People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 March 1894 — Iroquois Ditch. [ARTICLE]

Iroquois Ditch.

Mk. EDiTOF.:--The Republican, which repi-esents my party, exerted its power to defeat the gravel road after it had received the advertising, and is now playing the the same game as to the Iroquois Ditch. I wasted enough time to read its statement of the woes to come, in its last two issues, touching the health, pleasure and beauty of the lovely town on the river and the lovely river in the town, because we want to drain our land. The editor may not see himself as others see him when he stands up for the ice fields, the “swimmin’ ” holes and the fish ponds, and bewails their loss to the town dudes. Why does he do so? I prefer to raise good crops on all my lands and have fat dry-land birds and beasts. The claims for the sake of the town that the rock must be carved on the exact line of beauty, with a very gentle slope, or we are warned to keep hands off. The idea of leaving any ragged edge or a rough place anywhere within the sacred limits of the town is horrible to his soul. .

The total cost of this work in the rough is twenty-eight thousand dollars and eighty cents, his share is two dollars and eighty cents, he being one among ten thousand. For his sake and the sake of those of like taste, the corners of the channel must be filed down to a slope of thirty degrees or less or the army of anglers, ice men, hunters and swimmers will have the whole thing stopped. The finny tribes, musk rats and minks must abide in our rich farming lands in order that these lilies of the town may march and counter march over our fields with rod and gun on -boulder and dog at heels in search of fish, fur or

fowl. We have had too much of the musk rat, the dog fish and the turtle, and do not feel like sparing even the ice pond so dear to his heart if we can help it. He, no doubt, opposed taking away the mill race, because the pleasure boats and rat boats could no longer glide along its humid channel and the sewers no longer have their outlet under its stagnant water. The mill dam and mill race have vanished, however, and the human race of town and country are living longer and feeling better even if they have lost some sand —quick sand. We need deeper drainage to tile our farms. The town needs it for its basements, cellars and sewers.

When it is proposed to carry this drainage of the town still lower and slay all the typhoid germs, he cries aloud: “For the sake of the town dudes, spare the homes of the bull head, the mud turtle and the snake.” His theory is, that the deeper we go in water-bearing rock the dryer the channel will become. This is absurd. Why not carry the sewerage into the deeper channel where the winds cannot reach and carry the stink back into your house to spread disease and death in your family. This new channel will become a living, running, perrenial stream sufficient to bear away all the filth of the whole of your very nice town. The country people will have to pay nearly all the costs of this channel and don’t want to waste much time on these two dollar and eighty cent chaps. We want this valley to bear rich harvests without any regard for the lazy habits of the drummers en store boxes, the delvers for fish worms, or the army of the dog and shot gun. We want a prevalence of better lands, better roads, better health and better sense. The shape of the channel can be improved in width and slope by the beauty loving town dads using the extra material to make the streets passable. What us farmers want, is depth and capacity to bear away the water from the bog lands. The location, depth and shape of the channel must follow the report of the viewers. We cannot suit the taste of everyone. This project will be difficult to carry through at best. I would like to see my town friends keep us out of the muck and mud in this as they did in our move for good roads. “St. Patrick’s day in the morning.” Progressive Farmer.