The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-17
'POWER VALUATION FEDERAL EXPERTS
 |S ATTACKED BY MAKING STUDY IF. ANOTHER EXPERT FIXED NITROGEN
Mcdonnell Repudiates State ment Attributed to Him by CommiSsion-Big Rate
 Increase Forecast
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ments when he was Interrupted by
 Associate Commissioner Gaillard at
 5;S0 D, m. on the afternoon of issu- spee of the tentative valuation order which was signed and promulgated
 just Is minutes later.
 Refusal of Books
 After the associate commissioners assessed the tentative valuation the day following President Patterson $ warning to the people of Alabama that. they would do so, Consulting EneineerA Aldridge was in Birming- ham on instructions to examine the books of the Alabama Power com pany. Here the official of the com mission after stating that he had been repeatedly put off" under Va rious excuses, said that demand for the books was formally refused him by the company's treasurer. Then fMr Aldridge issued a statement branding as utterly untrue" a amstatement in the order of the associate commis- sioners that they Cooper and Gail lard1, had any report from me gtv- ing original cost" figures. He added that Treasurer McLetehie of the power company had only the week previous sworn before the eommis- sion that it would take one man at least year to make a report on the original cost of the eompany's prop critics,
 At first the associate commissions CTS refused to answer the various statements put in The Age-Herald of December 15. Mir. Cooper and MT. Gaf1lard issued statements attacking President Patterson and attributtns the latters activity in trying to pre- vent a tentative valuation at thls time because of an ambition on MT. Patterson's par. to become candidate for governor. They also said that they hoped to decide every case sub- mitted tn them before they leave the commission.
 second Challenge by Expert
 Engfneer McDonnells statement comes as the second similar challenge to figures put out by the associate commissioners in their order an- nouheins the tentative valuation of the company. Both he, and Consult
 ing Engineer M. w. Aldridge, ex- cerpts from whose reports were em- braced in the official document, have charged interpretations in their report against the retiring associate com missioners, who set the tentative val udtlOn over thc piVNcot VI ! N9ANsSiAe ' A. G. Patterson of the board when the latter, after leading an .sall-day filh buSter to stay the hands of his asso- ciates, and pleading for further de- lay, walked from the room and re- fused to be party to the session. President Patterson on Decem Der 12 issued lengthy statement that appeared in The Age-Herald on the day following, In which he forecast fixing of the tentative valuation by Associates Cooper and Gaillard. He called attention to the fact that the terms. of Messrs. Cooper and Gaillard
 would expire month after Decem- Der Is. and that a tentative valuation
 must be established by that date in l order that any rehearing requested | by the company, or protest by the company. may be considered by them | before the end of their term. He said | that there was no need for haste on the part of the commission, as there were no cases pending involving rates of the Alabama Power com l pany.
 The president also charged that | the associate ssioners were
 utterly disregardins the provisions | of the public utility act. which pro- vides that the commission must take l into consideration the original cost 1 in determining valuation of pub | lie utility" And he added that the l commission was not prepared to esy | tablish a tentative valuation In ac- l cordance with the law.
 The associate commissioners, after l overriding objections of the presi- ] dent of their body, issued an order establishing the value of the com- pany's wholesale property at e$3o,-
 o43,974, and the value of the retail