The age-herald., 1900-06-26

do what thought best for the city, I saw and talked with MT. Roden several times, and believe he was frank with me- From his statements as to the companys busi- ness and it's expenses I believe the con- tract is fair It may not be all we ought to have, but it is the best we could get at the present time. It is not an exclusive franchise, and should a new company come here and offer to furnish gas at 75 cents, s1s or any other cheaper price, would vote to give 1t a franchise I would like to have dollar gas, but there is no way by which we can force the company to furnish 1t at any particular price provided 1t does not go over certain figure fixed in the con- tract"
 T. II. Motion Favors Contract
 T. H. Motion: q am on record as being in favor of getting the requisites at the very lowest price, but I have looked into this question. and as Mir. Thach said, we are confronted with a condition and not a theory. l am in favor of getting the re- duction for seven years. and trust to some- thing else then giving us a still lower price"
 H. K. White said: 'If Atlanta, Chatta- nooga, Knoxville and other cities no bet ter located than Birmingham have dollar gas, l see no good reason why we cannot have it here"
 Capt. Frank $. White
 Captain Frank S. White then took the floor. "I feel very deep interest in the question: said he, and l have listened n Ia q 1iCat Sria, tl, favor the contract. As has been said. we are confronted with condition and not a theory. It is said the Gas Company will not give us cheaper gas. But they are also confronted with a condition. The com pany may continue to charge high prices for seven years but at the end of that time our day will come. If they want to grind us for seven years let them grind, and then we will be in the saddle and do some grinding. They want to negotiate securities, and in order to do so want to bind us for thirty years.
 $. Steiner-"Could the city at the end of seven years require the company 10 take up their ppes?"
 Captain White-"No, sir, but at the end of the seven years they won't have pipes laid all over the city to be in the way of any other company that may desire to come in.
 ''The idea of Birmingham, in the heart of the cheapest coal field in the world paying $1.4O. when Atlanta and other places get gas for $l. is ridiculous.
 MT. Steiner says his saving in gas ex- pense under the new contract would be $500 Mine would probably be about $1 a year, but l feel an interest in Birmingham. Chattanooga, Knoxville, Richmond and oth- CT places get gas at a dollar. What are you going to do about it if the company gets pipes all over the city, and q new company wants to come in, but says your streets are occupied where l want to use them?"
 : At this point there was considerable ar gument of a legal charater as to whether the city would have authority to force the Gas Company to remove it's pipes from the streets and alleys at the expiration of its franchise
 MT. March, representing MT. Newman, principal owner of the Gas Company, said the company paid one dollar per share div idens in 1899, and one dollar in 1900. The property is assessed at POO GOO.
 Captain White-And you want to sell 1t lo tiS city dt @o'V,VoV'
 MT. March-We don't want to sell at all The Mayor asked us for an option and We gave it.
 MT. Dunlap asked why it was, if ex- elusive franchises could not be granted, a street car company could enjoin another company from crossing it's tracks, and he also asked if there was any difference between a street railway franchise and a gas franchise.
 Captain w. c. Ward answered that one was on the surface and the other under ground.
 Captain F. s. White-And that's the only difference. The Birmingham Railway and Traction Company at bay for a year be- fore the latter could cross it's track, al- though the legal right was there all the time
 MT. March stated that the price had been reduced from $165 to Sl 40 in the hope that the consumption would be increased, and also the receipts.
 Captain White-Then reduce the price to one dollar and let everybody consume it.
 MT. March-We have placed it at the lowest figure we could and make expenses. If we placed the price at dollar we would go into the hands of a receiver
 Captain White-Other cities not so well situated sell it for a dollar and Brming-
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