The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-05-26
NO MORE HEARINGS TO BE HELD

NO MORE HEARINGS TO BE HELD
On the Massachusetts, Telephone Com
panys Petition-Committe Adjourned
Sine Die
The committee on ordinances before
which several hearings have been held
on the petition of the Massachusetts
Telegraph and Telephone company for
permission to erect poles and wires and
lay conduits In New Haven, after last
nights session, decided to adjourn with
out date
Whei%t4le session opened last night,
Judge Stoddard referred to the passage
by the house in Hartford yesterday of
the bill concerning the use Of highways
by telephone companies and said that If
this bill was passed by the senate and
become a law it would effectually dis
pose of the petition of the Massachu-
sets Telegraph and Telephone company
lie also referred to the recent decision
OF the United States supreme court that
the provisions of the postal act applied
TO telegraph and not to telephone COM
panies and recalled the fact that the
counsel for the petitioning Massachu-
sets company had stated that the COM
pany would do telephone business in
this state under the provisions Of the
postal act regardless of whether or not
1T was chartered by the general assem-
bly,. He asked that the committee post
pone further hearing on the petition of
the new company until definite and
final action was taken by the general
assembly on the bill above referred to
which passed the house yesterday.
Mr.. Seymour, one of the counsel for
the petitioner argued that the commits
tee should go on with the hearing and
make a finding. He said that the peo-
pie OF New Haven wanted the new COM
pany to come in. He said that the pc
titioning committee would take care Of
the law If the committee would proceed
with the hearing and make a report to
the common council, intimating that his
company would test the constitutional
ity of the act now pending before the
legislature If it was passed. He desired
the committee to reach a decision even
II it was an adverse one. Mr.. Wagner
also argued for immediate action by the
committee and opposed continuance.
Judge Stoddard asked that the commit
tee adjourn the hearing until next
Wednesday night.
The committee then retired to consider
the question of continuance and just be-
fore going out Chairman Dewell asked
Mr. Seymour if his company wanted to
do a telegraph business in New Haven.
Mr. Seymour replied that the company
wanted to do both telegraph and a
telephone business.
After being out about ten minutes the
committee returned and Chairman Dew
ell announced that the committee had
considered the matter of going on far
Their last night and had decided to ad-
journ without date as the committee
goes out of existence on Wednesday
next, when the terms of some of the
members expire and as it would be i'm
possible for the committee to get a re-
port in since probably neither of the
boards of the present common council
will meet again.
The testimony offered before the COM
mittee has been taken by stenographer
and typewriter copies have been pre-
served and will be at the disposal of the
next court of common council if it de-
sires to continue the matter
Chairman Dewell at the opening of
the session last night presented letter
which he had received from Simon Borg
& Co. of New York addressed to him as
chairman Of the committee. In the let
ter the firm asked that the committee
terminate the hearings at the close of
the next session, that is, at the close Of |
last nights session, so that the appli-
cation might be brought before the
council and action taken on it. In the
letter it was stated that the hearings
had been taken up by matter irrelevant |
and at least not wholly necessary and
that the only persons in New Haven
who had any interest in opposing the |
application or who had opposed it were
those who were engaged in the same
business and who wanted to retain the
monopoly to themselves and that their
policy had been to delay and postpone
the hearings from time to time until 1t
should pass from the power of the pres
ent administration to act on the applica-
ton.