The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-29
MERRITT REPORTS
 GREAT INTEREST .
 IN UTILITIES RACE
Says People Are Realizing Importance of the In- creased Power Given
 Commissioners

"From the canvass I have made thus far of the state. find that the people in all sections are giving careful study to the question of who shall be the next president of the public service commission said Henry P. Merritt or Tuskegee, candidate for president of the commis ssion, who is at the Motion. sOf course under the broadened pow CTS given this commission by the last legislature, the people are beginning to realize that this is very important office.
 While in other sections of the state people are interested in the race for one reason or another. yet when l come to, Birmingham find that the people of this district are considering the development that might come to this district by virture of the treatment the district is to receive at the hands of the commission. The opening and use of the Warrior and other streams from the standpoint of the Birmingham district is. of course, a vital question here, and also to those along the course of this stream Much money has been dlO VIII pC oPCHI py lAC government to give us a navigable Warrior and other navigable streams, but navigable streams will mean nothing to the state unless the people are able to get their goods to and from them. No one wants to or would cripple the great railroad interests of this district or any other section of the state. but 1t must al- ways be borne in mind that the rail- road interests must so deal with the rivers that commerce can and will move in such a manner as to insure the marketing not only of the products of this district but of the harvests of the state. They must not throttle the rivers.
 "The people, while they are making no great fuss about this election, I be- lieve, are determined to see to it that at the head of the commission will be man who will be fair to them and at the same time allow the railroads to receive fair return on their in vestment; a man who will see that such rates will be made as that Ala bama will be developed and that we can distribute to the markets of the world over our railroads and over our navigable streams the great bounty that has been placed in the lap of this great state.
 hCAC 10 COliclucIdulc dSlldLlOn at the present time to have direct com munication between Birmingham and the river, either by dirt road or elec- tric line, but as matter of fact, Bir- ming ngham already has this direct com munication with the river by railroad and no doubt fair and equitable ar ran gements could be worked out. with the railroads which would enable the people of the district to utilize the Warrior at an early date without wait ing for the building of other means of communication. This applies, of course. both to expectations from the district and to goods coming in "The same thing is true of other parts of the state. Alabama is becom- ing great grain producing country and if the farmers are enabled through reasonable rates over comparatively short hauls to reach the rivers cheap ly and to get the benefits of water rates they will he able to ship their
 products to Birmingham and other markets at a profit and to make di- versification a fact thing they can not do unless they are able to move their crops in competition with the great grain producing sections of the vest