(a) Section 12(a) forbids producers, manufacturers, and dealers to
``ship or deliver for shipment in commerce'' the goods referred to
therein. A producer, manufacturer, or dealer may ``ship'' goods in
commerce either by moving them himself in interstate or foreign commerce
or by causing them to so move, as by delivery to a carrier. 7
Thus, a baker ``ships'' his bread in commerce whether he carries it in
his own truck across State lines or sends it by contract or common
carrier to his customers in other States. The word ``ship'' must be
applied in its ordinary meaning. For example, it does not apply to the
transmission of telegraphic messages. 8
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7 Section 3(b) of the Act defines ``commerce'' to mean
``trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among
the several States or between any State and any place outside thereof.''
8 Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Lenroot, 323 U.S. 490.
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(b) To ``deliver for shipment in commerce'' means to surrender the
custody of goods to another under such circumstances that the person
surrendering the goods knows or has reason to believe that the goods
will later be
shipped in commerce. 9 Typical is the case of a Detroit
manufacturer who delivers his goods in Detroit to a distributor who, as
the manufacturer is well aware, will ship the goods into another State.
A delivery for shipment in commerce may also be made where raw materials
are delivered by their producer to a manufacturer in the same State who
converts them into new products which are later shipped across State
lines. If the producer in such case is aware or has reason to believe
that the finished products will ultimately be sent into another State,
his delivery of the raw materials to the manufacturer is a delivery for
shipment in commerce. Another example is a paper box manufacturer who
ships a carton of boxes to a fresh fruit or vegetable packing shed
within the same State, with knowledge or reason to believe that the
boxes will there be filled with fruits or vegetables and shipped outside
the State. In such case the box manufacturer has delivered the boxes for
shipment in commerce.
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9 Tobin v. Grant, N. D. Calif., 79 Sup. 975 which was a
suit for injunction by the Secretary of Labor against a manufacturer of
books and book covers employing oppressive child labor. The facts showed
that the manufactured articles sold by defendant to purchasers in the
same State had an ultimate out-of-State destination which was manifest
to defendant. The court construed the words ``deliver for shipment in
commerce'' as sufficiently broad to cover this situation even though the
purchasers acquired title to the goods.
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