The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-11-20
VIII Confer With Other CON-
mittgeS About Water,
CONDEMN SECRET MEETINGS
Members Say That Meetings Of Com
mittees of City Council Should
Be Public-Want City to
Own Water Plant.

At the meeting OF the Board of Trade
yesterday afternoon committee was ap-
pointed to confer with the water com
mittee of the Commercial club and the
water committee of the city council to
try and find some plan to reach a COM
promise with the water works company
relative to the present situation.
The committee of the Board of Trade is
the same which has been working on
the water question for some time past
and the members are familiar with the
situation not only in Birmingham, but in
other places In the south. The commit
tee was not instructed to fight the plac-
ing of meters in the houses, but such was
the trend of the talk at the meeting 1t
was also suggested that in case no COM
promise beneficial to the citizens could
be reached. that the city should buy the
water works plant. or erect one of its
own and have municipal ownership. 1t
was stated that this was the only effect
ual manner of using meters, as is desired
by the present water company.
The resolution passed was as follows:
The Resolution.
whereas, the Board of Trade has been
requested to appoint committee TO meet
the committee of the board of mayor
and aldermen and the committee of the
Commercial club on the water rates ques-
ton; and
whereas. the Board of Trade has al
ready a committee in charge of this mat
ter which went before committee of the
board of aldermen and protested against
the meter system, asking for steps to be
taken to secure an adequate supply of
pure water at reasonable rates; and
Whereas, this committee is familiar
with all the details and is still working at
this matter
Be it resolved, that this committee, COM
posed of the following gentlemen, John
w. Oneil, chairman; ]. d. Collins, Colman
Blach, J. w. Tominson. Simon Klotz and
w. D. Wood, be and is hereby continued
as the committee in charge of the water
question with authority to appear before
a committee of the board of aldermen
and confer with a committee of the Com
mercial club and urge steps to be taken
that will give to the city of Birmingham,
not only for the present but for the flu
at reasonable rates.
o ACT promptly
In discussing the resolution w. B. Dick
erson suggested that the best thing to do
was to act promptly and. get a resolution
passed through the city council demand
ing better rates or condemning the prop
erty of the water works company and
purchasing the plant. or to erect a plant
owned and operated by the city.
Other members of the board stated that
they were not in favor of effecting a COM
promise with the water works company
until the latter had made some PROPOSE
ton to the board of aldermen. They stat
ed that in their opinion a proposition
should be made by the water works COM
pany and placed before the people so
that they could see what was being
the manner of getting 1t, and It's purity.
Oppose Secret Meetings.
The members also spoke warmly on
committee meetings behind closed doors.
They stated that in their opinion these
meetings should be public so that some
of the statements made behind closed
doors would be public so that the public
might contradict them If they were
wrong.
John w. Tomlinson stated that he APP
peared before a committee of the board or
aldermen and that there was an official
Of the water works company present who
made a statement that the Atlanta water
works did not pay the city and was a
money loser. Mr.. Tomlinson said there
was no one present who knew the condi-
lion of affairs in Atlanta and was able to
the assertion. He telegraphed
to the mayor of Atlanta, who replied that
the water works paid the city handsomely
at the low rate of 10 cents thousand
gallons. Mr.. Tomlinson said that this
was one incident of meeting behind closed
doors and that they were unfair to the
public.
---e-------~---