The Penn's Grove record., 1907-04-12
END OF LEGISLATURE
Substitute For Railroad Commits
sion Bill Causes Sensation.
LOCAL OPTION BILL DEFEATED
Fr~eIinshuysen "Anti Auto Hog" Bill
Passes Senate-Measure Lesalizing
Boxing kiIled-North River Bridges.
To Investigate Monopolies.
Especial Correspondence

Especial -Correspondence.l
Trenton, N. j., April 1.-THE last
week Of the session Of the New Jersey
legislature has been a most strenuous
one. Hundreds of bills have been rushed
through, as in former years, but there
is q change for the better this year be-
cause after adjournment, scheduled
for tomorrow, a recess is to be taken
until June 10, when the legislature will
return to correct errors due to haste
and to consider bills vetoed by Gov
ernor Stokes. Therefore, while a mass
of bills will be dumped upon the gov
errors 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 n house for the
other. Few measures Of great state
Importance have been enacted; but, on
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.
ut 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 considerable suburban serv-
ice and accidents. MI. SilZer held that
the bill did not ever do that and that
unless some power was given to the
commission the board would be abso-
lutely 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-
.eS$s in the past. He said that better
results would follow an appointive
board than an elective one. Senator
Hand, Cape May, opposed the bill as
n 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
3ect 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 a measure increasing the bridge
commission from three to five mem.
bers and appropriating an additional
$4,000 for the work. The commission
Is to make a complete report to the
next legislature.
To Down the "Auto Hog"
The senate passed the house bill
making it a misdemeanor to circulate
stories that cause runs on banks, the
houS bill increasing the pay of labor
inspectors from $1,000 to $1,000 and
from $1,000 to $500 and the senate
bill amending the Frelinghuysen auto
law to permit the increasing of the
force of state inspectors from seven to
twenty-four and to permit the appoint
ment of a force of gentlemen inspect
ors who will serve without pay In an
efor to down the "auto hog"
In the upper house several important
bills were defeated, including the as
sembly bill to legalize boxing bouts in
athletic clubs and the senate bill to
appropriate $4,000 annually for the
printing of laws in county
A bill was introduced by Senator
Avis which makes it a high INSIDE
Iheanor to threaten or cause TO no
threatened, either in public or private.
by either reading, writing, printing or
drawing, the life of any person. The
penalty provided is fifteen years at
hard labor.
In executive session the senate re-
ee1ved b appointments of the men,
bers of the Ocean county tax board.
They are DR.. Joshua billiard, J.. Hor-
ace Sprague and A. o. S. Ravens.
These pending nominations we're con-
hrmed: Elmer H. Smith, commissioner
Essex park reserve; Decatur NJ. Tur-
ner, COMMISSIONS New Jersey reform
atory; William S. Alderman and Peter
Hauck, members Of the Passaic valley
sewerage commission; Alexander l.
Rogers, prosecutor of pleas for Glouces.
ter county.
More Monument Bills.
The house passed a list of monument
bills, ignoring the governors message
or Monday night to the effect that too
many measures of this nature were
pending. The monument bills included
n to appropriate $4,000 for a mill
tary display at the unwilling of a Revo-
monument in Orange, to ap-
propriate $1,000 for a tablet on the
Chestnut Neck battle-ground. Atlantic
county; to appropriate $4,000 to erect
q mOnumpnf in honor 20 +ho H..