Louis Brandeis

“ On the other hand, an erroneous decision in favor of the carrier, on any of those questions, may result in the issue of a certificate and the payment thereunder of money which should not, and but for the error would not, be made. Since authority to pass upon the meaning of the word 'deficit,' and upon each of the other questions of construction, is essential to the performance of the duty imposed upon the Commission, and Congress did not provide a method of review, we hold that it intended to leave the government, as well as the carrier, remediless whether the error be one of fact or of law. ”

“ It renders a judgment upon a full hearing. In deciding any one of the enumerated questions of construction, as in other rulings of law or findings of fact, the Commission may err. The victim of the error may be either the carrier or the government. Although the decision on the question of construction be favorable to the carrier, it may still fail to secure compensation, because there was, in fact, no deficit, whatever meaning be given to that word. ”

“ Moreover, if the word 'deficit' was misconstrued, the error was not due to inadvertence. Ever since the enactment of Transportation Act 1920, it had been recognized that the construction to be given the word 'deficit' presented a difficult and important question. In 1920, before hearing those interested, the Commission attributed to the word the meaning now contended for by the government. Protests against its then interpretation led the Commission to set, in 1921, a public hearing for the consideration solely of that question. [2] Counsel for many railroads participated and submitted briefs. ”