Federal Electric Railways Commission

The Federal Electric Railways Commission was a United States agency established by President Woodrow Wilson in June 1919.

The commission was charged with investigating the financial problems of the streetcar and interurban railway industry in the United States.

Local government experts Delos F. Wilcox and Milo R. Maltbie analyzed the data obtained and served as advisors to the commissioners.

I advised the Commission that the most important thing to be done at the present time is frankly to recognize the necessity of public ownership and operation as an ultimate policy and to concentrate eflfort upon plans for the removal of obstacles in its way and for the assurance of its success when undertaken...

Many financially weak interurbans did not survive the prosperous 1920s, and most others went bankrupt during the Great Depression, along with many streetcar systems.