The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
Bozvie's Long Rebuttdl
 To Argument of Sibley

gestion? Did not he himself say that the city of Birmingham ought to own
 its waterworks plant? Did not he him self say that the plant of the waterworlSs company ought to be bought? As a good
 citizen. is he unwilling for his own city to deal with the corporation on equal terms? Is he willing, as a good citizen, to put all the advantage in the hands
 of the opposite party to the trade? Does he call it "bluffing' to give into the hands of the commission the sovereign mandate of the people of Birmingham under which they can deal in such a way as to pro- i tect the interest of the people? And if
 the waterworks company. in pursuance
 of it's right, declines to enter into ne-
 gotiations with the city or to submit a
 fair price for its property, Is he willing to wait until 1921 before the people can
 get any relief. and then depend entirely upon an ordinance fixing rates. which it. self will be the subject of future litiga- 1 tion?
 1 MT. Sibley says he is not a lawyer He does not know, perhaps, but it is fact,
 that the attempt to regulate prices for water by ordinance has caused a train
 of litigation which has extended from the Atlantic clear across to the Pacific, and has cost untold sums of money to the cities involved, as well as to the com panies. Does Mr. Sibley wish to leave us to that single recourse? For my part, I have no quarrel with the Birmingham | Waterworks company, except that I be- lieve its prices are exorbitant, and I know | that it did not until compelled by litiga-
 tion comply with the terms of It's con- | tract with the people of Birmingham. 1 Whether 1t is now complying with the | terms of that contract or not, I do not
 know. That matter is now in the supreme
 court. whose judgment on that point when made will. of course. be final. But l
 do know that in the matter of insuffi-
 cient water pressure alone property l values to the extent of hundreds of thou
 sands of dollars have been totally de- stroyed and the owners left without any recourse because of noncompliance with | It's contract by the waterworks com.
 pany.
 As a citizen of this city 1t has seemed
 to me that the simple way out. and the l just and fair way to our people, is to ] own plant of their own, purchasing that I of the waterworks company if 1t can be | done at fair price, or building plant
 of our own if that cannot be done. | As far as l can see. no attempt has 1 ever been made to justify the high prices for water which we pay in this commun- l ity, except that it was permitted under the contract of 18S8 If that contract has | high prices therein named no longer exist if 1t has not been preached, the right tc charge these prices will continue at leas until 1921, in old Birmingham, and per 1 haps for Q longer period in other parts of the city. Nothing in that contract 1 expressly or impliedly, prevents the city | from building a plant of It's own and charging reasonable prices to the citizens It has a clear, lawful and moral righl to grant to tho people of this community relief and that can be done in only ont way that Is, to buy out the waterworks paying a fair price therefor, or build { plant of It's own.
 | There are great many people-I dt not know or believe that MT Sibley 1. of their number-who. every time the sub say, 'sYes, we favor it, but wait" Thi is the cry, wait wait" And as Mir l Bryan so well stated on another occa sion, They are waiting most patientl. who do not want 1t at all
 I As a citizen of this community I woul, not stand for an injustice to any cor poration within it's confines, but believ that the people are entitled to protection
 against injustice as well as those wh
 have money invested in corporate enter prises. The people have a right to [
 waterworks plant of their own, and the,
 have a right to prices at least approx imately on a part with those charged
 in other cities of the same size. IT get 1t action is necessary, and the onl' possible action that can be taken is actiol
 toward municipal ownership. This is wh. ] shall vote for the bond issue on Sep 7 tember 21. Yours very truly.
 SYDNEY J. BOWIE. II Birmingham. August p, 1914