Retail Clerks International Association, Local Unions Nos. 128 and 633 v. Lion Dry Goods, Inc./Concurrence Frankfurter

Mr. Justice FRANKFURTER, concurring.

I wholly agree with the Court in rejecting the restrictive meaning given by the Court of Appeals to "contracts" in § 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act. I have, however, serious doubt whether the "statement of understanding" on the basis of which the strike was settled was in fact a contract, in the sense of a consensual arrangement between the Retail Clerks and Lion Dry Goods, rather than a formulation of the results of the intercession of a public-spirited intermediary on the basis of which each side was prepared to lay down its arms. However, on a matter of construing a particular document, in light of the surrounding circumstances, I do not desire to dissent.