The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-01
VALLEY VOICES I OPPOSITION TO ! ELECTRIC LINE
Commission Takes Matter z Under Consideration , After Hearing
tTENN. VALLEY BUREAU1

bama Power company; for permission to -,erects transmission line from Hopgood <. tos Decatur, completing a transmlsslon line loop through north Alabama. The .commission took. the question under ad- sa:visement and adjourned the hearing at 30 o'clock without rendering q de- s.cision. -,r The two days the commission has de- sstyoted to hearing the noted transmission e:SIine question discussed was divided into two distinct, sections. Ten days ago witnesses for the power company ap- peared before the commission here and gave that body their reasons why they believed the line should be built. Today ssthe opponents had their inning, and all ssslay long they poured a stream of tes- 'stimony into the record books of the Scommission, urging the commission. not .rto grant the request at this time.
 s-e Opposition Almost Solid
 Delegations from nearly every sec hstion of the Tennessee Valley were here. s,Witness after witness expressed fhe opinion the people did not want the line now and the extent of the opposition in most cases was estimated at from 90 Ito 100 per cent of the people. The op- Moments of the line and their attorneys apparently overlooked no opportunity a.toS make this opposition apparent, and . even the fact that Congress is scheduled to vote on the McKinzie bill on next Tuesday was read into. the record by bne witness.
 oi Resolutions poured into the. commits sion s record also. Labor organizations, Scity councils, boards of revenue and sEhambers of Commerce. which have gone dr record as opposing the line, voiced fheir opposition through these resolu-
 ons today. Several lively tits during
 ae day enlivened the proceedings and "A. G. Patterson, president of, the com V mission, presiding was forced to call Xfor order several times. J. E. Pearce, editor of the Huntsville, eDialy Times, ,and Douglas Taylor of Huntsville, an sattorney favoring the line, furnished sspne of these tilts. During the cross examination of MT. Pearce, who ap- -peared in opposition to the line, he ques- Nkioned Mr. Taylor as toFthe latter's @connection with the power company. & Mir. Taylor said he did not represent &ithe power company, but the textile in %terests. Further questioning, however, %brought the reply that he had been con- %nected with the company in times past. &There was a demonstration from the @audience which President Patterson s %gavel quieted.
 E Another Demonstration # There was another demonstration %when J. D. Grimes of the Fri Cities, #svho represented the boilermakers %there, asked J. Fritz Thompson of the Npower company counsel, "Why are you &so anxious to give us power when we Bare about to get poweF@ This, too, Ewas hushed at once by President Pat #teFson.
 N During the. late afternoon the power &eompany began introduction of its re- Nbuttal testimony, Introducing in opening 1.-two prominent citizens Of Conrtlanti, E. F. Bynum and J. s. Hollendeck, to testify pegarding the desire or tire Epart \ of Courtland to have the line built lWells M. Stanley, district manager for %the company at Huntsville, testified re- %garding the operation of the .s steam #piants of ,the company, declaring that wimpractieable. Several other witnesses #were called along similar lines, J. Lee &Andrews of the opposing counsel told &tfe commission late this afternoon that 40 witnesses remained to be examined %by the opponents, but because of the -tateness of the hour they would Aot be { called and only the remaining resolu- \ tions would be introduced and filed with the commission.
 The resolutions, which the directors adopted, opposing the transmission line asked for by the Alabama Power com pany were ratified by the membership ! of the Albany Decatur Chamber of Commerce at an enthusiastic pre-Ford |: meeting Thursday evening.
 Principal speakers on the program included J. Lee Andrews of Sheffield, who painted picture of the natural resources of the Tennessee Valley; J. E. Pearce, editor of the Huntsville Times, who flayed the Alabama Power company as company, while praising some of its employees; Secretary Jones of the Florence Chamber of Commerce and others.
 Mir. Andrews said the power company should not have "interfered" with the plan of Henry Ford for development of Muscle Shoals. ''They ought never to have done it. said the speaker. When . the time came when the friends of Mus cle. Shoals all but had the consent of Congress to the Ford bid, that company threw block into the, wheel. It placed fl as5pike on the track"
 Civilians Enter Protest e'- 1 MONTGOMERY, Ala, Feb 2a- 1.-The Civitan club of Florence has written letter to the Alabama Pub lie Service commission protestinc against the efforts of the Alabama Power company to enter the Muscle Shoals district, with reference to latest attempt to secure a transmission line from Decatur to Hapgood. A copy of the letter was received and read today before the Montgomery Civitan club.
 Following is the letter:
 The Civitan club of Florence, Ala, unanimously adopts the following, which is sent to all the Civitan clubs In Alabama and also to the public serv- 4 ice commission
 'The Civitan club of Florciicc, Ala. voices the sentiment of the people of the Tennessee Valley to the effect that the Muscle Shoals district does not < need and does not want anything from the Alabama Power company in any guise whatsoever.
 Tt does not need the Alabama Pow CT company because it will have a maximum of 624, ,000 horsepower from Wilson Dam and q maximum of 20O,- Dam No. is as sure to be built as Wilson Dam is to be finished. The ' Muscle Shoals district also has 100,- < GOO horsepower in steam plant which they could be using if it were X not for this same Alabama Power company.
 ''The Muscle Shoals district does # not want the Alabama Power com pany. The people of the Tennessee Valley have had enough to bear from