Excerpt from Public Utilities Their Fair Present Value and Return The present volume is intended to supplement a previous study, made by the writer, of the methods to be pursued in the valuation of the property of public utilities, by entering into a discussion of the line of reasoning which must be followed by those whose duty it is to ascertain the fair present value of a property after an appraisal has been made and all necessary information has been obtained. Likewise the subjects of going value and depreciation have been considered at some length with the hope of removing some of the present misunderstanding that exists relative to these two subjects. It is realized that the sequence of the subjects treated in the several chapters of the present work is not as logical as it might be as, under ordinary circumstances, it would have been better to have explained the full meanings of replacement cost, actual original cost, going value, and depreciation before taking up the discussion of the subjects of fair present value and fair rate of return. It was felt, however, that much of the present controversy on the latter subjects arises from attempts of partisans on the part of the public or on the part of the utilities to advocate the methods of valuation which will produce a value conforming with their personal interests. It is hoped that, by first clearly defining the significance of fair present value, many of the objections frequently raised to certain features of valuation herein advocated may be removed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.