(a) The cost of acquiring the land, or expense,
(b) The cost of the land itself.
The reasons are:
I.—In making a price on a 40-acre farm, the owner does not make two prices, one on land and one on improvements. He arrives at a flat price per acre for the entire farm, and usually asks more per acre for a part than the whole. A man who valued his land at $100 per acre, with improvements, would hardly sell 5 acres from a corner of his land, even for residence purposes, at naked land prices.
The 1900 appraisal was based on naked land prices, as estimated by a number of citizens of each county, and this flat rate was used in making figures for the so-called "Market Value of Right-of-Way." It is fair to assume that a railroad company can purchase large tracts of land for gravel pits, or a narrow strip adjoining and widening its existing right of way, at about market prices, as the elements of severance, abutting damages, etc., are absent. Prices for this class of land ought to be, and usually are, lower than those paid for a new right of way.
TABLE 2.—Country Land.—Additional Strip for Widening Right of Way, Gravel Pits, Etc.
| County. | Description: Road and purpose. | Average per acre, 1900 appraisal. | Average per acre, transfer. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | Michigan Central. Widening right of way | $84.47 | $156.08 |
| Kalamazoo | Michigan Central. Additional right of way near Augusta | 89.41 | 140.00 |
| Kalamazoo | Grand Trunk Western. Additional strip for double tracking | 94.59 | 120.50 |
| Cass | Michigan Central. Gravel pit | 84.97 | 94.15 |
| Cass | Grand Trunk Western. Additional strip for double-tracking | 71.79 | 203.53 |
| Berrien | Michigan Central. Additional right of way | 109.40 | 113.66 |
| Washtenaw | Michigan Central. Additional right of way | 49.35 | 130.68 |
| Washtenaw | Ann Arbor. Additional right of way | 88.60 | 116.12 |
| Ionia | Pere Marquette. Gravel pit | 77.50 | 125.00 |
Actual purchases are averaged from recent transfers, and represent consideration paid owners, but not cost of acquiring.
The 1900 appraisal averages show country land after fixed charges and percentages are added.
The tables given herewith are summarized from a very large mass of information introduced as evidence in a suit of Michigan Central Railroad et al. vs. Powers (The Michigan Tax Cases), and are selected as average examples of conditions throughout the Southern Peninsula.