Pacific Westbound Conference v. United States

For many years certain of the steamship lines of the United States, to further their interests, and with statutory blessing, 1 have associated themselves together in conferences. The petitioner steamship lines and their respective conferences function and operate in the western part of the *650 United States. The steamship lines operating in the eastern part of the United States have their own conferences there. The conference agreements, both east and west, have long contained a provision by which the steamship companies have bound themselves not to pay brokerage to so-called freight forwarders.

In April of 1947 the United States Maritime Commission, now the Federal Maritime Board, 2 on its own initiative, ordered ■an investigation made as to the propriety ■of this prohibition against payment of brokerage and as to its effect upon the maritime commerce of the United States.

After a long investigation and many hearings, the Board concluded that the agreement of the members of the conferences not to pay brokerage was detrimental to the commerce of the United States and ordered the offending provision stricken from the conference agreements.

The petitioners, constituting the…