FORE-WORD.
 Reclamation is the act of bringing into cultivation land
which heretofore has been in an uncultivated and non-productive
state-this is what is being done in the Everglades of Florida.
Only a few years ago the State of Florida decided to reclaim
this vast body of land, and began the digging of some two hun-
dred miles of canals. Major J. 0. Wright was employed but of
the United States Drainage Service to supervise this work.
The Furst-Clark Construction Company of Baltimore, Md., made
a contract with the State of Florida to construct the canals,
and complete the entire drainage system by July, 1913. Dur-
ing the month of April, 1912,. the North New River Canal,
which is over fifty miles in length, was opened up from the
ocean to Lake Okeechobe. During the latter part of April the
official opening of this canal was celebrated. Appropriate
ceremonies were held at the cities of Miami and Fort Lauder-
dale. Governor Gilchrist, ex-Governor Jennings, state offi-
cials, and other prominent men, together with the representa-
tives of a number of the leading newspapers and magazines of
the country, were the honored guests at the above ceremonies.
These newspaper representatives attended the opening of this
canal for the purpose of making a personal investigation of
the "MUCH TALKED OF EVERGLADES"-to view with their own eyes
"this land of promise" and learn the truth,
 Mr. William L. Larkin, special staff correspondent of the
Chicago Record Herald, who had previously visited the Ever-
glades, acted as escort for the party traversing the canals
and inspecting the Everglades. In this little booklet we
reproduce, word for word, these letters of COMMENDATION OF
THE EVERGLADES, and, reader, you will do well to read each one
of them, as they come from the pen of some of the brightest
and most intelligent writers and publishers of our country.
They are. telling you the plain TRUTH ABOUT THE EVERGLADES-
the unprejudiced facts, as you would find them upon personal
investigation.







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