Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of eighteen bound volumes containing printed "reports of decisions" issued by the Public Service Commission between 1907 and 1920.

Nine of the volumes in the series pertain to decisions rendered by the first district commissioners (1907-1918) and the other nine contain decisions issued by the second district (1907-1920). The reports contain transcripts of opinions and decisions issued by the two district commissions on transportation regulatory hearings held by them. The hearings deal with various issues such as rights of companies to construct extensions, transportation rates, accidents, filing of reports, passenger accommodations and safety, elimination of grade crossings, applications to issue stock, alterations of train schedules, and extensions of companies' zones of service.

The format and contents of the two district commissions' reports differ. The reports of the first district contain several detailed indexes and tables. These include table of cases reported, table of orders quoted from, table of cases cited from, table of statutes cited, companies index, localities index, table of determinations by the commission passed upon by courts, and a table of New York Statutes affecting public utilities. In addition, the volumes contain a copy of the Public Service Commissions Law and rules of practice of the commission for the first district.