In the case of Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company v. United States in 1895, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a railroad company could not charge more for a short haul than for a long one over the same line unless it was authorized by public regulatory authorities to do so. The court held that this practice violated Section 4 of the Interstate Commerce Act which prohibited unjust and unreasonable charges or practices related to transportation services provided by railroads engaged in interstate commerce. This decision reinforced federal regulation over railway rates and established an important precedent regarding fair pricing policies within transportation industries.

In the dissenting opinion for Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company v. United States (1895), Justice Brewer argued that the Interstate Commerce Commission's power to set maximum rates was unconstitutional because it violated due process rights of railroad companies under the Fifth Amendment. He contended that Congress could not delegate its legislative powers to an administrative body like the commission without providing clear guidelines on how those powers should be exercised. Furthermore, he believed that allowing such a delegation would undermine judicial authority by giving too much discretion and power to a non-judicial entity in determining what constitutes "reasonable" rates, which could potentially lead to arbitrary decision-making and abuse of power.