In the following narrative, no special mention is made of the work executed under the direction of Messrs. Conant, Rice, and Sadler, because they really had charge of independent appraisals which were conducted on lines similar to those adopted in the railroad appraisal, and their methods were not different from those of the latter; hence any description of their work would be in a large measure repetition. This omission is in no wise to be construed as any reflection on the importance or high character of their work. The organization as just outlined, while necessarily touching and overlapping at points, was generally defined so clearly that there was no duplication of work. Each head of department was responsible for the work of his special division, and directed the laying out and execution of the work done by his men. The first task, after deciding on the general organization, was to determine the general methods to be adopted and the manner of getting the necessary detailed information. The magnitude of the work was appalling. There were seventy-eight different incorporated companies, owning some 10,000 miles of railroad, scattered over 54,000 sq. miles of territory. In addition, there were a number of small unincorporated railroads, telegraph, telephone, plank road, and other corporations, many of which had no records, no complete inventory, and no department organized so that the information could be readily secured. It was determined: (1) To make or secure a complete detailed inventory of every piece or parcel of property belonging to each company; (2) To examine each separate thing, place on it an estimate of cost of reproduction and depreciation; (3) To prepare, as a basis for the final figure of value, an estimate of the present value, being the cost of reproduction less the depreciation. Having determined on a detailed physical inventory and appraisal, the next step was to outline the work so as to secure absolute uniformity. The difficulties which confronted the appraiser at this period were many, chief among which were: (a) _Lack of Complete Understanding on the Part of the State Officials._—The Governor and Board of Tax Commissioners rendered every possible assistance, but the Board of State Auditors was not at first fully committed to the work, and the uncertainty as to whether or not bills would be paid, delayed seriously the employment of men and the full commencement of work for 3 or 4 weeks after the first organization was made. (b) _The Attitude of the Railroad Corporation Managers._—While this was not actively hostile, it was a serious cause of delay, as they could not foresee what effect the work might have on the interests in their charge, and, while not refusing access to their records, they delayed and held back information; in fact, a long time elapsed before all the companies opened their records to the appraiser and his staff.