Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-18
OTHER STATES
WAIT ON JERSEY
PHONE RATE QUIZ
Data Available Here Will Aid
New York, Ohio, Missouri and
Indiana in War on Trust.
COURT PRECEDENTS UPHOLD
FIGHT ON DISCRIMINATION
Will Be Presented to Joint Com
mittee to Show Right to
Curb Monopoly.

Indications are that the New Jersey
legislative probe of the telephone
monopoly will figure in the New York
investigation-in other words, there is
a probability that the outcome of the
local inquiry will be used in the in
designations that are afoot in the
States of New York, Ohio, Missouri
n Indiana. The telephone trust,
which bids fair to outrival the Stand
ard Oil or any other monopoly, is
being made the target for Legislative
probers all over the United States,
and, according to a statement made by
Thomas B. Harlan, of st. Louis, chief
counsel for the Independent telephone
interests, the result of the New Jersey
inquiry will be watched with : the
keenest interest and some of the evil
dence adduced may be of vital i'm
portance to the trust-busting crusade.
I'VE have enough evidence" ex-
planned Mr.. Harlan to a STAR re-
porter at the Law Associations room,
165 Broadway, New York city, ito
sustain the bills in equity that we have
pending in Cleveland, but | propose to
get a complete transcript of the New
Jersey inquiry. | imagine from what
| hear on the inside, as 1t were, that
New jerseys probe of the telephone
trust will be more thorough han that
which the joint legislative committee
in New York has undertaken. The
New York inquiry is paying consider
able attention to the telephone and
telegraph combinations, and 1 am in
terested in telephone matters alone. In
that respect the inquiry started by the
Newark STAR is of more Importance
to us than the New York inquiry. the
scope of which is su much broader.
HAD Mr.. Morgan been put upon the
witness stand in our examination be-
fore Special Examiner McGraw, of
Ohio, l would certainly have inquired
as to the report that his banking house
has started out to get control of the
telephone field in New Jersey, as we
know it has done in other States. If
we had desired to call Mr.. Morgan as
a witness now, we could not, for the
big ~financier sailed Wednesday-for Eu-
rope. We have enough evidence for
the present, and before | get back from
St. Louis / will arrange to get a tran
script of the telephone hearing at Tren-
ton.
Investigation by the STAR has devel-
oped the fact that there are many
court cases in point that may be urged
as good reason for action to curb the
excess of corporation power which Is
being used by the New York Telephone
Company and it's allied companies in
the American Bell system to tighten
their grip on the State and swell their
income at the peoples expense.
The courts of this State are on record
against the very sort of unfair and
unreasonable discrimination of which
the New York Telephone Company is
guilty. In such cases the higher rate,
the that stands for eXtortion and
oppression, has been denounced by the
courts as the unreasonable one, and
has been set aside.
State Railroad Commissioner Frank
H.. Sommer, who is in charge of h
peoples Ease against the phone trust,
will present to the committees of House
and Senate, Sitting next Thursday, a
mass of evidence to show that there is
real discrimination and eXtortion in
this State, and will cite court decisions
that furnish precedent either for legis-
lative action or proceedings against the
trust in the name of the State.
Every day letters of commentator
on the STARS fight for the people are
pouring in from all parts of the State.
In Jersey City and Hudson County the
interest in the crusade for lower and
uniform rates is particularly keen. In
dications are hat the Senate chamber
will be too small to accommodate the
%outpouring of sympathetic men and
women who will go to Trenton Thurs
day afternoon.
The fight against the throttling grip
of the telephone monopoly is spreading.
In Pennsylvania an investigation of the
Bell systems method in killing compe-
tition by wrecking local companies
after getting control of them. is being
pressed with renewed vigor, while the
Ohio attorney-generaPs office and the
Federal authorities are preparing to
punish those implicated in the sale eff
independent companies to theNtrust.
The fact that the examination of a
few witnesses in the Ohio sales was
sufficient to make a case against the
trust, shows that the members of the
New Jersey Legislature would be able
to learn much if the present investiga-
ton is pressed.
Union Noble Bethel, man of many
offices in American Telephone and
Telegraph Company subsidiaries, in tes-
tifying in defense of his interests at
Trenton Tuesday said:
1--WE have a rate of as low as $4S a
year for service in Newark, business
| service, and you are told that the rate
is 1928"
1t was through the intelligent ques-
tioning of Mr.. Bethel by Chairman Err
nest r. Alderman that the vicious
statement was riddled.
How many calls a yea do you allow
at that S4S rate?"
Mr.. Bethel cleared his throat and in
a voice that was anything but enthus-