Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-02-21
CURB TELEPHONE
TRUST IS SLOGAN
OF WHOLE STATE
Protest Against Rate Discrimi-
nation Is Now Echoed
Throughout Jersey.

against the telephone monopoly at the
adjourned joint hearing in the Senate
chamber next Thursday afternoon
Newark merchants are thoroughly
aroused over the STARS expose of
the telephone trusts te-discrimn-
ating methods. and Jersey City, Hobo
ken and Bayonne business men have
important cities in the northern section
of the State will have representatives
at the hearing. State Railroad Com
missioner Frank II. Sommer. who is
prosecuting the inquiry, said today that
he understood that middle and southern
New Jersey will also be on hand to pro-
test Mr.. Sommer promises many sem
sational disclosures at the hearing, and
it is the general belief that the STARS
| fight has become so popular throughout
the State that nothing short of thor
ough legislative probe will satisfy the
public.
Bayonne now bobs up with the charge
that the New York Telephone Company
is operating there without a franchise.
The Civic Association of that city has
sent letter of protest to the City
Council.
The letter also declares that there is
unjust and unwarranted discrimination
against the city in the matter of fixing
telephone rates. 1t was presented at
the last meeting of Council and the
situation is under consideration by the
law committee, which is expected to
make a recommendation that will re-
suit in a councilmanic investigation
The letter follows
I'm the interest of a large number
of citizens of this city we respectfully
call the attention of your honorable
body to the unjust and unwarranted
discrimination against this city in the
matter of fixing telephone rates by the
New York Telephone Company, which,
We understand, is operating in this city
without a franchise. y
I'VE believe it to be the duty of our
city authorities to take such action as
may be expedient, to the end that at
least Our citizens shall enjoy the same
consideration In the matter of rates
as that enjoyed by communities in
other parts of the State"
The letter is signed by w. T. Has
kard. secretary of the association. In
speaking of the protest. Joseph w.
Moore, president, says;
Our organization has nearly 300
members and we have been working
for many years to obtain various civic
reforms, chief among which Is an
abatement of the high handed methods
of the telephone trust in this city. The
concern goes ahead and erects poles
for which privilege 1t pays practically
nothing to the city, and then charges
those of US who are compelled to have
telephone service rates that are extor-
tfonate. There seemed to be no other
way to correct this matter than to
ask the city authorities to take it UP.
I'VE have been deeply interested in
the campaign of the STAR to have the
methods of the trust investigated by
the Legislature, and IL it is possible
for me to do so l shall be in Trenton
at the hearing. next Thursday. There
is evidently no other way to treat with
the New York Telephone Company
than by legislation. Effort on my part
to take the grievances of our organi-
cation up with the officials of the COM
pany has been unsuccessful and other
members of the civic association have
met with equally unsatisfactory re-
suits
The Eoboken Board of Trade and
the Bayonne Board of Trade are up
In arms against the methods of the
telephone trust. The Hoboken organi-
cation has a special telephone com
mittee, to the attention of which the
STARS efforts to get investigation for
the public will be brought up at the |
next meeting by B. C. Burhorn, sec
retary of the board.
Mr.. Burhorn is firmly convinced that
the discrimination In rates between
North and South Jersey. evidently be-
cause of the lack of competition in the |
northern part of the State, is a matter
Of the utmost Importance and should |
be c@refully considered by every civic |
body in the State. 1t is probable that
some member of the Hoboken tele
phone committee will attend the hear
ing in Trenton this week.
J. L. r. Proctor, secretary of the
Bayonne Board of Trade, probably will
be In Trenton this week. He declares
that the telephone rates charged in
Bayonne are excessive and that the
service Is anything but satisfactory.
Resolutions will be introduced at the
next meeting of the Bayonne board
the STARS crusade for the
public and calling on members of the
organization to give support.
With Jersey City. Hoboken and Bay
onne lined up strongly against the
trust, there Is every reason to believe
that Hudson County will be strongly
at the joint COMMITTEES
hearing in Trenton on Thursday, when
the second chapter in the official story
Of the methods of the Bell Telephone
and its subsidiary concerns
will be written.
As at the hearing last week, the
public will be represented by Frank
H. Sommer who will submit another
mass of evidence to the legislative COM
mittees to show that the trust is charg-
Ing excessively and discriminating
TO such an extent that It almost
to extortion in North Jersey.
Individual complaints are heard on
all sides. not only because of the ex-
cessive rates charged, but because of |
poor service furnished. This Is the
,ase in Hudson County particularly.
In Jersey City business men say the
business service is just tolerable. They
strongly against the home
service. They are compelled to pay
d high rate for home phones on four
party line and usually when a call
comes in over line 1t reaches the
wrong party, causing great annoyance.