A History of the Regulation of Public Utilities by State Commission

The development of the means and methods in state regulation of public utilities has followed closely the development of the utilities and that the letter proposition has followed the growth and progress of population and industry in the United States. Regulation of utilities is due to necessity. Before the time of the railroads, control and regulation of the ferryman, the smith, the common carrier and others was comparatively simple. The ordinary citizen was no match for the great combinations of talent and capital which opposed him. He was not in a position to carry on an exhaustive struggle in the courts. His representatives in the legislature were quite often controlled by these corporations. His community was at their mercy through their systems of tariffs and discriminations.