Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 62 Part 1.djvu/503

 62 STAT.] 80TH CONG. , 2D SESS.-CH. 491-JUNE 17, 1948 and all such accounts, records, files, and memoranda shall be subject to inspection by the Commission or its duly authorized representatives. "(4) The Commission shall not approve under this section any agreement between or among carriers of different classes unless it finds that such agreement is of the character described in paragraph (2) of this section and is limited to matters relating to transportation under joint rates or over through routes; and for purposes of this paragraph carriers by railroad, express companies, and sleeping-car companies are carriers of one class; pipe-line companies are carriers of one class; carriers by motor vehicle are carriers of one class; car- riers by water are carriers of one class; and freight forwarders are carriers of one class. "(5) The Commission shall not approve under this section any agreement which it finds is an agreement with respect to a pooling, division, or other matter or transaction, to which section 5 of this Act is applicable. "(6) The Commission shall not approve under this section any agreement which establishes a procedure for the determination of any matter through joint consideration unless it finds that under the agreement there is accorded to each party the free and unrestrained right to take independent action either before or after any determina- tion arrived at through such procedure. "(7) The Commission is authorized, upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, to investigate and determine whether any agreement previously approved by it under this section, or terms and conditions upon which such approval was granted, is not or are not in conformity with the standard set forth in paragraph (2), or whether any such terms and conditions are not necessary for purposes of conformity with such standard, and, after such investi- gation, the Commission shall by order terminate or modify its approval of such agreement if it finds such action necessary to insure con- formity with such standard, and shall modify the terms and conditions upon which such approval was granted to the extent it finds necessary to insure conformity with such standard or to the extent to which it finds such terms and conditions not necessary to insure such con- formity. The effective date of any order terminating or modifying approval, or modifying terms and conditions, shall be postponed for such period as the Commission determines to be reasonably necessary to avoid undue hardship. "(8) No order shall be entered under this section except after interested parties have been afforded reasonable opportunity for hearing. "(9) Parties to any agreement approved by the Commission under this section and other persons are, if the approval of such agreement is not prohibited by paragraph (4), (5), or (6), hereby relieved from the operation of the antitrust laws with respect to the making of such agreement, and with respect to the carrying out of such agreement in conformity with its provisions and in conformity with the terms and conditions prescribed by the Commission. "(10) Any action of the Commission under this section in approving an agreement, or in denying an application for such approval, or in terminating or modifying its approval of an agreement, or in prescrib- ing the terms and conditions upon which its approval is to be granted, or in modifying such terms and conditions, shall be construed as having effect solely with reference to the applicability of the relief provisions of paragraph (9)." JosEPH W. MART Jr Speaker of the House of Representati&e. H. C. LODGE, Jr. Acting President of tle esnate Sro temP r 473 Carriers of different classes Pooling, division, etc. 24 Stat. 380. 49U.S. C.. Joint consideration of matters Investigation of prior agreements Hearing. Relief from opas- tion of antitrust law& Applicability.

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