The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-31
BOARD HAS DISPUTE Citizens Light Company 1 Files Protest. OBJECTS TO BOARD METHODS Secretary Whiting Submitted the
 Document.
 Said Montgomery Light And Power l Company Had Representative
 In The Board of Revenue. Talks of Competition.
OBJECTS TO BOARD METHODS

Members of the Board of Revenue were somewhat surprised yesterday morning when a communication ad- dressed to the Board came from the Citizens Light. Heat and Power Com pany. in which that company scored the methods employed by the Board in awarding the ten-year lighting con tract for the county. The communica- tion contained the words unjust" and unfair" in one instance, and also that the bid of the new company was lower than their competitors and that the contract should be awarded imrhedi- ately.
 The chief reason for this communi- cation seems to lie In the fact that the bids were opened and the action taken on them while the Board was in executive session and because a mem- Der of the Board is a director in the Montgomery Light and Water Power Company At the first meeting. when the bids were opened, F. R. Whiting. manager of the new company, appeared before the Board, and when it went into executive session he remarked that if one company had a represent ative in the meeting that the other should also be allowed one. He was told that the contract would be award ed on the merits of the bids.
 1 The matter was not settled in ex- ecutive session but a committee from the Board members was appointed to look into the matter and ascertain whether or not it might be possible to get better prices. The new company objected to this also.
 R. T. Goodwin and Fred S. Ball appeared before the Board yesterday and after Mir. Goodwin had brought out about the same points as those in the paper, the communication was pre- scented. As Mr. Greil was the mem Der of the Board referred to as di- rector of the Montgomery Light and Water Power Company, he stated that he did not receive a cent for being director of the company and that he had the interest of the county more at heart than he did the light com pany. President Tyson stated that he thought the charges in the letter were unjust.
 The letter follows:
 ''To the Honorable the Board of Reve-
 nue:
 "The Citizens Heat Light and Power Company respectfully represents that at your request 1t submitted a sealed bid for the city lighting in competition with the Montgomery Light and Water Power Company The said bids were opened by your board in executive ses- sion on Monday. Dec. 23. 1907; that 1t then appeared that the price offered by the Citizens Heat and Light Com pany was almost 50 per cent less than what your Board has long been paying the Montgomery Light and Water Pow CT Company. and that the bid of the Montgomery Light and Water Power Company was 25 per cent higher than the bid of the Citizens Heat, Light and Power Company: that although both of said bids were very low, they were both rejected in executive session, and a committee of three appointed to make the best arrangements possible with one of said companies for a ten-year contract that one member of that committee Is a member of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery Light and Water Power Company and has been active and diligent in its behalf. al tn ough he Is only a nominal holder of qualifying shares of its stock.
 "Unfalr" and aUnjGst."
 "The Citizens Heat. Light and Power Company respectfully submits that 1t is manifestly unjust and unfair to 1t for your Board to reject sealed bids offering such reasonably low prices, to allow the higher bidder to know the lower price offered by this company. and then to place the matter in the hands of a committee to negotiate with two bidders for better prices. This injustice is emphasized by the appoint ment of legal agent and representa- tive. a director. of the higher bidder as one of the said committee, which makes it necessary for this company to