Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-04-11
END OF LEGISLATURE
Substitute For Railroad Commits
sion Bill Causes Sensation.
LOCAL OPTION BILL DEFEATED
FreIinshuysen "Anti Auto Hog Bill
Passes Senate-Measure LesaIizins
Boxing .<iIIed-North River Bridges.
To Investigate Monopoiies.

Boxing .<iIed-North River Bridges.
To Investigate Monopoiies.
Especial Correspondence
Trenton, n. J., April 1.-THE last
week of the session Of the New Jersey
legislature has been most strenuous
one. Hundreds of bills have been rushed
through as in former years, but there
is change for the better this year be-
cause after adjournment scheduled
for tomorrow, recess is to be taken
until June 1S, when the Legislature will
return to correct errors due to haste
and to consider bills vetoed by Gov
ernor Stokes. Therefore, while mass
of bills will be dumped upon the gov
ernors desk, as usual, after the closing
of the session. he will not be left the
prerogatives of the legislature, which
would practically be the case should
the legislature now adjourn sine die.
By the plan of taking a recess until
June is the governor is relieved of
much responsibility that properly be-
longs to the legislature, and. besides, it
gives the lawmakers an opportunity to
act as a sort of court of review after
their measures have been sifted through
by the chief executive of the state.
The session now closing has not been
entirely satisfactory because of the po-
litical antagonism of one house for the
other. Few measures of great state
Importance have been enacted; but, Oh
the other hand, vicious legislation or
measures purely for political gain have
been detected and killed.
The Railroad Commission.
Senator Lee created a considerable
stir in the senate Tuesday when he re-
ported a substitute for the Wright rail-
road commission bill, which was passed
in the house last week According to
the substitute, the duties of the COM
mission are to be purely ministerial.
The bill is a severe modification of the
Wright and the Colby bills, which the
Democrats fought for in the house,
spurred on by the peoples lobby. The
bill is based on the Massachusetts law,
as was proposed by the railroad attor
neys who appeared here for their eli
ents on Monday.
Senator Silzer, Middlesex, character
lied the new measure as the most
harmless thing that could be devised.
1T is ludicrous in the extreme" he
said, "and confers no power whatever
on the board, which would be purely
ornamental
Senator Frelinghuysen said there
were only two subjects for the COM
mission TO consider-the suburban serv-
ice and accidents Mr.. Silzer held that
the bill did not even do that and that
unless some power was given to the
commission the board would be abso-
luteIy useless.
Senator Colby defended the measure
as a step in the right direction and
thereby surprised many, for the sena-
tor has been hostile to railroad inter
ests in the past. He said that better
results would follow an appointiye
board than an elective one. Senator
Hand, Cape May, opposed the bill as
one interfering with private affairs,
and Senator Hutchinson, Mercer, ask
ed to be excused from voting, for he
thought the present substitute did not
go far enough, while the Wright bill
went too far The substitute was
adopted.
While declaring as a vital necessity
the building of one or more bridges
across the North river to connect New
York city and the adjacent territory in
New Jersey, the New Jersey interstate
bridge commissioners reported to the
legislature that they had not sufficient
time to fully investigate the whole sub
ject and asked for another year, an
additional appropriation and an en-
larged board for the continuance of
the inquiry. After the report was re-
ceived by the senate there was intro
duced measure increasing the bridge
commission from three to five men,
bers and appropriating an additional
S., 200 for the work. The commission
is to make complete report to the
next legislature
To Down the auto Hog
The senate passed the house bill
making it misdemeanor to circulate
stories that cause runs on banks, the
house bill increasing the pay of labor
inspectors from 1000 to $500 and
from $1,000 to $1,800 and the senate
bill amending the Frelinghuysen auto
law to permit the Increasing of the