Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-16

We give service there to include Jer-
sey City. Hoboken and Bayonne.'
How long have you been allowing
such service in Jersey city," asked
Senator Fielder, who has a business
and a residence phone connection.
"Oh, for some time;'' was the reply.
Senator Fielder seemed to be un-
aware of such an arrangement.
How long is that-since last month";"
asked the Hudson man. One of Mr..
Bethelrs assistants said, upon being
quizzed by Mr.. Bethel, that it had been
in effect for years.
The reformers.'' he said, snappishly,
or those who claim to be reformers,
believe they have the good of the State
in their keeping. The men who enter
the employ of corporations do not nee
essarily surrender their souls or lose
their sense OF right and wrong"
In a general discussion of the Della
ware and Atlantic Company he said
"the earnings were s per cent. in the
State. Later he said that the Telephone
Trusts earnings in the State We're "a
per cent, while at another point he
spoke of 8 per cent. dividends. Asked
for an explanation of discrepancies
after the hearing, Mr.. Bethel said that
49, 80 IN oAottt as a W hwy
were about ~ per cent a year. He
thought they should be not less than
10 per cent. to encourage investors. His
figures show that the earnings in North
Jersey. for the New York Telephone
Company must be more than 10 per
cent. to make up the State average
of IA.
Mr.. Bethel told of $50, 900, 900 Of New
York State Telephone Company capt
talization n said he wouldn't take
the time to tell of the absorption of
companies in New York and New Jer-
sey by the Bell system" He said there
had been an exchange of stock at par
where such companies had been taken
over. He told later of squeezing $S,000,-
900 of water out of the paper of seven
companies after they were absorbed"
During the discussion of rates, AS.
semblyman John j.. Matthews asked for
rates from Trenton to Lambertville,
and from Lambertville to Frenchtown.
These were finally furnished in writing.
Mr.. Bethel read:
1.-THE rate from Lambertville to Tren-
ton Is Is cents; from Lambertville to
Frenchtown is 50 cents."
Eyes, I was aware of that" said Mr..
Matthews. THE distance in each case
is exactly sixteen miles. Why is the
rate 15O per cent. greater in one case
than it Is In the other?"
Mr.. Matthews wanted to know why
there vas such discrimination and Mr..
Bethel blandly replied that every day
some new problem turned UP n this,
to his mind, was one of them.
Alderman Takes Hand.
Then Senator Alderman took a hand
in the inquisition. He wanted to know
what relationship existed between the
New YORK Telephone Company, con-
trolling the through lines in Newark,
n the Newark Telephone Company,
In charge of the local system. Mr..
Bethel was clearing his throat and
thinking hard when Senator Wakelee
announced hat he was obliged to leave
the hearing in order to catch a train.
Assemblyman j. William Huegel, of
Essex, who has shown the keenest in
tefest in The Stars crusade, studied
the evidence presented and made notes
on the arguments. The members of both
committees, with a possible exception,
showed that they proposed to go deeply
into the matter. :
BY the "judicious' use of franks it
has long been the custom of the tele-
phone monopoly to endeavor to keep
the Legislature in good humor. When
the representative of those interests adj
dressed himself to the committees of
House and Senate, giving a hearing
yesterday on resolutions calling for in
yestigations of extortion and monopoly
he knew that within hearing there were
at least some whose pockets contained
franks for the use of the local and
long-distance lines of his companies.
Among those who have franks is Sena-
tor Edmund w. Wakelee, of Bergen.
who resents the criticism of the pro-
priety of his sitting in judgment be-
tween The people and the trust that has
the State in it's grip. Fol years a
newspaper correspondent, who was per-
haps more notorious thar famous, had
charge of the distribution of the tele-
phone ranks about the State House.
He saw to it that the budding reformer,
the man who was likely to WELD power.
the fellow newspaper man who might
one day be called upon to write some
thing about legislation opposed by the
company, that all such were supplied
with the little books that meant free
telephone conversations. No one sup
poses for a moment that the distribu-
" vi toAA was " Oily othAO
purpose than to influence in favor of
the giver the Legislators and the men
who were here to tell the people the
news. Today the practise to a less gen.
eral extent goes on, n the represent
tative of a newspaper hat poses as
the leading journal of the State, is
supplied, or at any rate uses, franks
to cover his transmission of news mat
ter to tina paper,
1t is not fair to say or suppose that
the use of franks by a legislator bases
lis inclinations or warps his judgment
to an extent that will prevent the law
making body from giving a fair hearing
to the case of the people which the
STAR is pleading. but the statement Of
the practise of the telephone trust is
interesting, particularly because IT.
shows that powerful organizations dis
position.
Liquor Men Join Fight.
Three hundred members of the New
ark Retail Liquor Dealers Association
unanimously placed the stamp of their
approval upon The Stars crusade for
lower telephone rates, and pledged their
support to the cause at a meeting of
the organization yesterday afternoon in
Eagles Hall, in West Park street.
A resolution indorsing the work al
ready done by the STAR, and adopting