The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-01-08
LAWYERS HAVING
LOTS OF FUN, BUT
WHAT0F PEOPLE?
Webb Crawford Says Water
Consumers Are Getting
Tired and Want Con-
trOversy Settled

What is the meaning of all this litisa-
ton between the city and the water
works company
What is all the wrangle about?'
1T strikes me that what the people
of Birmingham want about this time is
facts and not jokes
The above two questions and the opin-
ion quoted above are taken from letter
of w. w. Crawford, president of the
American Trust and Savings bank. sent
to The Age Herald yesterday afternoon.
In his letter on the water subject Mr..
Crawford says that he regrets Mr.
Weatherly's lack of information on the
water question, to which he says Mr..
Weatherly confessed in an interview pub
lished yesterday morning.
The letter of Mr.. Crawford follows:
To the Editor of The Age Herald:
II read with much interest the article
the 18th. in which he stated that the
city. of Birmingham was paying annually
about $4,000 more for water furnished
for city purposes, and that the people of
Birmingham were paying about $so.0oo
annually more for water furnished to
them, than the prices which the water
company had agreed to accept as a part
of a contract OF settlement with the
city.
Il notice that when this letter was
called to Mr. Weatherly's attention by
one of your reporters, all that Mr..
Weatherly had to say on the subject
was that Walker Percy as attorney for
the water company had been writing a
letter to Walker Percy as member
of the committee of 100. / notice also
that when asked about the facts stated
in Mr.. Horner's letter Mr.. Weatherly
said that he didn't know anything about
them.
LAS a plain business man, as one of the
fellows who is struggling every day IL
the trenches, and as a consumer Of wa
ter, l wish to say, Mr.. Editor. that
enjoyed Mr. Weatherly's joke but re-
GREETED his lack of information.
Il wish further to say that 1t strikes me
that what the people Of Birmingham want
about this time are facts. not jokes. What
is the meaning of all this litigation be-
tween the city and the water company.
anyhow? What is all the wrangle about?
We have read lot about the Han<ins
suit and the Weatherly suit and the
other suits relating to the Birmingham
Waterworks company. 1t appears that
Boyd and Percy and perhaps Weatherly,
all pretty good fellows, have more or less
lost their tempers and are having a
bea utifu legal scrap. / guess the lawyers
are having a good time, and l hope they
are making something out of 1t, but as
one of the plain people who appear to be
footing the bills, 1 would like to be In
formed what we are fussing about and
where we are getting to?
II believe the Weatherly suit was
brought to take away some Of the COM
pany's franchises because it Is alleged
that at various times in the past the COM
pany furnished impure water and did not
furnish 1t under enough pressure. or that
1t sometimes charged too much. | UNI
derstand this suit was brought nearly two
years ago, and II everything goes we'll the
SUPREME court will reverse the judgment
rendered by Judge Crow in favor of the
water company and we will start trying
1t all over again.
I'VE are having a lot of suits and a
lot of peadings and a lot of hot air,
but what IL Jones. who pays the freight,
getting out OF II! DelleVe IN ngurlns
on today and tomorrow and not yesterday.
Everybody knows that the Birmingham
Waterworks company IL furnishing the
pee pie of Birmingham water that Is good
enough to drink either straight or mixed.
and plenty of 1t. The only grievance that
any Of us have got that I know OF Is
that we may be paying too much. II that
is the trouble, why don't we get down to
brass tacks and try and make a better
trade? The water company seems to have
some old contracts with the city which
give 1t the right to charge what 1t does.
but instead OF insisting on these con-
tracts It appears to be willing to do bust
ness on a business basis. drop all lawsuits
and give the city and the people lower
rates.
"If the people of Birmingham are so
we'll pleased with the way the city gov
eriinent IL run. and believe 1t would be
better for the commissioners In addition
to their present duties to take on the
weterworks, then why not get down to
business and. try and trade with the Bir-
mingham Waterworks company for It's
plant or build "a new one? And If we are
going to build new plant, why shouldn't
we make the best trade we can with the
water company in the meantime?
wv. w. CRAWFORD.