The La Jara chronicle., 1911-06-30

land in the district, on which
they have paid taxes for the pre-
vious year and who own in their
own name a majority of all the
acres of land owned by the res
ident land owning electors. The
land held by non-residents and
the land held by those who are
not legal electors of the state
is not considered in making up
the majority of acreage.
a residence of twelve months
in the state and ninety days in
the county is necessary to make
you a legal elector on district
You vote in the precinct
of the district where the greater
portion of your lands are located.
The justice of this law regu-
lating the qualifications of the
electors is evident for the follow
ing reasons:
First the land speculator buys
land at low price and holds it
in idleness until the improve
ments, cultivation and efforts OF
the settler-the real developer of
any country-demonstrates its
value and thus increases its sell
ing price. The land speculator is
Interested in the least possible
expense for holding his land
the lowest possible taxation. He
IS willing for the residents to
the expense of improving
the country while he reaps the
reward OF an enhancing value
without labor or cost to himself.
This law allows you to shift to
his shoulders his just portion of
the burden for the general i'm
provement of the country. BY
this law the pioneers, who with
stand the privation and hardships
incident to life in a newly and
sparsely settled country, are en-
abled to force the nonresident
speculator to assume a portion
of the financial responsibility nee
essary to its development. Your
voice is supreme in the matter.
lie must pay his share if you
say SO.
The bonded Indebtedness is
placed upon all the land includ-
ed within the district at an
equal amount per acre. This
bonded Indebtedness is imposed
by the legal electors of the dis
trict, having the qualifications
above described. The burden
of payment is met equally by
residents and non-reside ITS, ac-
cording to average holdings.
The bonds run for twenty years.
Nothing but interest is paid for
the first eleven years; after that
time onetenth of the bonds are
retired each year until the twen-
tieth year, when the bonded in
debtedness is wiped out.
The money obtained from the
sale of bonds can be used to de-
velop water for the reclamation
and irrigation of the lands of the
district, such as the purchase and
construction of bitches or reser-
voirs. The source from which
the water comes is immaterial,
provided, OF course, that water is
obtained for irrigation by the
expenditure of the funds.
There are several districts in
California under a similar law,
where the sole source of supply
is seepage bitches. The fact
that the seepage bitches are
located on the lands of the dis
trict makes no difference, pro-
vided water is developed for
lands of the district.
The water, when developed or
conserved, is distributed un-
der the direction Of the district
through its officers. The water
provided in this manner by the
district does not interfere with
existing water rights owned pre-
viously by the land-holders. They
may retain their present water
rights, use them in the future
as in the past, and also have their
equal proportion, acre for acre,
of the water provided by the
district through its reservoirs