New-York tribune., 1922-02-07
Senate Caucus
Assures Port
Bill Passage
Iwenty-cight Pledge Sup
port to Measure, With
Only 26 Votes Needed:
No Action in Assembly
Hubert Issues Denial
Did Not Know of Railroad
rejection Before Going
to Albany, He Asserts
From Il Stag Corresponsl~rt

'oW u StdU Correspondent
ALBANY, Feb. 6.-Thc maioritv IN
'nc senate caucused tonight on the
Moycr-Mastick Port Authority bill.
VI the thirty Republican Senator's
present 'wcnty-cieht pledged them
serves to vote for the bill when it
comes up tor passage. Senator Alvah
". bur'lngamc jr.. of Brooklyn. and
senator {. Ernest Smith,, of Staten Isl.
d"u, opposed the measure. Nine Re-
puoi'cah Senators were absent.
{, ~ thc close Of the Senate caucns
senator Burlingamc said that most or
ui. Inc ahsentecs were from New YORK.
wy Inc action Of the Senate caucus
assures the passage OF the bill in the
upper house, since but twcntv-six
Vo1Ss T arc required for favorable action.
inc Republicans in the Assembly
W "ISo caucuscd tonight, but did not
IKE thH up the Port Authority plan. Both
the Assembly and Senate caucuses
unanimously agreed upon Chester S.
,ord' OF New York, chancellor of tho
University of the State of Now YorL
as the Republican choice for regent to
succeed himself
INC Dem ocrats viii ciyc their com
plimcntary vote to Arthur s. Somcrs.
or brooklyn, former president Of the
ne" York City Board of Education.
Mr. Somers was ousted from the hoard
by Mayor HyIan.
Denial by Hubert
Acting Mayor Murray Hubert de-
ciared Yesterday that he had no knowI
edge of the letter from Samuel Rae.
representing the executive heads of
tnc trunSline railroads. turning down
thc cIty's port development plan, when
ne went to Albany last Tuesday to at
'eno the hearing on the Port Authority
Plan. he Acting Mayor explained also
that while Mr.. Rae's letter was received
at the Mayors Office prior to his de-
rturc for Palm Beach last Tuesday,
the Mayor's personal attention was not
called to 1T before he left the city.
"On last Friday afterno oon," said Act
ing Mayor Hubert. 81 learned for the
hrst tune of the letter sent by the rail
road executives to Mayor Hylau on
January so, and upon inquiry found
that TINS communication was received
at TIC Mayors office on the eve of
Mayor Rylan's departure on A we'll
earned vacation.
ut was not brought to his personal
attention but referred to his executive
secretary. Captain Kelly, who. upon
his return from the hearing on the
Port Authority bill at Albany trans
ittcd the communicati ation in the ordi
nary course to Chief Engineer Arthur
5. Tutttc, who, as chairman OF the tur-
mel committee of the Board of Esti-
mate and Apportionmcnt, is carrying
OH negotiations with the engineering
committee Of the railroad executives.
Il communicated with Mr.. Tuttel on
Saturday morning, and found that lie
and Colonel Wilgus we're then engaged d
in making an ananlysis of the com
municatIon. obtained the commune
cation, on copies Of the letter to the
Mayor made for distribution to the
press, but learned to my amazement
letter an hour before from Eugcnus
H. Outerbridge. chairman Of the Port
Authority, to whom, presume, a copy
of the communicated had been sent by
the railroad executives as a. matter of
courtesy.
"Thc charge of Mr.. Outerbridge that
Mayor Hylan suppressed the letter is
ridiculous, because an examination OF
the letter shows that it could have
been used to very great advantage by
members Of the Board Of Estimate and
HPPOi eiO'iiIS'lC III OPPOSl ~ tHt
present consideration of the Mayor
Mastick bill, for if. as tho railroad
executives point out, the present facil
tiles arc adequate, there is no less
need for the tunnel proposed by the
Port Authority than there is for the
tunnel subsequently proposed by the
Legislature and which the Board of
Estimate and Apportionment arc un-
dcrtaking to construct in accorda nc G
with their mandate.
"Then surely we have not rcache ID
the millennium where we can afford
to tie ourselves up irrcvocabiy to the
Port Authority by the adoption Of
the comprehensive plan which is un-
satisfa actory both to the railroads and
the city, and can yet never be amend
ed without the majority vote Of fifty
two Senators and $50 Assemblymen at
Albany and OF twenty one Senators
and sixty Assemblymen at Trenton.
Outcrbridgc Act Censured
at was also a matter Of regret to
me that Mr.. Outerbridgc should have
seen fit to assume TO act either as the
agent of the railroads or the agent Of
the city in giving out letter. fur
ter of courtesy and but reem phas sizes
hearing in Albany that MIR. Outer
BRIDGES attitude cannot be rcgarde
as conducive othe promotion of that
spirit OF co-ope ration which scemsm to
have -rhetotically speak ing the
cornerstone Of TIE Port Authority"
Attached TO the Hubert statement
WAS an alanysis of the railroad
engineers unfavorable report on the
citg's plan. made by the acting MAYOR