ABSTRACT
Progressives concerned with utility reform relied on functional, contractual, and administrative arguments in their fight to use the power of government to force utility corporations to exercise economic and social responsibility. In several influential volumes on municipal government and franchise policies, Delos F. Wilcox cogently argued the public nature of utility services. The Merchants' Association, backed by several groups of angry women indignant over the abuses women experienced on the crowded transit facilities, recognized the weaknesses of the state railroad commission and the need for more effective public regulation. The fight over the public service commission bill revealed the limits of business support for reform. Introduced in March, the public service commission bill immediately created controversy. The commission was granted power to investigate upon complaint or on its own initiative the quality of service and the methods employed in the manufacture or distribution of gas and electricity.
