Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-21
LAND VALUES
INCREASED BY
SPUR TRACKS
J0BBERS SHOW RAILROADS
GAIN TW0-F0LD
REAL ESTATE EXPERTS TESTIFY
IN CASE
Evidence Discloses Fact Southern Pa
clHc Receives $4,000 Every Year
for switching-This Amount
Called Excessive

To offset the Testimony introduced
nv the railroads that in charging $z'oV
a car for switching they were only
Ievvine interest on the amount OF
money invested in the land which IN
dnstrial tracks occupy, it was SHOWN ~
in the Interstate commerce hearlIls ~
the supreme court yesterday tlal ei.e
value of land in general throushouS
~ in5ustrial section had increased
I'm ner cent in a given time either py
the presence of an Industrial spur or
Nv reason of the advantageous loca-
tion for a spur track, ., ~
Tba Associated Jobbers counsel en-
deavored to show that the enhance
nent in the value of these JANUS oy
reason of the industrial deVelopinene
was many times greater than Llle ~
+arest which might reasonably De e&-
sSaotod from an investment amount
no 10 fine same as the value OF the
land. =, 4ha+ II
would cost the railroad companies an
enormous sum to acquire the pLoP
,srtv necessary for team tracks and 10
meet the demands of the Shippers II
thew were required to furnish team
tracks for every industrial or 1aelorS
spur now in existence
"A
real estate broker, and Lee A. Nc
ConneIl. who qualified as real estate
expert. testified on behalf of the Asso-
GATED Jobbers as to the value of the
1and Allen was on the stand until
. o'clock Yesterday afternoon. After
qualifying Mr.. Mcconnell as an expert
the attorneys for the defense admitted
that he would testify to the same facts
as brought out in the testimony oil MT
Allen.
The salient points in Mr.. Aliens tes-
4jmony were to the effect that the in
dustriaI tracks are necessary Tor the
movement of commerce; that their
value is determined by their useful
ness to the railroad and the factory
and that the uniform increase in the
value of such lands was due to their
accessibility Stress was laid upon
the point that such lands had a great
er value than team tracks because
they were available for all purposes
The ultimate effect of the testimony
was to show that the land which the
railroads have devoted to industry
track service was acquired at one-half
its present value, and that the present
or enhanced value of the land is due
to the facts that the industry tracks
are there. 1t was also brought out as
an expert opinion that the total value
OF the industry lIdCh ldluS'
Tracks on Public Streets
Answering a question from Mr.. Kus-
ter of counsel for the jobbers, Mr. Dur
brow, counsel for the Southern Pacific,
admitted that the team tracks of that
company at the Arcade depot were not
on land owned by the railroad COM
pany but were on a city street, and
Mr. Kuster asked why the city should
not collect rental for this area or offer
the fact as an offset to some of the
claims put forward by the railroad
company.
Mr.. Allen, as an expert, placed the
value of the Santa Fe team track land
as high as 1925 per square foot; that
of the Southern Pacific at from $3.50
to 50 per square foot. The team track
area of the Salt Lake road east of the
river was not so valuable, but it was
greater than the area of industry
tracks. The value of industry track
area was placed at from s cents to 81.
The experts based their appraisements
on the usefulness of the lands for all
purposets. The compliments regard
the point as to the comparative value
of land used for the two classes of
spurs as important.
The contention of the jobbers that
the industry tracks mean a great saw
ing to the railroad companies was
brought to the foreground by the state
ment that without them the roads
would have to more than double their
team tracks in order to properly serve
the public. 1t was shown, as an esti-
mate, that the jobbers annually pay
the Southern Pacific 100000 for switch
ing cars, and it is alleged this charge
is unwarranted.
R. T. Burdette, trainmaster for the
Southern Pacific, was placed on the
stand for the defense. His testimony
related to the time required in handling
cars, to the number of engines used,
the number of hours put in, and other
facts relating to switching. The hear
ing will be resumed at 10 o'clock this
morning.