Railroad development in Michigan has received no appreciable check, and notwithstanding a 2-cent fare and the bearing of an equal burden of taxation, the properties are maintained, and improvements, double-tracking and betterment of general standards fully keep pace with similar work in other States.
Of course, it must be recognized that other forces besides the appraisal helped to bring this about. The appraisal of 1900 furnished the information. Public opinion compelled the passage of the needed laws, and the magnificent legal work of Attorneys-General Blair and Bird, Congressman Townsend, and Judge Knappen, and their associates, loyally supported by Professors Cooley and Adams and the appraisal staff, were all factors in securing the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States.
[5]. Bulletin 21, U. S. Bureau of the Census, p. 78.
[6]. Bulletin 21, U. S. Bureau of the Census.
Railroad Appraisal of the State of Texas.
Authority for the Work.—In 1893 the Legislature of Texas enacted what is known as the Stock and Bond Law, which was designed to control and limit the total amount of stocks and bonds that may be issued on any railroad property to the "reasonable value of said railroad property." This law further provides that:
"It shall be the duty of the Railroad Commission to ascertain, and in writing report to the Secretary of State, the value of each railroad in this State including all its franchises, appurtenances and property."
The work of valuation in Texas antedates that in Michigan, and offers some interesting opportunities for comparison of methods under somewhat similar conditions, as far as the existing roads were concerned. The work being in the hands of a permanent commission with very broad powers, it has been possible to secure from recently built roads very full and specific data as to construction, but with these later valuations and with the current work of the department, this paper will not deal.
The Commission of Texas interpreted the law to mean the estimated cost of reproducing or duplicating the properties at the date of valuation, allowing current market prices for all material and fair valuations on all real property.