Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-03-09
WAKELEE PLANS
WEAK PHONE LAW
TO S|DETRACK QUIZ
Senator Hopes to Fool People by
High-sounding Measure,
Is Report.
FIELDER URGES CHAIRMAN
TO ACT ON INVESTIGATION
Ackerman's Delay Said to Be
Due to Desire to Aid in
Forestalling Probe.
fFrom a staff Correspondence


TRENTON, March 9-Senator James |
F. Fielder, of Hudson, member of the |
Senate committee on Judiciary, declared
today that the facts presented to the
committee had demonstrated the need
of investigation of telephone charges in
this State. He said that he had urged
Senator Ernest r. Ackerman, of Union.
| chairman of the judiciary committee, to-,
call meeting to consider the Geb-
! hardt resolution calling for an inves-
| tigation, but that the chairman insist
ed the committee was not ready to take
the matter up.
There has been no meeting of the
! judiciary committee held to consider
the resolution since last week Wednes-
day." said Senator Fielder. AT that
meeting I understood that arrange
ments would be made for a conference
with. the House committee and at that
conference a conclusion would be
reached. I am informed by one of the
| House committee that he knows of no
such. conference having been arranged
II urged Senator Ackerman to call
meeting of the Senate Judiciary com
mittee this week to consider the mat
| ter, and he replied that he was giving
! the resolution very careful considera-
| tion and that the committee was not
ready to take it up just now.
81 am satisfied, from the facts
| produced before the committee,
| that the telephone rates to Nes.
| Jersey subscribers are higher than
| are charged persons of other COM
| munities and that the subject
should be Investigated by n legis-
| lative committed. In this view L
| thought senator Ackerman con-
Cured, and 1t may be that he does,
| but 1 do not know why he does not
| call n meeting of his committee
| to finally determine what, If any
thing, should be d0ne."
| Chairman Ackerman, when asked
about his plans, said:
"The committee is carefully consider
ing the matter, carefully considering it
yet"
| He has made the same statement
every day for several weeks. Twice he
has set a date upon which the resolu-
! ton would be taken up, but each time
| gether.
| The third senator on the judiciary is
Edmund w. Wakelee, of Bergen. He
| has devised a plan for preventing a
telephone investigation, and it is in
furtherance of that plan that Senator
Alderman is continuing to repeat
mechanically the time-worn statement
that the committee is considering it.
hn r1o 10
| to the Senate weak and colorless bill
entitled IAN act to regulate public
utilities corporations.
Mr.. Wakelee believes that high
sounding law might satisfy the de-
mand of the people for the correction
of telephone abuses For nine years
he has practised at fooling the people
as a senator and for years before as an
assemblyman. He thinks he can do
the same thing again.
1.-THE telephone company has assumed
complete monopoly of the State. 1t
is called the billion-dollar corporation.
It\pays big dividends, and it has sue
ceeded in the last three years in sitting
| any investigation of it's monopoly in
the Legislature of this session. 1t has
pulled every string to prevent the in
vestigation. | simply want 1t UNDER
! stood that l have opposed the granting
of franchises to the company. l find
the law compels us to do it and I must
drop my hands"
That was the way Freeholder Ed
ward Neighbour, of Dover, explained
his position regarding a request OF the
New York Telephone Company for a,
franchise to put up poles which was
submitted to the Morris county free
holders at this mornings meeting. The
request was granted.
The telephone company requested
permission to erect twenty eight poles
on the south side of Blue Mills road. be-
tween Vernon road and James street,
and forty-two poles on the road lead
| ing from Green Village to the Pas
sale Township boundary line. Free
holder Neighbour said some just COM
pensation should be made. He under
stood that the telephone company
makes application under the law of
telegraph companies and we have
nothing to do but grant the application.
1t is an outrage" Mr.. Neighbour add
ed: Fright in this building we have
to pay that company s317 year for