Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-10-25
EDWARDS CASE.
R. W. Eaton Of Bruins
wick, Witness Yesterday.
His Valuation Is Placed At
S668,118 for Entire Plant.
The Reasons for Reaching These Figures
Witness States At Some Length.

K, W. Eaton Of Brunswick resumed
his testimony ut the opening Of court
vest rrdIy morning. He said that Mill
40 had been very accurately de-
SCrih"d by tn" other witnesses. 1t is
u.-"lcSs for manufacturing purposes and
the witness could not conscientiously
recommend il to any on" who Was q
prospective buyer. 1t has some value tn
IT," Edwards 90. to preserve tn" or
Eanization, a ''stopEap" value. The
valu" of this building he fixed at 10
cents per foot or S7i21
Mill No. > was the next on the schcd-
ul" In considering this mill and also
the subsequent mills, the witness said
that he started out with the idea Of
cost ncW with ordinary foundations.
"My belief is" he said. chat the adj
vance in the priC" of building material
has enhanced the value of the buildings
Qua. to the amount of their deprecia-
tior. and would therefore place the val
nc at what they cost. No buyer would
consider the basement Of any value.
The Edwards Go. has no business to
use It. The building also has the fault
of being too high" In consideration Of
the basement and the height the wit
ness ula,cd a value Of $i3i56. or about
3512 cents pcr square foot.
The witness Went on to say that
when "" are asked for today's cost we
arc building an entirely different kind
If building. The walls are thin here. the
rooms are but IL feet in the clear
whereas they should he Is feet and the
windows are very small. Labor condi-
tons are very different from what they
were 10, five Of even three years ago.
The increased intelligence Of til" oper-
ativos and tn" better wages that they
have been able To- obtain have lei
them to ask for better conditions. 81
for on" am delighted with this con Ii
tiun of things" remarked the witness.
Help is attracted to mills that ar" right,
ana once tn" operative has decided to
move somewhere else it is impossible
to stop him.
Attorney Eakcr asked how manr nf
the looms were idle at the Edwards
mlii Int ohjc ;tiors we're raised. Z nn
objections We're "vorrul"d after som :
discussion ana Mr. Eaton answered
that ore quarter Of the machinery was
i'll" and that the cause was lack of
help.
Mil No. . was then taken up. This
building is three stories high lIrd has
4 Easement In regar,! to til. basement.
the witness said that il vas dark and
that it was harl wDr,, I" get opera !res
To GO into it. The Ia: cment being there
reduced tn" value per square foot OF
floor snace from Is cents to &c cents.
The walls arc ~ inches thick. with -
inch pilastcrs while the walls Of the
Cabot mill are Sc inches thick. The
building should not have been con-
structcd in this manner on the first
floor the witness found that there was
considerable vibration. noticed cracks
in the walls and also noticed that the
wall. had settled more than the CEN
ter Of the building.
Mills and are the hest mills on the
property Mills 3. 4 and ; as they- are
all cCntinuous mills the witness gave a
value, Of 36 cents per square foot ircud-
iIs the hasy.n"ntE.
Asked now the condition of the Lock