keep in good order and repair all buildings, fences, and other permanent improvements situated on his alloment, reasonable wear and tear and damage by fire excepted. Each settler shall, if required, insure and keep insured against fire all buildings on his alloment, the policies therefor to be made out in favor of the board and to be in such amount or amounts and in such insurance companies as may be prescribed by the board.

The board shall have power in its own name to insure and keep insured against fire all buildings or other improvements on any of the lands under the control of the board, and any contract of insurance heretofore made by the board is hereby ratified and confirmed. The board shall likewise have the power in any contract of purchase under which the board purchases lands as authorized in this act, to provide for the return by the board to the owner so selling to the State of any insurance premiums or taxes which may have been paid on said property by such owner, or for which such owner may have become obligated to pay, and any such agreement or contract of purchase heretofore made by the board is hereby ratified and confirmed. (As amended, Stats. 1919, p. 843.)

SEC. 21. No allotment sold under the provisions of this act shall be transferred, assigned, mortgaged, or sublet in whole or in part, without the consent of the board given in writing, until the settler has paid for his farm allotment or farm laborer's allotment in full and complied with all of the terms and conditions of his contract of purchase. (As amended, Stats. 1919, p. 844.) SEC. 22. In the event of a failure of a settler to comply with any of the terms of his contract of purchase and agreement with the board, the State and the board shall have the right at its option to cancel the said contract of purchase and agreement and thereupon shall be released from all obligation in law or equity to convey the property and the settler shall forfeit all right thereto, and all payments theretofore made shall be deemed to be rental paid for occupancy. The board may require of the settler such mortgage or deed of trust or other instrument as may be necessary under the terms and conditions of the contract of purchase in order to adequately protect and secure the board. There may be included in such contract of purchase, mortgage, deed of trust or other instrument any conditions with reference to sale of the property or reconveyance back to the board or notice of such sale or reconveyance as may in the discretion of the board be required to be so included in such contract of purchase, mortgage, deed of trust or other instrument, in order to so adequately protect the said board in the premises; and any such contracts of purchase, mortgages, deeds of trust or other instruments heretofore executed are hereby confirmed. The failure of the board or of the State to exercise any option to cancel, or other privilege under the contract for purchase for any default shall not be deemed as a waiver of the right to exercise the option to cancel or other privilege under the contract of purchase for any default thereafter on the settler's part. But no forfeiture so occasioned by default on the part of the settler shall be deemed in any way, or to any extent, to impair the lien and security of the mortgage or trust instrument securing any loan that it may have made as in this act provided. The board shall have the right and power to enter into a contract of purchase for the sale and disposition of any land forfeited as above provided, because of default on the part of a settler, and this right may be exercised indefinitely without the necessity of advertising. (Added Stats. 1919, p. 845.)

SEC. 23. Actual residence on any allotment sold under the provisions of this act shall commence within 6 months from the date of the approval of the application and shall continue for at least 8 months in each calendar year for at least 10 years from the date of the approval of the said application, unless prevented by illness or some other cause satisfactory to the board: Provided, That in case any farm allotment disposed of under this act is returned to and resold by the State, the time of residence of the preceding purchaser may in the discretion of the board be credited to the subsequent purchaser.

SEC. 24. The power of eminent domain shall be exercised by the State at the request of the board for the condemnation of water rights and rights of way for roads, canals, ditches, dams, and reservoirs necessary or desirable for carrying out the provisions of this act, and on request of the board the attorney general shall bring the necessary and appropriate proceedings authorized by law for such condemnation of said water rights or rights of way, and the cost of all water right or rights of way so condemned shall be paid out of the land settlement fund hereinafter provided for. The board shall have full authority to appropriate water under the laws of the State when such appropriation is necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of this act.

SEC. 25. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act the sum of $260,000 is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated. Of this amount, the sum of $250,000 shall constitute a revolving fund to be known as the land-settlement fund, which is calculated to be returned to the State with interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum within a period of 50 years from he date of the passage of this act, on the daily balances representing the amounts drawn out of such fund and thus depleting the fund to an amount less than said sum of $250,000, which said daily balances shall be so calculated only on the amounts so drawn out of such fund, from the date of the passage of this act. The remaining $10,000 shall constitute a fund available for the payment of administrative expenses alone until such time as other moneys are available for such purpose from the sales of land as provided for in this act. (As amended, Stats. 1919, p. 844.)

SEC. 26. The State board of control is hereby authorized to provide for advances of money to the board needed to meet contingent expenses to such an amount not exceeding $5,000 as the said board of control shall deem necessary. SEC. 27. The money paid by settlers on lands, improvements, or in the repayment of advances, shall be deposited in the land-settlement fund and be available under the same conditions as the original appropriation. (As amended, Stats. 1919, p. 844.)

SEC. 28. The board shall have authority to make all needed rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of this act. (As amended, Stats. 1919, p. 844.)

SEC. 29. The board is hereby authorized to investigate land-settlement conditions in California and elsewhere and to submit recommendations for such legislation as may be deemed by it necessary or desirable.

The board shall render an annual report to the governor and a copy thereof to the Secretary of the Interior, which report shall be filed and printed as required by sections 332, 333, 334, 336, and 337 of the Political Code, with the exception that they shall be so filed and printed annually instead of biennially, as provided in said sections. (As amended, Stats. 1919, p. 844.)

SEC. 30. The act of the legislature entitled "An act providing for the appointment of a commission to investigate and report at the forty-second session of the legislature relative to the adoption of a system of land colonization and rural credits and making an appropriation therefor," approved May 17, 1915, is hereby repealed.

SEC. 31. This act may be known and cited as the land-settlement act. Section 17 of the amending act of 1919 reads as follows (Stats. 1919, p. 845): "For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act and of the act amended by this act, the sum of $1,000,000 is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated, which sum of $1,000,000 is calculated to be returned to the State within a period of 50 years from the date of this appropriation of $1,000,000 going into effect, with interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum on the daily balances representing the amounts drawn out of such appropriation, and thus depleting the appropriation to an amount less than said sum of $1,000,000. The State controller is hereby authorized and directed to draw warrants upon such funds from time to time upon requisition of the board approved by the State board of control, and the State treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pay such warrants."

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will stand adjourned until some time next week.

(Whereupon, at 12.15 o'clock p. m., the committee adjourned.)

COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION OF ARID LANDS,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Tuesday, February 3, 1920.

The committee met at 10.15 o'clock a. m., Hon. M. P. Kincaid (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. We were hearing Mr. Kibbey, I believe, when we stopped. You may proceed, Mr. Kibbey.

STATEMENT OF MR. WALTER B. KIBBEY-Resumed.

Mr. KIBBEY. I believe the next section is section 4, and Mr. Hayden was reading the sections first.

Mr. HAYDEN. Section 4 reads:

SEC. 4. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to sell such bonds, or any number thereof, whenever they can be sold at or above their par value, and to use the proceeds thereof, first, to reimburse the United States for expenditures theretofore made under authority of this act, and, second, for the construction of the works herein authorized. In the event any of such bonds so deposited with the Secretary of the Interior shall not be sold prior to the expiration of a period of five years from and after the announcement by the Secretary of the Interior of the completion of the work herein provided for, then the Secretary of the Interior may immediately sell the bonds so remaining in his possession at the highest price obtainable therefor in the open market; and in the event the price so obtained is less than the par value of such bonds, any and all districts or other organizations having issued any of the bonds which have been so sold for less than the par value shall bear the loss, and each district or other organization shall pay to the United States a sum or sums equal to the difference between the par value of the bonds issued by it and the amount received from such sale; and the Secretary of the Interior,, prior to the time when any such district or other organization shall receive any benefit from the provisions of this act, shall require each such district or organization to enter into a contract or contracts with the said Secretary for the enforcement of this provision.

Mr. KIBBEY. This section is plain and heretofore explained.
Mr. HAYDEN. The next section reads:

SEC. 5. That upon default of any installment of the principal or interest of any bond held by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the terms of this act the said Secretary may declare the entire amount of such bond issue in default, and thereupon he shall call upon the State or county under the authority of which such bonds were issued, through any of its authorized agencies or officers, to levy and enforce the payment of any taxes, forced contributions, or special assessments necessary to pay the sums due to the United States, and upon the failure of the State or county authorities so to do the Secretary of the Interior shall cause suit to be instituted in the name of the United States, and take such legal action as may be necessary to enforce the assessment and collection of such taxes for the payment of the amount of principal and interest in default or the entire amount of such bond issue, principal and interest. It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to prosecute such suit, and any United States district court for the district in which the lands affected by the act, or any part thereof, are situated, is hereby vested with jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this act.

Mr. KIBBEY. Under the California irrigation district law the assessment for the collection of bonds is first made by the district board; if they refuse to make the assessment, then the board of supervisors of the county are compelled to make that assessment for the district. That is found in sections 39 B, C, and E, and the amended irrigation act of 1917, and mandamus will lie to compel that assessment being made by the board of supervisors, or by the irrigation district as well.

There is only one additional feature in this section. We seek to give the Federal courts jurisdiction in those mandamus proceedings, as well as the local State courts.

The CHAIRMAN. Concurrent jurisdiction, isn't it?

Mr. KIBBEY. Concurrent jurisdiction; yes.

Mr. WELLING. Is there any special significance under the California. law to be attached to the phrase "forced contributions"? What does that mean?

185833-20-30

Mr. KIBBEY. Where is that?

Mr. WELLING. This section provides: "To levy and enforce the payment of any taxes, forced contributions, or special assessments." What is a "forced contribution" under the law?

Mr. KIBBEY. Well, a forced contribution, I would take it, is an assessment levied and payment forced, by sale of the property. Mr. WELLING. Is that covered by the other terms, then?

Mr. KIBBEY. I think it is; yes.

The CHAIRMAN. It simply means not voluntary?

Mr. KIBBEY. Not voluntary, that is it.

Mr. HAYDEN. That language was taken from the bill introduced by Mr. Smith of Idaho, known as the Smith-Chamberlain bill, which provided for bond issues. The terms were copied from that bill.

Mr. SMITH of Idaho. I think it was also used in the act of August 11, 1916, providing for the formation of irrigation districts on the public domains.

Mr. HAYDEN. It may be mere repetition and surplusage, but we wanted to make it perfectly clear that by whatever means necessary the money would be repaid.

Section 6 provides:

SEC. 6. That the proportion or amount of the cost of the canals and works, the construction of which are authorized by this act to be borne by any irrigation district, State land settlement board, soldier settlement board, water users' association, or other organization, as fixed and determined by the Secretary of the Interior, may be paid in cash, and when so paid shall be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the Laguna project fund hereinafter provided for, and may be expended by the Secretary of the Interior in the same manner as money appropriated by Congress pursuant to this act.

The CHAIRMAN. That seems to be self-explanatory.

Mr. KIBBEY. There is just one thing I desire to say in connection with that, that the Secretary of the Interior under the bill can not sell the bonds until he gets par for them. Under this provision, if the districts wish-and I think they will, if they can't obtain parif they get close to it, they may sell their bonds and pay cash instead of depositing the bonds; therefore putting the cash into the hands of the Secretary of the Interior.

The CHAIRMAN. Which ought to be acceptable.

Mr. HAYDEN. You will also remember that Dr. Mead stated that the State of California would in all probability pay cash for their share of the irrigation works, if they were given a certain tract of land to develop. This section covers all such contingencies:

SEC. 7. That the public lands of the United States declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be susceptible of reclamation under the provision of this act, and included within any irrigation district or any other similar organization the boundaries and bonds of which are accepted by the said Secretary under the terms of this act, shall be subject to the provisions of the act entitled "An act to promote the reclamation of arid lands," approved August 11, 1916 (39 Stat. L., p. 506), notwithstanding the district may contain more than a majority acreage of such public lands.

Mr. KIBBEY. This is the section which provides for the organization of the districts, the scheme of payment, of course, being by the issuance and sale of district bonds; therefore we must have all of the lands incorporated into a district. We now have two districts already formed-it is contemplated to include the new lands in other districts. There may be several districts, but the power is

given to the Secretary of the Interior to designate what lands shall be taken into the particular districts as formed.

Mr. HAYDEN. The act of August 11, 1916, which this section seeks to amend, provides that where public lands are included within an irrigation district, the majority acreage of which is private land, that the minority acreage of public lands may be included. This section extends that law so that the majority of the acreage within an irrigation district may be Government land.

Section 8 provides:

SEC. 8. That, except as hereinafter provided, any unentered lands of the United States found by the Secretary of the Interior to be susceptible of irrigation from the irrigation works the construction of which is provided for by this act, may be sold when water is available therefor, to citizens of the United States, not more than 160 acres to any one purchaser, under such rules and regulations as the said Secretary may prescribe, at the fair appraised value thereof, which shall be fixed at not less than $10 per acre. The land so sold shall be paid for in cash, or on deferred payments, at the option of the purchaser, in installments of one-fifth cash and one-fifth annually until fully paid, with interest on the deferred payments at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from date of sale, patent to issue upon full payment of the purchase price and compliance with all of the requirements of this act.

Mr. KIBBEY. Dr. Mead suggested in his statement an amendment. to this section providing that all the lands be opened to homestead entry. I heartily agree with that. The object of the section as written was to hold the lands in Government ownership until water was available. Under sections 1 and 2 of the California irrigation act it is impossible to form districts, irrigation districts, until at least 500 persons reside within the boundaries of the proposed districts. I don't think that it is possible to sell this land prior to the time when water is available and form a district before water has become available. I think that is utterly impossible.

Mr. SMITH of Idaho. You would not expect, Mr. Kibbey, that these homesteaders would go on this dry land and live there during the time before water is available?

Mr. KIBBEY. No.

Mr. SMITH of Idaho. You would have to have a special law, then, to excuse them from residence?

Mr. KIBBEY. No; because. I don't propose to have the land open until the water is available.

Mr. SMITH of Idaho. I thought you suggested that these homesteaders would go on there in order to be able to form a district in compliance with the California statute?

Mr. KIBBEY. I was just trying to show that they would not do that until the water was available; and under our scheme it is not intended that they shall do it until water is available.

The CHAIRMAN. And the idea is that the water shall be available before the lands are sold?

Mr. KIBBEY. Exactly.

The CHAIRMAN. And then after they have been sold, then they will proceed to form a district?

Mr. SMITH of Idaho. Have you 500 people residing within these proposed districts?

Mr. KIBBEY. In the new districts, no.

Mr. SMITH of Idaho. Then, how are you going to comply with the statute?