diff --git a/src/network/message.rs b/src/network/message.rs
index cb4674be..fc421476 100644
--- a/src/network/message.rs
+++ b/src/network/message.rs
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ use consensus::encode::MAX_VEC_SIZE;
 
 /// Serializer for command string
 #[derive(PartialEq, Eq, Clone, Debug)]
-pub struct CommandString(pub Cow<'static, str>);
+pub struct CommandString(Cow<'static, str>);
 
 impl fmt::Display for CommandString {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ impl From<String> for CommandString {
     }
 }
 
+impl AsRef<str> for CommandString {
+    fn as_ref(&self) -> &str {
+        self.0.as_ref()
+    }
+}
+
 impl Encodable for CommandString {
     #[inline]
     fn consensus_encode<S: io::Write>(