Imperial Valley press., 1930-03-26

studv of the area may disclose con
di+ions which will arrest such move
ment and prevent If from becoming
= menace to the district. Assur-
ancc. however, should rest IN the
opinion of properly qualified in
veStigator.
1t has been suggested that MANY
placcs exist in the district where
drainage has been definitely estab-
lished and proven and that the bank
may single ont these farms as safe
securities. 1t is believed that loan
/ ing under such conditions Id be
very unsatisfactory, both to th'
people of the district and to the
bank. Such securities undoubtedly
! do exist. but the identifi atlan OF
them is not always certain--condi-
tions as to drainage often shade
! from good into bad. and any line
of exclusion must be more or less
arbitrarily drawn.
Boulder Canyon Dam and All
American Canal
] Storage control at Boulder Can
Won has been widely discussed.
Some doubt exists, however, as to
when the dam will be built. 1t is
! not possible to forecast how much
time may be consumed in legal and
political tie-up. l. would seem,
however. that with congress already
committed a long delay is i'nraSSi
| BILE. The physical task Of construct
ing the dam will probably require
between five and &c wears. Tho
! problem of !he All-AmafiraE C5nal
! IS not Vet fully worked out.
/ The bonded indebtedness of the
! Imperial Irrigation District as Of
! January l. 1923. was SD, loo, 900.
The bonded debt per %lO- assessed
valuation was $4,000. The usual
per acre assessed valuation was 800.
with maximum acre ot assessed
valuation of $l3A. On. estimated
cost per acre Of the All-Nmeriean
Canal and related works for lands
/ in Imperial Irrigation District is
, $4,000 per acre. What the added
; debt to land already in cultivation
in the Imperial Irrigation District
may be because of the construction
Of the All-American Canal. if it is
constructed. is not known. Wheth
er the annual operation aud main
tcnancc charges NAV be increased or
decreased cannot be determined at
this time. It seems doubtful. how
ever. that the construction of the
All-American Canal will :dd any
thing to the net income of farm
that is now producing maximum
crODS.
If the AllAmerican Canal is con.
structed large acreage of new land
will. in time. be brought into cult
vation. Whether this new land viii
adversely affect the value and
earning power of land already in
production time alone will demon
Strate.
1t seems to us that because of
the district organization. whereby
all land is subject to the lien secur
ing the bonded indebtedness OF the
district. no one is competent at this
time to appraise land in the valley
for long term loans because no one
knows what may be added to the
land in the way of bonded indebted
ness because of the necessity of ex-
pending greater sums for drainage
and the All-American Canal.
There is also the problem of pow
er development on the Alamo and
New Rivers proposed by the dis
trict, which may or may not result
in n benefit to the land owners. The
political situation with regard to
the irrigation district seems to be
such that increased indebteness NAV
be voted upon the land in the dis. !
trict although a majority Of the land !
owners who must ultimately pay the |
districts Indebtedness may be op-
posed to the district increasing its !
Indebtedness.
Must Consider All
The Federal Land Bank in MAX
ing longterm loans on lands with. |
in irrigation districts cannot look |
alone 10 the better farms within |
the district. The bank must con.
slider farms in the valley that would
Justify loans if the farms could bc .
considered by themselves, without |.
regard TO present or future indebt. /
cdncSs that may be created through /
increased drainage costs, construc.
tlon. operation and maintenance OF
the All.Amcrica Canal, or by add. /.
cd burdens that the good land may
be called upon to carry if any ap. /,
preciable acreage OF land goes out
of production because OF poor drain. !
age, resulting in an accumulation of .
alkali making the land unproduct. /
i've.
A study Of the financial eondi.
tions OF the district from the years .
1914 to 1926 indicates that there has .
been an increase, especially from |
the years 1922 to 1926, in the tota! !
face value OF all tax sale certifi- /
Gates sold each year, both to dis. /
.rict and private parties. The rec.
'rd Of tax sale certificates for tax
IS levied in 1926 and sold in 1927 !,
shows total sale value of $422,.
,02.4l.
There has been a gradual increase
n tax sale certificates and in unre
ieemed certificates. While delin.
luencies have not been sufficient
o hamper the district in meeting
IS obligations, the gradual increase
n unredcemed certificates signifies
o certain extent "a growing condi-
ion OF distress among the taxpav.
rs. Though this has not as yet as