The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-02
B|G EXAGGERAT|ON OF DISPLACEMENT OF ALABAMA COAL. BY ELECTRICPO POWER Mitchell Tells How His Com pany Has Actually Been Benefit to Alabama
 Mines MINES THEMSELVES FIND TT ECONOMY TO USE ELECTRICITY At Least 40 Per Cent of Power Now Sold Goes
 to Coal Companies
 of District

The oft-repeated and frequently pub lished statements to the effect that the Alabama Power company, by supplying Alabama industries with hydro-electrlc power, had supplanted the use of more than 100000 tons of coal annually was emphatically denied yesterday by James Mitchell, president of the company
 MT. Mitchell declared that these state ments were grossly exaggerated and were based on erroneous information on the part of those who made them.
 "Statements have been made publicly and in the press in Birmingham recently to the effect that the Alabama Power company had eliminated the market for large amounts of coal in this state and that hundreds and even thousands of miners had been put out of work on ac- count of the operation of our company, said President Mitchell yesterday.
 ''All of the statements I have seen have been grossly exaggerated and their con- tinued publication, if allowed to go un- challenged, would be inclined to give the people an erroneous idea of the Alabama Power company l have recently had called to my attention estimates made by prominent Birmingham men to the effect that more than 1,60O,O0O tons of coal had been displaced annually by the oper- atons of our company. One estimate was to the effect that hydro-electric power had done away with the market for 32OO,- GOO tons in this state.
 NOT OVER 25O,O0O TONS
 "We are in position to know with ap- je being displaced by our power and we can assure the public that these esti- mates are greatly exaggerated. We know how much coal the various steam plants were using before our power was put in and we also know how many tons of coal are required to make certain num- Der of kilowats of power. We know how much power we sell to industries and other companies which might make their own power with coal, and we know that for the year 1915 it did not exceed 250, 900 tons
 At least 40 per cent of this power was sold to coal companies themselves who found it to their advantage to purchase theN power from us rather than to make theiI\ own. It would seem that the coal men Sertainly could not afford to com- plain if they themselves use our power and since about 100000 tons of this 250,O0O WOulQ nave been n66Q6Q to manufacture in steam plants the current we sold these coal companies, not more than 150,000 tons which could have been sold to industries and others for making power was af- fected by our operations This amount is mere bagatelle, since Alabama mined more than 15,000,000 tons of coal in 1915. CHEAPEST POWER IN COUNTRY
 But our sale of power last year did not even displace this 150,000 tons of coal Part of that was sold to companies which had not been using as much power as they now do, and some of it went to companies which started in business be- cause they were able to secure our cheap power.
 And might add here for the informa- ton of the people of Alabama, that we are selling power in this state cheaper than it can be secured at any other place in the United States. Regardless of other reasons, we would be obliged to sell power cheap in this state if we were to dis place any of the steam plants. as the coal in Alabama is far chapear than in most sections of the country.
 "The Alabama Power company would be the most eleemosynary institution and the greatest benefactor in Amer ica if the estimates of some of the coal men recently given to the public were correct. If the power we. are selling them has displaced 1,600,000 tons of coal annually it simply means that we are giving them delivered and ready for service for 34 cents the same