The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-08
Think CITY SHOULD
BRING WATER HERE
Bowie and Ed Smith Present
Their Arguments
COUNTY CANNOT DO WORK
City Is Only Unit That Is Not Limited
In Amount of Indebtedness 1t Can
Assume In Building
Waterworks.
COUNTY CANNOT Do WORK

BY section 224 of the constitution Of
Alabama it is provided as follows:
mo county shall become indebted in
an amount including present indebted
ness greater than 31h per centum of
the assessed valuation of the property
therein"
BY section 225 of the constitution it
is provided that:
"All towns and cities having a popu
lation of 5000 or more are
hereby authorized to become indebted
in an amount, including present indebt-
| edness, not exceeding per centum of
the assessed valuation of the property
therein, provided that there shall not
be included in the limitation of the
Indebtedness of such last described
cities and towns the following classes
of Indebtedness. to-wit. bonds
or other obligations already issued. or
which may hereafter be issued for the
purpose of acquiring. providing or con-
structing school houses water works,
and sewers"
! jefferson county is already indebted
in sum exceeding 81, 100000. 1t would
therefore require a taxable valuation
of nearly $500 00o.000 before Jefferson
county cound undertake to issue bonds
! sufficient to complete the work for the
purpose of building water works under
our present constitution.
If Mr.. Harding and Mr. Percy and
other eminent authorities too numerous
TO mention are even approximately ac-
curate in their statement that the limit
of industrial growth in this community
has been practically reached, unless
We get an addition to our water sup
ply. the time will never come under
our present constitution when Jefferson
county will be in a position to take up
the question.
We would all be proud of jefferson
county reaching a taxable valuation of
5000 000 .000, but the only way to do it
is to get the water first. It will never
be done if we have reached anything
like the limit of our industrial devel-
opment.
AS shown above, there is no limita
ton to the bonds to be issued by any
municipality having over 5000 inhabi-
tants for the purpose of erecting a wa
ter works This is not only a plain
declaration of the constitution that the
erection of water works is a municipal
function. but is a positive limitation
upon the doing of work of that char.
acter by county authorities.
The only other recourse is a con-
stitutional amendment. To carry it, ii
must be made a local question and
limited to Jefferson county. Whether
we could ever get it at all, with the
necessary vote, through both houses of
the legislature, and by a vote of the
majority of the people of the state
voting on the subject, is, to say the
least, doubtful The legislature does
not meet until 1911, and the next gem
eral election will not be held until
November. 1912 If it We're granted
that every one of these obstacles could
be removed there would still be many
things to do in order to get the en-
terprise even started. Under the most
favorable circumstances. it would be
seven years, in any contingency, be-
fore the water works could be com
pleted in that manner.
The objections to the plan proposed
for the work to be constructed by the
county are serious and conclusive.
There are al least three fatal objections
to the plan, and others decidedly seri-
Gus.
/. A certain delay of seven years, and
probable delay of more, is utterly
ineXcusable when we have the consti-
tuition and statutory authority already
at hand to commence and complete the
work by the natural and proper agency,
to-wit the municipal authority, for
public improvements of that che - or.
The second is that a delay of seven
years or longer will securely entrench the
present water works monopoly in COM
plete and permanent control of our streets
and render all other efforts impossible at
any time. The water works MONOPOLY
received free franchise from the city
in consideration of it's discharging GER
tain public duties and furnishing a certain
pressure at all times for protection
against fire and for domestic consumption.
That it has openly and VIGOROUSLY re-
fused and failed to comply with this
contract is a matter not capable of denial.
The sole pretense by which they excuse
their failure and refusal to furnish the
pressure for public and private purposes
which they undertook to do is in the con-
tentio1 that their contract is limited to
| that part of the city included within the
| corporate limits at the time of the
| granting of the franchise, and that they
| have nc contract with, nor obligation to,
| those large and densey populated sections
| limits. We do not believe that this con-
| tention las a matter of law Is sound, but
| if it is. it cannot alter the fact that
| they are not now furnishing or even
! pretending to furnish. a sufficient quan-
| THY of water even for private consump-
| ton in a large portion of the city to
| say nothing of the utter lnadequacy of
| the pressure in case of fire. And this,
/ upon top of the fact that their charges
are more than double that of other cities
| near by which can be named.
The third objection is that this is city
| and not county function.
Taking the first objection alone delay
| of seven years if there were no other OBJ
jections, would be a betrayal of the cause
| when we are pretending to serve.