Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-04-05
AFTER WRANGLE,
SENATE PASSES
RAILROAD MERGER
Bill to Allow New York Central
aud West Shore to Con-
S0lidate.
CONTENDING SENATOR'S
CALL SHARP NAMES
Fielder Accuses Gebhardt OF
IgnOranCe-VOte Was
Is to 6.
IRON a san corresrondeat.l

From a stan correspondents
TRENTON. April 5.-The digniied
senate wrangled today when the rail-
road merger bill came VI The sena-
tors called each other sharp names,
and at times it looked as if something
scandal-like was going TO drop
Following the calling up Of the bill
TO merge the West shore and the New
York Central railroads, Senator Fielder,
of Hudson, the i%ntroducer of the meas
ure. again declared that 1t was a fair
bill and should be passed.
Against Bill.
Senator Gebhardt again opposed She
bill. The policy of the State, he said,
should not be changed from its former
attitude in its dealings with foreign
corporations. Such a bill as the one
pending would not have been presented
a few years ago. lie recalled history
Of the ttenpte lease by "a humble of
vicious Democrats of the New Jersey
Central railroad and the Port Reading
railroad and of the notorious coal
combine"
He also recalled the Erie merger,
another public scandal in the State.
There was no parallel policy to the
one sought by the West Shore merger
in any State in the Union.
Gebhardt declared there was no
reason why New Jersey should do what
other commemorative r%esolutelv re-
fused to do. Twenty years ago n SEN
ator who would vote for such a Dill
would have been regarded with suspic-
ION. But times and conditions had SO
greatly changed in this state that 1t
wa now by many men regarded as
perfectly right to vote for such a bill.
Freiinghuyscn Favored Bill.
Frelinghuysen considered that the
bin was absolutely fair. We are living
in a new era. and the time has come
when corporations have learned 10
present their business with the Legls-
lature in q frank and open manner.
'rhis merger had been so presented, he
said. N bin retained h right to
tax the railroad franchise; every other
right was retained by the State.
Fielder returned to the discussion.
declared hat tha bill was an open
and fair one. All hat it was intended
10 do was clearly explained in its pro-
visions. Gebhardt had not given any
reasons why the bill should be defeated
and had showed his ignorance in that
he had not only not cad the bill, but
had not listened to or co~mprehenaed
the explanations of it by different sena-
tors. His ears We're as deaf as his IN
ielligenee on this matter. At this otnt
Fielder laughed and Gebhardt grinned,
the latter waving n hand and say
ing something soto voce, Fielder Of
Tered to yield To Gebhardt to question
him but the latter waved him off.
Fielder continued to advocate the
bill. He said the New York Central
owned all the stock of the West Shore.
The franchises Of all the railroads In
the State We're owned by the stock
holders. The State would hav no diff
Guilty under the mercer in levying and
collecting its just dues from either
Ioad.
Gebhardt thanked Fielder for his
compliment to his ignorance. II was
hardly fair, though, for a senator of
Fielder's great brain and broad mind
10 attack a senator of such ordinary
ability as that of the Hunterdon sena-
tor. 1t was taking undue advantage
in a personal way of a more modest
senator for Fielder to pursue the
course he had pursued.
Maintains stand.
Gebhardt still maintained that he
was right In the position taken by him
and that the West Shore merger BODIED
no good to the best interests Of New
Jersey. For the information of Fielder
9ebhardt said that the West Shore
was built as a competing line with the
New York Central and later leased by
the Contra to enable it to rob the
public and practically destroy a COM
peting road.
Silzer asked Gebhardt how the coal
trust wac connected with the proposed
merger. The answer was hat the
passage of the merger might enable the
corporations to control even further
than they now controlled the commer
cial interests and industries of the
state.
The discussion was continued at great
length, but no new arguments were ad-
yanced except in response to a question
by Fielder. cbhardt said New York
was TOO wise to permit New Jersey or
any other State to sobble up its rail-
roads or any other franchises.
The bill was passed, IS TO 6, as fol-
Ayes-Ackerman, Bradley, Brown,
Edge, Fielder, Frelinghuysen, Gaunt,
Hand. Johnson, Lewis. Osborne, Prince,
Silzer. Nays jrnish. Fitzherbert,
Gebhardt, Low. Nichols, Price.