DRAINAGE DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS. 35 
pose a drainage district is organized in a heretofore undeveloped 
area crossed by only one railroad ; to determine the amount of benefit 
which will accrue to the railroad from increased business the follow- 
ing questions must be definitely answered : 
1. How much fi eight due to the drainage improvement will develop? 
(a) What percentage of the area will be devoted to raising hay, grain, 
cotton, etc., which produce but little freight of a low class, and 
what percentage to potatoes and truck crops which produce a large 
amount of high class freight? How much of the acreage will be 
devoted to livestock raising or dairying? 
I h ) How large will the crops be ? 
(c) What part of the produce will reach this road as freight? How much 
produce will be consumed at home and in local markets? What 
highways will be built in the district, and will they serve to divert 
any of this produce to other railroads or local markets? Will 
other railroads be built that could serve the territory, and how 
much freight will be diverted to them? 
2. How much passenger traffic due to the drainage improvement will develop? 
3. What effect will the increase in traffic have on the earning power of the road? 
Many other factors would affect the amount of the increased rev- 
enue, but these questions are sufficient to show what an indefinite 
and uncertain quantity the benefit due to increased traffic is. 
To assume that the benefit of drainage improvement to a railroad 
is the difference in the value to the railroad company of the traffic 
originating and terminating in the district before and after the 
construction of the improvement is erroneous. A large part is due 
to increased industry and invested capital of the inhabitants and 
to the general prosperity of the community. As in the case of 
agricultural benefits, the only ones which may be considered are 
those due solely to the improvement. 
In view of the positive prohibition of the consideration of future 
benefits due to increased traffic by many States and courts, and to 
the extremely speculative nature of such benefits, it seems wise to 
abandon consideration of such benefits as a basis for assessments 
and to limit consideration to the physical benefits derived from the 
improvement. 
There is a great diversity of views between drainage engineers on 
the one hand and railroad engineers on the other as to what element 
of benefit are present. Drainage engineers have enumerated a great 
many, while railroad engineers insist that there are few elements of 
benefit, some going so far as to say that there are none. 
A drainage engineer has listed the following items of benefit : 
Tangible benefits in " lessened cost of maintenance " and " increased efficiency," 
which can be calculated and capitalized; protection from flood which can be 
determined from the books of the railroad covering periods of former flood — 
saves the following costs: 
(1) Labor of filling and placing sacks, hauling and placing rock for track 
protection, 
(2) Cost of work train. 
(3) Watchman. 
(4) Slow orders. 
(a) Cost of slowing down trains, damage to equipment. 
(6) Extra fuel required. 
(5) Loss of time. 
(a) Extra cost for pilots and train crews on passenger and freight 
trains. 
(&) Rerouting. 
(6) Loss of freight cars, freight, equipment, etc.. in high waters. 
