The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-30
Annexation Measure Will Fare Badly At Hands Of Senate
 Tuesday Prediction Of Men
 Here Over Week-End .ENSLEY COMMITTEE TO| BE PRESENT AT SESSION Local Legislation Body's
 Action Expected To Be Sus-
 tained In Upper House Dis-
 CuSSion Of The Situation
ENSLEY BUREAU l THE AGE-HERALD Enalay AJa I.r on

From legislators who happened to spend the day in Birmingham it was learned Sunday that the Brewer an- nexation bill, scheduled to hold the limelight Tuesday, was no nearer success now than when first intro duced. And the apprehension which suddenly developed in some circles , Saturday and Sunday is said in we'll
 informed circles to be without foun- dation. In Ensley, where the battle against the absorption of the Ensley steel plant and the et-Solvay company has been directed and where the best information is ob- tainable, there seems to be no fear felt that Senator Walter Brewer will succeed Tuesday in getting the Ala
 bama senate to reverse the commit. tee on local legislation and take the bill from the adverse calendar. In fact, it was stated Sunday from au- tEoritative sources that sufficient in- formation has been received to war rant the assertion that the commit tee action in adversing the bill wlli be upheld.
 Committee Hears Case.
 The Ensley delegation explained to the committee that the cities of Ems lty, Wylam, Pratt City and Fairview all agreed never to take into their city limits the properties of the Ten ressee company. And according to the acts of creating Greater Bir- ningham the obligations of the ab- sorbed municipalities shall become the obligations of the combined city" In other words. Greater Birmingham agreed that the contracts of the r,erged cities would be honored and carried out by the greater city. This agreement caused Greater Birming- ham to become saddled with $500, 900 worth of worthless bonds of the mu- picipalities merged, and they have been liquidated. And it is said to be no less an obligation to observe one promise than it was to take nearly million dollars for worthless bonds.
 Again the members of the senate committee were informed that the city of Birmingham, if it obtains the properties of the Tennessee company, could not with it's impaired income begin to perform the same functions for schools, police. fire, sanitary. electrical building and other work now performed by the company for wart of money. The Tennessee com rany, it has been proven, does not shirk it's duty as taxpayer, but spends more for its employees, in ad- d. tion to taxes, than would be pos sible for the city of Birmingham to spend The senate committee was also advised u at the city of Bir- ningham would be empowered to control the police of the Tennessee company, it's building work, it's cleo trical and plumbing Inspection, be- s'ces its numerous sanitary and other duties. To saddlt such a bur den of official red tape upon the company would so cripple efficient operation as to be almost ruinous to that concern.
 Says Legislator Convinced.
 These facts given to the senate committee were, it is stated, not dis puted by Senator Brewer and it was reported in Ensley that his presen- tation become relied almost exclu- sively upon the traditional senato- rial courtesy for its potency. This was insufficient fo rthe chairman, who without being called upon re- quested that he be placed on record as voting against the plan of MT. Brewer as did five others of the ct m mittee. One of the men who voted for the measure said after the meet ing that the problame was so in volved that he did not understand fully what was said, but upon sub sequent explanations said he also would have voted against MT. Brewer had he fully understood the facts.
 With these points clear in thelr minds, members Of the Kiwanis club and Ensley Associated Merchants committee arc undisturbed over elev- enth hour reports of the power pos sessed by MT. Brewer. It Is believed here that the bill will be even less considerately handled on the floor of the senate than before the commit tee. However, committee from Ensley and Fairfield on the part of the company nothing even remotely suggestive of such an act has been reported It Is not believed here that any appropria tions for fur naces, or open hearths has been held up in New Yor.l on account of the smoke screen that has been raised | at Montgomery. The Steel corpora tion, 1t is true, owns almost every thing from Fairfield to the Warrior and 1t could go there with it's opera tions.