acquired by appropriation upon failure to agree with the owner upon a purchase price (pt. second, title IX, division VII, ch. 1).

MUSEUM, PARK, AND RINK COMPANIES

Powers. When a corporation organized for the purpose of constructing and conducting a museum for the exhibition and preservation of works of nature and art, or a public hall of any kind, or a park, pond, or rink for skating or other lawful sports, or for holding fairs, festivals, public meetings, concerts, or lawful entertainments of any kind, provides in its articles of incorporation that its buildings or a designated part thereof is to be devoted to the use of the public for all purposes set forth therein, free of cost, charge, or expense except such as is necessary for repair and maintenance, the authorities of any city, village, county, or park district in which the corporation is located may permit the corporation to erect and maintain perpetually its buildings on any of its parks or grounds, and to control them and grounds adjacent thereto belonging to the park district on terms and conditions mutually agreed upon. In such cases it may be further agreed that additional trustees of the corporation may be appointed by such public authorities; also further agreed that any officer or officers of the municipality, county, or park district to be designated by them ex officio may act as trustees (ibid.).

GENERAL

Conservation of natural resources.-Laws may be passed to encourage forestry, and to that end areas devoted exclusively to forestry may be exempted from taxation. Laws may also be passed to provide for converting into forest reserves such lands as are forfeited to the State, and to authorize the acquiring of other lands for that purpose; also to provide for the conservation of natural resources, including streams, lakes, submerged and swamp lands, and the development and regulation of water power and the formation of drainage and conservation districts (Constitution, art. II, sec. 36).

Excessive appropriation.-A municipality appropriating or otherwise acquiring property for public use may in furtherance of such public use appropriate or acquire an excess over that actually to be occupied by the improvement, and may sell such excess with such restrictions as are appropriate to preserve the improvement made. Bonds may be issued to supply the funds in whole or in part to pay for the excess property so appropriated or otherwise acquired, but said bonds shall be a lien only against the property so acquired for the improvement and excess, and they shall not be a liability of the municipality or be included in any limitation of the bonded indebtedness of such municipality prescribed by law (ibid., art. XVIII, sec. 10).

Assessments for cost of appropriating property.-Any municipality appropriating private property for a public improvement may provide money therefor in part by assessments upon benefited property not in excess of the special benefits conferred upon such property by the improvements. Said assessments, however, upon all the abutting, adjacent, and other property in the district benefited shall in no case be levied for more than 50 percent of the cost of such appropriation (ibid., sec. 11).

Lease of canal lands for parks, etc.-The superintendent of public works may, subject to the approval of the governor and attorney general, lease to municipalities or to park boards for public park, amusement, and recreational purposes, for a term of 99 years, renewable forever, certain described abandoned canal lands; and may include in such leases the slackwater pool in the Maumee River between certain points (described), with the right to enter upon, occupy, and use the slackwater pool for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and operating dock landings, boating courses, bathing beaches, bathhouses, athletic and aquatic equipment, walks, drives, and devices of all kinds for the use and convenience of the public, together with all State privileges, and reserving to the State the sole right to lease water or the privilege of taking sand and gravel from the pool. Every lease so granted must contain a clause reserving to the superintendent of public works full control of all watercraft operating upon the pool, other than pleasure boats, which are under the control of the lessee. Leases granted must contain a clause authorizing the lessee to grant subleases and special privileges and consessions for portions of the canal property, where the same can be done without materially affecting the rights of the public, the net receipts therefrom to be expended upon improvements and repairs of the respective tracts from which they are derived. No part of such receipts may be paid out for salaries of officers and employees in the regular employment of the park board or other lessee of the State. In the granting of leases for the abandoned canal lands, each lease must provide for the approval of plans for improvements and their location by the superintendent of public works prior to the commencement of work thereon. Every such lease must also contain a clause providing that the abandoned canal land, when leased, is to become a part of the public park system and to be open to the public at all reasonable times for amusement, recreation, and pleasure, including boating, hunting, fishing, swimming, and other recreational pastimes. Hunting, fishing, and trapping are subject to the State fish and game laws, while sanitation and health laws are under the supervision of the State department of health. The State reserves the fee title to abandoned canal lands; and in case the State and/or the United States determines to use the same for any purpose, the portion of the lease which includes the slackwater pool and the portion of the canal between certain described points may be cancelled after 90 days' notice (appendix, title II, ch. 9).

Same. If any municipal corporation, Lucas County, township, or other taxing district desires to lease any portion of the abandoned portion of the Miami and Erie Canal not required for highway purposes, the same must be leased to such taxing district for public park uses upon a rental of 4 percent per annum of the appraised value. Applications must describe the lands and state the term of years for which the lease is desired. In the event that any leases granted are renewed upon expiration, or are made for a longer period than 15 years, the same must provide for a reappraisement upon the expiration of each 15-year period; and the rate of annual rental upon the new appraisement must be made in the same manner as the original appraisement (ibid.).

Lease of Ohio Canal for park purposes.-If any municipality, through which any portion of the Ohio Canal abandoned for canal

purposes passes, desires to lease a section of the canal outside its principal business and residence section that has been designated as a hydraulic section, for the purpose of maintaining the same as a public park and pleasure resort for the free use of the public, it must describe in its lease application the property desired, and indicate its willingness to maintain at its own expense the land and banks thereof for hydraulic purposes. When the application_has been filed and an appraisal board has been appointed by the Governor, such board must take into consideration the public use that is to be made of the section and the benefits that will accrue to the public therefrom, and place a merely nominal valuation on the land as soon as a lease has been executed. All the provisions of land relating to the control and management of State reservoir parks become effective and enforceable by the proper officers of the municipality. Any rules and regulations promulgated by the board of park commissioners of the municipality for the control and management of the hydraulic section for park purposes, other than those provided by the general code, must be approved by the superintendent of public works before becoming effective (title II, ch. 9).

Concessions. Any municipality leasing lands as above-provided may lease a limited number of concession privileges along the line of the canal controlled by it, but no powerboats are to be permitted to operate in the channel of the canal. An annual charge of $1 for each rowboat, canoe, or other boat propelled with oars operated by hand may be made, one-fourth of the gross receipts derived from such sources to be paid to the State (ibid.).

Joint use of fairgrounds; authority. Any real estate controlled and managed by any agricultural society organized under the laws of Ohio, whether owned by it or by any county, or jointly by it and any county, and which is situated within, adjacent to, or near any municipal corporation and used as a site for fairs, may be jointly used for fairs and as a municipal public park, title thereto remaining in the society or county, or both, as the case may be. The duration of such joint use and all the terms and conditions are to be such as may be agreed upon between the respective parties. The municipal corporation has the same anthority and power to improve, equip, and maintain such real estate as a public park, and to do all things necessary for its use and enjoyment, which it has as to parks owned by it in fee (title XII, division IV, ch. 5).

Discharging firearms in park. Whoever discharges a firearm in a park or pleasure ground shall be fined not less than $10 or more than $50, or imprisoned not more than 30 days or both (pt. fourth, title I, ch. 7).

Inspection of parks.-The secretary of agriculture may inspect any park, public place, and any place which might become infested or infected with dangerous or harmful insects or plant diseases (pt. first, title III, division II, ch. 15).

Aid to housing projects. For the purpose of aiding and cooperating in the planning, undertaking, construction, or operation of housing projects located within the area in which it is authorized to act, any public body may upon such terms, with or without consideration, as it may determine, cause parks, playgrounds, recreational, community, or any other works which it is otherwise empowered to

undertake, to be furnished adjacent to or in connection with housing projects (title III, division II, ch. 14A).

Tax levy in excess of limitation. The taxing authority of any subdivision, in any year, by vote of two-thirds of all the members of such body, may declare by resolution that the amount of taxes which may be raised within the 10-mill limitation will be insufficient to provide an adequate amount for the necessary requirements of the subdivision, and that it is necessary to levy a tax in excess of such limitation for certain prescribed purposes (including recreational purposes except in townships), but the total levy for such purposes authorized by vote of the people may not exceed two-tenths of a mill. The resolution must be confined to a single purpose, and must specify the amount of increase in rate which it is necessary to levy and the number of years during which the increase is to be in effect, which may not exceed 5. Any such proposed tax must be submitted to the electors of the subdivision at the succeeding election. If 65 percent of the electors voting upon the levy favor the same, the taxing authorities may levy the tax at the additional rate (pt. second, title I, ch. 12).

NOTE.-References are to Page's Annotated Ohio General Code and Supple

ments.

OKLAHOMA

Home rule charters.-Any city containing a population of more than 2,000 inhabitants may frame a charter for its own government, subject to the Constitution and laws of the State (Constitution, art. XVIII, sec. 3a).

CITIES

PARKS AND PARKWAYS

Tax levy.—All cities having a population of 50,000 or more which own and maintain public parks and parkways and operate the same through park commissioners, or a park board, either under the general statutes or special charter, may levy and assess against all property taxable within the city an annual tax not exceeding the sum of 1 mill upon the dollar of taxable valuation, for the purpose of acquiring, maintaining, beautifying, improving, and equipping parks and parkways and utilizing the same for public park purposes. All cities having a population of more than 30,000 may levy a tax not to exceed 1 mill to be used exclusively for the making of permanent improvements in the parks (ch. 33, art. 22; ch. 66, art. 24).

BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS

Creation. In all cities having a population of 10,000 or over, the public parks, together with all property which may be acquired for park purposes, are to be under the management and control of a board of park commissioners. Cities having a population of less than 10,000 may avail themselves of the provisions of the article when deemed necessary by the mayor and councilmen, and it is mandatory upon such officers to appoint park commissioners upon petition of 20 percent of the resident taxpayers (ch. 33, art. 22).

Members; appointment; term; compensation. The park board is to consist of three persons, appointed by the mayor with the consent and approval of the council or city commissioners, to hold office for 3 years. Board members are to receive no compensation, except the secretary, but may receive actual disbursements for necessary expenses. Any vacancy which may occur through death, resignation, or otherwise may be filled for the unexpired term by appointment as above mentioned. The office of any one of the park commissioners who fails to attend the meeting of the board for 3 successive months after having been duly notified of such meeting, without reason satisfactory to the board, or without leave of absence from the board, is to be declared vacant (ibid.).

Organization.-The board is annually to choose one of its number as president and another as vice president. A secretary must be elected, who may be one of the board members. The secretary is to receive a salary not exceeding $50 per annum, to be paid out of the