Interstate Commerce Act

“ After many requests on my part the Congress passed a Fair Labor Standards Act, commonly called the Wages and Hours Bill. That act— applying to products in interstate commerce—ends child labor, sets a floor below wages and a ceiling over hours of labor.
Except perhaps for the Social Security Act, it is the most far- reaching, the most far-sighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted here or in any other country. Without question it starts us toward a better standard of living and increases purchasing power to buy the products of farm and factory. ”

“ Congress is forbidden to lay any tax or duty on articles exported from any state, and while that has been applied to exports to a foreign country, it seems to me that it was plainly intended to apply to interstate exportation as well; Congress is forbidden to give preference by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; and duties, imposts, and excises must be uniform throughout the United States. ”

“ Such control over intrastate commerce exists because it is a necessary incident of freeing interstate commerce from burdens, obstructions, or discrimination. It has been exerted wherever Congress deemed that the state's power to regulate and promote intrastate commerce is exercised in such a way as to prejudice the interstate. ”

“ It follows that sales for future delivery on the Board of Trade are not in and of themselves interstate commerce. They cannot come within the regulatory power of Congress as such, unless they are regarded by Congress, from the evidence before it, as directly interfering with interstate commerce so as to be an obstruction or a burden thereon. ”

“ If an agreement of that nature, while apt and proper for the purpose thus intended, should possibly, though only indirectly and unintentionally, affect interstate trade or commerce, in that event we think the agreement would be good. Otherwise, there is scarcely any agreement among men which has interstate or foreign commerce for its subject that may not remotely be said to in some obscure way affect that commerce, and be void. ”

“ So far as the jurisdiction of the Commission is concerned, it is the existence of that injury to interstate commerce not the interstate or intrastate character of the conduct causing the injury which is important. An unfair method of competition is 'in' interstate commerce not only when it has an interstate origin but also when it has a direct interstate impact. Respondent is 'using' unfair methods of competition 'in' interstate commerce when the direct effect of its conduct is to burden, stifle, or impair that commerce. ”

“ The interstate commerce clause did not withdraw from the states the power to legislate with respect to their local concerns, even though such legislation may indirectly and incidentally affect interstate commerce and persons engaged in it. ”

“ Such regulations are deemed to be reasonable and to affect interstate commerce only incidentally and indirectly. But it is well settled that a state has no power to fetter the right to carry on interstate commerce within its borders by the imposition of conditions or regulations which are unnecessary and pass beyond the bounds of what is reasonable and suitable for the proper exercise of its powers in the field that belongs to it. ”

“ If upheld, the doctrine would deprive a citizen of one state of his right to order merchandise from another state at the risk of the seller as to delivery. It would prevent the citizen of one state from shipping into another unless he assumed the risk; it would subject contracts made by common carriers, and valid by the laws of the state where made, to the laws of another state; and it would remove from the protection of the interstate commerce clause all goods on consignment upon any condition as to delivery, express or implied. ”

“ During this period the Congress will have an opportunity to make similar permanent provisions and regulations with regard to all goods destined for interstate commerce and to exclude them from interstate shipment, if the requirements of the law are not compiled with. Some such regulation is imperatively necessary. The abuses that have grown up in the manipulation of prices by the withholding of foodstuffs and other necessaries of life cannot otherwise be effectively prevented. ”

“ Congress was not unaware that [p118] most manufacturing businesses shipping their product in interstate commerce make it in their shops without reference to its ultimate destination, and then, after manufacture, select some of it for shipment interstate and some intrastate, according to the daily demands of their business, and that it would be practically impossible, without disrupting manufacturing businesses, to restrict the prohibited kind of production to the particular pieces of lumber, cloth, furniture or the like which later move in interstate, rather than intrastate, commerce. ”

“ I think Congress could not and did not intend to exert its granted power over interstate commerce upon what in practice and common understanding is purely local activity, on the pretext that everything everybody does is a contributing cause to the existence of commerce between the states, and in that sense necessary to its existence. ”

“ These dicta and decisions seem to support the view that a State law operating upon foreign or interstate commerce, but passed to accomplish some object or aim within the well-recognized power of the State, and without any intention of regulating foreign or interstate commerce, will, nevertheless, be held to be a regulation of such commerce, if, in the opinion of the Court, the law affects foreign or interstate commerce to a greater degree than is necessary for the accomplishment of the object aimed at. ”