Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-10-04
Five Cent Fare Plank
In Democratic a
Platform ISApprOVed

reduced to the five-cent basis. In
deed, the people of the state will be
fortunate If the present fare Is not
increased as a result of litigation
now pending between the Public
Service Railway Company and the
Utility board.
The present situation seems to
cal for an effort to solve the prob
lem from a new approach. We be-
l!eve In the fundamental and moral
ground that a contract when once
made should be kept; that the
street railway companies. whose
existence and right to maintain
tracks in streets arise out of
franchise contracts entered into by
them and the municipalities of this
state should be made to keep tile
covenants of those contracts.
We therefore pledge ourselves to
these things:
FIRST: To place upon the sta
tutes of this state a law which shall
provide that such franchise con-
tracts shall not be subject to i'm
pairment by legislative enactment
and shall be binding alike Upon the
municipality and the other con-
tracing party.
SECOND: So that subsequent
legislatures may not change this
policy, when once adopted to incor-
porate such a provision in the or
ganic law of this state by e of
a constitutional amendment.
We believe that such measures
are constitutionally sound. Their
result will be to restore the status
which existed prior to the judicial
decisions referred to and will estab-
fish a fare not in excess of the con-
tract rate, without protracted,
wearisome and expensive litigation,
which has proved such a burden to
the people of the state.
The remedy prescribed above
while confined in its application
here to street railway fares, is ap-
plicable with equal force and effect
to all municipal contracts for SER
vice to be furnished by public util-
tiles, such as water, gas, electric
light and electric power. In many
such asses the water and other
utility companies are either receiv-
ing or endeavoring to obtain rates
for water and other service in x
cess of those fixed by contracts n
tered into many years ago. The
passage of the law and the amend
ment to the constitution in the re-
spects pledged here will protect
against the impairment of munich
pal contracts for service of any kind
The changes advocated here in
the statutes and the constitution
will not operate t. deprive the Pub
lie Utility Commission of all of its
functions. There will still be left a
considerable field of activity for
that board. With that in view and
as a step forward in the retention of
state control over utility regulation,
we advocate the passage of the Ba-
charach bill and condemn the Re-
publican congress for having delay
ed its passage for seven months
undoubtedly at the behest of the
same interests which created the
condition in New Jersey requiring
the enactment of the law.
We likewise advocate the passage
of the Silzer bill by congress. This
will dispense with the necessity OF
Injunction proceedings. will save the
state and munipicalities great ex-
pense, and will prevent the delays
when are so expensive to the pubic.
Until the utility corporations can
be made t respect their franchises
and be brought to charge no more
than a five cent fare or other con-
tract rate, 1t will be necessary for
the utilities commission to function.
The first and most important thing
is that the commission shall be COM
posed of men of high character, men
competent to grasp the problem and
courageous enough to decide them
justly. With the proper kind of a
commission, such as we now have
settled. rules for valuation a cas-
lily be applied, and prompt and just
decision reached.
For the purpose Of fixing rates
there must be included only actual
and real values; and there be
excluded allowances which are either
dishonest or fanciful.
The elements which enter into rate
making have been defined by our
courts. To state them in legislation
would simply reiterate the judicial
declaration. and no real progress be
made. The legislative declaration, II
it omitted any of the elements de-
clared judicially to be necessary,
would obviously be unconstitutional.
Therefore, the remedy proposed by
Lu5 IlcpQDliSdh SohoANaeS 49, ~
nor is meaningless.
We condemn the Republican legis-
iature Of 1922 for burying in commit
tee not less than three bills designed
to extend the jurisdiction of the
commission to public utility hold
ing companies where such companies
hold more than a majority Of the
stock of the underlying companies.
We call attention to the fact that
the present candidate of that party
governor utterly failed to help
get the bills out of committee or to
pass them.
Prohibition
We declare ourselves in ave OF
the just and honest enforcement OF
the provisions of our constitution
and of our laws so long as they are
the statute books.
The Volstead act is n designed
to carry out the provisions OF the
eighteenth amendment to the con-
stitution. This amendment prohl-
bits the sale, etc., of Intoxicating
liquors for beverage purposes
The Volstead act, however, being
enacted under pressure from ex-
tremists itself violates the eigh-
tenth amendment. 1t provides that
any liquor over one-half Of one per-
cent, is intoxicating. when 1t is COM
mon knowledge that this is an un-
truth. 1t deprives our citizens OF
the right to use, Intoxicating liquors
for medicinal purposes, when there
is no such prohibition in the eigh-
amendment.
The Volstead act itself violates
the fourth and fifth amendments to
the constitution in permitting I'M
seizures and denying the
right of trial by jury; and in many
other particulars is contrary to the