68 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



and may also be used as security for the deposit of 

 public money in the banks of said state." 



It is believed that this will make a more ready 

 market for irrigation district bonds, including those 

 which cannot be certified under the Act. If a ready 

 market can be established for certified bonds con- 

 tractors and promoters will be willing to accept 

 the uncertified bonds with the assurance that as 

 soon as the condition of the project becomes such 

 that the bonds may be certified to there will be a 

 market for the same. At the present time there is 

 no assurance that any district bonds may find a 

 market, and it is believed that the provision of the 

 new irrigation district law relative to certification 

 of bonds will do much to change this condition. 



The requirement that 25 per cent of the land 

 in the district must be irrigated before the bonds 

 may be certified was eliminated. However, the 

 percentage was changed from sixty to fifty, so that 

 bonds may now be certified only when the value of 

 the assets of the district, when the works are com- 

 pleted, is twice the amount of bonds issued. 



This sort of legislation may eventually place 

 irrigation securities on their old-time basis, and 

 should stimulate activity in irrigation work. 



Chamberlain- 

 Smith 



Reclamation 

 BUI 



A bill to promote reclamation of 

 arid and swamp lands was intro- 

 duced simultaneously in the Senate 

 and Congress by Senator Chamber- 

 lain of Oregon and Representative 

 Smith of Idaho, a full copy of this 

 bill appeared in our issue of February. This bill, 

 if enacted as it reads, is intended, as we view it, to 

 give the Secretary of the Interior power to reclaim 

 both arid and swamp lands, and has nothing what- 

 ever to do with what is known as the Reclamation 

 Fund, nor does it have any bearing whatever upon 

 present projects. 



This bill, as the writer understands it, is for the 

 purpose of building new projects independent of 

 the present United States Reclamation Fund under 

 present laws, and it will be observed by those who 

 peruse it that in order to come under the bill, an 

 irrigation district must be formed, bonds issued and 

 the bonds turned over to the secretary, who will be 

 empowered to place them on the markets, receive 

 funds therefor and proceed to build the districts 

 with the proceeds under similar rules and regula- 

 tions and authority as that given the Extension Act. 

 In other words, they will be, in effect, government 

 projects just as our government projects are now, 

 except that the money is to be provided for the 

 projects in the manner mentioned. 



This bill, on its face, appears to be a good one, 



and should, if it is passed in its present form or 

 with some slight additions or modifications, add 

 greatly to the movement to colonize the Western 

 and Southern States. 



One thought has been suggested, viz. : that the 

 time of payment be made longer, and that \Yi% 

 be deposited each year as a sinking fund to redeem 

 the entire principal and interest on the amortization 

 plan, or, as others suggest, make the interest 5%, 

 with a view of depositing 2% annually to redeem 

 the entire principal and interest, which would, as 

 we figure it, require between 30 and 35 years. 



It appears that the sum of $500,000 annually 

 would take twenty years to reach a total fund 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, and should the reclamation guaranty fund 

 ever become exhausted in the payment of obliga- 

 tions incurred under the provisions of the 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. The AGE offers as a sug- 

 gestion the following clause: 



Provided, that the Secretary may 

 require the bonds mentioned in Sec- 

 tion 3 of this Act to pay 5y 2 % per 

 annum, and on receipt of the interest 

 each year set aside 2% annually as a 

 sinking fund until the par value of 

 such bonds are fully paid, whereupon 

 said bonds shall be cancelled. Pro- 

 vided, further, that the Secretary may, 

 in his discretion, turn the management 

 of such projects over to the irrigation 

 or drainage district, as the case may 

 be, before full payment of the bonds 

 held in the same manner as provided 

 respecting projects constructed by the 

 United States under the present 

 reclamation laws. 



These suggestions will be presented to Sen- 

 ator Chamberlain and Congressman Smith for con- 

 sideration. 



Further comments will be made in these col- 

 umns as the bill progresses, and the AGE will be 

 glad to give publicity to the views of its readers on 

 its provisions as they come to it through the mills. 



If you want to keep in touch with all sides 

 of the Reclamation Problem send $1.00 for one 

 year's subscription to the Irrigation Age, 30 

 North Dearborn street, Chicago. 



