Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-09-19
REFUSES LEASE To
.LEH|GH VALLEY R. R.
jerseys Public Utility Com
mission Denies 1t Has
Power to Act.
IFrom n stnir Correspondent

TRENTON, sept. 1s.-The Board Of
Public Utility Commissioners today
refused its approval of a proposed
ninety-nine-year lease of the prop
erty and franchises of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company of New
Jersey to the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company of Pennsylvania.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Com
pany of New Jersey, either of itself
or through subsidiary corporations
owns about ninety-four miles OF rail-
road in this State, which Is actually
operated by the Lehigh Valley RAN
road Company of Pennsylvania, that
owns all of the stock of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company OF new
Jersey.
The trackage in New Jersey owned
by the Lehigh Valley, Railroad Com
pany of New Jersey and operated
by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com
pany of Pennsylvania, includes the
Greenville and Hudson Railroad
Company and the road from Easton
to Perth Amboy, known as the
Easton and Amboy Railroad, the
stock of which is owned entirely py
the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company
of New Jersey.
Has NO POWER.
The Public Utility Commissioners
see no objection to the approval OF
the lease in view of the fact that the
stock of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company of New Jersey is owned IN
its entirety by the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Company of Pennsylvania,
except that the commission is con-
WINGED that under the State laws it
Of II a lease
by the New Jersey corporation to the
Pennsylvania corporation of the fran
chises owned by the New Jersey
company.
The commissions holds that its
power of approval only extends to
the leasing of the property of the
New Jersey corporation to the
Pennsylvania corporation, and as this
does not meet the desires of the pc
titioning companies approval OF the
lease as submitted is withheld. 1t is
suggested that the matter be speedily
determined in an authoritative man
ner either through additional legis-
lation or litigation.
The report of the Utility Commits
sioners dealing with the subject says
in part:
The Report.
we DIlu IlO lC6laidlloI III tii4o
State authorizing the use and en-
joyment of the franchises of the New
Jersey corporation by the Pennsyl-
vania corporation. The franchises
are vested in the New Jersey cor
poration, an artificial parsonage
created by and subject to the power
and authority of this State. They
are not vested in those in whom the
ownership of the shares of the out
standing capital stock may be from
time to time.
Had we seen our way clear to
approve the lease submitted to us
the future use and operation of the
railroad of the New Jersey corpora
ton by the Pennsylvania corpora
ton, and the collection of fares and
rates would have been authorized.
Such approval we have, however, felt
ourselves obliged to withhold for the
reasons before stated. The question
raised is important. 1t should be
speedily determined in an authora-
tative manner either through addi-
tional legislation or litigation.
LAS its determination through It'll
cation will require the assent of the
attorney general of the State the
matter will be brought to his atten-
ton"