The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-03

1 the Birmingham Railway, Light and Pow l CT company contract and goes into il l rather thoroughly. He critcises Comms- | sioner Weatherly in many places and fir
 defense of his own position on the Bir. mingham Water Works company contract I as referred to by MT. Weatherly
 | MT. Weatherly when shown the state 1 ment of Judge Lane yesterday had mol | looked over it carefully and did not is' l sue any statement. It is generally be- 1 lieved that he will answer Judge Lane 1 however within the next few days.
 The statement of Commissioner Lane l follows:
 The Statement in Full
 My attention has been called to the | Hong and 1abored statement of Commis-
 sioner Weatherly in defense of his vote
 to grant further lease of power to the
 Birmingham Railway, Light and Power
 company. The defense is badly needed
 even if it is lame, in the last degree. "It Is often excusable in young law yer to grow petulant and to abuse his antagonist when he has ingloriously lost a bad cause. but there is no cx-
 cuse-not even palliation, for an old
 and trained lawyer to denounce the jury | trying the case, and to style them as | self constituted tribunes,' as cheap as dirt Are citizens who have the man | hood to oppose the 10 year contract Co | have it flung in their faces that this objection is based purely on ignorance or prejudice or demagoguery' with the | addendum, I do not care which; on is about as bad as the other?' Must a citi- inc rlat rolf in cussing vital issues. to escape the fm- putation of unworthy motives, where l the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company is concerned-that oc- l topus which has 'fattened and battened' upon this city for so many years? Is | i. possible that to be regarded as a true citizen free from ignorance. prejudice or demagoguery,' he must slink around ] with a collar of the Birmingham Rail- | way, Light and Power company visibly hung around his neck? For my part, l purpose to discuss the issue whenever and wherever I please; am not afraid | of the company and I am not afraid | of the issue.
 Original Street Car Resolution 'Now, as to the original street car res olution, I submit that this Is beside the question; but as 1t has been gone into will advert to 1t a moment. The resolu- ton. ufdWn Dy me, al the request or tue Ensley people, did contain demand fer a cent rate. and the word demand was changed to request because Mir. Weath- erly stated that he would not support the original, as he did not wish to make
 a demand which could not be enforced. In reply stated then and there, in open board that while it could probably not be enforced through the courts. still tie company would be seeking other favors
 and that if the board would only take Il firm stand and state that unless the company would grant this demand. which was based upon right and equity, it could not expect any additional grants from the board, the 5 cent rate
 would go into effect without delay ( was met with the reply that every tub
 must stand on its, own bottom. flaw
 ored protecting the company in all of It's existing rights, hut utterly opposed giving it any more street grants or
 franchises, which l knew in reason it would be asking, unless this reasonable requirement of the city were granted Any boy of ordinary intelligence would have known that the board held the key to the situation, and could use it with
 out the slightest injustice to the com pany. Of course, the board would nor have invaded any vested right; it could not If it would, and would not If it could. But when new favors were asked by the company they could have beer denied. and they ought to have been denied.
 By Public Sentiment
 We are told that as to reductions ir
 both cases I should say in a general way that the company was influenced
 largely by public sentiment and this in
 the face of the fact that the people have been consistently clamoring for a re- duction in the Ensley rates for about 10 years, the company turning a deat ear to every appeal, although pub
 lie sentiment was practically unanimous for a cent rate.
 commissioner Weatherly says in his statement: T should never have signed this contract but for the fact of potential competition expressly reserved, and yet the only objection that have seen any where to the 10 year term is that it ties up the city for 10 years to one company. Is it not clear from what has been said that this objection is based purely on ignorance or prejudice or demagoguery T do not care which one is about as bad as the other? Now, compare this with paragraph 10 of his statement: TO- The proposition to reduct the lighting rates to both city and citizens came vol untarily from the company, without sus- gestions from the commission, the induce
 inents to the company being the increase
 in number of customers and immunity
 from rate changes for a reasonable term
 of years
 Quotes MT. Weatherly
 Again Mir. Weatherly further says: If
 the contrac-s are bad. do not understand
 why the citizens of Vivian should kick,
 because they are not let into bad thing.
 Let me tell him and your readers. They Tick because their rate is not reduced for the alleged. ridiculous reason that they are not within the cent rate zone, when they know the real reason IS be- cause they are not within the Ti1ewater railroad zone They kick further because they object to the companv's having monopcIv in lighting rates and immunity from rate changes for reasonable term of years' If anything else were needei l 10 dem cnstrate th"t this companv Is not benevolent association and that ifs shrewd o~,cers regarded the transaction as m- merselv valuable to it. the parties pro ceeded with unseemly haste to execute she contract just as soon as the council cham Ter was cleared of the spectators. am this in the fact of the company's claim that it will be losing $1.o00 per annum on the rate contract and sSo,0o0 per annum on the light contract. The company would have the public view it in the light of vol untarily and of its own motion giving up
 sS0 GOO per annuum on the light contract for the privilege of losing $7O0o0 on the rate contract, when everybody knows