Harlan F. Stone

“ The practice which is now held to be free from the charge of unlawful discrimination under § 2 is the practice of loading cotton free for certain shippers who ship to one destination and exacting a loading charge from others who ship from the same points but to a different destination. That is to say, free loading of cotton is allowed shippers who ship cotton from Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf ports; a loading charge [7] is required from those who ship cotton from the identical places in Oklahoma to the Southeast. ”

“ It has long been established by our decisions that differences in competitive conditions may justify a relatively lower line-haul charge over one line than another, and that it is for the Commission, not the courts, to say whether those differences are sufficient to show that a difference in rates established to meet those conditions is not an unjust discrimination or otherwise unlawful. ”

“ Despite the reduction in cost to shippers produced by the adoption of these schedules, truck competition continued to be a serious problem. In 1939 carriers of cotton from Texas points effected a further rate reduction by eliminating the loading charge. The tariffs here under consideration, filed by appellees to be effective on June 11, 1941, similarly eliminate the loading charge for cotton moving from compress points in Oklahoma to certain ports on the Gulf of Mexico, [2] while retaining it on cotton moving to the Southeast. ”

“ It found that truck competition had continued to increase during 1940, so as to justify appropriate efforts by the carriers to meet such competition; [3] that the loading charge caused annoyance to shippers; that the cost of performing the loading service was in most cases nominal and its performance by the carrier would result in loading to maximum capacity, so that elimination of the charge was a suitable method of achieving a needed reduction in rates which were already low ”

“ We have considered appellant's attack on the sufficiency of the evidence to support the Commission's findings, and conclude, as did the court below, that they are adequately supported by substantial evidence of record. ”

“ The service of loading, like the transit service in the Birkett Mills case, is identical whether the property is going south or southeast, whether its journey is long or short, whether it is transported by one carrier or another. ”

“ United States, supra; Merchants' Warehouse Co. v. United sTates, supra. The distinction between those cases and this is that here the difference in the service charge is made between through shippers over different routes, and is based on relevant differences in the 'circumstances and conditions' of the total transportation services rendered by the carriers. It was within the competence of the Commission to find that this involved no unjust discrimination. ”

“ Its findings on that issue are entitled to great weight (Seaboard Air Line R. Co. v. United States, supra) and will be given the respect which expert judgment on the intricacies of rate structures deserves. But disregard of the statutory standards is another matter. Central R. Co. v. United States, supra. ”