Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 May 1906 — DREDGING THE KANKAKEE. [ARTICLE]

DREDGING THE KANKAKEE.

Starke County Democrat: The meeting spoken of in last week’s Democrat of a committee to present plans for completing the drainage of the Kankakee valley was held at Wheatfield Thursday, after the committee had made atrip down the river in gasoline launches and looked the ground over carefully. The report was to the effect that the plan is entirely feasible and practical. Following this meeting another was held Friday at Baum’s bridge, seven miles north of Wheatfield,at which 200 land owners were present. William E. Pinney of Valparaiso was made president of the meeting and Frank J. Cook of Laporte secretary. Prof. Goss, soil expert from Purdue university, addressed the meeting at length, arguing that the low land of Jasper county when once drained will be among the most productive in the state, but pointing out that the water level must first be permanently lowered so as to permit cultivation. C G. Elliot of the government drainage department was also present and spoke. He said if the work is undertaken the department of agriculture will furnish engineers to make the necessary surveys and plans for carrying it on successfully, and that M. H. Downey, who is well known here and who is assistant to the chief engineer of the drainage department, will be placed in charge of the work. Talks were also made by Benjamin J. Gifford of Kankakee, C. H. Tuesburg and Lemuel Darrow of Laporte county and John Brown of Crown Point. It was unanimously agreed to accept the offer of Mr. Elliott and to proceed at once with the perliminary work. For this purpose a committee of sixteeen men—five each from Jasper and Porter county and three each from Laporte and Starke was appointed to lookaf ter the interests of the land owners- Jacob Keller. VV. H. H Coffin and Christain Christenson were the three men chosen from this county. It was arranged to hold another meeting at San Pierre Friday of next week, May 25.

The Democrat io informed that it is the purpose of the men in charge of the present undertaking to begin where the Kankakee Reclamation Association left off and dredge to the Indiana-Illinois state line. But it will probably be done by means of the organizatien of two associations similar to that one. Owing to the anticipated opposition of John Brown of Crown Point, who has built some dikes to protect his land in Lake county and depending on the dikes would fight any assessment against his land to dredge the river, the first association organized will only expect to carry the work as far as the west line of Jasper county relying on another association formed later to continue it to the state line Forty-six miles of the Kankakee between South Bend and the west, linejjf this county has already been dredged at a cost of about $275,000, and it is estimated that the cost of continuing the work to the state line would be from $150,000 to $200,000, the distance being forty miles.

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