ORGANIZATION.

The above will indicate, in a slight degree, the nature of the work to be performed. It required the enlargement of the administrative force of the office; and as exact and scientific data. are necessary upon which to base the decisions of the Commission, it became necessary at once, as suggested above, to reorganize the engineering and statistical departments of the Commission, and employ sufficient force to perform all such work with efficiency and reasonable promptness.

ADMINISTRATION.

Secretary. The Secretary is charged with the general supervision over the administrative force of the office.

Assistant Secretary. The details of the office work under the enlarged jurisdiction of the Commission required the services of an assistant secretary, who also acts as law examiner from time to time.

Docket Clerk.-There is employed one docket clerk whose duty it is to keep the records of the cases filed from time to time, and to file correspondence and keep up the card indices to the records.

Stenographers.-Subd. e of sec. 13 of the Railroad Commission Law provides that a full and complete record of all proceedings before the Commission shall be taken in shorthand and transscribed copies of such record shall be furnished to the interested parties free of cost. This has compelled the employment of additional stenographers from time to time as occasion demanded. The force in this regard consists of two stenographers whose entire time is given to reporting hearings of this nature and making typewritten transcripts of their notes; two stenographers who each give one-half of their time to the same work at half pay. In addition to this two stenographers are employed in correspondence and other detail work of the office, making tabulations and writing decisions and, when not thus employed, performing the clerical work about the office.

It being the clear intent and expression of the law that typewritten copies of transcripts of proceedings must be furnished free of cost to interested parties, the Commission has strictly

enforced the rule prohibiting stenographers from selling copies of transcripts. In court proceedings the sale of such copies is the source of a not inconsiderable part of the income of such stenographers. The amount of work done by the Commission's reporters can be judged by the tabulations hereinbelow given. Another tabulation will show the output of the entire force of stenographers, which is based upon carefully kept records.

Railway and Other Tariffs.-In order that the tariffs filed by the railway and utility companies under the jurisdiction of this Commission might be in an available form, and to render them most useful to the Commission, a tariff department has been organized, which department handles, arranges and files the tariffs as they are received from the various companies. Here also are compiled the comparative tabulations of rates, used in the decisions of the Commission and also called for by inquiries of shippers and the users of the service of utility companies.

Office Hours. The Commission has followed the rule observed in other departments of the capitol in regard to office hours, which are from 9 a. m. to 12 m. and from 2 p. m. to 5 p. m. from Monday to Friday inclusive, and from 9 a. m. to 12 m. on Saturday, making six hours the standard day's work for all days except Saturday, and 33 hours the standard week's work; a system was instituted on May 1, under which the employes were required to register upon arrival at and departure from their work. These records have been carefully kept and compiled from May 1 and, excluding the time lost on account of illness and when employes were absent from the office for other good. reasons, the average week's work for all employes is in excess of the time required by the rules of the office.

THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.

I. HISTORICAL.

The employment of an engineering staff in the service of the state of Wisconsin had its origin in connection with the appraisal of the steam road properties of the state, under the provisions of the Ad Valorem Tax Law of 1903. Under the terms of that law the state board of assessment found it necessary to have a valuation made of the physical property of the steam roads of the

state, and an expert staff was organized for this purpose, following the general practice adopted in the Michigan railroad appraisals of 1900-1901. The staff for the 1903 Wisconsin appraisals was organized under three general heads or chiefs of departments, respectively, responsible to the chief engineer for the permanent way, the lands and the mechanical features. Some 35 experts and assistants were employed in all, with a total at any one time of about 25 persons.

After the completion of the initial valuation reports in 1904, it was found practicable to maintain the annual revisions with a force of only two persons assisting the engineer in charge. The staff was maintained upon this minimum basis until January, 1907, at which time the valuations of the physical property of the Milwaukee street railway system was undertaken for the joint purposes of the tax and railroad commissions. For a brief time during this interval, the engineer of the state board of assessment rendered service to the railroad commissioner of Wisconsin, by making an examination of the physical condition of the principal railroads of the state and submitting a report upon the same to the commissioner.

The act of 1905, creating the Railroad Commission, provided for the joint use of valuation and other data on file in the office of the state board of assessment. Due to this fact, and also to the need of engineering services in connection with the investigations carried on by the Railroad Commission, arrangements were made whereby a single engineering staff should serve the two state commissions. The formal arrangement providing for this relationship went into effect July 1, 1906, some six months previous to undertaking the valuation of the Milwaukee street railway properties above referred to.

With the resumption of active work on a large scale, the staff was again enlarged and also re-organized, to provide for the broadened scope of its work. The details of this organization are given elsewhere in this report (see division IV. of report).

With the completion of the work on the Milwaukee properties about July 1, 1907, the physical valuation of the remaining electric railway properties of the state was undertaken, and soon thereafter came the initial steps on the valuations of water, gas, electric and telephone properties under the provisions of the Public Utilities Law of 1907. The details of the valuations and

of the other engineering service rendered by the staff are described below. The organization of the staff which had been provided for the electric railway valuations, with but few minor changes and extensions, was found to meet the requirements of the Public Utilities Law.

11. WORK OF THE ENGINEERING STAFF UNDER THE PUBLIC UTILITIES LAW.

The scope of the work performed by the engineering staff under the direction of the Railroad Commission by the terms of the Public Utilities Law is indicated by the following general outline:

Office Staff: Engaged in the reduction of field notes, the compilation of valuation and other reports, and the systematic collection and filing of cost data and other records.

Civil Engineering Department: Engaged in the inspection and valuation of the following classes of physical property : lands; buildings and miscellaneous structures, such as gas hold ers, standpipes, reservoirs, dams, wells, machinery foundations, etc.; earthwork, paving, etc.; pipe distribution systems of water, gas and steam heating plants, including tunnels for same; office furniture and appliances; horses, wagons, etc.; tools, stores and supplies pertaining to above items; etc. Also investigations, in co-operation with other departments, with respect to the operating conditions of water works plants, including fire steam tests, improvements of water supply, tests of water meters, etc.

Mechanical Engineering Department: Engaged in the inspection and valuation of power plant machinery and appliances (exclusive of electrical features); equipment in steam and hot water heating plants (except street mains); piping in gas plants; shop tools and appliances; tools, stores and supplies pertaining to the above items; etc. Also investigations, in co-operation with other departments, with respect to operating conditions and improvements of service in water works and steam heating plants, power .stations, etc.

Electrical Engineering Department: Including the inspection and valuation of electrical machinery and appliances in power plants and elsewhere; electrical distribution systems and telephone systems, overhead and underground; tools, stores and supplies pertaining to the above items; etc. Also investigations

of telephone service and studies of operating conditions of electric lighting and power plants, with a view to improvements in the service rendered by same.

Gas Engineering Department: Including the inspection and valuation of machinery and appliances for the manufacture of gas; tools, stores and supplies pertaining to the same, etc. Also investigations of operating conditions, with a view to the improvement of service supplied by gas plants.

Gas and Electric Service Inspections: Including inspections and investigations of gas and electric service; tests and calibration of instruments used in service measurements; studies in connection with the establishment of standards of service; investigations for the electrolysis of water and gas mains; etc. Also investigations, in co-operation with other departments, with a view to suggest improvements in the operating conditions of gas and electric plants.

The authorization for the working organization provides for the staff members listed below:

Engineer in charge.

Office engineer.

Civil engineer inspector.
Chief mechanical inspector.
Chief electrical inspector.
Expert on light and heat.
Field civil engineer inspector.
Field mechanical inspector.
Field electrical inspectors.
Inspector of gas service.

Inspector of electrical service.

Assistant inspectors of gas and electrical service.
Assistant field inspectors.

Engineering computors.

Clerks and stenographers.

This staff was recruited for the most part under a temporary rule passed by the civil service commission in January, 1907, authorizing the formation of a staff of experts for the valuation of the Milwaukee street railway properties. A modified rule, passed in December, 1907, providing for a permanent engineering staff, to serve jointly under the direction of the railroad and tax commissions, is still in force. However, a few of the members of the present staff are engaged exclusively in the public utilities work, and these were appointed as experts under the provisions of the Public Utilities Law.