THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



59 



BILL TO PROMOTE RECLAMATION OF ARID AND 



SWAMP LANDS 



Introduced by Mr. Smith of Idaho in the House of Representatives, Dec. 2, 1916, and Referred to the Committee of 



Irrigation of Arid Lands. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 

 resentatives of the United States of America in 

 Congress assembled, That beginning with July 

 first, nineteen hundred and seventeen, there shall 

 be paid out of the receipts of the reclamation fund 

 the sum of $500,000 per annum into a special fund 

 in the treasury of the United States, to be known as 

 the reclamation guaranty fund, until such reclama- 

 tion guaranty fund reaches a total of $10,000,000, 

 to be used to reimburse the . general funds of the 

 Treasury of the United States for any costs, losses, 

 or expenses not otherwise provided for, which may 

 be incurred under the provisions of this Act. Should 

 said reclamation guaranty fund ever become ex- 

 hausted in the payment of obligations incurred 

 under the provisions of this Act, then from such 

 time the sum of $1,000,000 shall be paid each year 

 out of the receipts of the reclamation fund until 

 such reclamation guaranty fund again reaches the 

 sum of $10,000,000. 



Sec. 2. That when the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, pursuant to the provisions of the Reclama- 

 tion Act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and 

 two, and Acts amendatory thereof and supplement- 

 ary thereto, hereinafter referred to as the reclama- 

 tion law, shall have determined that the construc- 

 tion of a project or unit of a project for the reclama- 

 tion of arid and semiarid lands is practical and 

 advisable, or if he shall determine that any project 

 for the drainage of any swamp lands is practicable 

 and advisable, and ohall have approved of the con- 

 struction thereof under the provisions of the Act, 

 the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter 

 into contract or contracts with an irrigation or 

 drainage district or districts, including such lands, 

 which are duly organized under the laws of the 

 State or States in which such lands are located, 

 and thereafter to provide for the construction of the 

 necessary work under the provisions of this Act 

 for the reclamation of such lands. 



Sec. 3. That when such district or districts 

 shall have duly voted and issued bonds bearing in- 

 terest at a rate to be fixed by the Secretary of the 

 Interior not to exceed four per centum per annum, 

 in sufficient amount to cover the cost of such proj- 

 ect as estimated by the Secretary of the Interior, 

 and the legality and validity of such bond issue 

 shall have been duly confirmed by the courts in the 

 manner provided by the State laws and upon the 

 execution of contract or contracts between the dis- 

 trict or districts and the Secretary of the Interior. 

 he is authorized to accept such district bonds and 

 deposit the same with the Secretary of the Treas- 

 ury, who shall collect the principal and interest 

 .thereof and apply the same to the payment of the 

 principal and interest of the certificates of indebted- 

 ness hereinafter authorized : Provided, That the 

 total face value of such irrigation or drainage dis- 



trict bonds accepted by the Secretary of the In- 

 terior shall not for any one project exceed the sum 

 of $25,000,000. 



Sec. 4. That upon the receipt by the Secre- 

 tary of the Treasury of such district bonds he shall 

 issue certificates of indebtedness of the United 

 States in amount equal to the face value of such 

 district bonds and bearing interest at the same rate 

 in such form as he may prescribe and in denomina- 

 tions of $50 or multiples thereof, the principal and 

 interest to be payable in gold coin of the United 

 States, the principal and interest thereof to become 

 due not less than sixty days after the due date of 

 the principal and interest of the corresponding dis- 

 trict bonds, respectively. Such certificates of in- 

 debtedness shall run for the same period as the cor- 

 responding district bonds. 



Sec. 5. That from time to time, as funds may 

 be required by the Secretary of the Interior for con- 

 struction purposes, such certificates of indebtedness 

 shall be disposed of by the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, under such rules and regulations as he may 

 prescribe, giving all citizens of the United States 

 an equal opportunity to subscribe therefor, but no 

 commission shall be allowed, and the aggregate 

 issue of such certificates shall not exceed the 

 amount of the district bonds deposited with the 

 Secretary of the Treasury and shall in no event ex- 

 ceed the sum of $25,000,000 for any one project, 

 and the proceeds from the sale of such certificates 

 of indebtedness shall be deposited in a special proj- 

 ect fund to be used in carrying out the provisions 

 of this Act for said project. 



Sec. 6. That the Secretary of the Interior is 

 hereby authorized to expend the moneys in any 

 such project fund for constructing the necessary 

 works in the same manner and under the same con- 

 ditions as expenditures are provided for in the said 

 reclamation law, which shall be applicable to the 

 said works in all respects, except as herein spe- 

 cifically modified. 



Sec. 7. That should a surplus remain from the 

 proceeds of the sale of such certificates of indebted- 

 ness issued in connection with any project after the 

 construction of the works provided for -in the con- 

 tract or contracts, such surplus may be used in the 

 construction of additional works in connection with 

 said project provided for by supplemental contract 

 or contracts, or the same may be used in the opera- 

 tion and maintenance of the works of the project 

 or credited as payment of interest on the district 

 bonds issued on account of said project until ex- 

 hausted. All contracts hereunder with such dis- 

 tricts shall limit the expenditures to be made by the 

 United States to the proceeds of the certificates of 

 indebtedness issued on account of bonds for such 

 district or districts and may provide for the issue 

 and deposit of additional bonds should the bonds 



