FRANKFURTER, J., dissenting. 368 U.S. of the prior law as it sheds light on the "mischief" Congress sought to alleviate, and of the statute itself to see how closely Congress sought to define the balance of competing considerations it addressed. That investigation here reveals that Congress conferred the power on the Commission to decide as it has done in this case. None of the precedents is to the contrary; each points to this conclusion. See United States v. Pierce Auto Lines, 327 U. S. 515, 535–536 (not for courts to gauge public interest; so long as requisite findings are made and supported by evidence, the resolution of relevant factors is for the Commission); Bass v. United States, 163 F. Supp. 1, 4 (W. D. Va. 1958), aff'd per curiam, 358 U. S. 333 (same); cf. United States v. Detroit & Cleveland Nav. Co., 326 U. S. 236, 240-241. In Schaffer Transp. Co. v. United States, 355 U. S. 83, 86 n. 3, 90, the Court deliberately refrained from guiding the Commission's discretion in evaluating the relative advantages of competing carriers.13 13 Nor is the holding in the Schaffer case of any aid to the appellees. The Court held that a common-carrier applicant could not be denied a certificate on the grounds of existing rail service, without a finding whether the "inherent advantages" of motor transport should warrant the grant. Such a finding was thought necessary to conform to the dictates of the National Transportation Policy, the Court declaring that: "To reject a motor carrier's application on the bare conclusion that existing rail service can move the available traffic, without regard to the inherent advantages of the proposed service, would give one mode of transportation unwarranted protection from competition from others." 355 U. S., at 90-91. On 91-92, the Court recognized that these considerations did not necessarily pertain to applications opposed by other motor carriers. The Commission has held in these proceedings that motor common and contract carriers are not different "modes" of transportation, 79 M. C. C., at 710, and its expert conclusion is entitled to great weight. Indeed, the whole history of motor carrier regulation negates any suggestion that Congress has been interested in preserving competition between the different classes of motor carriers. 81 FRANKFURTER, J., dissenting. Determinations by the Commission which Congress has committed to its judgment must be judicially respected because such exercises of administrative discretion are beyond the competence or jurisdiction of courts. Their power of review is confined to correction of Commission action that transcends the authority given it by Congress, including of course disregard by the Commission of procedural proprieties resulting in arbitrary use of its powers. In the present case, no claim can be made that the Commission's findings are unsupported by substantial evidence. United States v. Pan American Corp., 304 U. S. 156, 158; cf. Universal Camera Corp. v. Labor Board, 340 U. S. 474; see Administrative Procedure Act, § 10 (e), 60 Stat. 237, 243 (1946), 5 U. S. C. § 1009 (e). The Commission's detailed report negatives this, as it would a claim that the Commission neglected to make requisite findings. Of course the provisions of the National Transportation Policy must be applied by the Commission to each application, see Schaffer Transp. Co. v. United States, 355 U. S. 83, 88, but they "represent, at best, a compromise between stability and flexibility of industry conditions, each alleged to be in the national interest, and we can only look to see if the Commission has applied its familiarity with transportation problems to these conflicting considerations." American Trucking Assns. v. United States, 344 U. S. 298, 314; see Interstate Commerce Commission v. Parker, 326 U. S. 60, 66. The Commission's action here certainly does not fall short of that standard. See 79 M. C. C., at 705–706. An order of the Commission cannot stand, it is true, if we cannot tell what has been decided or if it leaves unclear the basis for its conclusions. United States v. Chicago, M., St. P. & P. R. Co., 294 U. S. 499, 510–511. Findings are no doubt judicially more persuasive the more felicitously they are formulated and the less they require Opinion of FRANKFURTER, J. 368 U.S. extraction from a diffuse report. But the Commission is not under statutory duty to set forth its findings in serried It is the Court's duty to sustain the Commission's findings if, as here, there is no real difficulty in determining what was decided and on what grounds. array. It is not the Court's function to impose our standards of lucidity or elegance in exposition upon the Commission. And we should take due warning from the consequences of our decision in City of Yonkers v. United States, 320 U. S. 685, of what may follow from exacting overnice requirements of the I. C. C. There the Commission had made no explicit finding that an electric interurban railway was an integral part of a steam railroad system as it had to be before the Commission could allow it to suspend its operations. The facts were so clearly spread upon the record that the point was not argued until one of the parties raised it on appeal. This Court remanded the case for an express finding. The Commission took some more evidence and in due course it entered the inevitable finding. The order was attacked again in the District Court, affirmed again after another lengthy opinion, and eventually affirmed per curiam, 323 U. S. 675. That wasteful charade ought not to be repeated here. I would reverse and allow the Commission's order to stand. MR. JUSTICE FRANKFURTER, whom MR. JUSTICE HARLAN and MR. JUSTICE STEWART join, concurring in part. * These are appeals from the judgment of a District Court setting aside an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission denying an application for a contract-carrier permit. The application sought authority to transport canned goods under continuing contracts with three *[This opinion applies only to No. 49, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. Co. v. Reddish, No. 53, Interstate Commerce Commission v. Reddish, and No. 54, Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., v. Reddish.] 81 Opinion of FRANKFURTER, J. Arkansas canning companies to points in 33 States and to return from those points with canned goods and canning materials such as cans, lids, and corrugated boxes. It was opposed by two groups of railroads, one motor contract carrier and 25 motor common carriers, authorized to undertake transportation in the territory proposed. The trial examiner's recitation of facts, as adopted by the Commission, may be briefly summarized. Each of the supporting shippers does a substantial volume of business with small-lot purchasers. These customers maintain low inventories, necessitating a transportation service capable of effecting multiple pickups and deliveries on short notice. Each shipper has engaged in private carriage for this purpose, sending only single-lot full truckloads by common carrier. The Steele Canning Company's private equipment was furnished in part through a lease of the applicant's trucks. When a strike of its drivers occurred, it sought to contract with the applicant for its independent services. The other shippers, who before the strike sold much of their goods through Steele, now wish to expand their sales to individual customers and desire the same type of service from the applicant. Under its temporary authority, the applicant has been offering several stops in transit at the truckload rate, and assessing no stop-in-transit charge, thus rendering in effect a less-than-truckload service at truckload rates. Existing motor carriers possess the authority and equipment to provide service to a substantial number of the points involved, either directly or by joint-line operations. Although few have previously participated in this particular transportation, each displays a desire to obtain the traffic; so do the protesting railroads, which have recently experienced a sharp decline in canned-goods tonnage. The motor carriers are willing and able to provide multiple pickups and deliveries where authorized. Opinion of FRANKFURTER, J. 368 U.S. extraction from a diffuse report. But the Commission is not under statutory duty to set forth its findings in serried array. It is the Court's duty to sustain the Commission's findings if, as here, there is no real difficulty in determining what was decided and on what grounds. It is not the Court's function to impose our standards of lucidity or elegance in exposition upon the Commission. And we should take due warning from the consequences of our decision in City of Yonkers v. United States, 320 U. S. 685, of what may follow from exacting overnice requirements of the I. C. C. There the Commission had made no explicit finding that an electric interurban railway was an integral part of a steam railroad system as it had to be before the Commission could allow it to suspend its operations. The facts were so clearly spread upon the record that the point was not argued until one of the parties raised it on appeal. This Court remanded the case for an express finding. The Commission took some more evidence and in due course it entered the inevitable finding. The order was attacked again in the District Court, affirmed again after another lengthy opinion, and eventually affirmed per curiam, 323 U. S. 675. That wasteful charade ought not to be repeated here. I would reverse and allow the Commission's order to stand. MR. JUSTICE FRANKFURTER, whom MR. JUSTICE HARLAN and MR. JUSTICE STEWART join, concurring in part. * These are appeals from the judgment of a District Court setting aside an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission denying an application for a contract-carrier permit. The application sought authority to transport canned goods under continuing contracts with three *[This opinion applies only to No. 49, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. Co. v. Reddish, No. 53, Interstate Commerce Commission v. Reddish, and No. 54, Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., v. Reddish.] |