Go. Our business is wholesale selling of Fruits, Vegetables, Candies, Tobacco, : Cigars and Grocers Specialties We are but.one of .nineteen associate houses oper- ating under the .name of Gamble-Robinson. midj1 branch was established because of Bemidji ad- Its location makes pos- sible quick service to all pomts west into North Dakota, East to Duluth, North to international Falls and South The Be- The combined buying - powcr of nineteen. houses gives to the patrons of this institution a decided advan- tage, because our savings are shared with our customers. RETAIL DEALERS WILL FIND MANY ADVAN- ‘TAGES IN OPENING AN ACCOUNT WITH US Where we are and under what names we operite: GAMBLE-ROBINSON' Co.; Great Falls, Mont. GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT: CO., Oelwein, Ia. : GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT & PRODUCE CO., Mankato, an GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT CO., Bismark, N. D. GAMBLE-ROBINSON ERUIT CO., St. Paul, Minn. GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT CO., Aberdeen, S. D. GAMBLE-ROBINSON-SHAW CO,, Sault Ste Marie, Mich. GAMBLE-ROBINSON CO., Billings, Mont. - GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT CO., LTD., Sault Ste Marie, Ont. GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT CO., Minneapolis, Minn, GAMBLE-ROBINSON CO., Rochester, Minn. GAMBLE-ROBINSON FRUIT CO., Miles City, Mont. GAMBLE-ROBINSON WADENA CO., Wadena, Minn. ; ' GAMBLE-ROBINSON BEMIDJI Co., Bemidji, Minn, T ESCANABE GAMBLE-ROBINSON CO., Escanabe, Mich: 205 GAMBLE-ROBINSON JAMESTOWX Co., Jamestown, N, D. GAMBLE- ROBINSON SHERIDAN CO., Shendan, Wyom,