Right-of-Way Values.
Land values were the subject of a great deal of discussion during the appraisal of 1900, but subsequent investigations as to actual railroad purchases resulted in quite radical changes in some of the figures in the later valuations. In view of the fact that many criticisms of these values have been made by railway attorneys, special emphasis is here given to the subject. The conclusions reached in Michigan in 1902 agree so closely with the conclusions of Taylor in Wisconsin and Morgan in Minnesota that it is thought advisable to give a rather full account of the methods used in both appraisals, and the line of reasoning which brought about the changes made in 1902.
The 1900 appraisals methods were as follows: Work in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Bay City, and some other large cities was assigned to special appraisers, who visited the cities, examined critically all the property, conferred with leading real estate men and experts in values, and placed an estimate per acre or per square foot. This part of the work was done with great care, and was substantially unchanged in the later appraisals.
In all other land valuations, in cities and villages, and country right of way, a personal examination was out of the question without making a very large and expensive addition to the staff, as the field engineers generally were not familiar with realty values, and could not take the time to make the large number of inquiries. The appraiser did not see his way clear to organize a special department, therefore the matter was turned over to a sub-department of the Civil Engineering Section, the work of which may be briefly outlined, as follows:
Lands were classified as:
(1) Farm land,
(2) Barren land,
(3) Villages having a population of less than 500,
(4) Villages from 500 to 3,000,
(5) Cities having less than 10,000,