How to find material in Series 1254
A number of tools facilitate access to the general correspondence. Some were prepared by the agency and some were prepared in the Archives. Unfortunately, none provide absolute precision, and researchers should be prepared to use a variety of access points and approaches in order to locate relevant material.
Because the indexes (Series 1252 and 1254) produced by the agency are arranged in overlapping chronological spans, researchers should first determine the time frame of their search. They should also understand the basic structure of the commissions' records.
Prior to 1905, the Railroad Commission correspondence was arranged by year and alphabetically thereunder. The only finding aid for these years is the container list which follows.
About 1905 the Railroad Commission developed a system which assigned a numerical code to each correspondence file. Some files (apparently the most voluminous) were later assigned new codes by the Railroad Commission. In this system topical and chronological subdivisions of individual codes were designated by decimal numbers. Decimal subdivisions were made only for the most extensively documented categories.
In 1931 the newly-created Public Service Commission set up a filing system related to one used for the Railroad Commission files it inherited. In the PSC files all correspondence codes were preceded by the letter C. This letter distinguished correspondence from case files which were denoted by letter codes such as R, U, and MC. In 1951 another scheme assigned the letter D to all correspondence files, and finally in 1962 the agency began its E correspondence files. Unfortunately, the code numbers were inconsistently assigned; for example, one code number might relate to the Wisconsin Attorney General in the C Files but a different number might be used for that same office in the D Files.
The primary form of access to all of the correspondence are two card indexes. In addition, the C and D correspondence is accessed by “point sheets” which list the subjects of the decimal subdivisions of each code number. The point sheets are less useful as access points because they are not a compact list of file names. (The point sheets for the C files, for example, are three archives boxes of paper.) The only such handy list of codes pertains to the E files. (See below for further discussion.) Nevertheless, because access to the C and D correspondence is affected by their offsite location, the point sheets (which are housed as part of this series) may help some researchers to determine if particular files will be useful.
The card index covering the earliest records (pre 1914) is Series 1252. The closing date for the index is unknown. This index is only available on microfilm, and it is described in a separately filed finding aid.
Correspondence from 1914 to 1919 is accessed by the first section of the cards in Series 1255 (Drawers 1-11). This index is also described in greater detail in a separately filed finding aid. Because few entries in Series 1255 and 1252 are dated, the degree of chronological overlap is unknown. Clearly, researchers concerned with the pre-1914 period of Railroad Commission history must use Series 1252 and most researchers should benefit from consulting both.
The primary points of access in Series 1252 are personal, corporate, and organizational names. To examine topics such as trends in the rates for the shipment of agricultural products, for example, researchers should first identify the names of companies and officials who might be involved. Cross references under some companies listed in the index gather the names of individual officials whose files can also be searched. There are also special index cards for localities, and the index also provides information about any related legal cases. (These records are catalogued in other series).
Access to administrative topics is not well covered by Series 1252, however. As a result, the container list which follows this summary indicates those files (for example “circular letters” or “multigraph copies”). This listing covers only boxes 20-85.
Coverage of the 1914-1919 period of Railroad Commission history in Series 1255 is hampered by the fact that several sections of the card index is missing. Section 2 of Series 1255 (Drawers 12-18) covers the Railroad Commission from 1919 to 1931.
Unfortunately, the subdivisions in the PSC index, which began in 1931, do not correspond to the C, D, and E divisions in that agency's correspondence. Once researchers have identified the time period in PSC history in which they are interested, they will probably need to search several portions of the Series 1255 index. These divisions are visually depicted in the finding aid to Series 1255. Because the most recent PSC correspondence, the E files, is poorly indexed by Series 1255, the Archives has prepared a separate list of titles in folder order, as well as an alphabetical sort by titles. These lists are not yet available online but are filed with the registers in the Archives Division with the paper copy of this finding aid.
