The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-17
Interstate Commerce Com
mission Has Biggest Task
1t Ever Attempted
.LAFOLLETTE BILL
CAUSE OF ACTION
History of Each Road Must Be Given
and Value of All Properties in
Each State Must Be Item
lied Separately
BY @. d. STEWART

Washington, March 16.-(Special)--
Within the next 60 days the interstate
commerce commission will undertake the
biggest task that has ever been put up
to 1t. No other governmental agency in
this or any other country has ever es-
sayed such work. In magnitude, and
perhaps in Importance, 1t will compare
with the construction of the Panama
canal 1t will require as much time as
is being taken in the digging of the canal.
and when completed its effect upon
transportation problems may be quite as
decided as that of the opening of the
waterway from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific.
This job is nothing less than to make
complete valuation of all the rail-
roads of the United States. 1t was pro-
vided for in the LaFollette bill, which
was passed in the session of Congress
just completed.
First Greeted With Jeers.
At the time of the enactment of the
Hepburn bill for the regulation of in
terstate commerce, and again at the pas
sage of the Ellxins bill. amending the
basic law and extending the powers of
the interstate commerce commission,
propositions were advanced in Congress
looking to the physical valuation of rail-
reads by a government agency. At the
first suggestion, the idea was really
pooh-poohed out of serious consideration.
1t was greeted with Jeers, and when ar
guments were advanced against it they
varied in scope from contention that
the government had no right to pry into
the affairs of the railroads. and that such
an undertaking would work grave in
jury to innocent holders of railroad bonds
and stocks, to a declaration that the
task was too gigantic and that it simply
could not be done.
Yet at the recent session, the LaFolette
bill was passed by both branches of
Congress with practically no opposition,
and became a law with the Presidents
signature without creating more than a
ripple. Thus have times changed; we
are becoming in truth progressive.
The new law requires that all property
of every railroad in the country shall be
appraised in detail. There shall be a
determination of it's original cost, of its
present value, and of the present cost
of reproduction with statements of the
depreciation that is charged off in reach
ing present valuation.
The commission is directed to ascertain
what property was donated to each rail-
road, what its value was when donated,
and what its value Is now; by whom the
donations were made, whether by the ma
tional or state governments, in land
grants, or by the federal government.
state governments, or cities, in the form
of taxes or other subsidies. Detailed
ner in which the commission gained it's
facts and reached it's conclusions.
History of Each Road.
The biggest feature of the task in some
respects is the requirement that the COM
mission prepares a physical and financial
history of each railroad. This calls Tor
a history of every corporation that ever
built or operated a railroad, giving all
the organizations, reorganizations, receiv-
erships, consultations, etc, and all sales,
issues and reissues of securities of all
kinds.
Several years will be required for the
completion of this task and 1t will cost
the government several millions of dol
lars. A big staff of workers, including
expert engineers, economists, statisticians
and writer's must be gathered together,
and in addition hundreds of field workers.
clerks, ETC., will be needed. When in
full headway it is expected that the or
ganization will rank with one of the big
gest bureaus of the government.
As yet the commission has done nothing
more than discuss the big undertaking
informally No plan of operation has been
determined upon, and it is not known
whether sub-commission or single ex-
ecutive will be placed in charge. The
commission, under the new law, has alb
solute freedom in determining all this
Congress simply called for the work to
be done and left the manner of doing it
to the commission.
Hope for Cooperation
Members of the commission hope they
will have the cooperation of the railroads
men of the country rave indicated that
they are glad that the government has
undertaken the job, and it is believed that
in most instances the railroads will as
sist in every way possible. That will
make it infinitely easier for the commits
sion. However, there may be protest
from some of the roads when the full
scope of the inquiry is realized. The COM
mission is empowered to require cooper
alton of the railroads, but there is
question whether means were provided for
enforcing this requirement., so there is
decided disposition to conciliate rather
than antagonze the roads at the begin
ming of the work.
Somewhat similar valuations of rail-
roads and other public service utilities
have been made in other countries, but
plated in the United States. Foreign val
uations have been made preliminary to
the government ownership of railroads,
but they have been made piecemeal fash
ion, and for properties not comparable in
extent with the great transportation sys-
TENS of the United States. Nearly half
OF all the railroads of the world are OPP
Grated in the United States, a statement
which gives some idea of the task con-
fronting the commission,
Itemized by States
Another phase of the work. which adds
to its Importance, is the requirement that
the railroad property in each state shall
be appraised and itemized separately, SO
that every state will know exactly how
much it holds in the way of railroad
values.
There Is a divergence of opinion as to
whether the result of this work will be
of material practical value to the inter-
state commerce commission and to the
country. There are those who contend
that all this work will be for nothing. so
far as real tangible benefits are con-
cerned However, the preponderance of
opinion Is on the other side. Certain it is
that the interstate commerce commission
cannot fix transportation costs, and one
of the most important items In the cost
of transportation most assuredly is the
actual value of the operating plant of
railroad.
At any rate, the work is to be UNDER