William O. Douglas

“ The records show that the privilege of obtaining the benefit of rates on land-grant routes is a valuable privilege indeed. [6] We cannot assume that the United States intended to surrender any of those benefits by granting the equalizing carriers more favorable rates than those to which it was lawfully entitled on the land-grant routes, unless the purpose to do so was plainly expressed. It must be remembered that the equalization agreement was a rate-making agreement. Its object was to divert shipments to the non-land-grant route. ”

“ But as pointed out in Public Aids to Transportation, supra, p. 42, 'The land-grant railroads are parties to these agreements for the reason that, in many instances, a non-aided portion of a land-grant railroad competes with a reduced-rate portion of another land-grant railroad.'↑ These consisted of 147 shipments of livestock by the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation from midwestern points to southeastern points ”