George Sutherland

“ The state Supreme Court thus stated the necessity and character of the agent's duties:
'The business of steamship agents is an extensive business in New Orleans, as it is in every large seaport. As a separate or an independent business, it is a result of the development of the country's commerce with foreign nations and among the several states. In the early days, when time was not so much the object or subject of economy as it is to-day, every ship's captain, for his own ship, discharged the duties and rendered the services for which local steamship agents are employed nowadays. ”

“ It was held that the business of the agent constituted a method of securing passenger traffic for the company, and therefore (136 U.S. 109, 10 Sup. Ct. 882, 34 L. Ed. 391) the tax was one 'upon a means or an occupation of carrying on interstate commerce, pure and simple.' The only difference between that case and this is that there the agent was engaged in seeking interstate passenger business, while here the agent was engaged in seeking interstate and foreign freight business. ”

“ The demand was resisted on the ground that the tax was in contravention of the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States (article 1, § 8, cl. 3) , in that it was an interference with and tax upon interstate and foreign commerce. Defendant was regularly employed as agent for four steamship lines, under a contract fixing its compensation on the basis of commissions, calculated upon the gross amount of freight charges collected by it for each company. ”