The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-11
TAKE STEPS TOSTOP !. USE OF FSTREETSFOR 1. FREIGHT TRAFFIC Company Declines to Admit It Has No Franchise Civ
 ing It Permission TO CLAIM RIGHT BY
 CITY ACQUIESCENCE Weatherly Accepts Challenge and Proceedings Will Be Instituted
 at Once on Behalf of
 the City

Commissioner James Weatherly will seek to prevent the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company from operat- ing it's cars for freight carrying purposes on the streets of the city.
 This was brought about by the officials of the company declining to sign a paper admitting it had no franchise to operate freight cars on the streets.
 The correspondence between Commis- sioner Weatherly and Lee c. Bradley, general counsel of the company, was read to the commission at the conference yes- terday morning and Mir. Weatherly was instructed by the board to take all steps necessary to guard the contentious of the city that the street railway system had no franchise to operate freight cars on
 the streets
 The entire matter of the company not having a franchise to operate it's cars for freight purposes came to the attention of the commission some weeks ago in a preliminary conference between the com missoners and the company officials re- garding the petition of the street railway system before the state public service
 commission for an order to raise the m1n-
 imum rate from 15 cents to 25 cents.
 Commissioner Ward ordered City Attor-
 ney Ullman to draw up an agreement ir
 which the company might admit it had nc
 franchise.
 BRADLEY WRITES LETTER This document the company has de- clined to sign, and the letter of MT. Brad
 ley to MT. Weatherly on the subject fol lows:
 Dear Sir-In our conference yesterday you inquired whether any of the fran chises of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company contained provisions authorizing the carriage of freight fo,
 hire. told you that they did not. However, I think it proper to call youl attention to the provisions of section 160s of the code of Alabama of 1886, section 119; of the code of 1896, and section 35U of the
 code of 1907. And there are quite 8 re- spectable number of authorities to the ef- feet that street railroads have the righi to transport freight as an incident o1 their principal business, and more espe- cially parcel freight, in substantially the same manner in which it has and is being l carried by the Birmingham Railway Light and Power company Moreover there has been practical construction probably by the actual conduct of tn, l business with the acquiescence of the city which would be entitled to weight You understand that I am not express iny any definite opinion on the subject but am merely suggesting some Of the considerations which properly bear on tn. subject. And, of course, it does not res with me to determine what claim ths company will make in regard to the mat ter. Probably the actual conduct of ths business under the conditions which you we'll known amounts in itself to claim o1 right, and there is no limitation in the franchises.
 Finally, you understand that my pur. pose in writing this letter is in order tha there may be the utmost frankness in re gard to the matter in question. The con. sideration I am now stating did not occu, to me when the matter was mentioned yesterday, because your question did no call for anything other than the terms of the franchises themselves "ln any event, this statement puts the whole question in such shape that | it can be considered from all angles without prejudice to either interest Yours very truly,
 sT.EE, f- PpAnr u,y ',