Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-06-08
WHERE THE PEOPLE BENEFIT.

4 HEIR THE IEOfbb LIS
When .the agitation was first
started in New Jersey for a Public
Utilities Commission, the opponents
declared it would be a useless body,
merely drawing salaries out Of the
State treasury and giving the people
nothing in return. The Public IT'LL
tiles Commissions in New York,
which at that time had just been
started, were referred to as eye m
pies Of expensive ~Iuxuries. The fact
that the Brooklyn bridge crush was
just as bad as ever was mentioned
to show that the commission could
do nothing after all.
But wise people knew that such
problems as the transportation in
New York could not be settled in a
year, or probably ten years. When
the reports of the commissions in
New York were made it became evil
dent that the individual taxpayer
was being benefited in a way that
was never dreamed of before. Gas
bills, for instance, that were known
to be excessive, before the commits
sion was appointed and which the
consumer bid to pay regardless of
all justice or have his gas cut off,
were referred to the commission and,
in many instances, the fault was
found to lie with the company and
satisfactory reductions were made in
the bill.
But all this. you say, applies to
New York. 1t has nothing to do
with New Jersey. Perhaps not, but
We now have a utilities commission
in this state, too, and the people are
not at the mercies of the corpora
tions any longer. The Newark Even
ing News has just brought to light
an instance of this. Commenting
editorially, it says:
Certain citizens of Haworth, Ber-
gen county, needed additional tele-
phone service, and asked for it.
THE New York Telephone Com
pany, a monopoly whereabouts, want
ed a f~fty-year franchise in Haworth
on its terms, and demanded it.
but the citizens of Haworth had
ideas of their own as to franchise
grants, of which one was that they
ought to have a chance to revise
terms at reasonable intervals. For
they reflected that a public utility is
a public business and that it ought
to be satisfied with moderate profits
because it runs only limited risks.
They considered that unless a NUM-
cipa1 monopoly is dieted on whole
some supervision and wise contract
obligations it will grow into a mon
ster and devour its master, the SOY
ereign to which it owes its life.
$50 they very wisely refused to
give the New York Telephone Com
pany a fifty-year franchise on its
own terms.
'Then the New York Telephone
Company struck a threatening atti-
tude and proceeded to bluff the citi-
zens of Haworth,
You give our franchise 1t hec-
tored. or you don't get your teIe-
phones
But the citizens of Haworth fail
ed to be meekIy held up. For they
knew that the State Board of Public
Utility Commissioners exists, and
exists for important specified pur-
poses, They knew that one of these
purposes is to have supervision Of
such cases as theirs. So they carried
their grievance to the board, which
fixed a date for a hearing, and at the
hearing the citizens of HawOrth and
the New York Telephone Company
had their say impartially.
by the time the hearing adjourn
ed the New York Telephone Com
pany wasn't striking any threat
ening attitudes. 1t simply executed
some very tall hedging and then
agreed that the citizens of Haworth
were entitled to the additional ser
vice desired. And the 1fty-year
franchise on the terms formerly die
tated has not yet been granted.
1T is understood that the Board
of Public Utility Commissioners is
prepared to aid other citizens of 9TH
L. 49, Ta--lr =, INV rrl~