56 VALUATION, DEPRECIATION AND THE RATE-BASE
In re Purchase of the Oshkosh Water-Works plant (Sept. 17,
1913) the City estimated 1o per cent for engineering, superin-
tendence, interest during construction, contingencies, etc., this
on the physical plant not including general equipment. The
Commission allowed 15 per cent and said:
“ Tt will be noted that the valuation recently placed on the
Oshkosh Water-Works property contained an item of 15 per
cent for engineering, superintendence, interest, organization, etc.
It will also be noted that the report of the previous valuation
only contained 12 per cent to cover these items. It should be
stated that this change from 12 to 15 per cent represents the
results of an extended study of the costs of such work and it is
my opinion that where the actual costs are not known for such
a property as the Oshkosh Water-Works, 15 per cent of the
cost of specific construction represents about a fair amount! for
these overhead charges.”
In re Application Manitowoc Gas Co. (Dec. 4, 1913) the
Commission allowed 15 per cent exclusive of contractor’s profits
which should be included in the separate cost items.
In re Investigation Ashland Water Co. (July 10, 1914) the
Commission allowed 15 per cent.
Promotion Expenses
Promotion Expenses. — There is an additional class of ex-
penditures incurred in connection with many of the public
service and some private enterprises which has a more remote
connection with the cost of these enterprises than the overhead
or the cost of developing the business. Capital is timid and
needs guidance. Preceding nearly every investment of capital
in the development of an enterprise of any magnitude the same
has been in the hands of the promoter whose investigations and
efforts are supposed to have been directed to a unification or
combination of properties that will make them available as the
basis for the enterprise. The reward to the promoter should ap-
pear in the enhanced value of the unified property when com-
pared with the cost of the individual items that go to make it
up. But this is not all that there is to promotion expense.
