Witness Against Blind |
Se&ator Were
Attack-ad f
FOR yL?lNTIFFi
Counsel for Senator Gore Made
Efforts to Impeach Witnesses
and Shaw Premeditated
Action'm Vi f,
.. . . . ..
(By Associated Press).
' Oklahoma City. Okla., V?ii?Af^
Counsel for Mrs. Minnie Bond, who
le seing Senator Thomas p. Gore for
for 160,000 damages, as the result of
ah alleged assualt In a Washington
hotel,.- today rested their case. James
It. Jacobs, who was examined to be
one of the principle witnesses, will be
uaeu In rebuttal, it Is announced.
Efforts were .made, today to im-.
peach the testimony of Dr. J. H. Earpl
and T. B. Robertson, who testifed j
yesterday. Earp was asked if he had
not told Dr. D. M. Beatty of this city,
that they were going to "get Gore."
He denied making auoh a statement
lie was tasked If he had not told a
man named Cope of El Reno, that
the case was all a "frame up." This
Earn, also : denied. \>l
When Robertson was recalled to
the witness stand he was aBked It be,
Jacobs and J- -F., MeMutray. had. now
met In McMurray's room soon, after
the Incident In Washington and dis
cussed the, .best . method Jof placing
the affair before the public, if they
had not planned to prosecute Gore,
anud failing-, in that, to, place the mat
ter before the mfitofertatTeBlance orj
Oklahoma.
Cou sel for Mr. Gore claimed ground
for impeachment of Robeftwun was
laid In - these- questions. In reply to
questions Robertson ssld he had been
paid ?150 by Jacobe, but that Jacobs
owed him money and it'had nothing
to do with the Gore case.
. Robertson was ssked if Smith
ti asis?, ? &. I 0 ? ?
* OFFICERS FOB 1M4.
* * * > m * m
The officers-elected for the ensuing
yoAr are Maj. T. T. Hyde of ChuMf,
ton; president; J. E. Wannamakor of
i?jn?reburg, vice president; Rar. D.
D. Jones of Easley. secretary, j 8. T.
?leH'Sdf Spartanburg; treasurer,' itoV.;
W. TH- K. f endletou of Spartanburg,
representative to the International
Convention. Maj' ;-,tv T. Hyde, ?alter-'
nate.
Department superintendents: Elc7
auentary, Mrs. S. N. Burts, Spartah
burg; Secretary, H. A. Wise, Colum
bia; Ddult, Paul Quattlebaum, Con
way; Teacher Training, Rev. F. W.'
Qr?st, Rc^i- mil; Home D?partait,
W. H, Harrison, Columbia; Home Vis
itation, missions and temperance, yet
to be appointed.
Centrai committee: Rev. W. II. K.
Pondleten of Spartanburg, chairman;
Maj. T. T. Hyde, ox officio; Rev. W. L
. Herbert, wparianburg; ?r. r. M. n-i
lerbe. Jonosville; Hon. Horace J_, Bo
mar, Spartanburg; Jno! W Simpson,
?partanburg; Rev. D. D. Jones, Eas
ley.
t (By Associated Pr^ssj
New York, Feb. IS.?Johnny Bvers
elgned a contract Friday afternoon
to -play tour years with the Boston
National League dub at a salary of
$10,000 a y?ar und a. $20,000 bonus.
The contract provides\4ant he shall
not be traded or sold without his con
nent and contains a clause that he
?hall receive additional money if the
Boston club finishes m tow, secoua
or third place.
-NOTICE, SUBSCBIBRBSt *
Seme of ear subscriber* whe *
failed to see t3d ???ces fab- *
lished several times at the Uwe *
WA ferfUMtn tbjA eablleati?? pi Th? *
deraton* ?^tne^Sy wB! >'
sent to AM. subscribers to the
geOkf'Weeldy fer a short wfcfte, *
free of charge,
Thst Ss, the Betty wUl be seat
them ta place of ''ttt*'jMWTO
Weekly darW the trial period.
At the explratfan ef this ??e *
we snan uffal* ^*jt??*>
the 83?l=Wee*Jy lnteUlgafieor,
at Walch Um**k these who do
net desire to beeojoe subscrib
ers to the BaJJy
ved o? the SeusLWeeMy Bat
tu* nttl reeelte tbe Serai- *
Weekly ft* the fell J
which they have paid. ITserek J
aoCktag etMjjstoey afcout he. *
eosstag sabeeAey? to toe
DaBy, and we ebftply wWAtt *
oeffrenden to hare a chance to *
e? what a splendid daily sbws- *
Sniper we cab publish, -
&f esars* we sasli be gtodto
save as ^y ?? &a?ee*ft*
to the ?attv, and shall appre
efato taebr
Sef M? as?unt paid ia ad
vaace T?flS be esotftod an toe
?wbAcriptfea pr?eo 'al ihe DeSy.
taeae *eik*e?*e*w ??Hw tc
. ohonjr* treoi ,ftfw-we*aly.
FOREST CONSERVATION
' Hr. J .B. Wannamaker of Orange-1
burg, nil of the trust?es of Clemson
| College, and a member of the board of
directors of tbe State Sunday School
association, U very much Interested in
a bill to prevent forest tires and oth
erwise to tfrot?ct tbe timber lands of
tue country.
He declares that the forests of tbe
State are - being depopulated too rap
Idly through carelessness and other
agencies,- and he wishes to see a State
fcrwftry bill enacted.
**lt will be a wise policy und a
wund business for* this State to pro
tect Its forest?," said Mr. Wannamak
er, "and la doing so it may 'secure
tbe aid of the federal government.
Tbe value of these forests to the own
ers, to ibe wage earner, and to the
State Is enormous.
"Lumbering hi the aecpad most
Important industry In Souih Carolina.
Tbe value of Ha product la not leas
than $15,000.000 annually. Of this
sum, about $3,000,000 represents the
value-of the timber .before It Is cut.
Tbo remainder, approximately $12.
000,000, 1b the coat of manufacture,
which gpes principally la wages to|
have been supplanted by the black
oaks and other Inferior species.
"The blight of Are on five water
sheds, which hares the slopes so that
there'Is no impediment to run-off, ,1s
Invariably reflected in tbe greater like
lihood of floods and of low watar
Very few States have as much at stake
la the maintenance of an equitable
streamflow as has South Carolina.
Memory of the disastrous floods of
1908 Is atlll freak in your minds.
. . "So important does the federal V
1 ?rament consider the relation of for
est fires to streamflow that Congress
enacted the so-called "Weeks Law",
which. appropriated $200,000 tor coop
erative work with the vcuious States
in protecting forests on the watersheds
of navigable streams. It also appro
priated $8,000,000 for the purebas? of
/oreat lands which are important In
|l maintaining the navigability of water
courses, and in purchasing such lands
the government pays a higher price for
?hose which' have not been badly bum
?d than for traut? wuich have under
gone the ravagea of fire.
Loss of Naval St?res.
If an example were sought of -ro
tte community. This Industry cm-(suits which, follow excessive destruc
ploys over 15,000 wage earners, many
I of whom- are skilled laborers.
Ferait Is Productive.
"It Is not hard to see the fundamen
tal Importance of protecting tbo for
valuable timber which they VieldTpre-.producta w Carolina decreased
tectlng the Industries which require ^ |4oo 0oo ia iB09
tlon of timber and wasteful and waste
ful methods of handling it, it would
be hard to find a better one than' that
presented by tbe history of tbe naval
stores Industry In this State. From a
sum reported to be nearly $2,000,000
the Industries which
the timber, and protecting, the tfaoue
?o4? of wage earners who depend up
on these industries for a livelihood,
j "And along with protection should
go proper management of the forest,
to,,make t? continuously productive,
toigjrv If the forest Is used as it should
be;i.t will go on producing timber, and
more and ! better timber, indefinitely.
I VSouth Carolina has unique possi
bilities as a timber-producing' State.
Few other regions in the world are as
favorable io'trec growth as the one
"The industry declined as tbe sup
ply of longleaf pine Bteadlly became
scarcer. It c?c be rehabilitated only
by protecting the remaining longleaf
pine from fire and'adopting proper
methods of management. Starting l?
North Carolina, the Industry moved to
?o?tb Carolina, which at one time
marked the center of production.. With
the depletion ,df"t?e Umber resources
in these two States, It moved again,,to
Gccr&'s?, und is now concentrated in
ie? of Florida. Vet the per
ln which It lies. Climate and aollI *V?~*Zil7Z*~ZZ??VI,
combine to produce tbe most valuable mancncy of the nav?I stores lndngtry,
1 timber in the shortest time, provided
flf? and unwise cutting are kept In
check. No where else are - there so
many hardwood species,,while its co
niferous forests are among the most
valuable in 'the United states. So.
great Is the region's adaptability to
forest growth that even - worn-out
m land, no longer capable of sup
rtlng crops, will In time re-clothe
Iitself with trees, if only these can
escape the ravr ;es of fire. ,
Fire is Destraetlve.
Is the ': forest? ' greatest ene
j'eef the first settlement at thie
' lberl.hg has utilized. Nor]
which means so uuch to tbe prosper
ity or tbe Southern States and to the
country at large, could have been
maintained *>y the. exercise of fore
thought and a little effort, especially
ce the; psvt.' a flourishing forest
region whicn supplies all ' the mural
?tores of thst coufiiry.
"In our .own country the United
does: it'eonhpe'Its damage'to the" ?for-1 States"'Forest.'Service ,is now expert
eisli jrt^wtt-^tiiff old ireWof th? pros- meeting on its National Forest In
?^?^^Ltt^^l^'^%\ Florida wu
,. tbe .Maritime pine-, iof
ur fprests in the .M-'ranco, which resembles our loblolly
in rapidity, df g^th^d^;
pentiae ?qua^^fluajK^; td
the fast disappearing longWPa
experinten is.^promise to go a. long way
toward solving the . problem of re
?j^OTtraji^ur depleted,(Southern pine
ries, und 1 mention thus,instance, and
that of France merely to. show that by
taking the necessary measures It may
be possible to renew apd keep the na
val stores industry In the Southern
States; where It originated. t
Our ?reat Possibilities.
4re:
**Wm&.WiW- ?t?y.W iPfo-Lpentlne .eq
Jpd' by .nature for the ",watershed^.; *
r*f?^V^!*? ganger both of , hoods
id .'of.Ipm* water, in tho streams; it
upalrs .th'esq streams' navigability;'
id-it destroys proper? y and interrupts
buslljeasiY , ,
A conservative estimate Of the area
burned over in.South Carolina every
year would be 4,009, acres, with a lo&s
of nearly $300,000. To this loss must
be added that resulting from floods
and low water, ' the extent of which
1s only too well known to every citi
zen of the State.
one should not bo misled,' ' said
Mir. Wannamaker, "In regard to the
damage wrought by tir? in the forests
of South Carolina by the fact tiaat it Is
noticeable chiefly in the case of small
tress and young reproduction. Re
peated fires scar and hollow the
trunks of the older ??ees, leaving them
"South Carolina nas a productive!
forest area of about io,000;000 acres.[
On- this area as & whole it is safe to ~
hey that the average annual produc
tion per acre does not amount to more
than 75 board feet long material. This*
-.- . I. ~, AK? 4nfA| ?MHM.1 _.1 ? .
AUCMIO ?.?MM. . ........... eiuniuul
the* forests of the.State Is something
like .750,000,000 board feet of tliqbcr.
The annual cut, on tne other hand, is
wuum ?i ^ . ? ?? ? L-eiMmaied at one billion board feet,
been to dee?y ?um msec* attack. Such P . ^ttMU.- ?hn _?_?., ,Ma,fll K?
damage may sot strike tbe observer
" 'Mdbly aS the eight of an entire
forest destroyed a common occurrence
reniemoercd that every virgin or old
rwSad of timber is a source of
to the Statt and it market for
, the Importance of protecting
is^arests that now exist can hardly
e questioned.
"Timber shortage In the past has
reu ?m in a scarcity or tne
stter gradea of lumber, grades which
which exceeds the annual growth
250,000.000 feet.
. "To put the fact ^ another way^oue
,L!iird more timber is,.each year being
horhbod of 30 billion board, feet. It
requires, * therefore, merely a simple
mathematical calculation to determine
the 'time when/ with pr?sent me?,hods
continued, the forest wealth ' oi^ti^
State will bo exhausted.
t?ftl*?.?? <_ *
-- ? ?v uwwv, wv^wvm, ivi ittir
to come about. By the application o2
^*J? ?n ;^;^? r:"~r forestry with fire protection as the
M trees alpne can Droduce. as a _Mf .on .,n ?n", ~??tH-MMM ?.v.
suit, the price of the higher g.adcn
is steadily advancing, and the value
lof the trees from which they are ob
tained has advanced also. Thus we
tbn*ajd-situation ?vhere th? value of a
natural : re?ouroe--ihe virgin forest-^
zXat&S? b?wis?? v??fH long as il
can supply the kind of material de
manded. Every principle, of wise fore
ibought end Sound . economy would
therefore seem to indicate, the neces
sity of protecting the growth and
haadMug It properly.
Assets Far the Patera.
'When Are' destroys the youog^
iwth In the forest it takes away
! the State an important seare?^
ifitrV'wealtb. just as ta the destmc
8b of the older trees it iemov(>
>resent sacr?e, tlyon the young
rtk depends the permanency or the
sr Industry in South Carolina,
ia left to burn there will be no
forest la the years to come to supply
the needs of the many wood-nstag In
duxtrtaa^^^jtrrer lands will remain
valueless tf the young reproduction
which eprtags up afte/ lumbering Is
not allowed to grow. Ita protectton,
on the other hand, will mean that
whsn the present crop of mercantile
ilmb?r ia rcfeved there will hOtaother
to take Its place.
y Am a result of forest f >e* and cen
ia^aoht detertoraUon of the soil and
elimination of the Uier i valuable tree
?pacles. South Carolina today cootaina
vast ares* of unproductive waste land,
or ?le// land on which such valuable
trees as white oak and y
first step, the annual growth* could not
be made equal to the present cut, but
it could in all probability bt doubled,!
permitting a gradual Increase In the
cut without Injury to the fores'.. Be
fore tbe kingdom of Prussia began' to
prsctios - fe>.w'ry on a largo scale lu j
1865 the annuaj yield from the Prus
sian forests was U cable feet, or
about 144 hoard'feet, per acre. In
1804 ft was 85 cubic feet, or 390 bttarfr
M$w>^an increase of 175 per cent in
40 rears.
"An increase In the annual yield of
only 10 board feet per aero woul?
gi^e an additional timber growth in
South Carolina of 100.009,000 hoard,
feet. With a conservative scale *MShe-;
of $15 per thousaas when manufac
turai, thia would- mean an Increased
annual income from limber product*
of tljmjm distributed principally
amoug 'those who furnish the labor
and materials for marketing the pro
ducts. To obtain this Increased In
come the. State could well afford to la
ves* *n appropriation of $19,090, $*0t?
000: or even $$0,000. Sums such as
trese would, moreover, be vary cheap
Insurance toy the protection of stand
lag Umher estimated to be worth at
least $<*0,000.000 to the own?rs, and
many tu*ee,th*t; to jx* reeyie ??
State tf saved for maanractar*.
"In framing forest l?gislation 'tor
South Carolina, on? important feet
was sept lu mind. Practically all the
timber of the State Is in t?-e?anda of
private owpera. If forestry in to be
practiced in South Carotin?, then, - it
must be by these same owners of for- I
eat land. For thin' reason' the Stete m
should endeavor to make the practice I
of forestry by private ownsra as easy
as possible by removing such a serious I
obstacle as tack of, i rotectlon from I
ore. ' " H
"At the same time it should educate I
the owners of tltnberland, through ac- H
tuai co-operation,.with them, to the H
need of adopting -practical forestry on I
tneir holdings, this suouiu ne boutn I
Carolina's chief aim in forestry. It H
can be accomplished by (l) the pr- I
ganlzatlon of a non-partisan forest H
department, (2) the appointment of si
ieeb&iutliy trained..wan as State for.
ester, (3) the establishment of a fire
protective system, end (4) aa ade
quate appropriation of funds." I
% ? # a* 4?* tf * ?~*
* Atlanta Letter
*-^v?.*.*.yjMft ******
Atlanta, Feb. 13-rAUanta and other I
Georgia cities as west will be given
an opportunity from March 1 to
March 8 to hear some pf the most fa- I
motis Bible lecturers and preachers I
of the world, as the result of the et? I
filiation of the Atlanta Bible Confer
With the National Midwinter Bible
Conference Aeaoclauqa.
The Sixteenth annual Atlanta Bible
Conference will take place here In I
the Baptist Tabornacio on th? dates I
above named, and at that time a num
ber' of the most eminent religious
speakers in the world will be brought
to Georgia. The gathering Is abso
lutely in tet denominational Pitl.evc^
Protestant Christian church taking
part. Including Methodists, Baptists,
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Luther
ans and the rest . . I
The Midwinter Bible Conference
Association, is an organization which
arrang?s for the appearance of. the
great speakers of" thd world in the
Peat cities. Many of the speakers
lo are coming to Atlanta, are npw,
gaged.In the big conference at I
ashlngton, 1>. C.
the gathering will be of state-wide
interest to Georgia In tiro ways. First I
thousands of people from all parts of
the state will come to the conference
fen Atlanta; and second, some of the
famous ?peak*?? ~iu be sent from
day to day/when'their local speak
ing engagements;.do not conflict to
other towns and cities of Georgia to
apeak. ?e&*?***i^'*^l
In previous years ?v. Leu G.
Broughton has presided over the con
ference, hut this year he- has cabled
that he will not be able to come. The
conference however, baa secured the
co-oporation.of Rev. 8oLC. Rickey, D.
WD., as director of the conference, and]
it 5s expected that the gathering wUl
be^the most successful in( the organ-]
is?tion's histor riisv Richard I
Orme Flinn. or Axlankai'-?i viec prcsir,
dent of the cdnferenee and chairman
of the b?ard ?f'diroctylra of^c^Ati
lanta conferedd^3^^^; ' SE j
' Ac?e?ew ?ht?^ ^^?K'ijftjAiitf
to father who wlH bo here for: "the
regional bank.heariugi. MiaaMcAdoo
Will be the guest- ot honor at a Val
entine ball at .the.. driving Club and
wiU be eiabqrately. entertained. ,w.
All arrangements have .bean oom
pleted for the hearing Friday, ? It
WIP take place in the United States
court room and the reserve bank or
ganization com??i!tti??: -vil! ccin
r?e?e for the first time siace U be*?n
Its Journeying*, ? The committee
consists of the secretary of the treas
ury, the secretary of agriculture and
tfe comptroller of the currenev. But
so far Secrets ries McAdoo and Hous
ton have conducted all the hearings,
as Comptroller John Skelton Williams
has been unable *o get'away from
Washington. He will Join the com
mittee here.
' 'Ths Atlanta Clearing House and
Atlanta Chamber of Commerce com
mittees have completed the arrange
ments, for the facts and figures which
they will advance, and are oonSdent
that A'Jsnta will -wm on the merits
of the case. In fact the . leading
financial journals in other parts of
the country are all predicting the cer
tainty of tbat outcome.
Georgia Peasioas.
^ Atlanta, Feb. is.?Gov. 8!aton this
'viuuig c?&uc? WC . WKITBU?I ?T IOT
about $500,000 to pay about halt of the
Confederate neaaious in Georgia for
this year. yfHHHB I
It 1b announced at the same time
that the payment of the remainder of
the money- mayvbe expected between
ndw and the first of May.. The gov
ernor has expressed the Intention of
BWOng firs* thlsureaj. ?iose.-gho.had
to wait longest last yesr. ' >
Every reasonable expedition will be
need however, to pay all the pension
era at the ; earliest possible date.
Waats a Divorce.
Atlanta. Feb. lt.?James Hntfleld
Bled today a suit for divorce in which
he alleges that his wife is the prise
Dagger of creation elnco Xaalippe's
tiroo. He says she nagged him day
rntd'lfnrst; that she took - ht? pay
checks away from him each week, and
only gave him 25 cents for spending
money. He says she abused 4rlm it
he came home to supper end .abased
Mm If he stayed away. He cays tbat
though she took ell the money he
made, she didn't give him enough to
set and made bis life miserable when
he complained about It
- -HARTWjSLL MAN SHOT... ..
men is the Raster That Beached
AeeenMia.
? ripert ^MvTim: .??jiwna ?"*?
night that a prominent cttizeu of
Hartweil, Gav .bad been shot and
tbat so Andersen surgeon had been
saaaaasved. The report was received
to late that it could not be coofirm
ftd, th? t?l?phone office at Hartwcll
being closed. j
VALUATION OF PROPERTY
Washington. Feb. 13.?An outline
at the tremendous task entrusted by
Congress to the Interstate Commerce
Commission?the valuation of the
property of all common carriers sub
ject to the commissions jurisdiction
?waa jriyen her? tnnl?M hy CCS??S?
aloner C. A. Pronty before the Cham
ber of Commerce of the United States
in annual convention. The commis
sioner cleared up a popular miscon
ception as to the nature of the un
?.ertakisg, resulting from the ae of
the torni "physical valuation" while
the matter was pending before Con
gress and since. He explained that
the commission Is to determine Just
what each carrier Is worth, taking In
these properties; to kato note of the
earnings of the property and having
all these facts before "Itt odctermlne
from a just consideration what is the
value of the property itself. I am uot
saying that it may not (umlly come
tS pr.":; th?t the CG?t Of ?c?/?Ouutiioii
wilt be the controlling factor, many
people so insist. Others urge with
equal earnestness that , the true test
of value so far as it can be ascertain
ed. Is the money invested in the prop
erty.
"The first railroad which the com
mission is proceeding to survey In
what is known as the Pacific District
is the San Pedro, Los Angeles ft Salt
Lake, extending from San Pedro, Cal..
to consideration what it costs to pro-, ^ t?lt Lake City, Utah, some 800
duce the property and to build up the
service what it could cost to repro
duce It .today and what the line or
company would aell tor with tta en
hanced or depreciated valuation. Its
acquired privileges and Its patron
age.' ' "
That part .of the work relating to
railroads alone was dealt with at
lengt by Mr. Prouty. He said that the
task had not suf?clenty progressed
so that its details cculd be either In
tellgiently or , profitably discussed.
Preliminary surveys are being- 'made
the country being divided for the pur
pose into five districts by states, each
containing . approximately 60,000
miles of railroad.
' "Bach of these districts," ssld Mr.
Prouty, "will have an organization
of lta own which will conduct the
Surveys within those particular lim
its. Subsequently these surveys will
be worked out partly in the district
and partly at the head office In Wash*
Ington, Surveys began in all the
districts except one about February
.11 and will begin-in that district about
February 15
"It has-seemed to the commission
the part of,wisdom to; proceed with
caution until sure of its ground. In
this view a railroad has been selected
In each district upon which these
surveys will - proceed with delibera
tion and In such manner aa to afford
a kind ot instruction school to all em
ployees. This preliminary work will
occupy three or four .monts, which
meann that we shall not be in posi
tion to rapidly develop our organi
zation until about July L Begin
ning thep, or slightly before our
{prce can be rapidly, increased.
"While It is somewhat hazardous
to make an estimate of the time re
quired without more experience than
we nayo had, it is my opinion that
- f i field surveys ought to be con
cluded in from four to six years from
July 1st next. It is hoped that the
accounting and other work will keep
pace with our field surreya.' The
putting together of these facts, that
jls,itke actual valuation will necessar
K lag somewhat behind the obtain
ing of the.facta themseTv.es. The
commission will In the near ..future
'' ?1 ? _,, * ?? -1?... Mi*t. ?.% ?wtme
"J4A9IQ. fMi HIU ?ce? >v>|nn,a ? ?? i ?II UC
railroads, but whether a valuation
will be at once announced in such
casep must depend upon the method
which the. commission, seleotB for de
termining the various questions
which will arise and to which refer*
.once has been. made..
?~A^nestnttato"?? the expense must
be even more unreliable than that ot
the time. Tcallroads have been val
ued bqth by public authority and by
?etpsejves, and the cost of these val*
ttons has .run all the way from two
aeventy-flve dollars per mile.
jWlng what must be done, the;
methods which must be followed, the
rate .of accomplish "isr?t' ^h.ch has
been attantable in other nlaces, I
should say, basing- ; my. estimate upon
the experience of stete.commissions,
that fifteen dollars per mile would be
part of the work and ten dollars per
mile, the ?ccc?nting and other- feat
ures' " This wokld aggregate for the
entire 260.000 m?tes between six and
seven million dollars.
' "Evidently before It can be deter
mined 'what it, would cost to build a
particular railroad as it today exists,
wo must know exactly where and
what that railroad IS. This means
Vthat as a preliminary to 'the work
*Wvaluation'every railroad must fur
nish the commission with maps add
plans which will Identify Its proper
ty. When this work Is completed,
there - /111 be found In the office of the
commission et Washington an eccur
ate map and Inventory'et the proper
ty of every railroad engaged In inter
Jggfate commerce as of June SO, 1914,
togethe rwlth other maps and plana
NniiwinT oli niiHaonrtAt?* additions ?C
the property. This of Itself Is a
work of greet magnitude which must
be done by iho carriers as a part of
the general undertaking. *
"When tbe commisrribn has been
furnished with this complete Inven
tory by a railroad it must proceed
verify U; that Is, it must ascertain
the facta tnSnrl In thm lny?n.
miles. The course of the road Is for
the most part through an arid des
ert A certain section of it. when
built was located where no man
thought It could ever, be disturbed by
floods, yet shortly lifter It waa opened
for operation the floods came and
came and carried out this portion.
It was at once reconstructed upon a
new location supposed to be beyond
all possible danger from a recurrence]
of the previous disaster, nevertheless
the waters again 'came and washed
away this same suction; whereupon
it was rebuilt upon a third location,
beyond all possible reach of future
trouble from this source. Now in
determining the value of this prop
erty what If any allowance is to be
made for this experimental outlayT
"The Northern Pacific Railroad
runs through the city of Spokane,
When the road was built that city!
was of small account but It has come
to be of much account and In the
process of development it has grown
up on both eides of this railroad. The
Northern Pacific claimed, and It may
very well have been true, that the
cost of acquiring its right of way
through the heart of the city of Spo
kane at the time of the hearing would
be at least flvo million dollars. The
original cost to the railroad was
nothing, the right Of -way having been
entirely donated either by the gov
ernment or by private benefaction.
Now to whom belcngs this five mil
lion dollars? Has the,Northern Pa
cific the right to tag the publie for
a return upon that amount?
"What, finally," asked" Mr. Prouty,
"Js the purpose oZ mid 'the benefit to
be derived froxu all this outlay ot
money and of energy?): When any
Investor can know from reliable
sources the exact character of his
Investment; how much it would cost
to reproduce the, property; in what
state of efficiency that property is be
ing maintained above all, what Is the
value of that property for use as a
railroad, there has been injected into
railroad securities an element Of Cer
tainty and of permanency which
dees not now exist it seems to me
therefore that this work of. valuation
will be of incidental benefit to
railway investor and so to the
public. While this has" ^ot
generally, perhaps not at . all re
marked upon as an advantage, it will
turn out to no a substantial ont>. .
?. "To the general apprehension the
object of tills valuation is to deter
nilne what rates Our railways should
be allowed to charge for their-servic
es W the public.
"While the property invested in .our
railroads and other public utilities is
private property the government has;'
In consideration of the nature of the
~!?-vice rendered, the right to impose
upon this property the terms and con
ditions under which it small bo used.
"it Is impossible to shake a single
railroad free front every other and
fix Its charges upon the-basis of a
fair return upon its fair value as you
would in case of a gas or water plant.
The rate established for one, of nec
essity Influences and frequently abso
lute!^ determines the rate of all, a
fact which iuust ne.or he forgotten
in discussing this subject
"Now it is evident that" if the com*
mission Bhould select .that road most
advantageously situated that road
whose business is the larges^ and up
on which the conditions of operation
are the most favorable and should
so adjust its rates as to yield a re
turn of six per cent- upon its value,
every other railroad standing In com
petition with It would receive less
than a six per cent return and some
railroads might .receive- nothing what
ever. .-.<
"While, howover. I wish to make
It perfectly plain that the problem of
of pnfn"n?ioMr. ? ?ljw.y r2.tCE Will tlOt
be solved by~tbe valuation, I desire
to say with even greater emphasis
that that problem will be enormous
ly simplified. It can be known with
certainty whether the 'general level
of rates Is or Is not too high, and in
establishing the charges'to be ob
served by a single carrier, even in
flxlnc the rate upon ? ?log!? cem
> rniittllttfnafiTf {hej'1^"1?'' H will be of much benefit to
lumber of yards cf earthwork, .the
number of yards of rock, the cul
verts, the tunnels, the bridges, to
gether with the character and cost of
construction. It has been decided
that this Information cannot properly
be obtained without sending a sur
veying party over every mile of> the
railroad.
"This work is often referred to as
a "physical valuation" of railways,
and most people probably understand
that this cost of reproduction, with or
without depreciation, determines the
??gee of the railway no that, saving
ascertained aid reported these tacts,
the duty ot the commission haa been
discharged. Bot this is by no means
isaajglft? to the present time the hold
ing of tho Supreme Court of the Unt
j?? States is that cost of reproduction
in g into the Inal question ot value,
other things have been en urn
..1 by that court as beaiiag upon
value of th? property.
The valuation act itself requires
the coiiiintJiifcM? and re
port the cost of construction, the
amount of mousy which has b*en In
vested in the property, and the sourc
es from wblch that money has been
?* ?f-m ,am mIha *m ?kart m fcnt^aVael f.db
know tbe value of the property in
volved.
"While this valuation will be of in
cidental benefit to the Investor, while
ft Is essential to the work of rate
making tribunal, it seems to me that
its greatest immediate'value is politi
cal. The state of the-public mind
Investigation into the affairs of tbe
this Information is absolutely neces
sary.
"Consider the developments of the
loevstlgatlon Into the affairs of the
Ft Louis and San Francisco System,
pnducted by Ute Interstate Com
merce Commission. Consider the
conditions In New England today,
Where the' late of both cf the Boston
and Maine and the New Haven sys
tems is trembling 11 tbe balance.
None of these questions can be an
swered; none of these situations can
he jnstly dealt with until we know
the actual value of these properties.
This Is the question which arises be
fore the students of this railway
problem at every angle. This is the
question which meat be answered be
fore i?i',6 problem eea be.luie?iiaenuy
tttaenssed. For this reason, above
above all ?t Is important that thin
mmkr should be pressed1 to a com
pletion tn tho most expeditious and
uder.ved ;to give, tn short, a complete tbe most trustworthy manner, poast
incial hletojrv
I
m iNCi r T b
Exchange Your
Seldom-Used