Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-06-27
Without Republicans the
Governor Is Power
less to Act.
CALLING OF SESSION
USELESS, THEY AGREE
Only Chance for Commuters Is
to Force Legislation Against
Raise of Rates.

If the Republican senator's and as
semblymen who control the Legislature
will indicate to Governor John Frank
lin Fort that they would permit the
enactment of a rate-making amend-
ment to the public utilities law thsis
chief executive would call a special
session of the lawmakers forthwith
and the rate problem could be solved
in twenty-four hours.
1t would be folly indeed for the Gov
ernor to reconvene fhe legislators with
out first having the assurance of the
solons that they would pass laws ade-
quate to meet the railroad conditions.
Dressure Is Needed.
The commuters should therefore
bring pressure to bear upon their rep-
resentatives at Trenton, the Governor
being fully cognizant of his duties and
willing to execute them. The State
Constitution gives the Governor the
sole power to call an extraordinary ses-
sion of the Legislature, but there Is no
law that can be invoked to force the
LEGISLATORS to do their duty toward the
public.
An opportunity was presented to the
Legislature to pass a public utilities
law that would make the present sit
uation an impossibility, but the Repub-
lican leaders decreed otherwise. and
the public is thereby suffering AM
other opportunity now confronts them.
.,sn 1.ro sx. ~<,sH
convening the Legislature IL the de-
sired results are promised.
Duty of Legislators.
! The duty of every member Of the
| Legislature who wants to properly rep-
resent his constituency is to go upon
record as favoring the calling of a
! special session to enact laws covering
the following subjects:
| To repeal the three-cent-n-miIc
statute, so that the Increased rates OF
reasonable and just.
To amend the public utilities law BY
giving the Public Utilities Commission
power to investigate rates.
| Make ell railroad transportation In
New Jersey an intrastnte proposition
and let the ferries and tunnels take
care of themselves.
The railroads. excepting the Erie,
have agreed to suspend the new rates
| until July 20. That gives the State
authorities plenty of time to correct
the evil. Protests continue to flood the
governors office more since the Federal
commission so clearly indicated that it
wouldn't do anything to aid the COM
| muters. The Erie, having refused to
join in the suspension of the rates, has
been ordered by the Federal commission
! to defer its new schedule till October
15. The Federal commission will have
a rate hearing on July IL. and the
State Railroad Commission will con-
tinue its investigation at Trenton to-
morrow.
Erie Only One to Refuse.
The Erie railroad today refused to
comply with the suspension order of
the Federal commission. That was
probably done to test the new railroad
| law in the courts.
| All travellers on Erie lines that enter
or are wholly in this State found that
the price of trip tickets yesterday was
higher than ever in New Jersey rail-
road history Fifty-trip New York
tickets on the Greenwood Lake divi-
sion from Forest Hill and North New
ark were raised from Sc each to $7.75,
an advance of almost one-third.- Ten
trip tickets to New York that were
81 so are now $195. All single and
exclusion fares are due to go up Fri
day Communication from Forest HILL
rs a sample of what it is elsewhere. Is
now $3.50.
The Pennsylvania, Lackawanna, Gem
trail and Lehigh Valley railroads, ac-
cording to Washington dispatches.
have agreed to have their proposed in
crease in communication rates suspended
until July 20.
All but the Erie acceded to the re-
| quest, thus saving many thousands OF
| dollars to the North Jersey commu-
| ters, because they will not have to pay
| an increased amount for their July
communication tickets.
| Members of the German American
| Central Alliance met in the hall Of the
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