The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-11

that the policy of the railroads as well as the governing bodies of the city of Bir- mingham with reference to the participa- ton of the city in the cost of building viaducts is working very great wrong and hardship on the taxpayers of the city of Birmingham.
 You will doubtless remember that at the time the contract was signed for the construction of the Weatherly viaduct, that I then at an open meeting of the commission protested against the pay ment by the city of Birmingham of any part of the cost of this yiaduct. The state law makes it mandatory upon the rail- roads to construct not only the viaducts themselves, but to bear all the incidental outlay such as abutting damages to prop erty contiguous. pointed out that at the time the contract was signed there was in existence a municipal ordinance also compelling the railroad companies under penalty to construct the Weatherly via duct within limited time wholly at their own expense.
 You gentlemen will remember and par ticularly will the Southern Railroad com- pany remember that the viaduct at Twelfth avenue and Twenty-ffth street was occasioned with regard to the com mencing of its construction that the city commission notified them that if the work was not begun at once that an ef- fort would be made to cancel the fran chise of the Southern Railroad company within the city limits of the city of Bir- mingham, and this viaduct was built and paid for wholly at the expense of the Southern railroad.
 VIADUCT UNNECESSARY NOW
 T wish to say, however, that in one re- spect I agree with the railroad Companies in connection with the proposed Twenty first street viaduct, that is, I do not think 1t necessary to build the viaduct at this time. The Twenty first street bridge is accommodating such traffic as is allowed upon it very well indeed, and it is quite satisfactory in that the heavy busses and truck traffic should go either over the Twenty-second street bridge or over the$ Eighteenth street grade crossing in order that the congestion may be relieved at Twenty-firSt street and First avenue. The Twenty-first street bridge has been passed on by many engineers and de- clared safe, and in these assurances of safety the engineer of the city of Bir- mingham concurs. considering, there fore, the general economic conditions and particularly the condition of the munich pal treasury, if the city IS called upon to bear any part of this expense it would seem that this is an inopportune time to place this extra burden upon the people. Of course, there is no denying that new and wide viaduct would be more satisfac- tory, everything considered, than an old and narrow one.
 Now, in view of the fact that the Southern railroad was compelled to build the Twelfth avenue viaduct wholly at it's own expense and in view of the fact that in the years 1910 to 1914 inclusive the net profits of the Louisville and Nashville railroad amounted to $79,000,O0O, and that their taxable property of every kind and description, real and personal, within the city limits of Birmingham, was assessed for 1916 at the ridiculously low figure of $9800 and that the profits of the South ern Railroad company for the same five years were $97,000,000, and that their prop erty of every kind and description within the city of Birmingham was assessed at the ridiculously low figure of $953, ,240 and that the profits for the same five years of the Alabama Great Southern railroad were $6,50000 and the total assessment of their property of all sorts within the city limits of Birmingham for 1916 were placed at the ridiculously low figure of s652 033, or a total net profit for these three railroads for the five years 1910 to 1914 inclusive of more than $183. .000, 900, and that the total assessment of their proper ties for the year 1916 within the city linn
 
 $25S5,2S2, and in view of the further fact that the railroads secured the enactment of legislation in the last legislature limit ing the amount of license that the city of Birmingham could levy upon each of them for any one year to 5000, while the license contributed. to the city treasury by tho Southern Bell Telephone company is $10,- 900, the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company $6300O, the Birmingham Waterworks company $10,6O0, and other corporations in proportion, it seems to me that the fair, liberal. proper and manly thing for you gentlemen to do is to say to the city of Birmingham in effect
 THE MANLY THING
 "'We will build you just as good and substantial viaduct as you may de- sire; we will build it as high and wide as you may indicate is necessary, and because you have relieved us through your good offices of the payment of any abutting damages to property owners. and on account of the great advantage this viaduct will be to us