Gloucester County Democrat., 1911-10-26
HON. eAUNT IN THE SENATE
aMIDNIGHT CONSPIRACY FAILS TO
DESTROY THE EAGAN UTILI-
TIES BILL"

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in copy of "The Hudson Observer
dated April 21, 1911, which will be
very interesting to Gloucester County
people at this time when Senator
Gaunt and County Chairman Avis are
claiming credit to the Republican
Senate for passing the Public Utili-
ties law of last winter. We commend
it as but sample of how the Repub-
lican Senator's aided in the passage
of laws demanded by the people,
Trenton, April 20-There is a new.
version of the old story of the spider
Z and the fly that is amusing the deni-s
zens of the State House corridors 1t
is the story of the fly being really too
fly for the spnder and wrapping it in
its own silken web to it's undoing.
The spider in the tale is the Senate
Committee, named 20 confer over a
public utilities bill, and the fly is the
Assembly Committee. The parlor to
which the fly was invited is the Ii
brary of the House of Lords" as the
residence of Senator Prince. Acker-
man, Frelinghuysen, Plummer and
Gaunt is called
To the House of Lords, the AS
sembly conferors and Senator Osborne
of the Senate Committee, were called
last night to meet with Senators
Prince and Gaunt, the Republican con-
seryatives on the committee. Prince
had been substituted in the place of
Senator Bradley. of Camden, who, yes
terday morning, refused to longer
serve.
Various stories are told of Bradley's
reasons for getting on the utilities
committee, all of which are plausible
One is, that he was physically unable
to continue the work of conference,
having worn himself out by incessant
labor upon the elections committee
, considering the Geran bill and the
Mathis-Low senatorial controversary
and his work as chairman of the APP
preparation committee.
Another story is, that having taken
a Progressive stand upon all matters
this session, he rebelled when David
Baird, having heard that he was in
clined to yield to the demands of
Governor Wilson and the Democratic
Assemblymen for drastic utilities
measure, got on the Job Tuesday night
and attempted to give orders to him
as to how he should act and what
particular provisions in the interest of
the public utilities corporations he
should stand for.
The utilities interests had bill pre-
pared to take the place of the Eagan
bill and it was demanded, it is said,
that Bradley present it and insist
upon its passage. This he refused to
do, asserting that it was a bill in
name only, and would be mere
quibble of words and would rob the
people of the real public utilities legis-
lation, which they had demanded and
which, by their votes in November
last, they had plainly asserted they
would have.
Bradley had stood for Clerk in
Chancery Samuel K. Robbins, repre-
sentative of the Public Service Cor
poratiOn interests, attending a con-
ference or two and airing his views,
but he had said of Robbins acts that
he was merely giving him plenty of
rope to see how far he would go, and
did not intend to follow his sugges-
tions or orders.
The latter story seems to be the
most probable, although the former.
regarding Senator Bradleys health
has basis in fact, Bradley being we'll
worn out by his hard labor, which has
been, not to obstruct Progressive
legislation, but to assist Governor Will
son in securing it
When Bradley refused to be the goat
and introduce the measure prepared
by the utilities corporations, which is
said to have been drawn by former
Senator Edmund WakeIee and other
corporation lawyers, Senator Prince,
the majority leader in the Senate, was
picked to take his place.
Wakelee and Prince had been in con-
ference yesterday morning and after
noon. When the meeting of the two
conference committees had been called
at $50 o'clock-the Senators had de-
MED the day before that the six men
comprised a joint conference commit
tee, and that the two branches of the
Legislature would be bound by the re-
port of a majority of the six-Senators
Prince at once pitched into the task of
carrying out his commission. He was
backed by Gaunt, the man who helped
AtVOOtiiS III lOIluCI years tQ DlOck
utilities legislation which would be eff
fective and in 1909 forced through
bill to permit trolley companies to
carry freight anywhere in the State.
Prince said that he had bill which
he would offer as a substitute for the
Eagan bill and which he considered
far better measure He said it had
been drawn by New York lawyer
who was an expert in such matters
Wakelee practices law in New York.
We want a drastic utilities bill,
said Gaunt, "a bill patterned after the
Hughes act in New York. The bill
Senator Prince offers is such meas
ure."
Prince then trotted out eighteen
pages OF amendments to the Eagan bill
and a brief on each amendment also
prepared by the New York lawyer,
whom he refused to name. The amend
417oufc which h q r,r<-y,x<y,5 a., xsvJ,{<,1. 4 =