The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-06-23
| BRADLEY BELIEVES
 COMMISSION IS PLAYING
 POLITICS WITH JITNEYS
tContinued from Page FiveJ

PULlllCS WlIH JlINEIS
 tcontinued from Page Fiye) good times to tide them over hard times. This one has not been per mitted to earn even a meagre sus- tenance during the period Of the re- coivership-and has been obliged to rehabilitate and restore a broken down service. To the contrary, the receiver has piled up obligations dur ing the period of the receivership which now total approximately g. OOO,Oo0 The doles of relief have peer, inadequate to meet current bui aens ---let alone provide an accuinul2 tion of reserve strength to meet extra ordinary emergencies.
 FUrthermore we are told thai it rekef is granted to the railway, the matter will be fought through al the courts and to the bitter epd. How much time that will.take, no one can tell in advance, but it woull appear to require many months in any event.
 Undue haste. Let us examine an other record. About eight years elapsed after by-produci gas was definitely offered by the utility to the city, and definitely refused by the city before it was accepted. It was accepted finally at a higher rate than that originally proposed. In the eight years that elapsed there was a loss to the consumers of many hundreds of thousands of dollars
 The gas plant of the utility broke down completely during the war, and the losses to the utiiity's estate on this accoun- and 70 the -eeSlScrship estate, too, were substantial.
 Alarm About Gas oil
 And then there is another feature of the by-product gas record. The taking of by-produol gas was not se- riously considered by The city until gas oi1-which was ihdlspe nsaoie and in large quantities in the n.auufac- ture of gas-had become so scarce that the whole countrs was in alarm as to whether it would be available at any price in sufficient pIaalst.ns to carry the country thtoagh ,he winter The government aufn1riries at Wash ington made official statements to that effect f
 I want to say this in fairness. that when the matter of the by 1T oduct gas was settled think 1t was set tied intelligenty and sair.y, but that does not mitigate against the point that it took eign years scttle t. with enormous losses to the commun- ity and to the utility in ins meantime. coupled with a wholly uiisa atisfactory service.
 Undue haste, Remember tic Scent fare record. There was no reliet dur ing the war period, nor until nine months after the Arinistice. a1c seven months after that fare had forced the utility into receivership. Meanwhile. "a T jected to service which was Simply. terrible; and yet there was no relief until the contract with the trainmen and shopmen was aboutsto orex4ire and strike was imminent. M
 The truth of the matter is this. The city commission persistently demands moro and more in se.-ylce and exten- sions that cost money, and at the same time delay as long as they can and then fight every effort to get the money wherewith to pay for that even which Is already being done. This policy has become a tradition and ob- session. It has been carried in recent years in every instance 10 the verge of the breaking point, and Tn some instances over the prectpice--a policy, In short of always demanding more and more, and then postponing as long as they can. and finally lighting as hard as they can. the means of rendering performance.
 City Commission Responsible
 I hope It will be understood that every statement herein made is made without heat, and in so far as possi- ble, in wholly impersonal way.
 I have stated the facts, and am go- ing to state more facts from time 10 time So far, have concerned myself merely with the criticism of Mir. Johnston, speaking for the commits sion, that Judge Grubb's action. and my action, was premature, inoppor- tune, hurried, impulsive, unwarrant- ed and precipitate.
 Now, after stating the facts, l am going to make some charges myself.
 I charge that the city has neglected and inexcusably delayed the proper treatment of the utility problem.
 I charge that the action of the re- ceiver in going to the public service commission under court order last December for fare relief was made necessary by the citys neglect. If relief had not been granted, we would have been on the back track toward the conditions of 1918.
 I charge again that the s5real re- sponsibility for the necessity et  seeking present relief lies in large measure at the city's door.
 There has been haste on the part of the receiver in restoring service. It has been prudent haste, but all the haste that could be taken under the conditions surrounding him. The re- -ceiver has not had the cooperation of the city. He has had in large measure the cooperation and patience of the public. I have done my best with hard problem. l have tried to proceed in co-operation with the city, but it is impossible.
 Election Is Approaching
 And in all soberness, what should, we expect? The election is approach ing. The average officeholder is as much interested in holding bis job as is any other man in any other walk