George Sutherland

“ Section 17 (46 USCA § 816) prohibits any charge or rate unjustly discriminatory between shippers or ports, etc., and gives the Board authority to alter the same to the extent necessary to correct the discrimination or prejudice, and to order the carrier to discontinue. Section 22 (46 USCA § 821) authorizes any person to file with the Board a complaint, setting forth any violation of the act by a common carrier by water, and asking reparation for the injury. Copy of the complaint is to be furnished to the carrier, who is required to satisfy the complaint or answer it in writing. ”

“ Other means to accomplish the same end are alleged, such as giving rebates, spreading false rumors, and falsely stating that petitioner is about to discontinue its service; making use of their combined economic bargaining power to coerce various shippers, who are also producers of commodities used in large quantities by respondents, to enter into joint exclusive contracts with them; and threatening to blacklist forwarders and refuse to pay them joint brokerage fees unless they discontinue making, or advising shippers to make, shipments in petitioner's ships. ”

“ To hold otherwise would be to create the doubtful, and perhaps dangerous, precedent that a decision of the Board in respect of one agreement definitely establishes that the rule of that decision must, without more, be applied to all other agreements alleged to be of a similar character, although it may turn out upon investigation that the allegations are not warranted, or the facts and circumstances of and surrounding the transaction are so wholly different as to afford ground for a different result. ”

“ The tariff rate in numerous instances is as much as one hundred per cent. higher than the contract rate. The disproportionately wife spread of these differentials is wholly arbitrary and unreasonable. ”

“ The act is restrictive in its operation upon some of the activities of common carriers by water, and permissive in respect of others. Their business involves questions of an exceptional character, the solution of which may call for the exercise of a high degree of expert and technical knowledge. ”

“ The United States Navigation Company is a corporation operating ships in foreign commerce. It brought this suit in the federal District Court for the Southern district of New York to enjoin respondents from continuing an alleged combination and conspiracy in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, c. ”