The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-03-26
Hearing At Trenton Tomor-
row On the Elvins Resolu-
tion to Bring Suit Against
the Lehigh Valley R. R.
70 TEST cOMPAAY's TITLE
R EsoLUTION PASSED THE
HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY. BUT A
BIG FIGHT TO PREVENT IT'S
PASSAGE IN THE SENATE is IN
ByITABLE -
Special to .-rhe Jersey city News,

Special to .'rhe Jersey city News.')
TRENTON, March 20, 1906 There
is to be hearing in the Senate tomorrow
on the Elvins resolution, which passed
the House unanimously, authorizing the
Attorney General to bring suit against
the Lehigh Valley Railroad to determine
the. company's right, title and interest in
the canal basin in Jersey City, which the
company has always claimed
The Leh.gh Valley wiM make desper-
ate attempt to induce the Senators not
to concur in the Elvins resolution which.
it is claimed, viii start litigation in di-
rection that is pretty sure to result in
more of the unpleasant revelations that
have cropped out from time to time dur
ing the long-continued Morris Canal con-
troyersy.
Those who are fighting against the
abandonment of the Morris Canal by the
Lehigh Valley claim that if the company
has no clear title to the Jersey City basin
it should be determined by the courts SO
that Jersey City can reclaim it's valuable
water front in the basin even if the State
be compelled to pay $4,000 for learned
counsel to assist the General in
the suit. They also say that the entire
proposition should be threshed out in liti-
CATION before the Legislature takes any
further action on the pending abandon
ment bills.
The Automobile bill, it is believed, is
destined to have number Of changes in
its provisions by means OF amendments
in the House. Mr. Perkins is known to
be opposed to several of the radical fea-
tures and determined to more or less
slash the measure As he is chairman Of
the Judiciary Committee, which has the
bin in charge, his opportunities for
amending the bill to suit his views are
great.
Senator Frelinghuysen, who introduced
the automobile bill, is working very hard
with the Assemblymen to induce them to
vote down the amendments which Mr..
Perkins will propose. He claims the bill
is now drafted in satisfactory manner
and that if any amendments are tackled
10 it they will destroy It's value in regu-
lating the automobile traffic.
The bill introduced by Leader Perkins
of the House for the assessment of sec
ond class railroad property and which is
practically an improved Duffield act. is
the measure most likely to find favor on
that subject 1t is well understood, how
ever, that no great harm would be done
should the taxation of second class prop
erty remain another year under the pro-
visions of the Duffield law.
Improvements, such as the Perkins bill
promotes, are desirable, but if in the
stress of other subjects the case is not
reached, the State would not suffer, it is
claimed, by acting under the exciting law
for another year This would be all the
more true were the Perkins bill to be-
come the companion piece on the statute
ooks.
Many legislators look with favor upon
the A1rowsmith bill for the taxation Of
second class property. They claim that
it goes further toward effecting proper
system of taxation to the satisfaction Of
the municipalities than the Perkins bill.