The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-18

lion gallons per year.
 Operating and maintenance n 1900 million gallons for s195,000 equals s26.71 per million gallons.
 Depreciation-7300 million gallons for s21, 1000 equals s2.ss per million gal Ions.
 Interest, s4.5oo at 5 per cent-73oo million gallons for s225,000 equals $30S2 per million gallons.
 Total, $6041 per million gallons.
 ssO.41 per million gallons equals S0.O604 per thousand gallons
 ~Inc1uding general expense. ANNUAL ACCOUNT WITH BIRMING-
 HAM wATERWORKS COMPANY. Charged for hydrant rent and
 and water ......................... .SS3, 0.00 Charge for water used by North
 Birmingham system, s1S,000: paid
 for city taxes, exclusive of real
 estate and buildings, $12,00o;
 total ..........+...--,......... 3o,VoOoV
 $53, 3,o00OO CAPITALIZED AT FIVE PER CENT. s53. GOO O0-(5 per cent)-$1, ,060. .00000-or over
 23lh per cent of the cost of new plant. The cost of pumping 20,000,000
 gallons per day or 365 by 20,
 equal 1900 million gallons per
 year. including labor, material,
 depreciation and interest,"; 1900
 million gallons at 60.4 ........ $40, 9s5 Oo
 
 this amount. or 15,000,000 gallons
 per day is paid for at 10 cents
 per 1000 galons-365 by 100000
 gallons-5475 million gallons equal
 10 cents .................-....... 54h50o0O Cost of water as abov. e. ........ 40, 965. %
 Profit ............ s1Oe. .5o7 % Should city pay for hydrants and
 water B, ,oOO. DO 
 Total for extensions and sinking
 fund .......................... $159,5 % Gadsden Plant Doing We'll
 Another chapter was added to the Gads den phase of the waterworks question yesterday when City Commissioner Weatherly made public letter he had re- ceived from Joseph Balfour, city clerk of the city of Gadsden, to the effect that that city's municipal waterworks was mot a humbug," but the old corpora tion waterworks was a 'humbug." This controversy started last week when Colonel R. A. Mitchell came to Birmng ham and gave out an interview in The Age-Herald, stating the municipal water works idea was a dream and a fallacy and cites Gadsden as an example. City Commissioner Weatherly, who is cham pioning the municipal waterworks move ment in this city, replied to Colonel Mitch ell in a formal statement in Sundays Age-Herald in which he handled the colonel very strenuously MT. Weatherly wrote to MT. Balfour for information and his letter in reply is given out as fol- lows:
 Dear Mir, Weatherly: Replying to your request for infor- nation regarding Gadsden waterworks. Tn 1908 the city bought the plant and issued s100000 bonds. We increased the tax rate one-fourth of one per cent or 25 cents to pay interest on these bonds, and create a sinking fund In 1910 $G0,0o0 ad- ditional bonds were issued for extensions and in 1911 a further s50.000 was issued making the total indebtedness of the sys- tenn s210,OO0
 ''we have a strictly up-to-date plant. Some people say the city made mistake in building too large plant, but this is not a serious defect and will be over come with the rapid growth of Gadsden Operated Very Economically We have a pumping capacity of S0,- 000,000 gallons every 24 hours. some 30 miles of mains, 175 fire hydrants, ample pressure for fire protection to all parts of the city, and all the service metered. "The plant is operated very economi- cally under the chage of thoroughly competent superintendent Last year, September 90, 1912 to September 30, 1913 my report shows that after charging up all interest and 1 per cent depreciation ($21o0 there was surplus of over 5000 The plant is not losing money, it is not failure financially, or in any other respect.
 The rates charged by the city are not on an average more than the flat rates of the old company. The water furnishehd by the old company was, half the time, not fit to bathe in, much less drink. Ev- erybody had their own private filters, ana there was no pressure for fire pro- tection- In fact. private ownership in our case was veritable humbug. We now enjoy absolutely pure water. and a lower insurance rate on account of first class service
 "A very large number of our people arc satisfied with municipal ownership and consider that in the water plant the city has a valuable asset which will grow more valuable every year Yours very