The Supreme Court case Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company v. United States et al., 1927 revolved around the interpretation of the Transportation Act of 1920 and its impact on railway companies' rates for interstate commerce. The plaintiff, a railway company known as "The Big Four," argued that it was entitled to increase its freight rates due to increased operating costs and in order to ensure adequate revenue under Section 15a of the act. However, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) denied their request based on an interpretation that only allowed rate increases if they were necessary for maintaining an overall transportation system's financial stability rather than individual companies'. The Supreme Court upheld ICC's decision stating that while Section 15a aimed at ensuring fair returns for carriers involved in interstate commerce, it did not guarantee every carrier would achieve this goal individually but rather as part of a larger national transportation network.

In the dissenting opinion for Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company v. United States et al., Justice Stone argued that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had overstepped its authority by ordering railroads to establish through routes and joint rates without first determining whether existing arrangements were unjust or unreasonable. He believed that this was a violation of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment as it allowed ICC to interfere with private contractual relationships without sufficient justification. Furthermore, he contended that such interference could lead to arbitrary and discriminatory practices which would undermine free competition in interstate commerce - something Congress sought to protect when establishing ICC's regulatory powers under the Interstate Commerce Act.