It is worthy of passing note that just as the railway companies have shown their indifference to a physical valuation of their property, the clamor of regulators and agitators in its favor has subsided. The proposal lost its attractiveness to them the moment they became convinced that such an investigation would put a valuation on the roads so high as to take not only the wind out of their sails but the last drop of water out of their mouths. To-day the only insistent demand for this futile undertaking comes from quarters interested in the distribution of the appropriation of several millions it would cost.
Credit for the reversal in the popular and political attitude on this subject is largely due to the valuations attempted by the states of Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin. The results in these states may be briefly summarized as follows:
| Miles of Line | Capitalization per Mile | Valuation by State, per Mile | |
| Minnesota, 1907 | 7,596 | $44,206 | $54,201 |
| Washington, 1908: | |||
| Great Northern | 806 | 44,078 | 73,900 |
| Northern Pacific | 942 | 70,278 | 106,500 |
| Oregon R. R. & Navigation Co | 501 | 43,012 | 38,900 |
| Wisconsin, 1906 | 7,135 | 33,424 | 34,630 |
Even Senator Albert B. Cummins of Iowa has seen such a bright light on this subject that in his speech before the Traffic Club of Chicago last February he said that he would not be willing to make a present valuation of railroad property a basis for determining rates, "for the reason that it was more than probable that the present capitalization of between fifteen and sixteen billions would be increased to twenty billions."
In the Bureau's Statistics for 1908 it was said:
"If the valuations in Minnesota and Washington, made by none too friendly commissions, are any criterions of what a national valuation made under presumably unbiased federal authority would be, the present cost to reproduce the railways of the United States would be nearer $20,000,000,000 than any sum within the anticipations of those agitating for such valuation."
Capitalization of Foreign Railways.
With both sides of the balance sheet testifying to a capital investment in American railways of under $60,000, and official valuation abandoned because it would demonstrate that they could not be reproduced for less than $80,000 per mile, the reader is asked to compare the American figures with those of the capitalization, or cost of construction, of the principal foreign countries set forth below. These have been compiled from the latest available official returns.
| Summary of Railway Capitalization of the Principal Foreign Railways from Latest Data. | ||||
| Year | Country | Miles of Line | Capital or Cost of Construction | Per Mile |
| Europe: | ||||
| 1908 | United Kingdom | 23,205 | $6,382,296,742 | $275,040 |
| 1908 | Germany | 35,558 | 3,903,848,400 | 109,788 |
| 1907 | Russia in Europe (exclusive of Finland) | 32,900 | (a)3,170,876,360 | 80,985 |
| 1907 | France | (b)24,730 | 3,447,366,000 | 139,390 |
| 1907 | Austria | 13,427 | 1,515,576,885 | 112,879 |
| 1907 | Hungary | 11,769 | 741,586,391 | 63,010 |
| 1907-08 | Italy (State roads only) | 8,699 | 1,086,000,000 | 124,730 |
| 1905 | Spain (13 roads) | 6,840 | 583,632,000 | 85,327 |
| 1906 | Sweden | 7,938 | 257,408,450 | 32,427 |
| 1907 | Belgium (State only) | 2,537 | 430,800,000 | 169,806 |
| 1907 | Switzerland | 2,740 | 298,709,210 | 109,000 |
| Other Countries: | ||||
| 1909 | Canada | 24,104 | 1,608,990,656 | 66,752 |
| 1908 | British India | 30,576 | 1,364,669,375 | 44,632 |
| 1907 | Argentine Republic | 13,690 | 820,433,796 | 59,930 |
| 1908 | Japan | 4,444 | 190,173,728 | 42,800 |
| 1909 | United States of America | 233,002 | 13,508,711,173 | 57,976 |
| (a) Russian capitalization, including railways in Asia, covers a total of 39,277 miles, from which the capital per mile is computed. | ||||
| (b) This is exclusive of 4,259 miles of local interest. | ||||