James Clark McReynolds

“ In response appellant "set forth that the sale and delivery of gas from its Texas and Louisiana fields to its pipe line and industrial customers in Arkansas constitute interstate commerce, and that in making such sales and deliveries it was and is not acting as a public utility, and that accordingly the sale and delivery of said gas and the rates, schedules and charges upon which the same is delivered and sold were and are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Department [p63] and are beyond its power to regulate, and that Order No. 13 is not legally applicable to said business." ”

“ Appellant, a Delaware corporation, lawfully purchases and produces natural gas in Texas and Louisiana and thereafter transports and delivers it through pipe lines to selected industries and public utility distributing corporations—so-called "pipe line customers"—at points in Arkansas. These deliveries are made under contracts entered into at Shreveport, Louisiana, and are effected by tapping a main pipe line or through connecting spurs. They amount annually to some eight billion cubic feet. ”

“ After a hearing upon the citation and response and much evidence, April 30, 1936, the Department ordered compliance with the general order. The matter then went for review to the circuit court, Pulaski county, and it held the challenged order invalid. ”