Hugo Black

“ Is it even economically advantageous to give governmental sanction to color television at the first practicable moment, or will it not in fact serve as an added drain on raw materials for which the national security has more exigent needs?
Finally, we are told that the Commission's determination as to the likely prospect of early attainment of compatibility is a matter within its competence and not subject to court review. But prophecy of technological feasibility is hardly in the domain of expertness so long as scientific the technological barriers do not make the prospect fanciful. ”

“ The fact that adjustments are required before a CBS color broadcast can be received in black and white on existing sets makes this system 'incompatible' with the millions of television receivers now in the hands of the public.
There is no doubt that a 'compatible' color television system would be desirable. Recognition of this fact seems to be the controlling reason why the Commission did not long ago approve the 'incompatible' CBS system. In the past, it has postponed adoption of standards with the hope that a satisfactory 'compatible' color television system would be developed. ”

“ Indiscriminate use of the radio denies him the opportunities for reflection and for satisfying those needs of withdrawal of which silent prayer is only one manifestation. It is an uncritical assumption that every form of reporting or communication is equally adaptable to every situation. ”

“ Doubtless, television may find a place among the devices of education; but much long-headed thought and patient experimentation are demanded lest uncritical use may lead to hasty jettisoning of hard-won gains of civilization. ”

“ Experience has made it axiomatic to eschew dogmatism in predicting the impossibility of important developments in the realms of science and technology. Especially when the incentive is great, invention can rapidly upset prevailing opinions of feasibility. ”

“ The Commission's special familiarity with the problems involved in adopting standards for color television is amply attested by the record. It has determined after hearing evidence on all sides that the CBS system will provide the public with color of good quality and that television viewers should be given an opportunity to receive it if they so desire. [11] This determination certainly cannot be held capricious. It is true that the choice between adopting standards now or at a later date was not free from difficulties. ”

“ But once those standards are fixed, the incentive for improvement is relaxed . It is obvious that the money spent by the public to adapt and convert the millions of sets now in use may well make the Commission reluctant to sanction new and better standards for color pictures if those standards would outmode receiving sets adapted to the system already in use. And even if the Commission is willing to adopt a second, inconsistent set of color television standards sometime in the future, the result will be economic waste on a vast scale. ”

“ Judgment may be confused instead of enlightened. Feeling may be agitated, not guided; reason deflected, not enlisted. Reason-the deliberative process-has its own requirements, met by one method and frustrated by another. ”

“ In the radio field many theoretical systems exist and can be described on paper but it is a long step from this process to successful operation. There can be no assurance that a system is going to work until the apparatus has been built and has been tested. None of the new systems or improvements in systems meet these tests so as to warrant reopening of the hearing. * * * 'The Commission does not imply that there is no further room for experimentation. * * * Many of the results of such experimentation can undoubtedly be added without affecting existing receivers. ”

“ When a college head can seriously suggest, not by way of irony, that soon there will be no need of people being able to read-that illiteracy will be the saving of wasteful labor-one gets an idea of the possibilities of the new barbarism parading as scientific progress. ”

“ Man forgets at terrible cost that the environment in which an event is placed may powerfully determine its effect. Disclosure conveyed by the limitations and power of the camera does not convey the same things to the mind as disclosure made by the limitations and power of pen or voice. ”

“ The significance of these standards lies in the sanction of a system of 'incompatible' color television, that is, a system requiring a change in existing receivers for the reception of black and white as well as colored pictures. The system sanctioned by the Commission's order will require the addition of an appropriate gadget to the millions of outstanding receiving sets at a variously estimated, but in any event substantial, cost. ”

“ It is the fact that the order originates color television, with far-reaching implications to the public interest.
The assumption underlying our system of regulation is that the national interest will be furthered by the fullest possible use of competition. At some point, of course, the Commission must fix standards limiting competition. ”

“ We sustain the Commissioner's power to reject this position and hold valid the challenged order, buttressed as it is by the District Court's approval. To explain our conclusion it is unnecessary to repeat the detailed statement of facts made in the majority and minority opinions of the Commission and District Court. ”

“ In any event, this Court is not without experience in understanding the nature of such complicated issues. We have had occasion before to consider complex scientific matters. Telephone Cases, (Dolbear v. American Bell Telephone Co.) , 126 U.S. 1, 8 S.Ct. 778, 31 L.Ed. 863; McCormick v. Whitmer, 129 U.S. 1, 9 S.Ct. 213, 32 L.Ed. 593 (harvester) ; Corona Cord Tire Co. v. Dovan Chemical Corp., 276 U.S. 358, 48 S.Ct. 380, 72 L.Ed. 610 (improvement in vulcanization of rubber) ”