The U.S. Supreme Court case Emergency Fleet Corporation, United States Shipping Board v. Western Union Telegraph Company in 1927 revolved around a dispute over telegraph charges incurred by the government during World War I. The Emergency Fleet Corporation and the United States Shipping Board argued that they were exempt from paying these charges due to their governmental status, while Western Union contended that no such exemption existed for them under federal law or contract provisions. The court ruled in favor of Western Union, stating that there was no statutory provision granting such an exemption to these government entities and thus they were liable for payment of services rendered by the telegraph company.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of Emergency Fleet Corporation, United States Shipping Board v. Western Union Telegraph Company, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's decision that a government-owned corporation could sue without congressional authorization. He argued that such corporations should be treated as private entities and thus have inherent rights to sue or be sued in federal courts. According to him, these corporations were created by Congress with an intention to function independently from direct governmental control and therefore they should enjoy similar legal privileges as other independent entities do under law. The majority’s ruling, he believed, undermined this autonomy and contradicted previous court decisions which had upheld it.