Felix Frankfurter

“ The length of the free time is fixed, broadly speaking, by determining the period reasonably necessary for the shipper to assemble or to remove his goods and for the ship to load or to discharge. When cargo is left on the wharf beyond the free time period, a charge called 'wharf demurrage or storage' is assessed. The Railroad Commission recommended free time periods shorter than was the practice of California and Oakland, and wharf demurrage charges greater in many instances than those collected by them. These recommendations California and Oakland rejected. ”

“ Appellants' objection is that while §§ 17 and 18 specifically give the Commission rate-making power over common carriers by water, [4] no such power is given over those who like California and Oakland, are not common carriers by water. We fully agree that no rate-making power such as the Commission has been given over water carriers is conferred over other persons subject to the Shipping Act. But the order of the Commission, though it pertains to demurrage charges, is not an exercise of conventional rate-making. ”

“ California and Oakland furnished precisely the facilities subject to regulation under the Act, and with so large a portion of the nation's dock facilities, as Congress knew (53 Cong.Rec. 8276) , owned or controlled by public instrumentalities, it would have defeated the very purpose for which Congress framed the scheme for regulating waterfront terminals to exempt those operated by governmental agencies. We need not rest on inference to avoid a construction that would have such dislocating consequences. ”

“ In thus providing facilities for waterborne traffic, Oakland and California have for many years competed with privately owned terminals in San Francisco Bay. Cut-throat competition ensued, with the inevitable chaos following abnormally low rates. In an attempt to remedy the situation, the California Railroad Commission investigated the operations of terminals in San Francisco Bay, and, more particularly pertinent for present purposes, the prevalent discrimination among users of the terminal services. ”

“ The Commission found that there was a marked lack of uniformity in the free time periods allowed by the various terminals, and that to the extent that appellants' free time allowances were greater than those recommended by the Railroad Commission they were unreasonable and led to discrimination against those persons who did not and could not use extended free time. ”

“ And 'person' 'includes corporations, partnerships, and associations * * *.' We need not waste time on useless generalities about statutory construction in order to conclude that entities other than technical corporations, partnerships and associations are 'included' among the 'persons' to whom the Shipping Act applies if its plain purposes preclude their exclusion. ”

“ It speaks for itself, and I think the court ought not to permit the use of a prohibition against practices to be availed of to write additional provisions into the section dealing with rates and charges. ”

“ Attempted compliance with that order led to conflict, and the Commission found it necessary to undertake new proceedings and to issue a new, more definite order.↑ The following are the rate provisions in §§ 17 and 18. Section 17: 'That no common carrier by water in foreign commerce shall demand, charge, or collect any rate, fare, or charge which is unjustly discriminatory between shippers or ports, or unjustly prejudicial to exporters of the United States as compared with their foreign competitors. ”