quired the gathering of statutes of 43 states and the federal government, the physical dismemberment thereof section by section, and sometimes sentence by sentence, and the classification and arrangement of the individual points into a compact and harmonious whole. The process might be likened to separating from a haystack wisps of a particular kind and sorting them according to some 300 characteristics determined while the work was in progress. To have selected from the laws of any jurisdiction sections relevant to the investigation and arranged them in numerical sequence under the name of that jurisdiction would have been comparatively simple. But in this work analogous material from each of 44 different jurisdictions relating to some 300 different topics has been brought together in one place and edited on a uniform basis. The scope of the topics necessarily had to be developed as the work progressed. The entire plan of handling the material represents a process of evolution based on day-to-day experiences. The actual work of gathering the statutes began February 23, 1912. The preliminary draft of the text of the compilation and analysis of laws was completed the last day of the year. Two months in addition were devoted to supplementing the text with material theretofore unclassified and necessary indexing and cross-referencing. Page proof copies of three-fourths of the work were submitted to the members and secretaries of the 46 commissions for corrections of references to the laws of their states. Numerous individuals and organizations examined and commented in detail on the method employed and the completeness of the individual chapters. All comments, suggestions and criticisms were examined in detail and were followed whenever they appeared welladvised and consistent with the plan of the work. Within its scope, the compilation and analysis of laws is practically complete.

Scope of Compilation and Analysis. Commission regulation of public utilities being the object of the investigation, it was natural, in the search for material, to limit the field to commission jurisdictions. The material displayed, therefore, represents 44 jurisdictions: The federal act to regulate commerce, with its amendments and supplements, and the laws of the 43 states which in 1912 had central commissions for the regulation of utilities. The states of Delaware, Idaho, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming are not represented because they have no commissions, although there exists in each of these states a considerable body of law the purpose of which is to provide, by direct legislative enactment without administration, a proper public regulation of public service undertakings. This legislation was carefully examined for any contributions it might make towards a thorough

understanding of the field of public regulation, but none of it has been given a place in this compilation and analysis of laws.

Selection of Material. Merely to limit the work to laws of commission jurisdictions does not establish a distinct line of demarcation between the material that has been used and the material that has been discarded. A large mass of statutory provisions, even in the commission states, appears as duties imposed upon utilities, in the form both of orders and prohibitions, rather than as powers conferred upon commissions. For the proper enforcement of many of these provisions authority is vested in commissions. But since the source of this authority is usually a provision entirely distinct from the provisions imposing these duties upon utilities, and since, too, this authority increasing the direct powers of commissions by a sort of "incorporation by reference" is usually stated in very general terms, it becomes a matter of no little difficulty to determine the exact scope of commission authority and to decide what portions of the statutory material rightfully deserve a place in a work of the nature of this compilation and analysis of laws. This difficulty was handled with the best judgment at the disposal of the investigating staff. It was often a task of equal difficulty to determine who far a recent law superseded older legislation or merely added to it In some cases no absolute decision on this point can possibly be reached except by judicial determination. This matter was likewise handled with the best judgment available. It becomes obvious, however, that much of the legislative material in commission jurisdictions, though carefully examined, was necessarily omitted from the work as at present published. Two principles exerted a large influence in the selection of material in these doubtful cases. First, recent legislation was usually given the preference over older laws. The object in view was to present a living idea of the statutory situation as it is to-day, and this involved a greater emphasis upon present tendencies than upon old achievements in legislation. In the second place, there was less hesitancy in discarding material which has already been well digested and the effect of which has crystallized into more or less fixed legal rules than provisions the application of which is still in the experimental stage. To a large extent. this likewise involved a contrast between old and new legislation, but it also involved a distinction between the kinds of utilities regulated. Railroad law, for example, was much more readily discarded than provisions regulating telephones, telegraphs, gas, electricity, water,

etc.

Nature of Discarded Material. The nature of the important

classes of discarded material can be indicated readily. Provisions of general corporation law have been excluded. They open up a large field of legislation which applies for the most part to ordinary industrial corporations no less than to public service undertakings. These provisions involve, among numerous minor matters, questions of incorporation and organization, eminent domain and locations, and the entire problem of the taxation of corporations. By the omission of this material the provisions on franchises, stocks and bonds, and intercorporate relations have been largely narrowed. Again, maximum rate laws, even when enforcement has been left to commissions have been excluded generally. They represent temporary public discontent rather than wise policies of public regulation, The material dealing with the regulation of rates has been narrowed thus to no small extent. In like manner, provisions prescribing by legislative enactment specific facilities and standards of service and specific safety appliances and standards of safety, even when enforcement is left to commissions, have been excluded. These laws are examples of the old system of direct legislative regulation. The presentday tendency is to confer upon administrative commissions sufficient authority for effective regulation in these matters. By the omission of this material the provisions on the regulation of service and safety of operation have been largely narrowed. Material dealing with the regulation of municipally owned utilities has also been excluded. Though most of the fundamental principles of public regulation may be applied universally, regardless of the seat of ownership, attention in this investigation has been directed entirely to privately owned utilities. These represent the important classes of discarded material. The omission of less important provisions in a work of this sort is self-explanatory.

Form of Material. Whenever language has been of the essence the provisions have been given verbatim, as they appear in constitutions and statute books. This has been found to be necessary with practically all of the substantive material conferring authority upon commissions directly or leaving to commissions the enforcement of duties imposed upon utilities. Paraphrasing has been employed only in the omission of useless words and phrases where the scope or meaning of the grants of power could not possibly be affected. The summary form has been used only in the few instances where facts alone were involved and language had no substantive value, the employment of this summary form being limited to Chapter I, dealing with the organization of commissions. Throughout the work the sources of the material have been indicated. Citations

are given for every provision and fact included in the compilation and analysis of laws.

Presentation of Material. The material under every topic and subtopic of each chapter is displayed by jurisdictions in alphabetical order. This method of presentation not only makes of the compilation and analysis of laws a useful source of information but provides for the reader a ready basis of comparison between the provisions of any one jurisdiction on any given subject and similar provisions of all other jurisdictions. For the lawmaker this should. prove of invaluable assistance in studying the varied experience of all our commonwealths. For utility managers, too, and especially for those who transact an interstate business, this localization of the provisions of all jurisdictions dealing with a given subject should prove of large practical value.

Identification of Provisions. It will be noted that the material of one jurisdiction is sometimes "identified" with the material of another jurisdiction. This expedient was adopted merely as a means of saving space, in order that this compilation and analysis of laws might not extend to unwieldy proportions. These identifications depend solely upon alphabetical sequence. The provision appearing first in the alphabetical order of jurisdictions is presented in full, and identical provisions in all other jurisdictions that follow are recorded as identical with the provision already displayed. It must be remembered that the order of these identifications has no historical signifi

Thus it happens that earlier laws are sometimes referred to as identical with later laws. The best examples are the cases of Arizona and California, and Oregon and Wisconsin. The Arizona law is really a copy, almost verbatim, of the California law; and the laws of Oregon follow, in large measure, the laws of Wisconsin. Wherever the provisions are identical, however, the Arizona and Oregon laws are presented in full, inasmuch as they appear first alphabetically, instead of the laws of California and Wisconsin. This plan was adopted solely as a mechanical convenience for the handling of material. The substance of the legislative provisions is in no way affected, and the order of identification must not be taken as an evidence of jurisdictional initiative or credit.

Analysis of Material into Chapters. The compilation and analysis of laws has been divided into fifteen parts. The work opens with a chapter on Organization of Commissions. This chapter includes the important requirements of commission organization. Minor details are usually determined by the commissions themselves and are to be found in rules, regulations and orders promulgated by them.

Provisions dealing with the organization of boards and offices affiliated with commissions, even when under their direct supervision, have been excluded. Chapter II, on General Powers of Commissions, includes grants of power which give commissions general authority to regulate utilities. This authority is found in the use of language involving general supervision, in comprehensive enumeration of particular powers in summary form, and in grants of special powers of such broad scope as to amount to general regulation. Then follow four chapters which deal with the regulation of rates. Chapter III, on Basis of Rate Making, includes provisions prescribing that rates must be reasonable and indicating the various elements to be considered and the various devices that may be adopted by utilities and commissions in the establishment of reasonable rates. Provisions on valuation are here included because it is considered that the most important purpose of ascertaining the value of utility property is as a guide to rate making. Chapter IV, on Establishment and Change of Rates, includes grants of power authorizing commissions to regulate or prescribe the rates and charges of utilities, and such provisions as indicate the procedure to be followed in the exercise of these powers and the legal effect to be given to the rates and charges so established. Chapter V, on Publicity of Rates, includes provisions prescribing publicity in the establishment and change of rates by utilities or commissions, and such grants of power as authorize commissions to render publicity in rate making effective. Chapter VI, on Discrimination in Rates and Service, includes provisions regulating the making of rates and the providing of service in practice. They define and prohibit unjust discrimination in rates and service and indicate the kinds of special treatment which constitutes justifiable discrimination. It includes also grants of power authorizing commissions to determine under what conditions such circumstances exist as make discrimination justifiable. Provisions involving a refusal to serve because of race, business or profession have been excluded. The next two chapters deal with the adequacy and safety of service. Chapter VII, on Service, includes provisions prescribing that adequate service and facilities be maintained and provided for patrons and utilities, and such specific grants of power as authorize commissions to render these requirements effective. Chapter VIII, on Safety of Operation, includes grants of power authorizing commissions to regulate utilities with regard to the safety of the service rendered. Then follow two chapters which deal with accounts and reports. Chapter IX, on Accounts, includes grant of power authorizing commissions to prescribe systems of accounts