Hugo Black

“ It must not be forgotten, however, that the immediate result of permitting the abandonment itself is a private benefit for the railroad in the form of savings realized by discontinuing uneconomic services. The justification lies in the benefit to the transportation system which the Commission concluded the abandonment would produce. There is nothing in the Act to prevent the Commission from taking action in furtherance of the 'public convenience and necessity' merely because the total impact of that action will include benefits to private persons, either carriers or employees. ”

“ And if national interests are to be considered in connection with an abandonment, there is nothing in the Act to indicate that the national interest in purely financial stability is to be determinative while the national interest in the stability of the labor supply available to the railroads is to be disregarded. On the contrary, the Lowden case recognizes that the unstabilizing effects of displacing labor without protection might be prejudicial to the orderly and efficient operation of the national railroad system. ”

“ They contended that if the Commission were to grant Pacific's application, it should do so only upon conditions designed to protect employees, and proposed that Pacific be required to provide certain specified benefits for employees who would be displaced or otherwise prejudiced by the abandonment. In support of this contention, they argued that many of Pacific's employees had devoted a large part of their lives to the service of the railroad and had acquired valuable rights of seniority in connection with their employment ”