The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-26
CITIZENS REPLY ID
 COMMISSIONERS Give Some of Their Reasons for Opposing Proposed
 Lighting Contract

Citizens opposed to the proposed light ing contract which will be voted on at Mondays electiony have issued the fol- lowing statement;
 ITO the Citizens of Birmingham:
 We have no comment to make upon the action of your servants, Messrs. Exum and Weatherly. of the Birmingham city commission. in ehampionng the cause of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company in the controversy over the 10 year contract, though it is to be regretted that they have sought to make | a personal issue of question that should be settled purely upon its' merits. In their lengthy brief in behalf of the street railway company, they set up but one contention that merits serious considera- tion at your hands, and even the most casual investigation of this contention will show it's utter falacy. This refer enee Is to the claim that the lighting question can be best settled by contract rather than by ordinance
 Tn support of this position, Messrs. Exun and weatherly argue that the contract method is peaceful means of | settling the question of rates while the I ordinance plan would savor of The Big Stick and would lead to prolonged lit | igation.
 | Tn answer to this 1t is merely neces- | sary to point to the action of the board ] of aldermen of Birmingham in reducing the rate to consumers from 16 cents to | 12 cents. This heavy reduction was made | by ordinance and did not lead to pro- l longed litigation. The company bowed | to the reasonable demand of the city l servants, just as it will bow to a req | sonable demand from the present city
 commission if this demand is made. | Under the law the city commissioners | fly fac hxr ardfnanCa tbA OnlN
 striction being that rates shall not be re- dueed to point where they will become 1 confiscatory. That a reasonable reduc- | tion at this time-bys ordinanee-would
 not be confiscatory is shown by the fact l that the Birmingham Railway, Light and
 Power company has recently increased | dividends upon it's stock despite the wei known and undisputed fact that this stock contains from ss,0oO.0oO to $l0.Oo0,0o0 oi
 water.
 That a company which is paying larg' | and increasing dividends upon wateret | stock could successfully resist reduction
 in rates is out of the question. It's repre-
 sentatiVes are too shrewd to even attemp it. A reduction in keeping with the low
 cost of production in this city can b
 made by the city commissioners withou l entering into a contract for 10 minutes and this can be done without tnvitini
 prolonged litigation. It is clearly the dutl
 of the commissioners to take this step
 and an ordinance opening the way wil be presented to the body immediately afte
 the 10 year contract, with It's multitude O jokers and it's evident tendency to throttle competition. has been defeated.
 'The statement that the Birmingham
 Railway, Light and Power company has
 increased dividends upon it's stock-watei
 and all-is brought out forciby by th' 1 fact that certain careful stockholders II l the company recently held a meeting IT ] New Orleans and appointed a committed | to investigate the company and sec if tho
 increase was justified by actual conditions
 "When a company with holdings wortl i approximately $lO.000010 is paying suet l large returns upon capitalization of $20 1 O00OOO that the stockholders become eN l cited and appoint committee to see hoy | the thing is being done, it becomes ridl
 culous to talk about prolonged Mitigation to the consumer Let 1t be understoo once for all, that the city commissioner
 of Birmingham can fix lower rate D merely adopting an ordinance, and Una it is not necessary to enter into con , tract of any kind Also. that when thl
 action is taken as it must be if the will 0 the people is to have any weight VII
 their public servants, there will not b
 any prolonged litigation.
 "The whole question can be closed Il
 to the satisfaction of the puDnc anu Wil due regard for the rights of the Birming
 ham Railway, Light and Power compan
 without closing the door to competn
 companies as would be the case unde
 the 10 year contract This is what W
 want. and to this end we urge ever
 patriotic citizen of Birmingham to go [ the polls next Monday and vote agains
 doing by long term contract what can b
 accomplished more certainly and in ia more satisfactory way by the simple pro cess of passing an ordinance.
 George Huddleston. chairman; R' Du ! pont Thompson Ben Davis, W. E. Dieker son F. D. McArthur B. A. Thompson : samuel B. Stern, W. R. Stewart, D. ( 1 pau p u Hacnod N. E. stack.