The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-10
LOWER GAS RATES
 WANTED BY CITY Request Made to B. R., l.. & P. Co. Officials Yesterday CONFERENCE IS HELD Nothing Definite Is Decided and An
 T. r. T-
CONFERENCE IS HELD
Nothing Definite Is Decided and An other Is Scheduled for Today. Gas Rate Controversy Be-
 lieved to Be Almost Over

Requests for lower rates than those mentioned in former negotiations were made to officials of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company yes terday by the city commissioners Ii was said nothing definite was decided and another conference is scheduled for today.
 President A. II. Ford of the Birming- ham Railway, Light and Power com pany, President George Bullock of the United Gas and Electric company, and other officials were closeted in a con ference with the commissioners for nearly an hour late yesterday afternoon All the parties to the conference stated that nothing had been agreed to which could be made public now.
 AS will be remembered. the local gas company made the commissioners a proposition to furnish by-product gas at rates about half those now in force on uc- gas is to be obtained al the coke ovens of the district
 Since that time the commissioners have been Investigating by-product gas rates in other cities and from data secured, it is said, have asked the local company to furnish the gas here at still smaller rate. While the commissioners would make no statement. it is believed gen erally that the gas rate controversy started sometime ago by recommen- dation of City Attorney Romaine Boyd is about over.
 MT. Boyd recommended to the com mission at that time cheaper rates or the present gas, later the corpany vol untarily made the by-product sds propo- sition at rates about half what the cid ones are and now the commissioners are asking for still further reduction It is said that by-product gas is used in other cities at lower rates than those proposed by the locaI company in its original proposition.
 MT. Bullock arrived in Birmingham yesterday morning. He came from New York to discuss some legal matters. and as a result was in almost continual con ference with Lee C. Bradley. counsel for the company, during the day The president is accompanied by J. s. Pe- year, of the American Cities company and with MT. Ford and MT. Bradley found time to lunch at the Birmingham Newspaper club.
 NIT. BULLOCK said stkAI the situation here was being pushed forward as rap- idly as possible so far as the expenditures of the 1914 appropriation is concerned. He said the plans are being drawn for the execution of the work outlined. that the bringing of water power electricity to the city was being pushed as rap idly as possible, and that everything pos sible was being done to contribute to the progress of the community.
 s'Thera a ahsoliItely Ootbipp now in connection with my visit said Mir Bull lock ''I had talk with the commission while in the city in reference to the de- lay encountered by our by-product gas proposition. l cannot even imagine that there will be any reduction in the price of our gas as originally proposed.
 ''The viaduct proposition has never been brought to my attention Conse- quently I know nothing of it. l take 1t that President Ford has been handling that proposition as liberally as possi- ble. l would be glad to see the city en- tirely free of dangerous grade crossings but that is not up to me.
 'The contract between our company and the Alabama Powe> company in its technical details has not been signed yet. I am to take that up again ir New York during the next few days However. the work of construction of a substation here for the distribution oi that power and the ork of procuring a right for our line into the city is progressing favorably and 1 believe that we will be ready for the utiliza- tion of that energy within a reasonable time. However, the local officials are looking after that" g