The Michigan Railroad Commission was an agency in the state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 which regulated the operations of railroads within the state. It was established by the Michigan Legislature

Michigan Legislature

The Michigan Legislature is the legislative assembly of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body consisting of the Senate, the upper house, and the House of Representatives, the lower house. Article IV of the state's Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the...

 in 1873; in 1919 it was abolished and its functions transferred to a new body, the Michigan Public Utilities Commission.

History

The office was established in 1873 as part of a general reform of the state's railroad laws. One requirement was that every common carrier

Common carrier

A common carrier in common-law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport...

 railroad submit an annual report to the commission, which were then collected and published. These reports were published every year from 1873 until the abolition of the commission in 1919, and remain an important resource for historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

s. From 1905 onward the commissioner had some measure of control over the state police; this need was apparently prompted by a sharp increase in accidents involving the new electric interurbans.

In 1907 a revision of the law expanded the office; the single commissioner was replaced a group of three. This was prompted by the urging of then-Commissioner Chase Osborn

Chase Osborn

Chase Salmon Osborn was an American politician, newspaper reporter and publisher, and explorer. He served as the 27th Governor of Michigan from 1911 to 1913.-Early life in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin:...

, who believed the system of a single commissioner was antiquated that a "modern type" of commission with greater powers of intervention was necessary. To provide greater continuity in policy, the three commissioners would serve six-year terms at staggered intervals. The commission also received the power to enforce the state's rate regulations and to arbitrate disputes between companies concerning the application of those rates. The commission remained so structured until its replacement in 1919 by the Michigan Public Utilities Commission, which did not retain the title, nor did any of the sitting railroad commissioners serve on the new body.

Duties

The general railroad law of 1873 specified a number of rights and responsibilities for the "Commissioner of Railroads", including but not limited to:

• Reporting: Every railroad company was required by law to furnish a report of its operations to the commissioner including disposition of capital stock, asset
  Asset
  In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset...
  
  s and liabilities, company officers, debt
  Debt
  A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
  
  , the value and disposition of its physical plant
  Physical plant
  Physical plant or mechanical plant refers to the necessary infrastructure used in support and maintenance of a given facility. The operation of these facilities, or the department of an organization which does so, is called "plant operations" or facility management...
  
   (including roadbed, bridges, stations, rolling stock
  Rolling stock
  Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
  
   and track), the number of miles operated by its trains during the preceding year, earnings and expenses broken down by month and source, expenditures on improvements and investments, rate
  Rate
  In mathematics, a rate is a ratio between two measurements, often with different units. If the unit or quantity in respect of which something is changing is not specified, usually the rate is per unit time. However, a rate of change can be specified per unit time, or per unit of length or mass or...
  
  s charged for passenger and freight traffic, accidents on its lines and operating agreements with other companies. In turn, the commissioner was required to publish these reports.
• Investigation: the commissioner was empowered by the act to inquire into the affairs of railroad companies independent of the annual reports, and permitted to use subpoena
  Subpoena
  A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
  
  s to compel testimony from company officials.
• Inspection: the commissioner was empowered to inspect a company's physical plant, and to restrict the operation of passenger trains over sections of a line deemed unsafe. In 1886 and again in 1893, the commission closed the St. Joseph Valley Railway to passenger traffic because of the deterioration of the roadbed.

Railroad Commissioners

From 1873 until 1907 a single commissioner was appointed by the Governor of Michigan

Governor of Michigan

The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...

. From 1907 until 1909 the governor appointed a body of three.

• Stephen S. Cobb (1873–1877)
• William B. Williams
  William B. Williams (politician)
  William Brewster Williams was a politician and judge from the U.S. State of Michigan.Williams was born in Pittsford, New York. He attended the common schools, received an academic education, and graduated from the State and National Law School, Ballston Spa, New York in 1851...
  
   (1877–1883)
• William P. Innes (1883–1885)
• William McPherson (1885–1887)
• John T. Rich (1887–1891)
• Charles R. Whitman (1891–1893)
• Simeon R. Billings (1893–1897)
• Sybrant Wesselius (1897–1899)
• Chase S. Osborn (1899–1903)
• Theron W. Atwood (1903–1907)
• Addison A. Keiser (1907)
• Cassius L. Glasgow (1907–1919)
• George W. Dickinson (1907–1911)
• James Scully (1907–1913)
• Lawton T. Hemans (1911–1916)
• Charles S. Cunningham (1913–1919)
• David H. Crowley (1916–1917)
• Addison A. Keiser (1917–1919)

External links

• GRAND TRUNK R. CO. OF CANADA v. MICHIGAN RAILROAD COMMISSION 231 U.S. 457, a case heard by the United States Supreme Court which challenged the constitutionality
  Constitutionality
  Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
  
  of the commission.