William O. Douglas

“ In the regulation of broadcasting, Congress moved outside the framework of protected property rights. See Federal Communications Commission v. Sanders Bros. Radio Station, 309 U.S. 470, 642, 60 S.Ct. 693, 84 L.Ed. 869, 1037. Congress could have retained for itself the granting or denial of the use of the air for broadcasting purposes, and it could have granted individual licenses by individual enactments as in the past it gave river and harbor rights in individuals. Instead of making such a crude use of its Constitutional powers, Congress, by the Communications Act of 1934, 48 Stat. ”

“ We must assume that an agency which Congress has trusted discharges its trust. On the record before us it must be accepted that the Commission before having taken action carefully tested, according to its established practice, the claims both of Fetzer and of petitioner by the touchstone of public interest. See Attorney General's Committee on Administrative Procedure, Monograph No. 3, The Federal Communications Commission (1940) 8 et seq. On the basis of such inquiry, it found that the Fetzer application was clearly in the public interest ”

“ The Commission concedes that 'these applications are actually exclusive.' The applications are for a facility which can be granted to only one. Since the facility has been granted to Fetzer, the hearing accorded petitioner concerns a license facility no longer available for a grant unless the earlier grant is recalled. A hearing designed as one for an available frequency becomes by the Commission's action in substance one for the revocation or modification of an outstanding license. ”

“ Berks Broadcasting Company (WEEU) , Reading, Pennsylvania, 8 F.C.C. 427; The Evening News Association (WWJ) , Detroit, Michigan, 8 F.C.C. 552; Merced Broadcasting Company (KYOS) , Merced, California, 9 F.C.C. 118, 120. ”