Alaska S. S. Co. v. Inland Navigation Co.

(after stating the facts as above). Neither the pleadings nor the evidence in this case raise any issue with respect to the liability of the appellant for the damages suffered by the appellee through the loss of its steamship, the Telegraph. It is admitted by the appellant that the sinking of the Telegraph was caused by negligence and fault on the part of the Alameda, and it is also admitted by the appellant that by reason of such sinking the Telegraph became and was a total loss.

But the contention of the appellant is that the court below erred in finding and decreeing that the value of the steamship Telegraph at the time of her loss was the sum of $45,000, or any sum in excess of the sum of $25,000. The amount which the appellee is- entitled to recover *842 as the value of the Telegraph at the time she was sunk by the Alameda is the only question we are called upon to determine.

In fixing the sum of $45,000 as the value of the Telegraph at the time she was sunk, the court below proceeded upon the theory of original cost, allowing for the difference of her upkeep and the natural fair depreciation of her hull, engines, house, and equipment. It is insisted by the appellant that…