PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION 
A thorough discussion of the principles which control the 
engineer, the economist, the assessor and the business man 
in making valuations will not be attempted in these pages. 
This book is the result of personal contact with the valuation 
problem. No apology need be made for the fact that, in pre- 
senting an original analysis of the problem, the arrangement of 
the material is not always as logical as might have been ex- 
pected if the present state of the art only had been brought 
under review. Special consideration has been given to a dis- 
cussion of the non-agreement of the actual life of articles which 
have a limited period of usefulness with their probable or normal 
life. The effect of this non-conformity has been studied by 
the author and the results have been thought worthy of a special 
chapter. These results show that there is great advantage in 
adopting, instead of ““ present value,” a rate-base without deduc- 
tion of depreciation, which will include but little, if anything, 
other than legitimate and properly estimated cost as the start- 
ing point when rates are to be fixed. He therefore recommends 
for the thoughtful consideration of the student, the method of 
procedure which he has named the Unlimited Life Method and 
which is herein fully explained. The author feels, too, that 
the owner of a public utility is, generally, entitled to larger 
earnings than will yield a bare interest return on the invested 
capital. Volume of business transacted and also the unearned 
increment should, sometimes, be taken into account when 
estimates are made of the earnings that may with propriety be 
allowed. Such matters as these have received attention and 
it is hoped that some of the ideas that are herein advanced may 
stimulate further thought along similar lines and may, here and 
there, prove helpful to those who have appraisals to make or