The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-14
H. J. POSNER

new Acme Aero Benzol Blend motor w
 erty of the Alabama Power com pany on which are located the Cor line, and that nothing in the contract of the Alabama Power company with the government precludes in the l slightest the exercise of this right in | the Secretary of War.
 1 In this connection it is interesting to recall heated Senate discussion | in January, 1921 between Senator Underwood and Senator Lenroot, in which, when Senator Lenroot called attention to the fact that the Gorgas plant and transmission line were lo- cated on the lands of the Alabama Power company, Senator Underwood sharply replied in the following lam guage:
 T do not know about the title to the land, but the government can condemn that land in an hour if it wants, and operate it's plant, which | 1t should do. l do not know whether the government acquired the title or not. I have always assumed that it did. But if it did not, it can acquire | that title by condemnation under eX- istng law. and it ought to do it."
 The Attorney General now goes out of his way to suggest to the Secretary of War in his recent written opinion that he has authority to do what Sem ator Underwood in January, 1921, said 1 in the Senate should be done.
 ] The president of the Alabama Power company a few days after this dis cussion sent a wire to Senator Un- derwood expressing appreciation-a speech, mark you, made in defense of Senator Lenroot's attack on the power company, in which Senator Lenroot had charged that the Ala l hot ha chief beneficiary of any further ex- penditures by the government at Muscle Shoals, and to which Senator Underwood replied by assuring the Senate that the Alabama Power com r. pany was not and would not be in ] terested in the power developed at Muscle Shoals. The Senate discussion in January 1921, and the wire of the president of the Alabama Power com pany to Senator Underwood, are very apropos and interesting in the light | of subsequent activities of the power company as to the Muscle Shoals properties, the Gorgas steam plant and transmissiop line.
 G O o
 Not Given All Facts.
 Please pardon this Aggression as to the Senate discussion, if such 1t be, and now getting back to the Attor- ney Generals answer to Secretary Weeks question in the letter of July 21, 1923, it will be noted that the only facts made known to the Attorney General and on which any opinion was asked, were those set out in the April notice of the Alabama Power company and Secretary Weeks letter os Iuly 21, 1923 Before the sale was consummated on September 24, 1t IS believed that the President had no knowledge of any facts further than
 tw. hn forh yn of the Power company, in the July Fl letter from the Secretary of War, ana lin the August opinion of the At torney General.
 Now since the Secretary of War in his letter of July 21. 1923, clearly ln- 1 dicated that even though he had au- thority to sell this government prop ertv located on the land of the power company, and In subsequent conver- lsations with Representative oliver and others, stated that he would not think of exercising the right to sell Ithis property without the approval or Congress, except for this notice given bv the Alabama Power company In April, 1923, 1t now becomes very i'm = rortant to inquire whether the notice from the Alabama Power company and the letter from Secretary weeks, dated July 21, 1923, transmitting thls notice to the Attorney General, SC. forth all material facts that shoulo have been made known to the At tornev General before calling for m Iapswer to the question whether the notice given by the Alabama Power company had any legal effect or inn posed any obligations on the govern ment to take action as to property located on the land of the power company.
 Unouestionably there were facts on
 file in the war department which
 were well known to the secretary when he wrote the letter to the At torney General on July 21, 1923, ana later expressly called by Represen- tative Oliver to the secretary's atten- ton on September 24, 1923. before the sale of the Gorgas plant and trans mission line was finally consummated,
 this being MT. Olivers first oppor- tunity of communicating these facts to the secretary after learning of lthem on Saturday evening, September 'I22 The Secretary of War on Sep
 tember 24, before the sale was con c1uded, was urged to refer these very material facts to the Attorney Gen.
 eral, and was told that, if referred Ithere could be no question but that the Attorney General would hold the Alabama Power company had no legal right to give the April notice and that the notice so given was without any legal effect whatever.
 simple recital of the facts will
 cony!rce not only any lawyer but
 any fair business man that there
 were withheld from the Attorney General vital facts, known to the
 war department when Secretary
 Weeks by letter July 21. 1923. called | YO