Griffin Smith

“ He is merely required to take gas in sufficient quantities to supply the individual requirements of his distribution plant or industrial plant, as the case may be. If any customer's plant happens to be shut down and is not operating, no gas is delivered to him. These contracts further provide that domestic customers, hospitals, schools and such customers as involve the element of human comfort shall be given preference to respondent's gas supply. ”

“ Irrespective of the pressure at which gas is metered and delivered to the city gateway or consumers, it is billed at a base pressure of 8 ounces above a standard of 14.4 pounds atmospheric pressure. The many rural domestic customers served directly from the pipe line are served under schedules and at the rates prevailing for the same class of consumers served by the nearest city or town distribution plant, and ordinarily the city or town distribution plant employees read the meters and make and collect the bills for the gas consumed by these rural customers. ”

“ The general rule is that as long as an article imported remains in the hands of the importer in the original and unbroken package in which it was imported, it is protected by the commerce clause of the Constitution from interference of state laws, and it is only when the original package has been sold by the importer or has been broken by him, or has otherwise become mixed with the common mass of property in the state, that it becomes subject to state legislation. ”

“ Gas in large quantities is turned into the transportation system in Louisiana. There are 1,000 miles of these mains in Arkansas. More than fifty per cent. of the gas supplied goes to customers served under individual contracts. An initial force of from 75 to 170 pounds per square inch must be exerted to set in motion and maintain the primary supply. This pressure cannot be exerted in a practical manner at the initial point of entry in Louisiana, and "booster" stations have been built along the route to keep the pressure constant, or high enough to meet delivery specifications. ”

“ The rules of physics and of common sense tell us that the quantity thus ascertained and started on its journey is not necessarily the same gas appellee will bill to a designated customer under a specific contract, nor is there any process known to science by which its identity can be known. ”

“ But through most of them runs the general principle promulgated by Chief Justice TAFT, whose theory it was that "Determination of the character of commerce is a matter of weighing the whole group of facts in respect to it. * * * Commerce among the states is not a technical legal conception, but a practical one drawn from the course of business." ”

“ The gas corporation owned and operated an interstate transmission line extending from the gas fields of Northern Louisiana to Atlanta, and Columbus, in Georgia. Gas purchased by the corporation in Louisiana and Mississippi was transported through its line into Alabama, where supplies were withdrawn from the interstate line and delivered to customers, there having been four such customers in Alabama. Three of these customers were doing an exclusive intrastate business in supplying public utilities. The fourth customer was the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railway Company. ”

“ In these circumstances, transportation of gas theoretically "scheduled" to reach a point in Southern Arkansas one, two, three or four hours after entering the main, would be delayed indefinitely. According to acknowledged principles this hypothetical supply first pumped into the mains in anticipation of continued demands in Little Rock might never reach its destination, but on the contrary would remain in the storage facilities to be gradually consumed along the line.
Decisions of state and federal courts are called to our attention, and they Are urged as authority for a desired construction. ”

“ Among decisions relied upon by appellee is Pennsylvania Gas Co. v. Public Service Comm., 225 N.Y. 397, 122 N.E. 260. The opinion was written by Mr. Justice CORDOZO, then Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of New York, now Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Justice CORDOZO there said: "The rule of the 'original package' is not an ultimate principle. It is an illustration of a principle. It assumes transmission in packages, and then supplies a test of the unity of the transaction. If other forms of transmission are employed, there is need of other tests." ”

“ Requirements of customers are estimated approximately twenty-four hours in advance, and a "dispatcher" is employed for the purpose of procuring information from hour to hour with respect to what the needs may be. ”

“ These consist of 318 rural consumers, 54 of reSpondent's city distribution plants, and the pipe line customers consisting of 40 industrial consumers, 2 city distribution plants owned by corporations affiliated with the respondent and one independently owned city plant. ”