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Show vu THE VALUATION OF RAILROADS It will take several years to make the valuation, and probably several more of sparring in the courts to decide de-cide what relation the valuation h:,i bear to questions of administration One member of the Interstate com merce commission gave as his judu ment that It ft0uld cost nearer to S2O.noo.000 than to $10,000,000 and nearer to ten years than to five; and the nhe added that be considered his guess precisely as good as anv other mans, aud no better Another coin mlssioner believed that the hlstorl. al work imposed by the legislation would cost more money and time than the actual property Inventorj He polnl ed out that a properly organized board In charge of the work would lay down B let of general rules as to valuations' depreciation, methods of computation ami estimation, etc which would standardize the appraisal work bur the historical Investlsation nuUl r. sent a different problem for B" property, to be handled Independently The present appropriation for beginning be-ginning the work Is only ?l0o ioo Th-work Th-work within sixty days from the pas sa;e of the act. March 1st The first thing is to determine whether a boan' or an individual chief of the valuation bureau shall have supreme r har-e under the commission l, understood under-stood very definitely that ail detain business will be pushed oer to soffl su-'h authority The Interstate cc'gHs mission will dri'Tinlne a central p gram within the requirements of tl law, formulate rules und instructlosB and then permit It.- . - r i'r.atcs 1 do the work. A great organization ot engineB economists, prop.-rty experts. accoOB ants. r.i I estate s.pe ial'sts and fiS men of all c lasses must be formljB I It Is expected that for several I w hile the workers In full swing. V I force employed by this one batftfl I will number from "0 ,, .o r.r rtll as mail) as all th- other attaches Ml the commission, and the conimisMB has expanded till it is one of the VI and highly Impor-ant burcnh of 'fl -"' nitnent addition to t cofl which the goxernmeiit mu-.t hear, til expense to the railroads will very Vm siblj add as mm h more m meet the requlr.11,. i, , ,r,,, , n op with the c ommission in wr. av shall demand ImW.n 1 U elliver J American Review or Reviews. J 00 1 I |