Two  important  amendments  have  been  made  in  the  law  of
regulation  of  California.  The  first  deals  with  the  valuation  by
the  Commission  of  public  utility  property  sought  to  be  condenmed
by  a  city  or  other  political  subdivision.  This  amendment  has
been  successfully  used  in  a  number  of  cases  where  cities  have
acquired  the  distribution  systems  of  electric  and  water  utilities
serving  the  municipalities.  The  second  amendment  is  of  a
more  fundamental  character,  and  very  significant  of  the  present
situation  in  the  regulation  of  interstate  railroad  rates.  Prior  to
1914,  the  California  Commission  had  no  jurisdiction  to  fix  the
rates  of  a  utility  for  service  rendered  within  the  limits  of  a  city.
This  part  of  the  rate  fixing  power  was  vested  in  the  local  authori-
ties. Endless  confusion  and  practical  obstruction  to  the  work
of  the  Commission  in  its  broader  field  was  the  result.  By  con-
stitutional amendment  therefore,  the  Commission  was  given  fhe
exclusive  power  to  fix  all  rates.  It  was  thus  made  possible  to
treat  large  utilites  as  a  unity.  Local  preferences  and  restric-
tions, imposed  at  the  expense  of  other  parts  of  a  system,  were
eliminated.  The  good  effect  of  this  amendment  and  the  sound
reason  behind  it  are  clearly  apparent.  It  would  appear  that  the
same  conditions,  with  a  similar  remedy,  applied  for  the  same
sound  reason,  have  been  recognized  in  the  regulation  of  inter-
state rates  or  railroads.
