The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-25


 sion of Birmingham plans to forfeit the pub Ec interest of Birmingham into the hands of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company. Without exactiLg adequate safeguards in behalf of the pubic wenare' the commission is scheduled to turn over to the utility the rights on the streets Of this city for thirty years, by extending existing franchises for that period, although the pres ent franchises do not expire for SIX years more. If the city commission persists In tnis nrosram 1t will be foisting upon the people of Birmingham a gratuitous financial burden and lending it's authority to the schemes Of the utility for exacting exorbitant and un- earned profits from this community.
 Does the city commission of Birmingham so interpret it's duty to this municipality! Does it have the hardihood to place the pri- yate advantage of the utility before the well fare of the community whose interests 1t was elected to protect and safeguard from just such threats as the present one? Why does the commission rush blindly into this trans- action when there is no necessity except the private desire calling for such action and when there is every reason to apprehend that such a contract will be ininical to this com munity? The city commission. if it enters into this scheme, will have more to answer for than it can properly or adequately as- sume.
 What is the haste for this extension of franchise except to enable the utility to put through it's private program? What item Of public value does the commission exact in behalf of the people who elected it to office! Not one such item, but it does place this com munity for thirty additional years at the mercy of the utility in the matter of rates. What guaranties does the city exact in re- turn for this great concession, or what re- nuneration does the public enjoy? Has the commission demanded that the capitalization of this company shall not at any time be Tn excess of its investment value in order that the people may not be obliged to pay an earn ing on watered stocks and fictitious manipuia. tions? Has the commission so safeguarded the community that the people will not be paving a rate which will permit the utility to make it's future capital investments out of it's excess earnings? Has the commission ex- acted of the utility a guaranty that extensions and capital investments shall be made out or new money and not out of excess earnings arising from an exaggerated property vatna- tion?
 If the commission has not made these and other safeguards in the public behalf, by what warrant does the commission proceed to the sauandering of the leverage which the munich pality now holds over this utility? It is a grave responsibility that the commission con- templates assuming. It cannot do it without a sacrifice of valuable public considerations for the sake of the private aggra andsement. To date the whole matter has been conducted with an apparent haste and secrecy, as ii 1t were the commissioners private business and not the public business. Let the people of Birmingham demand of the commission that the major public interest for once be given the right of way in dealing with this utility. Let the commission consider this question sobetly, even at this late hour, and let it defer for more mature deliberation and more com plete study the projected concessions. Let the commission turn its eyes for a moment from the utilitys side, and let it for while consider the public's side. Any other course would be for the commission to depart gravely and irrevocably from it's public duty.