William O. Douglas

“ Appellant's chief objection to that limitation of his rights under the 'grandfather' clause is that the Commission has restricted the shippers or types of shippers for whom he may haul the specified commodities. His argument comes down to this: once the territory which he may serve and the commodities which he may haul have been determined, he should be allowed to haul these commodities for any one he chooses within those territorial limits. In the present case appellant hauled under contract miscellaneous supplies for Swift & Co. such as glue, paper, barrels, soap, bolts, thermometers, etc. ”

“ An accurate description of the 'business' of a particular contract carrier and the 'scope' of the enterprise may require more than a statement of the territory served and the commodities hauled. An accurate definition frequently can be made only in terms of the type or class of shippers served. ”

“ And § 209 (b) provides that the Commission 'shall specify in the permit the business of the contract carrier covered thereby and the scope thereof.' [2]
The Commission found that appellant was not a common carrier of general commodities but a contract carrier [3] of specified commodities. It found in that connection that on and after July 1, 1935, appellant had been 'in bona fide operation as a contract carrier' by motor vehicle 'under individual contracts' with persons who 'operate food canneries or meat-packing businesses, (a) of canned foods from Blue Island, Ill., to St. ”