The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-01
Nudge Clayton Rules That Gas Company Must Be Permitted
 To Earn Net Profit Of 8 Per
 Cent On Its Capital Stock BOARD RESTRAINED FROM INTERFERING WITH BOOKS Order Is One Of Most Far
 Reaching Ever Handed Down I And Restraints Board From Interfering With Records
STATE CAPITAL BUREAU
 THE AGE-HERALD Mont pnunpf.y Alb Oct 2f


 Holding that the valuation of the Xproperty of the Mobile Gas company Twas fixed at s1,969,565 by contract Ainade between the company and the 1public service commission, Judge kHenry D. Clayton in the federal dis ! rict court late Wednesday afternoon q ssued permanent injunction pre- Nventing the commission from at N empting to impair the obligations of this contract by failing or refusing to &accept the said valuation as a per #manent basic valuation as of Decem- #ber 31, 1921, for all. future rate mak- Eng purposes.
 III the order granting the per Emaaent injunction, Judge Clayton in- Ecreased the valuation of the Mobile *oroperty to SHOOT, ,520.63 to care for *|a dditions between December 31, 1921, Isnd December 31. 1922 which he lblaced at sS7,955.6S.
 The order further. held that the EMobile Gas company shall be per Knitted to earn a net profit of per Icent per annum on the amount fixed Ias the valuation by the federal court }And that in ascertaining the net |lprofit the company must be allowed Al depreciation reserve of 21z per cent 4n the value of the property as fixed Eby the court Other allowances were E flowed the company, one being for " 25, ,000 as expenses incurred by the Eompany in resisting the enforcement Xf the commissions order and $27,- II 25.77 covering losses incurred inn Rposed upon the plaintiff between NAugust 12, 1920, and November I, ! s2o by reason of the refusal Of the Laslahama public service commission to permit the operation of g sehsdule ssrf rates filed by the plaintiff on Il August i2. 1s20.p
 Forever Restrained.
 @ Another provision in Judge Clay 'k or's order forever restraints the pub |siic service commission and its sue {ssessors from attempting to require kg.he company to produce any Of it's books and records for examination by 3the commission or representatives flor the purpose of repudiating or in any wise impairing the valuation of the plaintiffs properties as of the
 31st day of December, 1921, as
 basic valuation for future rate mak-
 ing purposes.
 It was one of the most far-reach-
 ing decisions ever handed down by
 the federal court in any case involV-
 ing a state department. Judge Clay
 ton not only held that the commits
 sion's original valuation constituted
 a contract which was not changed
 when the legislature passed the law
 giving the commission the right and < Authority to make revaluations, but also held that the company should be A,llowed the amount spent in fighting A he commission in it's effort to estab- 3 sh second valuation.
 M The decision brought no surprise H the public service commission as A udge Clayton rendered decision A yn preliminary point several |flnonths ago in which the original N ,aluation was held to be contract which could not be cancelled by % ,ither party. In this holding Judge II layton did not receive the support N two federal judges who sat with Fl m in the hearing of the Mobile Gas mpany's second petition for an in ction which was filed after the dic service commission gave ice that it would proceed with valuation. O O O
 ion Is Contract.
 two associates of Judge Clay the case held that the original
 ion did not constitute con continued On Page Two)