16 BULLETIN 1257, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
At present, under the California district law, the State engineer 
examines and reports upon each district before it is organized : he is 
a member of the bond commission and, in that capacity, reports on 
the water supply, the water requirements of the soil, and the feasi- 
bility of the plan for supplying water. The commission employs an 
appraiser to pass upon the value of the land. The commission has no 
control or supervision of the expenditure of the funds arising from 
bond sales, either in law or in practice. 
Apparently the California law has been effective, as many districts 
have been organized and their bonds certified and sold since the 
passage of this law. With the exception of the lack of supervision 
of expenditures, this law seems to provide all possible safeguards 
against the issuing of inadequately secured bonds. There is, of 
course, opportunity for mistakes of judgment in passing upon the 
questions of Avater supply, cost of irrigation works, and in the ap- 
praisal of land, particularly in determining the prospective ability 
of the farmers to meet annually recurring charges for water rights; 
and there is always strong pressure toward excessive optimism in 
these matters. 
Up to February, 1923, there had been only a few defaults in inter- 
est payments on bonds certified by the California commission. All 
funds for district purposes are raised by taxing the lands within 
the district, and delinquencies are met by the sale of the land at tax 
sale. At present the period of redemption is three years, which makes 
collection by bondholders a slow and tedious process. It is reported 
that this fact is hindering the sale of district bonds, and attempts are 
being made to have the period of redemption reduced to one year. 
It is doubtful whether such a change would help much. Bond- 
holders want prompt and regular payments; they do not want the 
trouble of collecting through tax sales or the foreclosure of mort- 
gages. If there are extensive defaults, even though the security is 
ample and the collections are made eventually, the efficacy of State 
certification as a means of promoting bond sales will be greatly re- 
duced. 
In California there are large areas within irrigation districts that 
are not producing enough to pay district taxes. These areas are in 
large holdings that are used for grain growing or for pasture. These 
lands must be put into more valuable crops if they are to meet their 
share of district taxes, and this involves the bringing in of more 
settlers. 
Oregon has gone one step further than has California. In Oregon 
the State certifies the bonds as legal investments for trust funds, etc., 
and it also advances the interest on district bonds for periods vary- 
ing from one year to five years. Under the Oregon district law, 
district bonds run for 20 years, and payments on principal do not 
begin until the eleventh year after the bonds are issued. Thus, 
during 10 years the landowners pay only operation and maintenance 
charges and interest, while State payment of interest leaves only 
operation and maintenance charges to be met by the landowners 
during the period of State payment, except that the State requires 
the districts to pay interest on the interest advanced by it. 
Under the latter provision a district that had issued 6 per cent 
bonds would pay to the State only 0.36 of 1 per cent on its bonds 
