The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-02-26
GORGAS PLANT IS
 NECESSARY PART
 OF POWER SYSTEM
Mir. Martin Tells T. p. 4. of Its Construction and the Contract With the
 Government

Addressing members of the Travel CTS Protective association at their weekly luncheon held in the Hil;man hotel yesterday, w. l.. Martin. gen eral counsel of the Alabama Power company, declared that the Gorgas steam plant on the Warrior river was an absolute necessity in the power system of the company and for that reason the company felt it its duty to preserve the plant for it's stock holders and customers
 He said.
 The reports appearing in the daily papers reflecting on the attitude of the Alabama Power company during the war are merely the echo of an investigation by a republican com mittee' of Congress after the war with a view toward discrediting the Will son administration,
 The real reason of the bid made by the power company was to protect it's property and keep it intact. Under Mir Fords offer the government is required to acquire title to lands and property belonging to the Alabama Power company on which the gov ernment had no claim whatever and transfer them to Mir. Ford
 The Gorgas steam plant was built by the Alabama Power company be- fore the war and operated by it as a part of it's system to supply power during stages of low water on the Coosa river. The plant was built for an installation of three units. one unit was installed originally and foundations laid for additional units when the market demanded. An i'm mediate demand arose. The company made it's arrangements and let it's contracts for the installation of a second unit of the same size.
 Agreement With Government
 Tt was at this juneture that the government needed power for it's con- struction operations at Muscle Shoals. It could have demanded this supply of power from the company. but this would have disarranged the indus tries in this district. So it was agreed that the company should install an additional unit of a different size and build the transmission line to Muscle Shoals.
 'Gorgas is 27 miles from Birming- ham and 90 miles from Sheffield Un- der terms of the contract the com pany is required to purchase the properties constructed with the gov ernment funds and to pay for them eftner thetr actual cost to the gov ernment or their fair value as fixed by arbitration. The company may re- quire the government to sell its inter- est at any time after three years after the declaration of peace.
 Tt is this contract which the DOW CT company insists that the govern ment keep and it IS this contract which Mir. Ford insists that the gov ernment break.
 ''The company has developed sites on navigable streams wherever legal authority existed. Until the passage of the water power act in f1eo gne authority lxteted for the Of a d},m hcross any navigable stream in Alabama, except the dam at Lock Ja. This was con structed by special act of Congress. Immediately rpon the passage of the federal water power act the company made plans for the building of Nit chell dam.
 Duty to Protect Customers
 Speaking further with reference to the Gorgas plant Mir. Martin said:
 "The plant furnished large part of our power during the low stages on the Coosa river and is a necessary part of the system. In duty bound, there We must protect this prop erty in the interest of our stockhold- CTS and in the interest of our cus- toner's"