Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-12-22

neighboring, states, that there are
many conditions that can and will
arise that are not covered by existing
laws, and that the court decisions that
have been rendered relate to specific
points at issue, and that. the points
settled would be features of the pro-
posed new laws as we'll as of those
that are now in existence, and, hence,
nothing would be lost by adopting an
entirely new code.
Certain points seem to be clear and
should be given due consideration
1t is generally conceded that changes
OF greater or less Importance and ex-
tent should be made either in the
way of amendments to existing laws
or in the adoption of a new code.
This has been found to be the case in
all of the older states where drainage
has been most extensively practised
such as indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and California, and, in
1905, twenty-one states and three
territories either revised or, made i'm
portant amendments and additions to
their drainage laws, or enacted new
codes. These old codes which it was
found necessary to revise and under
any one of which far more work had
been accomplished than has as yet
been undertaken in this state, are
those upon which the laws of North
Dakota are modelled and it is both
reasonable to suppose and Is demon
strated by experience that this state
also will presently be found to be,
even more strongly than has been the
case in the past, in crying need of
the numerous additional provisions
that have been made in these states.
Certainly the present method OF
having the drain commissioners APP
pointed by the county commission
ers is wrong both in theory and In
practice. They should be elected
directly by the people or else the
county commissioners should have
charge of the work directly. as they
are in the best possible position to do
The absurdity Of the present system
is apparent from. the fact >. that the
drain commissioners are appointed
to build drains and it is quite possible
for them to run the preliminary ex-
penses up enormously and to contract
drainage systems whether more than
six people in given district want
them constructed or not, since there
is no appeal from the decision of the
commissioners, 1t should be possible
for parties who feel themselves &ag-I
grieved to appeal to the courts under
proper restrictions Under the pres
ent law this is impossible as the de-
cision OF the drain commissioners is
final. Provisions can readily be
made, as is done in other states, SO
that appeals shall be made in such a
way that they will not delay the prose-
cution of the work. Again, some pro-
vision should be made for publishing
facts concerning drainage as Is done
with reference to irrigation in all the
irrigation states. .~s a.
These matters, however, though
very important, would be relatively
less SO if only the Red river valley in
North Dakota were ~ concerned. In
that case it would seem as though the
best possible law would be one similar
to that enacted in California in 1905,
with especial reference to the Sacra-
mento valley. BY this act single
great drainage district comprising the
entire valley, controlled by its own
properly elected officers, was created,
and the same thing might be done
with reference to the Red river valley.
But the question has already become
too broad for that. The state iegis-
lature, at the last session, voted in
favor of constitutional amendment
authorizing the use of the public
school fund in the purchase of drain
age bonds for the furtherance of the
drainage interests. This action will
undoubtedly be endorsed at the COM
ing session and the voters of the state
will then be asked to vote upon it.
Thus the matter becomes of vital
interest to the entire state and II Is
hardly to be expected that the people
will be willing to loan their most
sacred of ali funds. the public school
fund, to county drain commissioners
without some competent and responsi-
bic engineering supervision. They
will be very foolish IL they do.
= furthermore, the drainage question
is fast becoming national one. Al
ready we are hoping that. and our
congressional delegation is working to
the end that the bill introduced by
Senator Hansbrongh providing that
II -. -, tr 49, -