The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-29

| MT. Mlller-And nave the TlSut ! to express my opinion. MT. Martin-And l have the right to express my opinion, and I will l MT Miller-And 1 say, sir, that 1t l looks to me as if the Alabama Power company had ingeniously interwoven the governments interest along with yours to such an extent that they could never be segregated, and that | you would be the only man who could become the purchaser. Mir. Martin-And I resent the in- situation.
 Mr. Miller-You can resent 1t all you please, MT. Martin.
 Calls Them To order. At that point, Chairman Julius Kahn of California called the near 1 belligerents to order. A second storm was coming, however. Mr Martln-The government coNld have gone and built a plant. It came to us. It recognized the situation and wanted power, and this was the way it had of getting power. Mr. Miller-It is plain to me that the government got the power, and I see the end of the horn it is com ing out in this thing, too, notwith- standing the great patriotism that you suggested to the committee this morning, MT. Martin. MT. Martin-Has any representa- tive in the government questioned the fairness of this contract-Gen- eral Williams or. Colonel Burns? MT. Miller-We will take that up. Mr. Martin-Are those the men who made the contract? Mr. Miller (continuing)-When we come to it.
 MT. Martin-They know it is fair contract.
 MT. Miller-You say 1t is a fair contract?
 Mir Martin-YeS sir MT. Mlller-In opposition to that, MT. Martin, l would say that 1t Is the most unconscionable contract l ever saw signed by people. Mir Martin-We nevertheless have our opinion.
 MT. Miler-Now that is your view and my view. Mr. Martin-Yes, sir.
 MT Miller-I have no hesitancy in accepting your view and you should have none in accepting my view.
 MT Martini do not accept your view.
 Mr Miller-And I daresay from my reading of this contract, the gov ernment was simply overreached un- der the terms of this contract. or else it was taken advantage of by the eXigencies of war. 1 MT. Martin-Neither of which was the case.
  | More To Same Effect. There was much more to the same | effect. And then MT. Miller-Now let us take up the transmission lines. The company built those on your land? MT. Martin-Yes, sir. | MT. Miller-Did you own the lan1 prior to the time the government got | into relations with you? MT. Martin-We had owned the right of way to a point beyond Jas per, about 20 miles. .e ] northward for approximately sS | miles, you acquired the right of way?
 | MT. Martin-we did. | MT. Miller-Why did not the United States acquire that right of way itself?
 Mr. Martin-The United States re- quested us to acquire and pay for 1t.
 Mir Miller-Who made that re- quest?
 MT. Martin-Colonel Joyce.
 MT. Miller-Colonel Joyce did not deem 1t worth while for the United States to have anything down there | in its own name. but everything on the property of the Alabama Power company; every dllar of this S4.S0o,- 900 investment. That Is right, Is 1t not?
 Mr Martin-That is your interpre- tation of it.
 MT. Miller-I am asking you if 1t Is not your interpretation?
 MT. Martin-Colonel Joyce consid- cred that the interest of the United States was protected when the con- tract ">auired us to buy the property at fair value.
 No Competition.
 All things must end as Khayyam | | tion. Here is the finale: MT. MiNer-We have this condi- ! tion: The government has an invest 1 ment there which Is heavier than | yours, bearing the relation of to 4. | and that is on your property; and the 1 chaser who can operate 1t; If the gov | ernment does not sell 1t to you, and | keeps 1t. it has got to take 1t off | your land. This Is the condition or
 the United States government. Is It l rot?
 MT. Miller-But the government Is | protected because 1t can require us to | buy at a fair value. and that was con- | templated from the first, that we
 should stand ready to buy at a fair | value.
 MT. Miller-And the whole thing was
 so shaped, was it not, MT. Martin, let | us be frank, that when the govern
  | would be nobody that could take over
 that property but the Alabama Power | company.
 Mr Martin-At fair value.
 MT. Miller-At fair value?
 Mr. Martin-Yes, sir. Mr Miller-Now, if you were after | fair value, why was the wording or | the contract so twisted around that
 nobody could compete against you?
 MT. Martin-In the first place. we | had the Warrior station, and It was | an Integral part of our hydroe1ectric | system. If that station was to be ex- 1 tended and we were to oblgate our | selves to deliver power from 1t ana 1T | we were to undertake to extend 1t for | the account of the government, we
 could not undertake that If the ex- | tension should be separated into
 another plant. The government might
 take the whole plant. It might have
 taken it all of course, but if the gov | ernment undertook to take 1t all. there | were other obligations and conditions
 which would arise by reason of that. 1 The government did not undertake to | do that It was not necessary for the | government to take the station. We 1 could not part with part of It. It | would disarrange our entire system
 because our water power must have a
 steam reserve.
 Ownership Of Company. | That, in a nutshell, was the de-
 fense of the company. The committee
 became interested In the ownership
 of the company. Representative Percy
 Quin of Mississippi, interrogating
 Mr. Martin, received this reply: MT. Martin-We have 15,000 to 20,- 900 shares of preferred stock out
 standing, all of which, practically is | held in Alabama. That amounts to
 about $2,000,000 We have, in addition
 common stock amounting to about
 1S,000, 900 all of which is held by | Alabama Traction, Light and Power hut at