The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-31
Fred s. Morris Says Bond holders Will Be Glad to
 Get 50 Cents On Dollar
SEWER SAYS THAT
 ROAD IN THE COURTS
 INJURIES THE CITY
Claims < Option Allowed City to Purchase In Given Period Should Satisfy 'M. O."
 Advocates

Advocates
 The movement to have the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company &C., quire the Tidewater lines did not origi- nate the with the former company ac- cording to Fred s. Morris of Philadelphia the banker who largely financed the lat ter line and who is now the largest bond holder in the Tidewater system.
 MT. Morris stated that so far as he and the bondho1ders were concerned. they would be glad to get out from under the proposition, as it was not paying any in- terest on the bonds, and it had been dem onstrated that the line could not be made a paying proposition without something else being operated in connection with it.
 He stated that it was at the urgent re- quest of the Tidewater bondholders that the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company had been induced To take over the properties at s1,5o0,OOO, which was far below the actual cost.
 L. Sevier general agent of the South ern railway and allied lines, was of the opinion that the continued operation of the Tidewater lines by the courts was a black eye to industrial Birmingham, and the sooner some one took it over the better for the district.
 Walter Moore, coal operator, declared that the city should allow the Birming- ham Railway, Light and Power company to acquire the line, unless some other corporation of ample financial backing to guarantee the successful operation of the system could be found.
 OTHERS INDORSE IDEA
 A number of other prominent business men who desired that their names be not used indorsed the idea of having the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company take over the property, the city reserving the right to acquire the system at a fair price at the end of period of years, when any plans for municipal ownership might be satisfac- torily worked out.
 Since the statement of the proposed purchase of the Tide8ater line by the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company, made by Forney Johnston, at torney for the former corporation, last
 
 erally discussed in the city and the sub- urbs. While the consensus of opinion seems to favor the acquisition of the line by the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company, with a reservation on the part of the city to take the line over at any time within a given number of years. some considerable opposition has developed. Two of the members of the city commission have already an nounced their opposition, and it is stated that the commission as a whole is not inclined to look upon the proposal with any great favor. In a statement ysster- day, Julius Jaffe voiced his opposition, expressing the opinion that the line should be acquired by the city. 4 meeting was held at Fairfield, at which resolutions were adopted in opposition to the deal. A considerable minority of the gathering was favorable to the acquisition by the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company, but the majority was able to pass the resolutions favoring immediate purchase by the city.
 WOULD BE GOOD STROKE 'T believe the acquisition of the Tide water system by the Birmingham Rail- way, Light and Power company would be splendid stroke for Birmingham and the entire district, said Fred $. Nor rs, the Philadelphia banker, who is the principal bondholder of the line Mir. Morris was at the Tutwiler yesterday on his way to Tuscaloosa where he is the president of the street railway and light and power companies "So far as the bondholders in the Tidewater are con- cerned they will be glad to get out with 50 cents on the dollar, which will be what they will receive under the terms of the proposed purchase.
 If the city of Birmingham will take the line over on this basis or can get any other company to do the same, it would be entirely satisfactory to us. We have been trying for sometime to get purchaser and it was only after hard and dilgent work that we were able to get this offer from the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company. Street railway lines in the United States are not considered now to be good investments unless they are oper- ated in connection with light, power and gas systems. Many things have hap pened in recent years to beat down the value of street railway properties The rapid increase in the use of automobiles and jtneys has had it's bearing. NO FEEDER LINES 'Then it must be borne in mind that the Tidewater line has no connection with any other lines which act as feed- CTS. The average number of miles which we have to haul passengers for cents 1 is several times as great as that of many other lines. While all the large systems have some lines like ours, they also have many where the passengers | do not average a ride of more than one mile. Then there is the matter of over | head cost We have to maintain an organization to operate one line The operation of this line in connection with
 the system of the Birmingham Rail- way, Light and Power company would 1 probably add nothing to it's overhead ex- pense.
 "The Tidewater line pays out 75 per cent of it's receipts for operating ex- penses alone. Then there is the mat l ter of damage suits. The receipts of | the line are small and when a few thou | sand dollars have to be paid out for accidents at frequent intervals the money l is all gone. Nothing is left to pay in-
 terest on bonds and no fund is created | for extensions or for upkeep. It is ab- | solutely impossible to raise any more | money for financing the Tidewater lines
 as an independent proposition. The rec | ords show that the property has been a ] losing one all the time and capitalists 1 can see no hope for any change as long as it is operated as a single line. LINE TO WARRIOR
 1 There has been some talk of the city acquiring the line for use as part