The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-21
|WEATHERLY OPENS
 HIS FIGHT ON LIGHT PLANT BOND ISSUE
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(Continued from Page Five) plant in detail and explained the work that was at the present time being done by the limited little plant at North Bir- mipgham.
 'sThe expenditure of public money for municipal light plant" said Commis- sioner Weatherly, lis not an experiment. We have had the North Birmingham plant for years, doing excellent service. In 1909 despite the adverse report of Morris Knowles, a civic expert, the peo- pie voted to keep the municipal plant in North Birmingham in operation and refused to sanction it's sale to the Bir- mingham Railway, Light add Power company. The voters of Birmingham are for municipal ownership as evidenced by their vote for the &5oO0Oo issue of bonds to build a waterworks plant two years ago on the more favorable report of City Engineer Julian Kendrick
 PRESENT PLANT CAPACITY "At the present time the North Bir- mingham plant, valued at $30000, is sup. plying light for 625 customers and 204 city lights at a saving of thousands of dollars annually to the citizens We sup ply practically all the business houses and homes of North Birmingham at the present time. We also supply power in limited amounts to corporations and also | light up all the schools and parks, the city hall, all of Norwood boulevard and the sections between Sixteenth and Twenty ninth streets, north of Fourth avenue to limits of North Birmingham. We are also in a short time going to electrify the Weatherly viaduct and If the municipal bond issue goes through the present white way wi>> be lighted up without cost to the bushes men and merchants by the city. We cannot do
 it at the present time, owing to our linn
 tations at the North Birmingham plant.
 This is not venture in the dark, as the last census shows that there were 1862 municipally operated light plants in the United States and such cit les as Cleveland O., Seattle, Wash, Holyoke Mass, Jacksonville, Fla, Pas adena, Cal, and Kansas City, Kan, to mention a few have municipal electric plants and are satisfied. Since the last census about 301 cities and towns have gone for municipal ownership of their electric plants or about 50 8 year. Is Birmingham to remain behind this pro- cession of progress? If municipal owner ship of electric plants is not good why is the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company spending thousands of dollars of the stockholders money to de- feat the project? This money comes from the pockets of the consumers or of that 8 cents per kilowatt hour charged to consumers by the Birmingham Rail- way, Light and Power company at the present time.
 ..The Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company secures it's power from the Alabama Power company at the cur rently reported rate of 5 mills per kilo-. watt hour. How then does the Birming- ham Railway, Light and Power company justify its charge of cents or 80 mills I-i1o COnS1nprSf What does it cost the Birmingham Rail- way. Light and Power company to dis tribute this power after paying mills a kilowatt hour for 1t?
 We have had no insight into the books or records of the company, and, therefore, canlnot tell yust what they are paving the Alabama Power company for their power and the cost of distribution. EXCESSIVE TO SMALL INDUSTRY
 50 far as present rates are concerned 1t is notorious that power rates in Bir- mingham for smaller industries are so excessive as to prohibit In many in stances the coming of small industries into the city and of causing others to remove from the city. President H. H. Carse of the Birmingham Realty com pany it his annual report to his com pany, stated that the principal impedi- ment to progress in Birmingham was
  Isn't that a significant admission from one of the largest capitalists of this city?
 .srhe chief defect to development in Birmingham, according to President Carse, is excessive power and railroad rates. What do the advertisements of the Birmingham Railway. Light and Power company say about this?
 Now as to the large consumer of mower. It appears that the schedule of power rates of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company was so arranged as to only benefit the large consumer to the utter neglect of the little fellow. The heavy charge for power to the smaller industries is tax which added to the other taxes has materially boosted tka cost of liv- ing in Birmingham
 "As to the regulation of rates the Legislature has taken that power from the city. But the public service com mission, in my opinion. cannot make new rates, but can only supervise ex- isting rates as to whether they are ex- cessive or reasonable. The Birming- ham Railway, Light and Power com pany secures its boyer from the Ala bama Power company, under a contract, at a substation outside of the city linn it's This power is served to the peo- nle of Birmingham under the franchise given the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company, but the Alabama Power company. which furnishes the power. has no franchise and pays no li- ccnse to Birmingham. Incidentally. it has never applied for 2 franchise to op- crate in Birmingham.
 The Alabama Power company occu-