The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-26

missioners and hence there is not one word of truth in the charge of the wa terworks company made through their mouthpiece that these transactions
 were my personal attacks upon the wa terworks company for political reasons
 or personal attacks In any sense.
 Company Injected Politics
 ..The waterworks company injected poli-
 tics into this situation immediately after
 Judge Crows decision, by claiming that
 Judge Crow ordered them to restore the
 old high meter and flat rates and that
 they had no other recourse than to com
 ply and by telling their consumers Ill
 official communications, in effect, that
 they had to thank me for the great bur-
 den of increased rates which they were
 about to inflict upon the people Not
 only this but they followed it up repeat
 edly, so 1 am informed by complaining
 consumers who have come to me, by sys-
 tematically telling these people to come
 to see me or go to the city hall, that We
 were responsible for the raise in rates
 and we were the ones to apply to for help.
 Mr Shook is evidently very familiar w;ih
 all this, not only this open history, put
 with the more subtle and secret motives
 of the waterworks company officials for,
 
 tells the people that they must thank
 Weatherly for the high rates put upon
 them have challenged the company before, and l now repeat the challenge
 that not a single word in Judge Crow
 order required them to restore any spe-
 cific rate Judge Crows order had noth-
 ing to do with rates. It simply ordered
 the discontinuance of the meter to do-
 mestic consumers in old Birmingham. The
 company is making a false pretense If II
 says that Judge Crow ordered in ths
 maximum rates of the contract of lSsS
 The company has never denied this since
 its first statement. I charged In answer to the company's official communications to it's customers that the company was free to voluntarily give to it's consumers as low rates as it pleased. Whereupon they shifted their position and argued to show that they could not afford to givt lower rates, so that 1t was not Judge Crows order, but their own unwilling ness to offer the lower rates voluntarily that has caused the increase They wan the peoples money, but they have . deeper motive than the mere desire tt make money MT. Shook unwittingly dis closes it, when he says: After ths charges against the company, it was obviously the duty of the company tt increase the rates if for no other reason than to show that for one time the cor porations had acted in good faith while the commission had not
 After the charges against the company it was the duty of the company to raise the rates on the people, and not be cause of any court order: to make ths people feel the burden of higher rate! and thereby cause animosity on the par of the people against the commission ol against myself.
 ..Fhis has been the common suppositior all along, but now MT Shook confesse' it and being the mouthpiece of bis broth er-in-law, President Lynn, and the water works company, his confession may b. taken as an absolute and unqualified truth, because it is confession agains their own interests.
 Rates Not Forced
 MT Shook has brought out this trutl blunderingly perhaps and without intend ing to do it. I now charge again tna that the waterworks company is forced by no order of court to raise these rate
 or restore the old high rates prevailin, prior to 1912. That these rates are to' high has never been denied by the water works company They are outrageous The company is not pound by It's con tract nor by any order of court to charge them and it is doing so of its own fire, will and accord. Nor can it be doubted lat MT Shocks confession is made witt the purpose of rousing hatred against tn, city commissioners for having had tn, temerity to go into the courts to seek tt establish the citys rights as advised b, its legal advisor, the city attorney. Tn, company having made the issue of it. right to force these higher rates, 1 hav' taken this opportunity to make part O this controversy the question of munici pal ownership, because I believe it il what the people want and what the, need. It is intolerable that the watei srIp ply of 16O.0O0 people should be undel the exclusive domination and control O. a private monopoly which can use itl people, but their officials. and which car raise its rates at will, free from any reg ulation or restrictions on the part of tht state or city, and to use this power tt punish those who have offended them. MT. Shook says that he does not be lieve in municipal ownership. I take i that that is also a confession of MT Lynn of the Birmingham Waterwork company. The cities in this country il the last few years have gone overwhelm lngly in the direction of municipal own ership. The last census report shows that 193 of the principal cities of tn, country with over 30000 inhabitants hay, | invested nearly $900, 100000 in their owr | plants. Whatever differences may exis cCuCtIiiiliS hitliiSiPdl JWHeISnlp or OLHt public utilities. the convection of a vas
 majority of the people of this country i, that they should control their own watel SUI plies through their own waterwork. systems, and no disinterested person car 1 truthfully deny that municipal ownership ard control of waterworks is a demon strated success. The city of Birming han today is in this situation; 1t is threatened with the highest rates ever charged by tn, waterworks company in it's history fol the past, 25 years. It is using every in geEious device to increase not only tn, 1 flat rates. hut the meter rates all ove Gi eater Birmingham. It threatens t. l turn off the peoples water if these exces sive rates are not paid and it offers tn, people no other alternative than that i they are to have lower rates all lav
 suits against the company must b dropped and contract written practical, by the waterworks company in It's owl interest which in effect would give 1t perpetual franchise and accord it ever, right which 1t had claimed under it
 contract, and :o force upon the city tn
 ccmpany's property practically uron 1t own terms in 1921
 Wants Connections Free
 sIt doesn't even agree to put in sery | ice connection and maintain those con