Chapter 92. To amend an Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and all Acts commendatory thereof by providing for a valuation of the several classes of property of carriers subject thereto and securing information concerning their stocks, bonds,
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CHAP. 92.— An Act To amend an Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and all Acts commendatory thereof by providing for a valuation of the several classes of property of carriers subject thereto and securing information concerning their stocks, bonds, and other securities.March 1, 1913.[[H. R. 22593](/us/bill/62/hr/22593).][[Public, No. 400](/us/pl/62/400).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Interstate commerce regulations.Vol. 24, p. 386, amended.Physical valuation of property of common carriers.
That the Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, be further amended by adding thereto a new section, to be known as section nineteen a, and to read as follows: " “Sec. 19a. That the commission shall, as hereinafter provided,Investigation by Commission. investigate, ascertain, and report the value of all the property owned or used by every common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act.Experts, etc.
To enable the commission to make such investigation and report, it is authorized to employ such experts and other assistants as may be necessary. The commission may appoint examiners who shall have power to administer oaths, examine witnesses, and take testimony. The commission shall make an inventory which shall list the propertyClassification and inventory. of every common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act in detail, and show the value thereof as hereinafter provided, and shall classify the physical property, as nearly as practicable, in conformity with the classification of expenditures for road and equipment, as prescribed by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
“First. In such investigation said commission shall ascertain andCost of property used for common carrier purposes. report in detail as to each piece of property owned or used by said common carrier for its purposes as a common carrier, the original cost to date, the cost of reproduction new, the cost of reproduction less depreciation, and an analysis of the methods by which these several costs are obtained, and the reason for their differences, if any. TheOther property. commission shall in like manner ascertain and report separately other values, and elements of value, if any, of the property of such common carrier, and an analysis of the methods of valuation employed, and of the reasons for any differences between any such value, and each of the foregoing cost values.
“Second. Such investigation and report shall state in detail andValue of real property. separately from improvements the original cost of all lands, rights of way, and terminals owned or used for the purposes of a common carrier, and ascertained as of the time of dedication to public use, and the present value of the same, and separately the original and present cost of condemnation and damages or of purchase in excess of such original cost or present value. “Third. Such investigation and report shall show separately theProperty held for other than common carrier purposes. property held for purposes other than those of a common carrier, and the original cost and present value of the same, together with an analysis of the methods of valuation employed.
“Fourth. In ascertaining the original cost to date of the propertyCorporate organization. of such common carrier the commission, in addition to such other elements as it may deem necessary, shall investigate and report upon the history and organization of the present and of any previous corporation operating such property; upon any increases or decreases ofStocks, bonds, etc. stocks, bonds, or other securities, in any reorganization; upon moneys received by any such corporation by reason of any issues of stocks, bonds, or other securities; upon the syndicating, banking, and other financial arrangements under which such issues were made and the expense thereof; and upon the net and gross earnings of such corporations;Earnings and expenditures. and shall also ascertain and report in such detail as may be determined by the commission upon the expenditure of all moneys and the purposes for which the same were expended.
“Fifth. The commission shall ascertain and report the amount andGrants, etc., from United States, States, etc. value of any aid, gift, grant of right of way, or donation, made to any 702 such common carrier, or to any previous corporation operating such property, by the Government of the United States or by any State, county, or municipal government, or by individuals, associations, or corporations; and it shall also ascertain and report the grants of landValue of land grants. to any such common carrier, or any previous corporation operating such property, by the Government of the United States, or by any State, county, or municipal government, and the amount of money derived from the sale of any portion of such grants and the value of the unsold portion thereof at the time acquired and at the present time, also, the amount and value of any concession and allowanceConcessions, etc., made by carrier. made by such common carrier to the Government of the United States or to any State, county, or municipal government in consideration of such aid, gift, grant, or donation.
“Except as herein otherwise provided, the commission shall haveMethod of procedure. power to prescribe the method of procedure to be followed in the con-duct of the investigation, the form in which the results of the valuation shall be submitted, and the classification of the elements that constitute the ascertained value, and such investigation shall show the value of the property of every common carrier us a whole and separately the value of its property in each of the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia, classified and in detail as herein required.
“Such investigation shall be commenced within sixty days afterProsecution and report of investigation. the approval of this Act and shall be prosecuted with diligence and thoroughness, and the result thereof reported to Congress at the beginning of each regular session thereafter until completed. “Every common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act shallDocuments, etc., to and investigation. furnish to the commission or its agents from time to time and as the commission may require maps, profiles, contracts, reports of engineers, and any other documents, records, and papers, or copies of any or all of the same, in aid of such investigation and determination of the value of the property of said common carrier, and shall grantAccess of agents to property. to all agents of the commission free access to its right of way, its property, and its accounts, records, and memoranda whenever and wherever requested by any such duly authorized agent, and every common carrier is hereby directed and required to cooperate with and aid the commission in the work of the valuation of its property in such further particulars and to such extent as the commission may require and direct, and all rules and regulations made by the commissionEffect of rules, etc.Vol. 34, p. 593;
Vol. 36, p. 666. for the purpose of administering the provisions of this section and section twenty of this Act shall have the full force and effect of law. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission, with thePublic inspection of records, etc. reasons therefor, the records and data of the commission shall be open to the inspection and examination of the public. “Upon the completion of the valuation herein provided for theValuation of extensions and improvement. commission shall thereafter in like manner keep itself informed of all extensions and improvements or other changes in the condition and value of the property of all common carriers, and shall ascertain the value thereof, and shall from time to time, revise and correct its valuations, showing such revision and correction classified and as a whole and separately in each of the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia, which valuations, both original and corrected, shall be tentative valuations and shall be reported toReports to Congress.
Congress at the beginning of each regular session. “To enable the commission to make such changes and correctionsInformation required of carriers. in its valuations of each class of property, every common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act shall make such reports and furnish such information as the commission may require. “Whenever the commission shall have completed the tentativeNotice of completion of tentative valuation. valuation of the property of any common carrier, as herein directed, and before such valuation shall become final, the commission shall 703 give notice by registered letter to the said carrier, the Attorney General of the United States, the governor of any State in which the property so valued is located, and to such additional parties as the corn mission may prescribe, stating the valuation placed upon the several classes of property of said carrier, and shall allow thirty days in which to file a protest of the same with the commission.
If noFinality if no protest filed. protest is filed within thirty days, said valuation shall become final as of the date thereof. “If notice of protest is filed the commission shall fix a time forHearings of protests. hearing the same, and shall proceed as promptly as may be to hear and consider any matter relative and material thereto which may be presented in support of any such protest so filed as aforesaid. IfChanges. after hearing any protest of such tentative valuation under the pro-visions of this Act the commission shall be of the opinion that its valuation should not become final, it shall make such changes as may be necessary, and shall issue an order making such corrected tentative valuation final as of the date thereof.
All final valuations byEffect of final valuation and classification. the commission and the classification thereof shall be published and shall be prima facie evidence of the value of the property in all proceedings under the Act to regulate commerce as of the date of the fixing thereof, and in all judicial proceedings for the enforcement of the Act approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven,Vol. 24, p. 379. commonly known as “the Act to regulate commerce,” and the various Acts commendatory thereof, and in all judicial proceedings brought to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend, in whole or in part, any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
If upon the trial of any action involving a final value fixed by theEffect of evidence offered in court as to different values. commission, evidence shall be introduced regarding such value which is found by the court to be different from that offered upon the hearing before the commission, or additional thereto and substantially affecting said value, the court, before proceeding to render judgment shall transmit a copy of such evidence to the commission, and shallTransmission to Commission. stay further proceedings in said action for such time as the court determine from the date of such transmission.
Upon theAction of Commission. receipt of such evidence the commission shall consider the same and may fix a final value different from the one fixed in the first instance, and may alter, modify, amend or rescind any order which it has made involving said final value, and shall report its action thereon to said court within the time fixed by the court. If the commission shallModification of order. alter, modify, or amend its order, such altered, modified, or amended order shall take the place of the original order complained of and judgment shall be rendered thereon as though made by the commission in the first instance.
If the original order shall not be rescindedJudgment on original order if not changed. or changed by the commission, judgment shall be rendered upon such original order. “ The provisions of this section shall apply to receivers of carriersApplicable to receivers etc.Penalty for noncompliance with requirements. and operating trustees. In case of failure or refusal on the part of any carrier, receiver, or trustee to comply with all the requirements of this section and in the manner prescribed by the commission such carrier, receiver, or trustee shall forfeit to the United States the sum of five hundred dollars for each such offense and for each and every day of the continuance of such offense, such forfeitures to be recoverable in the same manner as other forfeitures provided for in section sixteen of the Act to regulate commerce.
“That the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction,Jurisdiction of district courts to compel compliance. upon the application of the Attorney General of the United States at the request of the commission, alleging a failure to comply with or a violation of any of the provisions of this section by any common carrier, to issue a writ or writs of mandamus commanding such common carrier to comply with the provisions of this section.” " Approved, March 1, 1913.