Louis Brandeis

“ It has never held itself out as equipped to carry coal to the West, or joint rates to Western markets. The 45 mines on its line which enjoy the blanket rates to the West have them as a natural result of certain trackage agreements entered into by the Virginian with the Chesapeake & Ohio for an entirely different purpose. ”

“ The decree of the District Court was not unanimous; but this fact alone would not justify a stay. For aught that appears, the District Court may have divided on some questions of fact, or on the construction of a document. [5] Under the circumstances appearing, the suspension of the order pending the appeal was unwarranted. The objection to the decree asserted by the government in No. 282 must therefore be sustained. ”

“ This is particularly true, where the case is in equity and the decree is entered upon a hearing involving complicated facts; for, being in equity, matters of fact as well as of law are reviewable, and the reviewable issues of law are rarely sharply defined by request for rulings. The failure to accompany the decree by an opinion may thus deprive litigants of the means of exercising a sound judgment on the propriety of an appeal ”

“ Whether a rate is unjustly discriminatory is a question on which the finding of the Commission, supported by substantial evidence, is conclusive, unless there was some irregularity in the proceeding or some error in the application of rules of law. ”

“ The language of section 266 which limits the power to grant the restraining order and the interlocutory injunction is substantially the same as that employed in the Act of October 22, 1913. The two statutes are in pari materia. It is under section 266 that proceedings to enjoin the enforcement of rate orders of state Railroad and Public Utility Commissions are commonly instituted. ”

“ Unless an opinion indicating the grounds of the decision is delivered, a defeated party may often be unable to determine whether the case presents a question worthy of consideration by the appellate court. ”

“ The argument is that these rates cannot be considered standards of reasonableness, because, as the Commission declared in the present controversy, they are 'the outcome of competitive strain and stress through long periods of development,' and, as it had stated in an earlier case, they have been made 'in practical, if not absolute, disregard of distance, and all transportation conditions that ordinarily are taken into consideration in the making of rates,' and 'are below the level at which maximum reasonable rates might be maintained.' Bituminous Coal to C. F. A. Territory, 46 Interst. ”

“ It was shown that a huge coal traffic moves from this territory, under like operating conditions, at the blanket rates which were voluntarily established by the other carriers to serve mines similarly located. This fact, and much else in the voluminous record, afford substantive evidence to support the finding that the existing rates are unreasonable, and that those which the order directs are reasonable. ”

“ Com. Com'n R. 659; Public Service Comm. v. A. T. & S. F. Ry. Co., 88 Interst. Com. Com'n R. 728; Caruso & Co. v. Chi. & Eastern Ry. Co., 102 Interst. Com Com'n R. 619.↑ On July 2, 1925, the Norfolk & Western applied to the Commission for an order under section 5, par. 2 (Comp. St. § 8567) , authorizing it to acquire the Virginian by lease. ”