Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-09-12
CITY WILL ACT
IN ZONE FIGHT
Mayor to Ask Aldermen and City
Engineer to Measure Miles
GOES into EFFECT SUNDAY
Public Service Asks CHIEF for
Police Protection at
That Time

Hostile criticism of the proposed
new 2onlng system that the Public
Service Railway Corporation has an
nounced to become effective Sunday
appears to be crystallizing into vari-
Gus forms of opposition.
|. Objections have become so pro-
nounced that various city officials
here and in other cities have been
moved to check up the zones as laid
out and at the same time the Public
Service Company has feared opposi-
ton to the extent that 1t has sought
police protection in ramming it's
scheme down the trolley riders
throats.
Mayor Frank Dorsey, when ques-
TONED as to his attitude toward the
plan stated today that he would re-
quest the Board of Aldermen at its
committee meeting tonight to have the
city engineer check up the length of
! tho zones, which under the terms of
the permit from the State Board of
Public Utility Commissioners should
be at least one statute mile. The
claim is made that the zones are short
on all of the lines radiating from this
! city, and that the limits have been
so fixed that the extra fare Is almost
always collected between two sections.
The case of a seven cent fare to Keas-
bey Is pointed to as an example of this
kind, the claim being made that the
real distance warrants only a five cent
fare.
Similar charges are made against
the fixing of the zones to Woodbridge,
Se%aren and points on the Railway
line, on the Amboy line and on the
| South Amboy line. Opposition in
South. Amboy has developed to the ex-
tent that the zones will be measured
/ there also, it is understood
Asked whether the city would conf
ply with the request made by officials
of the Public Service corporation yes
| terday that the police furnish extra
protection when the plan becomes ef-
| fective Chief Burke said that he did
not anticipate any trouble. "WeW
see that there is no breach of the
| peace" the chief said. There will be
no extra officers placed on duty as all
of the residents here are law abiding
citizens and we're not for or against
| the company" -
When the request was made to the
sergeant yesterday by two men who
represented themselvs as employees Of
i the Public Service Corporation they
| asked IL the chief would furnish extra
/ protection in case any of the pass
| engers became obstreperouS and
tried to go out through the window"
| According to the statements of these
men the motormen and conductors
will have something else to do tomor-
row besides running the car and pull
| Ing the bell rope.
A handbook issued by the Public
| Service last March describes the
zones and tells how they were deter
mined. According to the scheme the
engineers laying out the zone miles
| were allowed to set anything that
came within 500 feet of being mile
I L. hner
| feet but q zone mile under the Pub
| lie Service plan may have not more
| than 4,780 feet. In the course or
several zones if such discrepancy
twere continued a difference of mile
/ or half mile would soon cause the
| public to pay an extra fare. 1t is 10
| discover whether serious discrepan-
| cies do exist that the measurements
will be made by the city. A candi-
date for governor claims that the
miles in Newark are short and the
report comes from Camden that one
| of the zones there contains only five
city blocks
The Public Service offers this ex-
| PLANTATION on page 81 of its handbook
| for the differences between statute
and zone miles:
I "The committee endeavored, in
starting from the zero points, to as
nearly as possible dPPIoAlhAatS d uiiAo
in distance for each zone, departing
J from this limit only in cases whereby
| a reasonable exception would bring
about the location of a zone point at
| a natural traffic dividing line, such
as an intersection with another line,
q point of loading due to the exist
ence of traffic controlling industries,
railroad stations and the like.
"A general tolerance rule or oVo
| feet was adopted. that Is where the
! exigencies of the particular case
would not admit the establishment or
a point corresponding to the actual
mile, an attempt was made to keep
the limit within 500 feet either way
from the $3.50 feet contained IN an
actual mile"
Another ruling of the Public Ser
vice that may bring trouble Is that
anyone losing their zone ticket VIII
| be required to pay the full fare Tor
the distance that the car has travel
| ed since it left It's starting point
whether a person has ridden block
| or a mile.
F, CONTINUED on page two.)