Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1911-01-21
WHO OWNS THE SUBURBAN.? :.
Pleasantville Commuters Preparing to
Sink Probe Into Merger.

Pleasantville commuters, who have not
been holding Indignation meetings over
the ten cent meadow trolley fare for sew
eral months, have been informed that
they will have another hearing shortly
before the Public Utilities Commission
for the purpose of ascertainng who
owns the Suburban Railway Company
Attorney Eli Chandler has been notili-
ed of the second hearing, but the date
has not yet been fixed. 1t is reported
that the hearing will be granted the lat
ter part of this month.
Several militant members of the Pleas
antville Citizens League have been work
ing quietly for several weeks with view
of making this second hearing far more
interesting than the first, which was held
in Trenton last summer
The Utility Board will be asked to sub
poena Robert Wetherill who purchased
the Suburban before the alleged merger
Stern 4 Silverman, of the Shore Fast
Line, Clarence Cole, who will probably
be present anyway as counsel for botl
corporations, and possibly Judge E. A
Higbee
I'VE think that the Utilities Board ha:
a perfect right to ascertain whether the
two trolley lines We're merged into q
monopoly" states J. A. McAnney, one Of
the commuters who appeared before the
board in Trenton last summer. I'VE
want to find out who owns the Suburban
and we propose to put the matter Of
what we suspicion amounts to an illega,
merger squarely up to the Commission.
During the first hearing before the
Commission, both Mr.. Cole and Mr.
Stern stated in reply to whether the
Shore Fast Line President had not ne
gotiated with Judge Higbee, County So
Iicitor, for the temporary repair of the
Shore Road at cost of $1,000 that they
knew nothing about it and Mr.. Cole add
ed that he supposed the Suburban made
such negotiations. Since that time it is
reported that the Pleasantville commit
tee has had its attention called to news
paper interviews in which Judge Higbee
is reported as saying that he held two
conferences with Messrs Stern & Cole
regarding the temporary repair of the
road. 1t is proposed to have Judge Hig-
bee present to clear up this point.
The Pleasantville citizens believe that
if they can show the Shore Fast Line re
ally negotiated for the repair of the
Shore Road, over which only the Subur-
ban has right of way, that this act will
indicate common interest and at least
constructive merger
In reply to request from the Com
mission to state the relationship between
the two trolley companies. Mr.. Cole stat
ed last summer that, although he would
make such statement if the Commits
sion insisted, yet he considered that it
was not pertinent matter inasmuch as
the hearing was for the purpose of deter
mining whether the ten-cent fare was
excessive. The Commission did not in
sist. and, as a result, Pleasantville has
not yet learned of the relationship. Now
our citizens are firmly of the opinion
that it is pertinent to a question of ex-
cessive fare that the relationship exist
ing between two parallel trolley lines.
who dropped competition and raised the
fare simultaneously, be determined, and
they are going to try to solve the mys-
terV