The Washington herald., 1913-10-06

A beam of light travelling at lightning
speed would exhaust the. lives Of many
generations before it would reach a GER
tain remote star. From our own little
limited scope OF life such a journey
seems everlasting.
A similar journey. interminable. indie
Enable, and almost unimaginable is set
before the Interstate Commerce Com
mission by the act of March /, 1913,
ordering it to make a valuation Of the
physical property Of common carriers"
the railroads.
Until the task is carefully considered
and the lay examined. this sounds al
most as simple as starting a fash to fly
across the spaces; for surely physical
property" means such things as have
weight and shape and size, and there
fore a list of it all could be quickly
prepared
On the contIS:y, it will take years to
complete Ten million dollars is estl-
mated as the cost, and when it Is done,
then instantly will the results change.
and changes in the results will continue
as long as common carriers" continue
TO operate.
To aid in making a seemingly simple
task measure up correctly in the mind
of the man on the street, some few de-
tails Of the act must be understood. The
Interstate Commerce Commission has
this to do:
Lines of Research.
l. 1t shall make an Inventory Of the
property of every common carrier in
detail
?. II shall ascertain the value of all the
property owned or used by any common
carrier.
3 II shall report (a) the original cost
to date of all such property. (b) the cost
of reproduction, less depreciation.
L 1t shall report separately other VAL
ues and elements OF value Of such prop
erty. CThis is the indefnable part OF its
task
5. 1t shall report Ca) the original cost
of all lands. rights of way. and termi-
nails: CbD the present value Of all such:
(c) the present estimated and the past
cost OF condemnation.
s. It shall report on (a) the history and
organization OF every railroad ever oper-
ated in the United States. whether, now
part of a system or independent; Or on
he stocks ponds and other securities,
increased or decreased since the begin
ming of our railroads: (c) on all banking.
syndicating, and other financial arrange
ments involved in marketing stocks
bonds. &c: Cd on the net and gross
earning. and also the expenditures of
all railroads.
: II shall report Cal all gifts Of lands
or aid OF any kind TO railroads by the
government of the United States, by any
State, county, municipality. individual,
&c; IbI the price realized on sales OF
such gifts or aid; (cD all concessions
made in return for such gifts or aid
S. 1t shall show the value Of every
common carrier as a whole. and then
in detail. within each State or Territory.
il enters or traverses.
9. II shall report to Congress at the
beginning of each regular session until
the task is done.
10. It shall thereafter report every
change in values OF every kind CThls -
the interminable part OF its task.
Difference Between Cost and Value.
When it is through. the valuation Of any
railroad shall be a tentative valuation
against which the common carrier" can
protest When this is ended, then the
final value (which is subject to change
indefinitely and forever and therefore
ne--er '.fnal'D, shall be prima faCie
evidence Of the value of the property
The reader needs only a few sugges-
tions to make him understand that under
item No We shall never come to agree
ment: for the cost of a railroad and the
value of a railroad are two utterly differ
ent things. A perfect mile OF railroad
might be constructed in the Mojave des-
ert. Its cost would be great, but its
value nothing; for il would do nothing
for the good of anybody Some vers
imperfect miles OF road exist here ana
there. but their value is immense: for
they possibly give value to every other
mile as far as the Pacific Coast. They are
essential links. Some holiday resort rail-
roads fuctuate in value Just as the Their
mometer goes up or down. They cost
for construction. but their value exists
chiefly in the summer time.
Note this variation from all the above
The cost of railroad between two great
cities is less il it can make a Decline |
oil avoid tunnels: but the less il costs !
and the shorter the distance it runs, the |
greater is its value
These illustrs tions give an idea of what !
a task is intangible valuation.
Who shall decide whether Iowa rail- !
roads have gone down in value and how |
much by the decline in population in the !
last decade?
Michigan railroads were stated by /
Michigan officials to have SS5,Sl4OlS worth |
OF this foggy something belonging to
them Din 1900; but Wisconsin on the
other hand credits no intangible value
at all to its railroads.
The State of Washington credited the !
October I3-PostaI Savings and J