The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-05-05
IN. D. r. K. Commission
Will Help the u. S. to
Get Physical Valuation
Secretary Cushing Board Talks Interestingly About Ggan-
tic Task Uncle Sam Has Undertaken
It Will Take About Five Years and Cost Between 900
to to$5,0O0,0O0 to Complete the Job
Members Of Board Fargo Today Enroae to Grand Feks
Where They Will Start ON Extensive Trip

Pres. w. A. Stutsman, Comr. W. H
Mann and Sec. W. r. Gushing Of th'
state board of railroad commissioner
were in the city today en- route tt
! Grand Forks. where tomorrow they
will start on a. several days trip II
various points on the Great Northern
road on a special train in company
with Assistant General Superintend
ent Leverich Of that road. Commits
sioner Anderson will join the party a:
Devils Lake tomorrow.
There are d great many matter:
pertaining to crossings in towns and II
the country, new sidings, changes il
train service, loading platforms, etc.
on that line which have come before
the commission of late said Secre
| tary Gushing this afternoon. land aft
| er a conference with the railroad of
| ficials it was decided to make this gen
| eral trip over the Great Northern ant
settle all the questions at one clip anc
! in the most expeditions way. and a
| the same time give all interested a fail
| hearing"
Mr.. Gushing talked very interesting
ly on the work of the railroad comis
sion, which has had several new de.
partments added to it's duties by the
last Legislature. He. spoke Of the re-
from the interstate commerce COM
mission for assistance and co-opera-
ton in making g. physical valuation ir
this state of public service corpora
tiOns, the national commission having
been directed by the last congress tC
make such valuation Of these corpor-
ations all over the United States. The
North Dakota commission has tender
ed its services to the interstate com
,,1tc, Sc, ~
by so doing the state board will come
in close touch with this work and be
in possession of much useful inform
alton probably long before the publ
cation of the general report of the
interstate body, although, Of course
such information will not be available
to the public until promulgated from
| Washington.
"Following out the mandates of the
La Toilette bill" said Mr.. Cushing
"the interstate commerce commission
will begin what will be by far the
greatest Investigation affecting rail
ways ever undertaken by this or any
other nation. it covering the 250,00(
| miles of railroad trackage having q
book value of $14,000,000,000 and q
stock and bond value of SIS. 900 600, 900
1t is estimated the work will cost the
government from $500, 900 to $4,000.
600, require at least five years to com
plete and necessitate the employment
of skilled experts, some of whom will
draw more salary than any Of the COM
missiOners. The cost Of this stupen-
dous undertaking does not stop with
the government, for the railroads will
be put to an expense as great, If not
more in conducting their part of the
investiga ton.
"Of course it is expected that not
only the general government, but the
states will receive great benefit from
this valuation, as it is thought it will
undoubtedly. result in lower rates and
will at the same time give a fair and
accurate basis for taxation. Present
freight rates are supposed to be bas-
ed on a physical valuation, but since
no official valuation has been deter
mined, the word of the railway COM
panies has to be taken for it.
Senator La Toilette has been advo-
eating a physical valuation for years
and under his advice Wisconsin has
already secured such valua ton, which
is found to work out well in that state.
The interstate commerce commission
has been advocating the proposition for
the last three years. It's position being
as outlined by Commissioner Clements
in his testimony before the house COM
mittee considering the present law, as
follows:
"1 think it sound justice and law
that as a basis for constitutional earn
ings fair return on the value of the
property means, generally speaking, a
fair return on the investment actually
made, originally and subsequently,
Speaking further, Commissioners Glenn
ents told of the difficulties shippers
meet in attempting to combat increas-
es in freight rates when they have not
the figures of valuation to show that
the road will earn unreasonably high
profits with the increased rates. On
the other hand the roads can present
valuation evidence to the courts in or
der to show that rates prescribed by
the interstate commission are confis-
catory, and there is no way to refute
such testimony If the commission be-
lieves it to be unsound. ~a,- ...
"On the other hand some eminent
students Of this subject hold such. a
valuation will uphold the railways and
make rate increases an easy matter.
In this connection it is noted that a
few years ago when La Toilette first
proposed such a physical valuation he
was branded as a dangerous radical,
but when his bill was finally put to
vote the railways had apparently
changed their attitude and the meas
ure received the unanimous vote of
the senate, the corporation views
probably being expressed by President
Delano, who said: The benefit the
roads expect to get out of the inves-
tigation is in allaying the idea that
seems to be SO general that railroad
property is very much overvalued.
Railroad men do not think that is so.
They feel perfectly confident that a
fair valuation will show that 1t is not
so.' n
The American Shippers Gazette
has an interesting description of the
great task before the interstate COM
mission" said Mr.. Cushing in conclu-
sion, and he handed The Forum the
following clipping from that periodic
al:
The law provides various methods
which are to be used by the commits
sion In arriving at a fair value OF the
property Of the carriers, The first
method lis by ascertaining the original
cost of the. roads plus the cost of
their Improvements to date. This
phase of the work will involve a vast
compilation of the history of American
railroad investments. In the cases of
several railroads 1t means going over
records seventy years old.
Often the commission will find it
impossible to learn the early history
of railroad investments from the orig
inal documents, since many records
have been destroyed by fire. The Bal
tirnere fire destroyed the general Of
\ fees of the Baltimore 81 Ohio railroad.
and the Southern Pacific lost many