Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-03-26
Public Service Asks I Cent
Fare After April ! at Hearing
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Here Commissioner Slocum again
interrupted and asked whether n
testimony had been diSregarded by
the Utility Commission. II think you
gentlemen disregarded the evidence"
asserted Mayor Gillen.
Strenuous objections came from
East Orange, their spokesman dwell
ing upon agreements which had been
broken by the Public Service Com
pany.
James II. Doherty. of Bayonne,
made an emphatic request that the
Commission give the municipalities
sufficient time in which to employ ex-
| perts at their own expense to secure
data and asked that the commission
pass a ruling which would make it
possible for the municipalities to look
into the books of the railway com
| peny. He termed the action of the
! Railway company as a Gigantic steai
on the part of the Public Service
E G. Blakely, the city solicitor of
| Camden, presented a huge petition
signed by several thousand residents
of that city, opposing the proposed
! action of tie Public Service Company
as to the coming system aed asked
that the municipalities be permitted
to delve into the books of the railway
company, declaring: IF this privilege
is not granted to the public the peo-
l ~ Wit DSfSI pS Will NiAC
decision of his board" Here Com
missioner Slocum repeated that the
municipalities had free access to the
records of the board, but the COM
mission could not rule for the COM
pany's records.
Jerome T.. Congeiton, the city at
torney of this city, entered an OBJ
lection to the seven cent fare contin-
uing after April 1, and asked the
Board set aside the company's appli-
cation. The company, he declared,
had pre-emptuously set the date for
the hearing so as to give the
palities no chance to combat the ac-
ton.
Mayor Souter, of Kearny, asserted
that the Public Service was to blame
if any delay is caused now in the
hearing, as that company, instead OF
making application during the past
three months, when they had plenty of
opportunity, la waited until a few
days before the day when they want
the new schedule to go into effect.
Thomas N. McCarter, the president
of the Public Service Company, took
the stand shortly after noon to pre-
sent the Public Service side of the
case-
The matter of continuing the hear
ing seemed to furnish quite a prob
lem. Upon Commissioner Slocum's
suggestion that the hearing be con-
tinued on Friday, storms of protest
came from all sides from the repre-
sentatives of the municipalities, who
declared they wanted more time III
which to work. A suggestion that the
hearing be continued n week from
/ today was made. President McCar-
ter took the floor and announced that
this day would be April 2 and the ap-
plication calls for The fares going in
to effect on April /. McCarter Their
made a plea for a hearing before that
time. No definite time had been set
on when the cross-eXaminaton was
to be held up till an early hour this
afternoon
When the hearing was continued
this afternoon President McCrarter
Il brought out a mass of figures in ELLA
ton to the financial condition of the
company, and said that it was expect
ed that in 1918 h cost needed to
operate the company would be seven
millions more than that needed dur
:. ing the year 1918. Mr.. McCarter was
\ cross-examined by Mr.. Hermann
: counsel for the commission. During
the examination he said tina the cost
to prepare the one plan would be
$4,000, about 100000 having already
been spent.
4 III hearing was continued witt
the examination of Dean Cooley, Of
Michigan, an expert appraiser of rail
} road property, who has appraised thu
property OF the Public Service Com
pany and will have figures to give ia
the commission.