Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-01-30
STATE LIST OF
PROPERTY HELD
TO Be LACKING
TRICKY Railway Company Sup
ports Contention as to Valu-
alton by Its Engineer.
HEARING is HELD IN MOLINE
State Utilities Commission Again
Wrestling With Proposition
for 7-Cent Fares.

That the engineer of the state
utilities commission overlooked a
number of important items when
he made his recent estimate of the
value OF the Tri-City Railway COM
pany property, was the contention
made on behalf of the company to-
day at the hearing before the COM
mission in Moline. The estimate
made for the state is nearly a mil
lion dollars below that made by
the engineer for the company.
The hearing. which may result in
a decision on the application for z
cent fares, is being held at the Mo-
line city hall and is attended by
representatives Of Rock Island,
Moline. East Moline and Silvis.
At the morning session II. f.
Bartlett, the state engineer who
had examined and VALIDATED the Hi
nOis properties of the company,
now worth $2,6IO,34O.
L. r. King, the company engineer,
said they should be valued at ST.
697 sol Mr.. Bartlett placed the
purchase value of the property at
$2,167 ,267. Mr. King said the com
pany paid S4,514,842 for the various
articles that go to make up the Tri-
City Railway company and the
Moline, Rock Island & Eastern
Traction company.
The question of value apparent
Iy is considered Of paramount i'm
portance, for this mornings session
was taken up entirely with that
matter. At this afternoons session
the same problem was to be cOnsid-
cred.
Mr.. King stated that the commits
sion engineer made his mistake Of
a million largely by emitting GER
tain properties and by incorrectly
estimating land values.
Claim Profit Nearly Gone.
The importance of the question Of
value may be determined by
statement issued for publication by
officials of the railway company.
A sentence from that statement
follows:
THE railway company present
ed data in this hearing showing
that during the last six months Of
1918 their income after operating
expenses were paid and a mOder-
ate allowance made for deprecia-
ton of the property amounted to
only enough to pay interest on the
investment as figured by the utili-
ties commissions engineer Of 1.67
per cent per annum."
Mr.. King, the company engineer,
listed as having been omitted by
the commission the following prop
critics:
Twenty-one thousand feet of spe-
cial track, $42 ,556.
Machinery and tools, s12, 172.
Special work in storage rooms,
So. S62.
Cash working capital, S24 900
Track and overhead work, $685.
435.
Land values. $4,000
Mr.. King also mentioned a GER
tain street car that had been omit
ted by Mr. Bartlett when he made
his valuation for the utilities COM
mission. That car is known as cas
No. 266. Car No. 256, said Mr..
King, is worth $4,000.
Mr.. Bartlett explained that he
had no intention of sighting car
No. 256. 1t was being used in Dav-
export, he said, and that's how it
happened to be omitted in his re-
port.
Mr.. King explained that car No.
256 may have been used in Daven-
port. but that It belonged to Moline
OF Rock Island. The representa-
tive of the commission, H. NJ Sla-
ter, did not indicate what the com
mission would do about No. 256.
Mayor William McConochie did
not let the morning session go by
without a remark or two. The may
OF sat quietly during the greater
part of the hearing. but when the
discussion turned to the cost of
power he spoke up.
Mr.. Bartlett had testified that the
company had included under oper-
ating costs electric power at Is
cents a kilowatt hour John K.
Scott. city attorney, intimated that
the figures were too high. and ask
ed if power couldn't he produced at |
125 cents per kilowatt hour.
Mr.. King stated that even so the |
cOmpany's need of a 7-cent fare /