Federal Valuation of Railroads--Discussion

The burden of Professor Bauer's paper is that a final value should be placed upon the railroad property of the United States as a foundation for taxation, regulation, issuance of securities, public purchase, or other public purposes, and he criticizes the Railroad Valuation Act approved March 1, 1913, because of its failure to call for such a single or final value. It would indeed be desirable to have such a final value if it could be obtained without too great a sacrifice at this time of the public interests, and if such a final valuation when obtained could be equally applicable for all the above named purposes. Unfortunately, however, none of these conditions is present today.