Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-09-17

The railway company operates in
more than one hundred municlpa1f-
ties in New Jersey, while the rail-
road company operates fast 1iness
service between Newark and Tren-
ton. All of the cars Of the two COM
panies have been idle since August
1st, when platform men demanded
increased wages.
The injunetions were granted on
application of Attorney General Nc
Gran who, acting at direction OF
Governor Silzer, went into court to
force resumption of service after the
companies had ignored an order Of
the Public Utility Commission TO
operate.
1T is not a defense that the COM
pany cannot operate at a profit. That
is not the test. The duty resting up
on quasi-public corporation must
be performed or its privileges ana
franchises must be surrendered. 1t
cannot discharge its duty on and of
as it may find profitable to do 50.
said the chancellor.
'It appears that a receiver may be
appointed for public utility cor
! poratio4 to discharge it's duty to the
public in the event of its not obeylng
the mandate of the court"
In the railway care, the chanceI-
lor's opinion continued:
! In arriving at a determination
/ in this matter, l deem it unneces-
sary to consider the question OF the
/ prospective loss of taxes to the stat
/ of municipalities or OF Interest
the bond holders or dividends OF
stockholders of the company. rms
question transcends any such con-
siderations and to my mind. turns
upon the single question Of the pow
er of the court TO grant the injunc-
/ ton prayed for because of the pub
lie duty owed by the defendant COM
pany to the citizens of this state,
and that irrespective of whether
such operation can be carried on
! with profit or with loss.
/ "The duty resting upon a quasi
public corporation must be performs
ed or its privileges and franchises
must be surrounded. 1t cannot as
sumo to discharge its duty to the
public on and off, as it may find il
! profitable to do So"
/ Chancellor Walker said that on an
application for injunction to restore
! the status, it is not for him 20 make
an exhaustive investigation of facts
| and to adjudicate whether or not the
company could be operated at a pro-
/ fit. but that it is enough If it appears
that It is obliged to operate under a
charter which it has not surrender
ed.
1.-The condition with which the
court is dealing is appalling" said
the chancellor. Il have never known
anything like it to exist in this state.
To say that in its presence there Is
no court competent TO give needed
prompt relief is to assert that there
is a defect in the law itself. II the
defendant can cease to operate its
lines for the benefit of the public un-
der a charter which requires 1t to do
so, (Which charter it sought and re-
ceived) then the great steam rail-
roads, even the transcontinental
roads can do so, and thus paralyze
transportation business over wide
territory. to the untold loss and in
convenience of a suffering public
Now in order to grant relief,
/ admittedly the damage must be ex-
treme and serious; it must be mate
! rial and irreparable. It is all these
/ and more. 1t is not an answer to
say that the company cannot op-
crate at a profit, and therefore
should not be obliged to run at all
I The answer to that answer is. 1t
| stands still at loss and if it stands
! still long enough it will be abso-
lutely ruined. This would ultimately
result in an insolvency receiver, who
( would be directed to operate the
road under order of the court. Such
an ending would be disastrous to
/ those owning the bonds and stock OF
( the company and to its other credi-
/ tors unless the property at receiv
er's sale brought sufficient to dis
| charge all its obligations in full,
which is not likely.
mo one hopes more than I do
that that calamity will never befall
/ this great corporation with its num-
erous security holders. Nor do I
think that ordering operations will
/ have that effect. I think, on the
contrary, that the effect viii be to
stimulate negotiations to settle the
many difficulties with which the
company is confronted. But. be
that as it may, / think it my duty
to order the injunction prayed for
to restore the status quo anti in aid
of the suits at law.
CONTINUED on Page p
/
s0xsB Fabric Tires including tube ana
! rim S11.00. (Taken off new cars). Dorsey