The age-herald., 1898-02-15
On the Highlands and Says Sometimes
 Two Men Cannot Bathe.
SAID DIVIDEND WAS PIP PER CENT
The Company Is Investigating the Filter Ques- ton, and Mai. Milner Asserted That One Similar to Atanta's
 Would Cost $l00, ,000

ply To the minority report ol the coHiihtI- tee from the city council was resumed
 yesterday afternoon at 2:3O at the city hall.
 Aldermen Drennen, Kerr. Mcknight and
 Meighan were present.
 Mai. Miner, superintendent of the water company, on the stand almost through
 out the entire session and gave detailed
 account of the expenses of the water com
 pany during the fiscal year from April,
 1S96 to April 1897. Attorney London Tor
 the water company said he could 1urnlsh
 Attorney Tanner, representing T. Ii. MOI
 ton, who is pushing the case against the
 water company, printed statement of the
 receipts and expenditures of the company:
 Mir. Tanner replied that he presumed Maj.
 Mner could testify to 1t.
 Amounted to $4O,OOO MT. Tanner continued the cross-examina-
 ton of Maj. Miner and the witness said; ''F'rom April 1896, to April, 1897, the run ming expenses of the water company amounted to $40 O0O. At the Cahaba pump ing station we mine our own coal It costs less than $1 ton. That used at the
 north side pumping station costs aoout
 $1 35 a ton. We do not mine more than we
 use at the Cahaba reservoir. There nave
 been some dividends paid on the capital
 stock, but I don't remember now muen: |
 own only $1 100 worth of stock tninh
 there is an annual dividend of about 2f2 per cent but it is very irregular. Ihe
 6 ner cent interest on the bonds is met
 regularly Additions and extensions Of the
 plants consume-most of the profits. don
 think larger dividend than 2ls per cent.
 has ever been declared. Whenever there IS money in the treasury for which there IS
 no use a dividend is paid some tunes there is more than one dividend deciared
 in the same year. Not much of the stock is owned in Birmingham.
 Sometimes Lose Money Meters are put in at our own instance m ohnr measured water. The meter reaoihss amount to more than the minimum rate. The minimum rate for dwelling houses IS fixed by our contract. Sometimes we iose money by consumers refusing to pay. we cut off some of them and others we oo not sunnose there are 200 300 cut off every quarter. Most of them pay up anu the water is turned on again we get oo cents for turning it on.
 list of the boarding houses was pro- duced and Mir. Tanner asked 1T they were having more than the minimum rate
 "I have no idea" said Major Miner, l suppose they are charged according to the
 meter readings.
 "I would like to see the books of the
 water company, on which is record Of the
 amounts charged said MT. Ianner. "There is such a book in the company office" said MT. London, but it is in con- | stant use But if the committee desires all of the books they will be produced "I insist on seeing the book said MT. Tanner. the business of the water company said London.
 MT. Foster bookkeeper for the company, was present and volunteered to go for the books and did so.
 During his absence Major Miner contin- ued his testimony:
 ."rhe gross income of the company from l April. 1896, to April, 1S97 was $112,OoO. We do not provide for any sinking fund. About Pressure "At the top of South Twentieth street the | pressure is very slight, being about 10 or To | pounds It is some times remarked that l two men can't take bath at the same l lime over there We contracted to give them l no particular pressure, but put in thirty 1 inch pipe while the contract called for only l a twenty-four inch pipe l do not consider | the pressure sufficient When the north | side station is not pumping they cannot get water over there.
 l Mir. London remarked that in the summer | time. when people were watering their | lawns water would not run in bath tubs on l tho second floor.
 Witness: q suppose that one-third of 1 the water pumped is unnecessarily wasted. | I think the best way to stop the waste IS l to put i'm meters"
 | Alderman Drennen: "Why was there so much more water pumped in 1896 than in | 1S97?"
 | Witness: "That is due to the pressure 1 regulator. which was in use in 1S97.' Water at Less Than Cost | MT. Tanner: "Why is it that you charge | one industrial concern cents thousand 1 gallons and another cents?" | Witness. That is on account of special | contracts We are furnishing water to | some companies at less than cost The | contract with the Sloss company was | made wears ago. suppose that 80 or 90 | per cent of the water wasted is through | the service pipe is the property of the con- sumer We see that they put in the 1 right kind of material. I consider the 1 Atlanta contract one-sided. It was made | for the benefit of the consumer. Here the | water company being private corpora l ton, the question of revenue to the opera 1 tors is of course considered. If all the | water pumped was consumed and not ! wasted it could be furnished cheaper. I l think a better contract with the city could | be made.
 "I have been a stockholder for eighteen | months We spent s30G00. $f0000 for | excavations for dam on Five Mile creek. l which was abandoned as not feasible. I | think the northside pumping station is ne- | cessary as the pumps at the Cahaba sta- tion are liable to break just as any other machinery. During the dry season at one
 time we pumped n,25O,OOOO gal 1ones a day. The water company is as- | sessed for taxes as worth s350,0 and I re- | gard that as it's approximate value. The stock is selling on the market at 55 or 60 | cents. Pipe has lessened considerably in | value since the northside plant was | built.'
 The Filter Qustion
 In reply to questions by MT. Kerr, Maj. 1 Milner said that he had been considering the question of filtration. A filter in which l alum was used like that in Atlanta, would