The record-union., 1899-07-20
n ELECTRIC ROADS CAUSE
THE SAN MATEo's SECRETARY
e TALKS TO EQUALIZERs.
He Advances Reasons Why the
Franchise Is Not Assess
able.

Franchise Is Not Assess
able.
Inc business of the San Francisco
ana san Mateo Electric Railway Com
pany, In SO far as it bears on the equal
l1ation OF taxes, was before the State
ooaro OF Equalization yesterday.
by the statements on file it appeared
tnat the value of the company's fran
cnlSeS within the State is $SO,OOO;
length of track, sidings, and double
track reduced to single track, is 23O2l
miles: miles in San Francisco County
Io.4lO. in San Mateo County 4.61l:
number of passenger cars, 40, valued
at 4.OOQ one caboose without truck
or motor. $50; total value $24,05O
BY the table of figures filed, the fol-
lowing facts appeared: Passenger
earnings, $202, 45J.S5; operating ex-
penses, $172, ,053.29; taxes, $5,95O.S5;
miscellaneous expenses $9,444.322;
miscellaneous earnings, $1,9S5.47; total
expenses, $1S7, ,44S.46; total earnings,
S2O4, ,441.32; overplus $16,192.S6.
By another table the following ex-
penses appeared: Office expenses,
$1,327.71; legal expenses, $1,51015; re-
pairs to track, labor and materials.
$I6,221.6S; repairs to buildings, ST.
213O4 damages, $6.369.32; salaries of
officers, $3.50; other expenses, $152,
S49.96.
Secretary William Clayton appeared
for the road and made an argument for
the reduction of taxes. Among other
things, he said:
Our valuation of last year was $94,-
from 2O.729 miles to 23.621 miles of
track. The only important Improve
ment We have made in track has been
the rebuilding of a portion of the Eight
teenth- street division, where we took
out a mile of single track and replaced
it with a mile of double track We
have added four new cars and have
sold one car equipment, so at the pres
ent time our wrecker is without motors
or truck. We have in all forty cars"
Continuing, he said I'VE maintain
that the franchises operated by this
company have no assessable value
whatever. They have never been prof
liable since the road. commenced to
run. Nothing has ever been set aside
for the depreciation of the property or
the loss in the life of the franchises
themselves since the day the road COM
menced to operate. Our franchises
conferred the privilege to build and
operate a street railway along certain
streets and highways al a fixed fare of
i've cents, for one continuous ride III
each county. They call for the con-
tinuouS maintenance and repair of the
roadway between and for two feet out
side of all of the tracks, and in the city
and county of San Francisco for the
payment into the city treasury of
per cent. of the gross receipts within
the said city and county of San Fran
cisco.
The limitations of the franchises we
own necessitate this company dividing
large portion of it's income through
transfers with other roads, in order
that its patrons may reach popular bus
mess centers. Thus the very condi-
tions and limitations of the franchises
under which the railroad is operated
render the business Improbable.
we expect of course that our fran
chises will become valuable; that We
shall make a profit in the business that
shall not only pay US a reasonable rate
of interest in the future but enable us
to write off sufficient sum each year
to reimburse the owners of the capital
invested at the time the franchises shall
expire
Last year our net receipts, exclu-
sive of depreciation, wear and tear and
loss of the life of the franchise itself,
as well as liability for accidents that
occurred in 1898 and were still unset
tied on the first of March, 1899, show
about 3 per cent. interest on the act
ual cash put into the road. Our fran
oh
run. 1 very much question whether 5
per cent. would cover our depreciation
and the loss of the life of the franchise
itself. You may therefore figure at 3
per cent. the company conducted it's
business for the year 1898 at loss
IF the line of reasoning 1 have Of
fered be followed to it's conclusion, we
will reach this point: That with the
exception of our cars, this company
owns practically nothing that has a
cash value which your honorable board
can use as basis for assessment. Our
tracks have no value outside their use
in connection with the franchise, and
the franchise being Improbable of it
self possesses no taxable value what
ever The law of assessing on the
basis of cash value, as applied to a
street railway, that yields no profit
cannot be carried out in its strictest
sense, and therefore the question of
value must be considered broadly.
Il know of no rule by which street
railway of this character can be justly
assessed. We have no bonds, and no
stock has been sold, and therefore, no
line of value can be deducted along
these lines. The most correct way to
assess street railway property would
be on a percentage of their gross re-
ceipts, relieving them of all other tax
alton except the regular portion of
taxes uoon such real estate as they
use in their business
The Secretary said he believed that
in placing valuation of SOL, ,050 upon
franchises, tracks and rolling stock,
and, in addition, paying taxes on $40,-
600 worth of personal property in San
Francisco, and the payment of a fran
chise tax or rent of = per cent of the
gross receipts in the city and county
of San Francisco into the city treasury,
the company would be meeting it's just
share of taxation.
Mr. Clayton said the road was run
down when the ownership was trans
ferred to the Spreckels. and that they