The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1920-04-30
SALVAGE VALUE
LACKS MEANING
GIVEN It HERE
Traction Company Problem
Takes New Aspect in Light
OF Statement Made Thursday
By Carl McStay

Asserting that Salvage value" a
applied to the property Of the Cald
well Traction company equipment ant
property through the agency of tn,
Faris Construction company report
has been grossly misinterpreted by tn,
members of the Commercial clut
committee and that the question O
price to be paid for the property b,
persons served by the road if the,
should determine to purchase it are
the outstanding things IN a forma
statement which c. E. McStay pre-.
scented to meeting of interested per
sons at the Commercial club Thurs.
day evening.
His statement which was addressed
to the people served by the Caldwell
Traction company lines is as follows
1T is to be regretted that a misun-
Outstanding has arisen as to that por
ton of the engineering report on the
properties of this company which re-
ter to salvage value" that same has
been taken by many to mean that the
total under that head. sol ,08l .66, rep
resents the amount that could be OBJ
tanned for the property if torn up and
sold: in other words, it has been tax
en- by many to mean that the price
asked for this property was several
the same ratio
This is not the case; the salvage
value referred to is the estimated
worth of all property "after it has
become totally unfit for further use
and then could only be sold as scrap
or junk. A brief examination of the
report will show that the steel rails,
in the salvage column, are estimated
at approximately $1,000 per ton, where
as your committee can readily get
quotations on these rails from reliable
concerns in excess of $1,000 per ton.
Other large items will be found in
the sameratio.
"1n order that there may be no fur
Their question as to our willingness to
be perfectly fair in the matter we Of
fer to leave the question of price to a
board of arbitration; this board to
have a representative selected by the
COMMITTEES interested, a representa-
tive selected by the company, and
those two to select the third member,
buyer and seller to be found to abide
by the decision of the board of arbi-
tration, if deemed best. the selection
of the entire board to be left to the
state public utilities commission, they
being the representatives of all the
people, and therefore impartial.
1--WE submit that this proposal elm
mates any question as to our willing
ness to be fair, and request your early
consideration and reply; copy of this
communication has been given your
committee, and to each of the local
newspapers.
Respectfully submitted,
c. F. McSTAY,
For the Caldwell Traction Co."
Earlier in the day Thursday Mr. Nc
Stay said informally that belief that
the Caldwell Traction company lines
could not be torn up without lengthy
proceedings and hearings was prob
ably without basis. He said that he
had been informed by one member of
the public utilities commission that if
conditions were as the Traction COM
pany officials held them to be, it
might require no more than three
weeks to take necessary steps to the
scrapping of the line.
Mr.. McStay also has in his posses
sion kilograms received from various
concerns interested in purchasing the
property. should rolling stock. rails.
copper and other equipment for ship
ment to oriental points should it be
found necessary to take up the line.
Until some definite agreement has been
reached here, however, as to the course
or action desired by those interested
in the line through being benefited
by its service, these offers have only
been advanced through the most pre-
liminary of forms.