108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



in connection with notice, hearings and the right of appeal is 

 that care should be taken to see that the provisions of the law 

 relating to these phases must not violate rights guaranteed to 

 the individual by the State or Federal Constitutions. 



The "assessment of costs" has been a fruitful field of litiga- 

 tion, but the principle that costs should be assessed in propor- 

 tion to the benefits conferred has been repeatedly enunciated 

 and sustained by the highest courts, including the United 

 States Supreme Court. The law should require that the assess- 

 ments be confirmed by the court or official having jurisdiction 

 of drainage proceedings. The amount assessed against each 

 tract of land, highway, railroad or public utility should be a 

 first and paramount lien, taking precedence over all other 

 encumbrance except State, county, township or municipal 

 taxes. 



The fifth essential, making provision for "sound administra- 

 tion, power of eminent domain and right to issue bonds," pro- 

 vides the machinery for putting into effect the four principles 

 already discussed. The necessity for the power of eminent 

 domain has previously been explained. Provision for sound 

 administration should make it possible to put the management 

 of the district into the hands of those best qualified to manage 

 and administer its affairs. The interests of individuals should 

 not be permitted to control, to the detriment of the district as 

 a whole. The importance of sound administration will be real- 

 ized when an effort is made to sell bonds, if that method of 

 financing the district is followed. The right to issue bonds is 

 essential because it furnishes legal authority to finance the 

 largest district as well as the smallest, even though there may 

 be comparatively little money within the district available for 

 the promotion of drainage work. 



Financing of Districts. 



After an organization is effected and all legal difficulties re- 

 moved, there remains an all-important work to be done to give 

 a real existence to the corporation, viz., securing money with 

 which to finance it. In the case of the individual landowner, 

 he acts as his own financier; in the case of the co-operative 

 drainage organization, the members of the organization raise 



