The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-09

While ne wanted to do everything possible to assist the commissioners, he believed the merchants of the city which compose the membership of the Board of Trade should show the commissioners that they did not approve of the gas negotiations.
 
 missioners were prepared to vote in favor of the company's proposition. provided certain conditions shou.o be accepted by the company viz:
 T. A new ordinance providing for proper service under the new contract, including the testing of the quality of the gas, the pressure of the gas and the quality of service generally.
 ''2 A provision regulating extensions to new territory under proper terms and conditions. This has been matter of great complaint as to the extension of service of all of the public utility corporations of the city, and is a crying need.
 "3 A reasonable tax on the gross re- ceipts.
 The company agreed to the two for mer conditions, but flatly refused to com ply with the last. The justification of the commissioners for demanding a tax on the gross receipts of the company is based on the following grounds, namely: T. The company was asking the city to grant 1t a new contract based on an entirely different character of gas of cheaper quality, neeesstating the ex- penditure of $l6O00O mainly in new dis tributing mains on the streets of the city, thereby imposing an additional burden on the streets of the city, which the company should pay for. In such cases, the tax on the gross receipts is admit tedly the correct principle. The com pany claimed that its prices were rock bntfnDn nricaS and that if co1ld m o ford to pay this tax on it's gross re- ceipts. Let us see about this.
 Are Prices Rock Bottom?
 At ID cents per 1000 cubic feet as the price to the general consumer, the com pany acquired this gas from the Tennes- see company at IS cents per 1000 cubic feet, leaving the company 60 cents per 1000 cubic feet in excess of the cost of its gas commodity. It's gross revenue would be 400 per cent of the cost of the gas at this price. How much of this 400 per cent would the company have to use so as to leave it fair profit on it's investment? If the gas should reach the price of 50 cents, then the gas com
 rany would have to pay the Tennessee company cents This would yield the company more than 400 per cent above the price paid by it for its raw material. How much of this would yield the com pany fair profit on it's investment2 The milk in the cocoanut is found in that part of the report of the city's expert. Mir. Brown, that it Is the expressed intention of the put in the new construction out of the proceeds of the first few years of the contract and this is further based on the false idea of the company that owing to the short term of the contract the value of this new construction will be rendered worthless at the end of the contract, when, as matter of fact, the new construction is necessarily perma- nent, and, as stated by MT. Brown, the life of the new construction is many times the seven years of the franchise remaining think it safe to say that few, if any, investors expect to realize price for their commodities large enough to pay for their initial investment in the first year or two of their venture. Exploiting People Many Years "The fact of the business Is just this: This company has been exploiting the public for a number of years at its own pleasure. Starting with 1901, it's maximum gas rats was S1.4S, with reduction only to 95 cents in 1914. It has extracted hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars from the con sumors of this city which, instead of putting into its plant. they have util- ized in other ways, and allowed their
  1t Is little above the dignity of junk heap. It would require s60,000 to make l it useful even as a mak keshift, imme- dia tely put into 1t. According to Mir. | Bullock, it will take a half million l dollars to make it up-to-date, and am informed that it would take three | times this much to accomplish this re- suit.
 l Having reached. this point of inef- ficiency and being at last compelled to keep in business and comply with their franchise the gas company takes | up the by-product venture and pro- poses to make the public pay them within the next two or three years the s1e0.O00 that they are to expend to distribute the new gas to their con- | sumers.
 Now comes MT. Pevear and issues 1 a manifesto to the public criticizing
 me because I dare to insist on the pit
 iful sum of per cent on their gross receipts which they are to pluck from the public. I am willing to face the | issue, and I have no apologies to make | to anyone If I judge the people of l this correctly, they are not so much | Interested in the mere question of rates l as between the public utility corpora l lions and the city and themselves, but they are profoundly concerned in the proper adjustment of relations between | the city and the public utility corpor- /, ations of the city. Furthermore, they are determined that these public utility corporations shall no longer obtain :! from the city franchises and privileges l of inestimable value for long periods without making due compensation therefor, not only in the mere matter l of money, but in the more important matter of service and proper subjec- tion to government control.
 | 'I am more than gratifed at the atti- tude of the two evening papers on this l proposition, and trust that all the leading daily papers of the city will combine to 1 crystalline public sentiment on this great l question of principle, and see to it that the people are no longer ruthlessly ex- i plotted.
 Unable to Supply Data | Tn conclusion, I wish to state that when the recent negotiations were on which resulted in the reduction in the price of gas to & cents it was claimed by the gas company that it was hardly possible to adjust the rates as expressed l In the terms of the contract. namely based on the size and population of other cities, because of Birminghams extra ordinary size. therefore called on the company to let us have statement of the present value of its gas investment and F--~ kI.Aw