Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-05-31
MARTIN BLAMES
G. 0. P. FOR RAISE
IN RAILROAD FARES
Republicans, Says Gubernatorial
Candidate, Failed to Keep
Their Pledge.
PROGRESSIyES' LEADER
ISSUES PUBLIC LETTER
Answers Lewis and Scores Own
Party for Defective" Wake-
lee Utilities Law.
william Parmenter Martin, Progres-

William Parmenter Martin Progress
sive Republican candidate for Gov
ernor, has taken up the gubernatorial
fight in real earnest.
In a statement issued to the public
through this newspaper the former as
semblyman declares that the Repub-
lican party has not kept its pledges.
Mr. Martins literary outburst was
provoked by the announced increase in
railroad rates by the Lackawanna and
Erie railroads
The statement is regarded as Se-
tort to the eulogistic praises of the Re-
publican party in a speech last Thurs
day night by Vivian M. Lewis, State
banking and insurance commissioners,
who is generally accepted as the regu-
lar Republican choice for the gov
ernorship
Mr.. Martin blames the last Legis-
lature. which, he charges, was owned,
body and SOUL by the Republican or
ganization, for it's failure to enact a
rate-making public utilities law. in
sisting that the announced railroad
rate increase would be an impossibility
under proper utilities law.
The Wakelee statute, Mr.. Martin
claims, does not redeem the 1907 Re-
publican platform promise, because
the party pledged itself to enact law
providing for "a commission with
ample jurisdiction and powers to en-
able it to regulate such corporations
effectively and authoritatively."
Martins statement.
Mr.. Martins statement in full fol-
lows
7 tie tn ut
said that the Republican party had
kept its pledges to enact public utii-
ties law. made to the people in 1907.
This statement would be amusing If 1t
were not pathetic.
.The platform of the Republican
State convention of Septemt 10, 1907,
declared: We pledge ourselv 5 to en-
act law providing for commission
with ample jurisdiction and powers to
enable 1t to regulate such corporations
| effectively and authovitatively.' In a
| PREDATORY statement the party Is COM
mitted to lie supervision of public
utility corporations with view of in
creasing efficiency. safety and economy
| of service In the interests of the pub
| lic.'
What redress have the people of this
! State when a railroad arbitrarily in
|
they when any corporation that is
rated as a public utility corporation
increases rates, diminishes service or
refuses to eliminate dangerous grade
crossing, or other situation over which
it has control?
1.-THE Legislature that adjourned last
month passed law entitled public
utilities law. When the Legislature
convened the plans of the self-appoint-
ed Republican leaders did not include
any legislation affecting public service
corporations But so insistent was the
popular demand for keeping the pledge
already disregarded by two Republican
legislatures that the Wakelee bill was
passed.
THE law will go into operation on
July A.
| Commission PowerIess.
mo one for one moment imagines
that any Public Utilities Commission
| can effectively or authoritatively regu-
late any public utility company with
out the power to make rates. The
commission that will come into being
! in July has absolutely no power to
regulate rates. The law gives no power
TO issue an order and provides abso-
lutely no penalty or other means of
enforcing any recommendations that
may be made under it's colorless pro-
visions.
"Will any intelligent man stand be-
fore an audience of intelligent voters
and pretend to say that the Wakelee
law keeps the pledges made by the
Republican party in its State conven-
/ tion? No one misunderstood the plat
form pledge on public utilities. The
| on r1i ofa ha
standard bearer of the party in that
year, understood, as did every man
who read that platform and voted the
Republican ticket, that the Platforms
/ words comprehended a law that tn
| cluded a rate regulation provision, that
! they called for real statute confer
I ring real power. The candidate
/ pledged himself to rate regulation and
repeated the party promise in hun-
dred speeches.
/ when the Wakelee law was passed
McCran, OF Passaic arose in his place
| in the Assembly and apclcgizcd for the
me asure and its deficiency in the mat
ter Of rate making power lie mado
speech of which Mr. Vivian III. Lewis
must have been fully ecgairant. in
which he tried to shame his fellow
| Legislators for failing 70 live UP to the
party promise of 1857
Biamcs Republican Senate.
HAD the Martin public utilities law
been enacted in 1908 thousands Of resi-
dents of this state would not find
themselves the victims of rate in
creases without redress. when their re-
sources are already stretched to the
breaking point by the conditions that
are pouring millions into the laps OF
the men who are manipulating the rail-
road rates.
I'm 1908 and again in 1909 the Mar
tin bill was passed by the House OF
Assembly to be killed in the Senate
by order of the guardians.
"The Wakelee law apparently cons
fers power to investigate rate increases.
To investigate increases in rates or
the existing rates of any railroad or
other public utility company. 1t is