Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/104

 78 OCTOBER TERM, 1907. Opinion of the Court. 09 U. 8. (e) commerce from a foreign country to points in the United States, but only while being carried from port of entry either in the United States or an adjacent foreign country. And, it is contended, that � as amended (25 Star. 855), does not require the filing of through export tariffs. The purpose of Congress to embrace the whole field of inter- state commerce is made pparent by the exclusion only of wholly domestic commerce in the last clause of section one of ' the original act of 1887, and in the declaration of the scope and purpose of the act declared in its title. Txas & Pacific Ry. Co. v. In''stat Commerce Commission, 162 U.S. 197, 211. There is no attempt in the language of the act to exempt such foreign commerce as is carried on a through bill of lacling; oa the contrary, the act in terms applies to the transportation of property shipped from any place in the United States to a foreign country and carried from such place to a port of tran- shipment. What reasonable ground is there for supposing that COn- gress intended to exercise no control over such commerce ff it happens to be billed through to the foreign port? Such construction would place such important commerce shipped in the United States to a port for transhipment abroad wholly outside the restrictions of the law, and enable shippers to withdraw such commerce from the regulations enforced against other interstate commerce by the expedient of a through bill of lading. Take the present case. The through rate is ob- tained by adding the ocean rate to the inland rate. There is no contractual relation between the railroad carrier and the ocean carrier. The ocean rate is uncertain and variable de- pending upon time of sailing and available space. The ac- commodation for ocean shipment was obtained by the'shipper and by it made known to the inland carrier. We think the language of the statute, read in the light of the manifest pur- pose of its passage, shows the intent of Congress to bring interstate commerce within the control of the provisions of 'the law UP to the time .of ocean shipment. This construction

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