Page images
PDF
EPUB

State Corporation Commission

RICHMOND, VA., December 31, 1912.

To the Honorable WM. HODGES MANN,

SIR:

Governor of Virginia.

We have the honor to transmit herewith the tenth annual report of the State Corporation Commission for the year 1912, together with the documents deemed pertinent thereto.

The report will be found to contain the rules of practice and procedure; certain formal orders and opinions; list of charters revoked and annulled and corporations dissolved during 1912; the Chief Bank Examiner's report for the year; list of charters, amendments, mergers and revivals of charters; foreign corporations authorized to do business in Virginia during the year; assessments of the property and franchises of the public service corporations; rules and regulations relating to storage, demurrage and car service in Virginia; regulations for the transportation of explosives; Virginia Classification No. 1 and exception sheets; mileage class and commodity rates applicable to steam railroads in Virginia, which include both freight and passenger rates; tariffs, rules and classifications governing express companies; and rates of telegraph companies.

An appendix separately bound will contain the operating reports of railroad companies and statistical tables compiled therefrom.

ASSESSMENT OF MINERAL LANDS.

Mr. James A. Stone, the assistant mineral land assessor, appointed by this Commission, has continued to be diligent in the discharge of his duties. The detailed reports show assessments of mineral lands in sixty-seven counties and in one city. The gross assessment for 1912 is $34,722,918.50. These figures, however, include much land in Buchanan county which is claimed by two or more persons. The titles to this Buchanan county land are in litigation, and all the claimants assert the right to have the land assessed in their names, and this has been done. Much of this property is returned delinquent. There are several motions pending for the correction of the 1912 assessments, but as these motions have not been finally determined no report thereof may

be made at this time. Much additional labor was imposed upon the assistant mineral land assessor by reason of the election of new and inexperienced commissioners of the revenue in November, 1911. It is believed that by reason of the experience gained in 1912 this labor will be reduced in making the assessments for 1913.

RAILROADS.

The Commission has continued to pursue its hitherto announced policy with reference to informal complaints against railroads and other public service corporations. We believe that by pursuing this course we are giving the proper construction to that provision of the Constitution making it the duty of the Commission, upon request, "as far as possible to effect by mediation the adjustment of claims and the settlement of controversies between transportation or transmission companies and their patrons." Upon receiving complaints our custom is to bring the complainants and the railroad officials having authority together in the presence and under the direction of the Commission. Having in this informal way been put in possession of the pertinent facts we are generally able to suggest to the railway authorities such relief, if any, as seems to be just and proper. Our suggestions under such circumstances are generally accepted as satisfactory by both parties. By this method we think that we give proper effect to the Constitution, and are fully assured that for the general public we secure as good results as could be secured by litigation. We are fully assured that in meritorious cases such relief as is just is, in most cases, more speedily secured than could possibly be done by litigation, and at much less expense.

cern.

Hence there have been few judicial hearings during the past year. The physical condition of nearly all of the railroads in this State continues to improve, but there are some notable exceptions and these give us great conIn those instances where bad conditions are not remedied promptly such failures are alleged by the companies to be due to lack of means. The prosperous railroads in this State generally respond promptly to suggestions looking to improvements and physical conditions. During the past year, with one exception, railway accidents to passenger trains have been few in number and not serious in character. There was, however, one serious accident which occurred upon the Seaboard Air Line Railway about one-fourth of a mile north of the North Carolina line, north of Granite, North Carolina, on the morning of November 19, 1912. Through passenger trains Nos. 81 and 84, known as the Florida-Cuba Specials, operating between New York City and Jacksonville, Florida, collided. The collision resulted in the death of both engineers, both firemen, two express messengers, one person in the express car, one porter, and the serious injury to another porter who died five days later, injury to both baggage masters, two express messengers, with slight injuries to six passengers. Both locomotives and express cars were demolished. The cause of the collision, as indicated by the report of the inspectors of the Interstate Commerce Commission, was the mis-reading by the conductor and the engineer of the north bound train, No. 84, of the order fixing the meeting place of the two trains at Granite, North Carolina, whereas they read the order Grandy, instead of Granite-Grandy being a station twenty-three miles north of Granite. The responsibility for the collision is put by these inspectors upon Conductor Tilghman, who was injured, and

upon Engineer Beckham, who lost his life in the collision, for not having a clear understanding of the point at which their train, No. 84, was to meet south bound train No. 81. It is suggested that the name of one of these stations be changed so as to avoid similarity.

EXPENDITURES FOR ADDITIONS AND BETTERMENTS.

We have compiled the following tables from the operating reports of the steam railroads, showing their expenditures in Virginia for additions and betterments during the year ending June 30, 1912:

Intrastate Steam Roads.

Cape Charles Railroad Company.
Chesapeake Western Railway
Interstate Railroad Company.

Marion and Rye Valley Railway Company.

Nelson and Albemarle Railway Company.

Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Company.

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company.

Rosslyn Connecting Railroad Company...

Tidewater and Western Railroad Company.

Virginia-Carolina Railway Company.
Virginia Southern Railroad Company.

Winchester and Strasburg Railroad Company.

[blocks in formation]

2,086.40

687.02 3,181.64

3,779.31

836.15 22,235.38 123, 150.26 620.82 4,058.13 3,007.84 851.23 236.99

$164,731.17

Entire Line $ 4,779,216.23

2,357.98 267,318.41 3,473,719.70

10,097.15

30,398.88

17,145.80

145, 119.90

2,300.00

27,425.87

1,197.81

852.55

854.30

30,588.02

5,478,057.27

230,664.89

37,675.31

5,453,542.92

230,

,945.75

3,426,247.68

[blocks in formation]

2,471,737.71

259,414.24

200,614.02

5,038,791.31

2,183.34

$34,440,653.59

CHARTERS ISSUED AND AMENDED AND FOREIGN CORPORATIONS LICENSED.

Eight hundred and sixty-five charters were issued during the year 1911. During the past year (1912) eight hundred and eighty-three charters were issued. In addition to the issuance of original charters the Commission has issued, during the year, one hundred and ninety amendments to charters of corporations already in existence. Four charters have been revived and there have been eight mergers of corporations.

During the year licenses to do business in this State were issued by the Commission to seventy-four foreign corporations complying with our statutes, and thirty-one amendments to charters of such corporations already authorized to do business in the State were filed with the Commission, as required by law.

There have been two hundred and three voluntary dissolutions of corporations during the year, and charters of three hundred and eighty-three domestic corporations and the licenses of twenty foreign corporations have been revoked for their failure to pay the annual registration fees for two successive years.

In the documents accompanying this report it will be seen that charters issued during the year have been classified with reference to the general business to be conducted by the various corporations, so as to furnish information in this respect. Under an alphabetical list of the counties and cities, the number of charters issued having their principal office in the respective counties and cities is given.

The records of this department indicate that there are, on this date 6,526 domestic and 621 foreign corporations, authorized to transact business in the State, a net increase of 285 domestic and 22 foreign corporations during the year.

The increase during the year in the total authorized maximum capital stock of new charters, revivals and amendments amounts to $375,628,700.

ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSMISSION COM

PANIES.

The total value of all the properties of the canals and steam railroads in the State, as assessed by the Commission was $110,634,187.00. Of this amount, the property of steam railroads amounted to $110,230,815.00, and the property of canals amounted to $403,372.00.

The State tax imposed by the revenue laws upon the total assessed value of canals and steam railroads amounted to $387,219.54.

The franchise tax assessed against these two classes of companies amounted to $562,574.55.

The total State tax, therefore, against these two classes of companies amounted to $949,794.09. The total State tax assessed against these companies in 1911 was $899,201.22, showing an increase for 1912 of $50,592.87. The total value of the property of electric railway companies operating in the State, as assessed by the Commission for the year 1912, was $7,820,964.00.

The State property tax on this assessed value and the franchise tax amounted to $72,061.76.

« PreviousContinue »