18 BULLETIN 1257, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
has caused a great deal of criticism that has tended to put a stop to 
such action. 
Certified bonds are reported to hare sold for from 80 to 85 cents 
on the dollar, although a few old, well-established districts have been 
able to get as high as 95 cents, and one such issue has been sold at 
par. Since the passage of the law no uncertified bonds of Idaho 
districts have been sold. These facts indicate that certification is 
essential to sale, but that it has not enabled districts to get full 
price for their bonds. 
Utah enacted a bond certification law in 1919 and repealed it in 
1923. Under the Utah law the bond commission had supervision 
over the expenditure of funds raised by the sale of certified bpnds. 
Under this act, two bond issues were certified and both of these 
were in default. 
Two reasons for the repeal of the law were given : A member of 
the certification commission stated that the repeal was recommended 
by the commission itself because it felt that its work was a useless 
duplication of other work and because the State auditor, who is 
charged with the actual certification of the bonds, but on the recom- 
mendation of the commission, was not willing to certify bonds with- 
out investigation by his own office. This member of the commis- 
sion statecl~that bond dealers did not accept the work of the com- 
mission, but had their own engineers and lawyers make just as 
complete investigation as if the commission did not exist. Under 
such circumstances, the commission felt that its work was a waste 
of time and money. Another official stated that parties whose project 
had been turned down by the commission were responsible for the 
repeal of the law. 
Wyoming enacted a certification law in 1921 but this was declared 
unconstitutional. A bill for another certification act was intro- 
duced in 1923 but was not passed. Wyoming, in 1923, enacted a 
law authorizing the investment of its permanent school fund in bonds 
of irrigation and drainage districts. The law provides an exofficio 
board to pass upon bonds to be purchased, consisting of the governor, 
the secretary of State, the treasurer, the auditor, and the superin- 
tendent of public instruction. Before bonds may be purchased they 
must be approved unanimously by this board, and also by the State 
enorineer and the attorney general. 
Colorado enacted a bond certificate law in 1921. but uncertainty as 
to its meaning has prevented the certification of bonds. 
The province of Alberta, Canada, has gone further than any of our 
States, and has provided for guaranteeing both principal and interest 
of district bonds. Some bond issues have been approved and guaran- 
teed, but the law is of such recent date that no opinion as to its 
value can be formed. 
The report of the Fourteenth Census shows that in 1919 irrigation 
districts organized under State laws supplied water to 9.5 per cent 
of the total area irrigated in that year. A large part of this land 
represents reorganizations of enterprises developed under other types 
of organization, but the census reports do not show just how much 
land comes under this classification. 
