Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-04-22
PUTSLOSSESOF
LIGHTING CO. AT
$4,000 1920
Saws Gas Plant Can Be
Had At BUYERS
Own Price

y
over $4,000; that the gas plant lost
over $4,000 last year and could be
bought by anyone interested at
bargain, since the company was not
generally in the gas business any
how, and found anything but prof
its in this one, were some of the
statements made before the Ameri-
Gus Kiwanis Club at its luncheon to-
day at the Windsor hotel by Col. W,
A. Dodson, attorney for the COM
pany.
His statements were made in the
course of a brief address which he
delivered on invitation to come be-
fore the club and tell the members,
in whatever may he might choose.
why rates had lately gone up when
other prices were going down. In
introducing the speaker Stephen
Pace, of the program committee,
stated that in iviting Col. Dodson
he had warned him to come pre-
pared to defend himself, as many OF
the members of the club were not in
sympathy with the policies of the
Americus Lighting company. His
talk came late on the program, how
ever, and no attempt was made to
question any statement he :ilade eX-
cept one on which there appeared to
be a slight disagreement on figures
as presented by him and those of
city officials who were present.
II trtn nl @c of ftnn
lively, and he invited the club, if any
member questioned the authenticity
of the figures he offered, to inves.
tigate their accuracy themselves or
hire an auditor to make such an in.
vestigation, offered to open the
company's records for such an IN
vestigation.
"AIways Criticized"
81 have been invited to come be-
fore you" said Col. Dodson, "and tell
you why at this time, when every
thing else is going down, especially
cotton, the Georgia Railroad commits
sion has seen fit to raise the rates
for street lighting in Americus for
1921. Right here, | want to say this
about hard times. | weekly receive
service from Washington which goes
into economic conditions. The one
| received last week was the most OPP
timistic and encouraging sent out
since the hard times began. 1t indi-
Gates that the bottom has been reach
ed and that within so days the turn
for the better will set in.
''YOu know that in every city-and
Amer.cus is a city-there are two
things that come in for general crit
icism. One of these is the public
schools and the other is the public
service corporations. This IS be-
cause both of them touch intimately
50 many people. | believe, though,
that the utilities come in for great
or share of criticism than the public
schools | come before you gentle
men today as business men, with
facts and, so to speak, to lay all the
cards on the table. | am going to
present to you, very probably, facts
that none of you, except some city
officials who have attended the rate
hearings in Atlanta, and members of,
the city council, know.
"The Georgia Railroad commission
was created for two purposes. 1t first
was maintained to fix rates for rail-
roads, and later, for street railroads,
telephone companies, gas concerns
and electric companies. Its principal
purpose was to see that these corpor-
ations should not charge exorbitant
rates in dealing with the public.
nf
board for this purpose has been DEM
onstrated time and again.
Protects Companies, Too.
"But the law goes further than
that and prescribes that the people
who invest their money in these cor
porations in Georgia must have d
reasonable return on their money.
''Now the question comes up in
the Americas Lighting Company,
Have we received reasonable COM
pensation for the money we have IN
vested in these propertiesY
81 have the facts and figures here.
These figures were not obtained for
the occasions, for | had no time to
get them had | wanted them; they
are the figures and statements of
the Americus Lighting Company
sworn to and filed with the Georgia
Railroad commission, which commits
sion has the right to send its audi
tors down here and check up the ac-
curacy of these figures if they care
to and whenever they care to.
"These figures of earnings of the
Americus Lighting Company for the
year ending December 81, 1920,
show the revenue to have totalled
S127,O16.19 and the expenses 1926,
960.13, leaving a balance of $56.06.
These expenses are actual operating
expenses. and do not include inter
ests of $4,000 a year on the per.
cent bond issue of $250,000 which
was authorized by the railroad com.
mission after an investigation of the
value Of the property, nor does it
include $4,256.95 interest on the un-
funded debt, or a total interest
charge for the year of $19,256.94
This being the case, you will readily
see that the company last year ac
tually lacked more than $4,000 OF
coming out even.
"Now. whv do we ask for raise
in street lighting raise this year
when other prices ere going down?