The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-05-08
RAILWAY VALUATION.


The Railway Age. in an editorial in
its current issue, discusses some of the
impromptu valuations of the railroads
made by such critics of the transp Ir-
tation companies as Clifford Thorne
and the labor leaders to show that the
public should not be unduly influenced
by them because they differ among
themselves and at different times as
to the value of the roads by almost as
much as the amounts by which they
CLAIM the tentative valuation made by
the interstate commerce commission
exceeds the true valuation.
The agitation for legislation to re-
quire the interstate commerce COM
mission to make valuation was car
ried on mainly by those who alleged
that the railways were grossly over
capitalized. They seemed confident
that a valuation would justify whole
sale reductions of rates
When the transportation act of
1920 passed. the commission had been
working on the valuation over six
years. 1t had inventoried the physt-
cal properties of most of the RAILWAYS
at enormous cost, and had the recS
ords in its office. The transportation
act directed it in regulating rates to
take into consideration the informa-
ton it had gathered. The commits
sion for the purpose of the rate case
of 1920 placed upon the railways a
tentative valuation of eighteen billion
nine hundred million dollars Its
members repeatedly have told meI1-
hers of congressional committees that
this was based mainly upon the re-
suits of their investigation under the
valuation law.
Nevertheless" says the Age. "the
very people who got the valuation law
passed have been among the loudest
and most active in disseminating
propaganda to discredit the commits
sion's tentative valuation as grossly
excessive. William H. Johnston. pres
ident Of the International Association
OF Machinists, took few minutes
from other duties one day and made n
valuation of $s,610.00O.oO0. President
Markham of the Illinois Central
showed that Mr. Johnston's valuation
defied the ordinary rules of arithme-
tic and that If it had conformed 70
those rules it would have been $3.50
100000 bigger. Glenn E. Plumb then
rushed to the rescue and offered for
consideration one valuation of $780,
10000 and another of $4,000. OOO.-
600. Meantime an anonymost emf
nent economist contributed to the
Firemen's Magazine a valuation of
1s.o0O.OOO.OOO. These labor leaders
differed among themselves to the ex-
tent of $4.4OO.OOO.OOO."
Most astonishing. however. the Age
points out, has been the attitude OF
such men as Senator LaFonette and
Clifford Thorne, who were among the
most earnest advocates of the valua-
ton legislation passed in 1913. They
both advocated having the valuation
made by the interstate commerce
commission and both now Indignantly
repudiate the commissions findings
Soon after the commissions tenta-
tive valuation was made Thorne got
the American Farm Bureau fedora
ton to adopt a resolution setting forth
that it was five billion dollars too
large. This apparently was based
upon computations by which he had
ascertained that the total value of
railway securities measured by their
market prices in 1920 was less than
SIS. 100000.
The most notable fact regarding
these ready-to-wear valuations which
have been made by various persons
not previously recognized, as experts
upon the subject" says the Age. SIS
not that they differ from that OF the |
Interstate commerce commission but |
that they differ so much among them |
selves