Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-05-19
SOUTH AMBOY
COUNCIL MET
Telephone Company igrses
to Settle its Case.
Special 60 ths EVENING NEWS.

Welsh and Councilmen Manhattan,
Stanton and Stuart were present at
the adjourned meeting of the COM
mon council last evening, also Clerk
Fulton, City Solicitor Pearse, City
Engineer Mason, Treasurer Perrine
and Street Commissioner Connors.
A representative of the Hudson &
Middlesex Telephone Company spoke
In regard to the poles on Ridgeway
venue. He claimed that they had
been granted a franchise IN 1903
and that within two days thereafter
an acceptance was mailed TO the
Clerk and he was willing to make
affidavit hat the acceptance was
mailed. He asked what the partic-
ular trouble was. Mr.. Manhattan
stated that as neal as he could state,
the poles were erected without any
permission of the governing body of
the city. The representative claimed
they had paid for the privilege of
putting up the poles and thai they
had been up for nearly a year and
nothing had been said. He gave a
detailed argument as to the rights of
the company under the law and sta
ted they were ready to defend their
position. City Solicitor Pearse sta
leu II they ulu uOI Mull tAO III CpNl ~
removed they should serve an in
junction, ~whereupon the representa-
tive of the telephone company pro
dueed and served an injunction e
straining the council from interfer-
ing with the poles. After a further
discussion Mr.. Pearse told the coun-
Gil it was now a question of a law
suit and that the city would have to
rely upon the merits of their post
ton. The alternative was to give
the company the privilege of filing
an acceptance of the franchise and
paying some printing bills that were
due. The injunction was returnable
MayM29 and 1t was finally decided
that the telephone company should
be permitted to file an acceptance,
that Mr.. Pearse would get in touch
with their counsel, Mr.. Bailey, of
New York, and have the injunction
extended and that the matter would
be finally decided on meeting night
-of June s..
Board of Trade Heard.
The council next gave a commit
tee from the Board off, Trade the
privilege of the floor. kr. Sutliff
stated their object was to inquire
about the ordinance regulating the
licensing of patent medicine peddlers
and outdoor showmen, the board
having concluded they should be re-
stricted to a minimum as benefttng
the town generally. The question
of out-of-town solicitors of groceries,
ETC., was also touched upon as well
as the promiscuous distribution of
hand bills throughout the city.
Mr.. Pearse spent about one hour
explaining the existing ordinance,
which differed from most ordinances
of a like character In that it contain
ed a clause providing that merchants
having a fixed residence in the city
and paying taxes should not be com
PEELED to pay the license prescribed.
Mr.. Pearse stated in the number of
cases which had come to his notice
where a test had been made as to
whether or lot a municipality could
impose a license on Out-of-tOwn mer-
-nhflnts and exempt those having fixed
places of business within a city, such
action had been declared u~ncOnstttu-
tioual and it was a question whether
or not our present ordinance would
stand, which could only be determin-
ed by test, but hat 1t had been
drawn with the idea Of affOrding as
IluCD pTOIHCllOH dS pOoolblC ~ IhS
business men of the city. In regard
to the granting of licenses to timer
ant vendors and patent medicine
shows, Mr.. Pearse stated the pre-
scribed license was in line with that
Imposed by other municipalities and
that 1t was a matter wholly In the
hands of the mayor, the police de-
Dartment and the police justice, who
could refuse or grant licenses as the
circumstances seemed to warrant. In
the matter of distributing circulars,
this was rather a matter for the
Board of Health to regulate In so far
as causing a nuisance on the streets
was. concerned, but the placing OF
circulars on the private property OF
individuals seemed to be a matter
over. which the council did not have
Jurisdiction. AS to compelling bill
distributors to pay a license, he
stated an ordinance could be passed
to that effect but 1t would likewise
apply to the business men OF the
town and thereby work a hardship to
some of our own people.
Sewer Contractors Heard.
Mr.. Collins. of the firm of Collins
& Gundrum, contractors for the lat
erai sewer connections. vas next CIV
en- the floor. He explained that the
surface water sewer running be-
tween Henry and Augusta streets,
through Broadway, was in such con-
dition that he was fearful in making
taps to the sanitary sewer it would
cause the surface water sewer to
cave in and he wished to be relieved
of some responsibility In connection
herewith. The position taken by
the council was hat the contract had
been accepted by the firm, that they
knew the conditions and that 1t was
up to them to accept the responsible
ity and make the connections as di-
rected. Mr.. Collins rather intimated
that the contract could hardly stand
f5the time limit of 1870 days and
some other provisions had not been
~otTerved, that the way in which the
connections were being made it
would take nearer 100 years to COM
plete the work, that they had been
hampered by having to go first to
n eide OF town and then the other
~ make taps Unfortunately as the
city officers might direct, that this
mode of procedure was not contem-
plated and vas proving very expen-
siye and that they could not think
of making one tap now on Broadway
with the condition of this surface
sever and then in a couple of
months have to make another, that
the whole section should be finished
oil " f1-AA --I -