The record-union., 1898-07-22
TWO MORE SMALL RAILROADS
OWNERS WANT THEIR ASSESS
MENTS KEPT DOWN.
The San Mateo Electric and Nevada
Narrow Gauge Men Have
Hearing.

William Clayton, Secretary of the San
Francisco and San Mateo Electric Rail-
way Company, was before the State
Board of Equalization yesterday, in the
interest of that corporation.
The road is nearly ali used as a street
railway, fifteen miles being in San
Francisco. The other five miles of the
line is in San Mateo County.
The valuation fixed on the property
by the Board Of Equalization last year
was $4,000. At that time the track
was rough, the rails badly worn and
the rolling stock old, but Mr.. Clayton
explained that during the past year
ten miles of the line have been rebuilt,
and is now the best of the kind in the
State, and the statement sent in by the
company sets forth that just and
equitable valuation this year would be
S94,176
The valuation of the road bed and
franchise are placed at $40, 600 and the
rolling stock at S19,7 ,776 The statement
shows the earnings of the line for the
year ending December 81, 1897, to have
been S1S4, 1866, the expenses S17O,-
4oO.41 and the net earnings S142 40
Mr. Clayton took the stand that a
privileges it confers earn more than
can be had by investment in Govern
ment bonds, and he considered that the
franchise of the road has only prospect
i've value. He said a road must earn at
least s per cent. to pay for wear and
tear Of material and to allow for depre-
citation in property values, and to allow
the owners the 3 per cent. paid on
~ "a
have to be at least IL per cent. He
thought it unreasonable to assess a
franchise on the total issue of stock
and bonds, as was advocated by Mayor
Phelan Of San Francisco.
Mr.. Clayton also complained that un-
der present laws the cars on the line
are allowed to run no faster than eight
miles an hour. AS the law was made
to apply to the old horse cars, which
formerly ran on the line, the COM
pany, he said, intended to apply to the
Legislature next winter to allow a fast
er rate of speed.
The board took the matter under ad-
visement.
The Nevada County Narrow Gauge
Road was represented in the person of
its Secretary. George Fletcher. The
iOdu lutLS II ioili SpildA " nevada CITY.
a distance of 22.1S miles. and has al
ways been considered by the State
Board OF Equalization to be in a
healthy condition.
For the past five years 100000 has
been the valuation placed on the prop
erty by the Board of Equalization. and
when Mr.. Fletcher appeared a year ago
he simply asked that the valuation be
not changed.
Mr.. Fletcher said that while in some
respects the road has increased its
valuation, in others it has lost. Ow-
ing to the fact that many of the small
mines up country could not get suffi-
cient water to run, business had been
curtailed in that direction, but the
prosperity of mines of all kinds in Ne
vada County had eQualized the loss He
intimated that if the board would give
the property the same valuation as was
fixed last year the result would be sat
isfactory.
According to the statement filed by
the managers of the road the earnings
for the year ending December 81. 1897.
amounted to SOS, ,592. .6S, expenses
SS7 .313. 49, making the net earnings
S21 12i925