Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-03-15
Wake.ee Senate Sponsor
for Measure Designed to
Tie Governors Hands.
SOMMER, HILLERY AND
WILLIAMS ARE NAMED
Republicans Hope to Rush Legis-
latiOn Through Giving Them
Absolute Power.
[From a staff correspcndent.l


TRENTON, March 15.-In series OF
conferences that began yesterday after
noon and continued until a. m. today
the men who are in charge of the af'
fairs of the Republican Senate and
House majorites agreed upon bill
which bears the name of public utilities
Legislation.
The measure was introduced In the
Senate this afternoon by Edmund w
Wakelee of Bergen, and in the House
by Carlton B. Pierce, of Union. Fol
lowing caucuses of the respective ma
jorities just before noon there was
long confab between members OF the
Legislature and Governor Fort. the
bill is to be rushed through II the Re'
publican leaders have their way, anc
should they believe, be up to the Gov
ernor by next Monday or Tuesday az
the latest. Some there are VINO woulo
push it along this week.
Th,a hill is a mild form OF the Plerce
bill,f House 1o5. All provisions as TO
r2te regulation are eliminated. IL Is
Il ~sneciflcially provided that the present
raiiroaad commissioners, frank n.
Somrner. Thomas J. IIiilery and Robert
public utilities commission, which is
created. In other words, the trainers
of the bill have decided to prevent
Governor Fort from having anything
to say about the makeup of the pubic
utilities commission.
Would Freeze Governor Out.
There is much winking and smiling
as the leaders go about today over
what is termed a pretty clever trick
in Freezing Fort out" The men VINO
have been most bitter against any
public utilities legislation say that
they will only consent to an act with
the understanding that the railroad
commission shall become the new
board.
Governor Fort said today that he
would not act on the bill until he hears
from Attorney-G General Edmund Will
son.
1t is to be remembered that every
member of the Railroad Commission
was chosen ty Governor Fort last year
and in 1908 but there is a feeling that
in view of recent political history the
Governor might be moved to make
chance or So
"at~any rate, we don't propose to give
Kim any chance to work out new pat
ronage scheme" is the way the situa-
zion 10 sized up by one of the regular
oreanization. The bill which was put
before the House and Senate limits the
nnua, exDense of the Public Utilities
r-ommission to $4,000 1t reenacts the
,1resen, rallroad commission Jaw III ,olo
and adds to it few provisions that
give the commission authority such as
Il is over trolley, electric light, gas,
eater telegraph and telephone compa-
MES. .,,,.
pierce and Robbins biiis.
,r,,a Pierce bill in original form con-
Sorn,ed pretty closely to the Rooplns
ti,l of 1908. which had the Q. X. OF
president Thomas N. McCarter, OF the
public Service Corporation and was
LTD TO have been drawn in part py
E,ranl5 Bergen, general counsel OF the
p,,blic Service To it was added the
,aiIroad law and what was considered
an effective section conferring the au-
thoritv to regulate rates of fare, cost
of gas. electricity, telephone and teie-
praph rates, etc. There was nhlplieo
- not specific power tnat in doing sucn
work the proposed commission mlght
dete rhine the physical valuation ol
the property of public utilities coiii-
NAMES, that being necessary TO oe-
teruine wha- would be reas soIiaple
nroft upon the investment represented.
THAT is all from the bill. In fact,
avervthing that was not IN the ralirodo
law and not contained in the OLD Rop-
tsins hill of 1908 is eliminated from the
n;.rce measure, which remains a
ha+tle-scarred wreck. President FIRE.
I;rebuysen of the Senate, Senate Ma
ioritv Leader Alderman and senator
Sval,aIee represented the Senate Re-
,,,hlicans and the Republican State
S,oo,mittee in the series of conferences
from the House majority We're Speake.
yvard Majority Leader Edge, Mr.
p;erce introducer of a House bill M
scharfY. sponsor for House No. . an
other utilities measure, and Mr.. Sinai
1ey of Somerset, the veteran Repup-
Iican of the House.
WakeIee Reads Measure to Fort.
inst before noon the eight legislators
yant into conference with the Gov
rr,or behind closed doors. Senator
JTakelee read the bill to the executive.
n might be mentioned that senator
wakelee brought the bill In the form
in which it was approved after all the
folk to Trenton with him yesterday.
Fifteen hours of conference and ex-
nression of opinion and not change IN
the Wakelee bill that is OF any great
importance!
After cutting out all the Pierce pro-
visions as to rate regulation the CON
freeres decided to submit provlsio
to permit the commission to make
recommendations after investigating
complaints as to charges by public
utility corporations.
II will talk about the Dill TINS aIter
,,,o, ;, said Governor Fort to an EVE.
TING STAR reporter. Il will not dis