Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-03-17
STATE TRIUMPHS
OVER MONOPOLIES'
IN UTILITIES BILL

ing put on second reading after its re-
ceipt from the Senate. Mr.. Pierce.
sponsor for public utilities in the House,
a it was with the greatest of pleas
ure that he accepted the Wakelee bill
in place of his own. Rules We're sus-
pended INC the bill passed and ordered
back to the Senate for proper sigma
lures.
Governor Fort reached the State
House early today. having left yester-
day afternoon before the excitement
started. He asked at once for the bill
as passed, but could not get it during
the morning.
The struggle for a public utilities
act, that has been going on for years,
came to an end in a spectacular battle
that lasted throughout the afternoon
and evening in both houses of the Leg
islature.
In the Senate. where the bill was
sponsored by Senator Edmund w.
Wakelee, of Bergen, the vote was Is to
1, the Republicans and Senators Cor
nish, of Warren, and Price, of Sussex,
NONAhE " L. Will IOQI DCL1cNl ats NlO
had borne the battle to make it d
strong law, opposed.
In the House the struggle was clean
cut. For the bill were all the Republi-
cans, while against it and for the Sulli-
yan-Martin bill vas the Democratic
minority. Carlton B. Pierce, of Union.
fathered the bill in the House and de-
Tended it with the assistance of a corps
of lawyer members. The vote was 80
for and II against.
President Supports Bill.
President Frelinghuysen left the chair
in the Senat to go on the floor and
help Mr.. Wakelee and Majority Leader
Alderman in the fight for the bill. Sen
ators Fielder, of Hudson; Osborne, of
Essex: Gebhardt, of Hunterdon, and
Silzer, of Middlesex. fought stubbornly
every inch of the way to write into the
bill their Interpretation of the Repub-
lican and Democratic pledges.
It was close to s O'Clock when the
Wakelee bill went through the Senate
and almost 9 when the Pierce bill
finally passed the House. 1t was al
most II when the Wakelee bill was
rushed across from the enate and put
through the House as a matter of form,
the party lines being preserved to the
last.
The Democrats planned last night tc
wait upon Governor Fort with a re-
quest hat he refuse to sign the bill
and send it back to the Legislature
with a demand for q bill giving the
commission more power.
The debate in the House. with one
exception, was clean-cut and striking
The partisan differences We're discussed
in s~tateslnan-like and person
alities avoided. In tine Senate il was
different. the sarcasm of Mr.. Wakelee
and the ~denunciation of "contemptible'
methods by Mr.. Gebhardt adding g
keen flavor. Without dinner, obllvious
of time and other matters, tine House
and Senate sat through from early aft.
ernoon.
According to the bill the commission
can conduct an investigation Of the tel.
ephone evils exposed by the EVENING
STAR as soon as the law becomes OPP
erative in July. And that course will
undoubtedly be followed.
The struggle began in the House
when the bill was taken up for second
reading. Minority Leader Sullivan
moved hat the second reading of the
bill be a special order of business for
| next Monday night.
81 am going to give very thoroughly
my reasons for this motion" he said,
1T is mighty serious business to pass
a public utilities law like this. To &c
about it in the haste which has char
acterized the history of the measure
before us is not arguing good faith. A
number of good bills have been intro
duced this session, bills to provide for
a public utilities commission with real
powers. None of these is out of com
mittee, but House 457, which was in
trodueed hardly t~wenty-four hours ago
was reported Immediately after intro
duction n is now before us on second
reading The object of second reading
under our rules is to permit member:
to discuss and amend bills if they Sc
desire.
This bill was printed last night anc
placed on our desks so late that 80 pc
cent. of the members did not see it