Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-07
ITEMS OF $4,5OO,OOO
NELECTRIC COMPANY
VALUATION UNDER FIRE
william Draper Lewis Riddles
Corporation Experts APP
praisal of Property as
Indefinite
ASKS CONCRETE FIGURES
c.,,rsel for Complainants Calls Pro-
fessor's Statement
Guess

u,,id inouiry into two times, amount
rooriv si.5OO.OOO OF the appraisal
:, " ,be physicol valuation of the Phila-
s.,nbio Electric Company was made by
49, pubu cscrvice Commission at to-
-. sossior of n hearing of charges
.,,ht nv Director Cooke. of the De-
...,n,ent of public Works, that the com
s,s r,tcs are excessive and its serv-
Ice Inadequate
:, -oo oOO item accredited to added
.o,, dino to constructing during opera
,,or or plants and to piecemeal work
nor cent. added allowance, or
.,,,,,, SI eO,OaO. for superntcndcnts, time
,eoncrs. paymastcrs and like officials,
roro tho amounts under fire. Attempts
&c m,dc bv William Draper Lewis
.i,s counsel ior the compainants. 10
- NAT these overlap the appraisal of
s5i scOl5 for all construction equipment
.,J n,,pratiug items made by Prof. Du-
" VIA =, Jackson. of the Massachusetts
H. ,titutc of Technology. the company's
pppraisnl expert.
profcssor Jackson. under cross-eNami'
nation for the seventh consecutive aay
hp x.
Iotwoon the factors in the S3.5OO,0OO item
",J Tho total valuation but was unable
,a ioei,rnntc any figures or sets of figures
T., thc company's books to show how he
reached the total
"Tsn't your statement a pretty indef-
r,,e though educated guess?' asked Mr..
Lewis, who wished specific data.
NO" emphatically replied jackson,
.berouse il is based on my experience OF
1.s
stonce. il costs 20 per cent. more TO erect
snail numbers of poles than large
groups" -,,.,,,. ,o
En concrete figures were available, he
admitted. TO support his per cent. al
nwaucc, which, he maintained, was a
,,ir and lust estimate based on his eX-
ncricuce As n rate expert with other COM
pnnes. .
That this allowance should be support
cd by concrete figures was the ruling OF
the commission. The company agreed
70 submit them, under protest, however,
that II cntailed II great amount of labor
and time.
"you have already had year and eight
months since the hearing began OBJ
served Commissioner Monaghan, who was
the only commissioner this morning.
The appraisal of more than 100000
is
serted, and they hope to slice several
hundred thousand dollars from the per-
cent. allowance.
SEEKS TO PIN EXPERT DOWN.
Mr. Lewis, attempting to pin Professor
Jackson down to figures. learned that the
company's annual payroll Is about S3.OO,-
oOO but was unable to learn what per-
ccntagc of this makes up the salaries or
tha ciinprintnnHanfg timnkpnnnrg
masters and others who are included in
the . per cent. allowance.
When the expert protested to the COM
missioner. Mr.. Monaghan expressed sur
PRISE that the company's books were not
So organized that 1t would be possible
10 give the monthly and annual figures
instead of estimates based on theoretical
appraisal methods.
"The commission must deal with con-
crete figures instead of distractions" he
said.
OF almost equal importance with this
development at the morning session was
the statement that the commission in
tended to continue the case for six days
a week until it is completed. Owing to
the great Importance attached to the
issues Mt stake. Mr. Monaghan said, and
the fact that delays of many months were
necessitated by the company's prepara-
tiOn of appraisal, the commission now in
tends to do everything possible to bring
the case to a conclusion before the end of
the year
NOT READY FOR MCCALL.
II was the belief when the session
opened that Joseph b. Mccall, president
of the company, would be called to the
stand today and that cross-eNamination
OF Professor jackson would be ended this
morning. Owing to the controversy over
the per cent. allowance and several
other points, it is not likely that Mr.,
Mccall will take the stand today.
William ID. Il. Ainey chairman of the
Commission, and the other members
nave gone TO Harrisburg to take up other
cases