The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-13

performed by him or his assistants.
The commission took the case under
advisement.
Formal Protest Entered
Declaring that the tentative val
uation of the property of the Ala
bama Power company, as estab-
lished by Associate Commissioners
B. II. Cooper and S p. Gaiilard
December 10, is excessive and that
engineers who checked the valua-
ton are prepared 70 show that the
valuation is excessive by from
$10.000.000 to $12,000o00, the
Bessemer Coal, Iron and Land COM
pany and Alabama Mining Institute
Friday filed with the commission a
formal protest against the establish
ment of permanent valuation OF
$5S,S43,252 and requested the com
mission to grant them rtsiearing.
The protest and application Tor
rehearing came within so days OF
the date of the establishment of the
tentative valuation. The law pro-
vides that il no protest is received
within 80 days the commission may
proceed to make the tentative val
uation a permanent valuation. rhe
Alabama Power company at the
time of the submission of the pro-
test of the complainants had not
Indicated that it was dissatisfied
with the tentative valuation.
Fear Higher Rates
Attorneys fer the protesting COM
panies are c. p. Beddow. A. Leo ODER
dorfer and James L. Dawson, who
came to the capital and Siled the pro-
-
was alleged in the protest that the
protestants are large users of power
furnished by the Alabama Power
company and the establishment of the
tentative valuation as a permanent
valuation Will force a large increase
in the rates which they will be forced
to pay for power.
Your intervenors having caused
the highest grade engineers of the
highest reputation for ability and
fairness to check up the data upon
which the commission undertook to
base its findings, and re prepared
to establish by expert accountants
and engineers that the value of the
property of the Alabama Power COM
pany is not s33,343,251, nor any
amount within so. 100000 or $4,000, :
600 of that amount said the protest
Ignored Cost Statement
The protestants alleged that the
commission. in fixing the tentative
valuation, had not given consfdera-
ton to the original cost statement
which the public utility act requires
the commission to con: der in the
establishment of a valuation. They
further declared they are prepared
to show that the figures fixed by
the commission are an arithme tical
average of the figures furnished by
Hagenah & Erickson and l. F. Nc
Donnell. engineer Of the commission
In submitting the protest Mr.. Bed
dow and Nj. Oberdorfer, speaking
for the protestants, appealed fo.- an
early hearing or a proper postpone
ment of the protest in such a way as
to protect the interest of those who
are opposed to the establishment OF
permanent valuation at the figures
named by the commission l.; the ten
tative valuation order.
Eighty Per Cent Representation
The petition for the interveners
very lengthy document requiring
over seven typewriter pages, stated
that the Bessemer Coal Iron and
Land company and the Alabama Min
ing institute. the latter voluntary
association. represented so per cent
of the producers of coal in Alabama
The former company stated that it is
a large consumer of power furnished
by the Alabama Power company and
that il has expended large sums of
money in equipment to mine coal and
run it's plant with electricity and is
therefore interested in power rates
and regulation of rates. and the
valuation of the utilities. propertyl