POWERGRAMS

When James Mitchell purchased William Patrick Lay's Alabama Power Company on May 1, 1912, he acquired a federally approved dam site on the Coosa River, but little else. The next months were crucial. The company had to find and hire employees who could build and manage a power company, from engineers in the field to employees in the office. Tom Martin, from his general counsel position, was involved in everything. Martin had a brilliant mind and a politician's ability to get along with people while winning over those who initially were not supportive. Martin's devotion to his native state was strong, but he was not directly charged with managing the office and personnel, and while he would gladly take on any responsibility, those duties were not his in 1913. The problem for Alabama Power was that President Mitchell's challenge was to find the money and build a company, and he was not around the office much. Mitchell was traveling between New York City, London, Montgomery and Lock 12 on the Coosa River, and he rarely spent much time in the office. The first headquarters for the holding entity, Alabama Traction, Power and Light Co., was located in suite 1116 of the Bell Building in Montgomery, which was on the southwest corner of Montgomery and Lee Streets. Alabama Power operated out of this office, too. In fall 1912, the administrative office was moved to the Brown Marx Building in Birmingham. In 1913, the atmosphere in the Birmingham office was one of excitement and anticipation, but too often there was confusion about responsibilities and a slow response to issues and problems. Mitchell was concerned and knew he needed to bring in someone who had experience in corporate management, as well as electrical engineering. Frank S. Washburn, who was part of the Cherokee Bluffs leadership and the Muscle Shoals–Tennessee River group, was an expert on nitrate production by electricity. At a meeting in New York City on Aug. 5, 1913, Washburn was elected to the Alabama Power board of directors. Washburn was a Cornell University civil engineer who had built water storage dams, consulted with hydro power companies in California, and was involved with the Cherokee Development and Manufacturing Co., which planned to construct a dam at Cherokee Bluffs on the Tallapoosa River (where Martin Dam is now located). Washburn was very knowledgeable about the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, which was necessary to manufacture explosives. With the United States having no native source of nitrates and Europe on the verge of war, Washburn organized American Cyanamid Co., and established a plant at Niagara Falls to take advantage of the cheap hydro-generated electricity. He was interested in Mitchell's hydroelectric developments in Alabama, and Mitchell was interested in supplying the electricity for Washburn's future Alabama nitrate plants. On Aug. 20, at a board meeting in Birmingham, Mitchell resigned as president of Alabama Power. With Mitchell's support, the board elected Washburn to succeed him. Mitchell noted in Alabama Power's press release that the company needed more direct leadership. Although Mitchell eventually broke with Washburn, and later felt betrayed by him, Washburn's initial contributions to Alabama Power were significant. Washburn was the Alabama Power leader who first brought order to the company with defined duties for management positions and a general philosophical statement about the mission of the company. His Oct. 20, 1913, cover letter to Executive Bulletin #2 made a long-lasting contribution to Alabama Power Company. In his opening paragraph, Washburn stated that no matter how perfect an organizational plan, success comes only when all department heads "recognize the importance of the human element in the workings of a corporation." He called for teamwork "as nearly perfect as possible." Washburn was particularly distressed with the too common phrase "The corporation has no soul." He believed this created a "feeling of antagonism," which is "often created in the minds of those who do not thoroughly appreciate the advantages of the construction of a corporation, which makes possible such an enterprise as that of the Alabama Power Company." Washburn's corporation would have a soul. He observed that "if the idea of a corporation had not been conceived, there is little likelihood that the large investments in the development of the Alabama Power Company would have been made, and it would not have been possible for us to pay out thousands of dollars annually for salaries and labor." Washburn placed upon all the heads of Alabama Power departments the responsibility to "educate their subordinates so that the designs and purposes of a corporation will be more clearly understood." He wanted special effort "to make subordinates feel that they are being employed by individuals who are sensible to all human feelings and not by some great, intangible thing called a corporation." Washburn was very clear that "we want our officials, heads of departments and all our employees to feel that they are part of a great family rather than part of a great corporation." Washburn wanted Alabama Power officials and department heads to encourage their employees. He directed management to use every possible way "to show appreciation" of the services of their employees. He wrote that "We want all of our employees to realize that we are conscious of the many differences and annoying hindrances that constantly confront them." Department heads were to encourage employees to offer suggestions, and he expected the leaders to "get results." But as Washburn noted, "the result we will look for is the development under their leadership of the loyalty and efficiency of the men in their departments." Perhaps it is not too bold to suggest that Alabama Power's 2016 corporate culture began with Washburn's 1913 memo. His ideas were supported and expanded by Martin, who took over executive leadership of Alabama Power after the death of Mitchell in 1920. Martin lived a long life during which the company and its employees were his focus, and he took a personal responsibility for them as he might have the children and grandchildren he never had. HISTORY WASHBURN WROTE COMPANY'S ORIGINAL MISSION STATEMENT by Leah Rawls Atkins 44

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