The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-08

no tuCN CpIcS0HleQ.
 ress and pay sum of approximately $25'10O in cash money
 NEW PLANT 1 When asked whether or not the con- tract would interfere with the erection of d new municipal plant Judge Wilkinson
 stated that he thought it would not There are some things that should be Kept straight in the public mind when discussing the election to be held on the water centract,' said Judge Wilkinson "l, The election to be held January M | IS not an election to buy the water | works If the contract is ratified in that election the city will only acquire an l option to buy the plant at an agreed price
 Before it can be bought al any future 1 time vote of the people will have to authorize it's purchase, and the necessary | bond issue for financing the transaction. 2 In spite of the evidence offered by the city and the water company. the pub lie service commission indicated that it would be authorized to reject the valua tion contendod for by the city and the water company, and in fixing the value of the property at Slo,c0000o instead of s7,- e00,00o, as is agreed upon in the contract, If the value had been fixed at sl0,Go0 00U instead of s1,o0lo0o, the water rates would have been very much higher than they are now.
 '3. If the contract is not ratified the public service commission will be at lb- erty to fix the value of this property at any figure above $70O0,000 that it sees it to fix. Any increase in value by the pub lie service commission means an increase
 in rates, The only insurance the people have against another increase in rates in the immediate future is to ratify this contract
 "4. This contract does not require the ,tt l,tax- fl,N xt-af afnrx rls e 1t It provides that it may do so. If at any time it appears that the property could be acquired cheaper by condemnation. the city could exercise it's right to con demn, but under the terms of the con tract would lose it's option to purchase in the event 1t undertook to condemn the property,
 "5. If the contract is ratified, and the water rates become too high, the people can at any time, six months notice, take over the water plant and operate It and furnish themselves water at cost
 COMPLETE APPRAISAL
 e. If objection S made as to the price fixed for the value of the property, the duty is on the obiector to show how it can be acquired cheaper, Every engineer who has made complete appraisal ot the property has given his opinion that the figure agreed on was fair one. No
  the property at a less figure when he could not secure a competent witness to testify that the property was worth less than the figure agreed upon.
 '7 The consulting engineers for the city and the consulting engineer for the public service commission both give 1t as their opinion hat if the plant was erect ed today it would cost sl2, 0ooo0o or more The figure fixed by the contract does not represent war prices but is fair value based upon pre-war costs,
 I. W. Ross consulting engineer. ex- plained to the people some of the tech uical aspects of the transaction.
 Mir. Ross stated that he had placed the actual value of the physical holdings of the company at $4.995,0oo, which, with the cost of obtaining capital, cost of construction, time consumed legal fees and other expenses which would be inc cured in building new plant, had brought the lrice as he estimated 1t to $7, ,750, ,O00.
 He stated that the city had ample water supply for the next 90 or 40 years and that they would then be compelled to develop wells or draw water supply from the far distant Coosa river.
 Borden Burr, attorney for the water works company, made an address in which he explained the position that the waterworks company takes on the con tract. He stated that such a contract was most valuable to the company in borrowing money for much-needed i'm, pl ovement and extension; gthat without the good will of the people and the city government it is hard for public utility corporation to secure a loan.
 Several of the persons present eX- pressed themselves as in favor of the contract. Others were bitterly opposed to it.
 w. D. Tynes, speaking as a man who knows machinery, stated that he was against the purchase of the old equip ment of the Birmingham Waterworks company at the top-notch price or the entering into a 3O-year contract to buy at price fiyed when the buying mar ket is almost at it's highest peak.
 Commissioner Hornady stated that, al- though the city commission had full au- thority to pass on the contract without the sanction of the people, they felt thst such an important issue should be put to the popular vote He also said that an option to buy was good thing to hold over the heads of any public utility company as means of holding down mounting rates. M F. Messer expressed himself as opposed to the contract n0hI n0MDANIEC