In the case of Interstate Commerce Commission v. United States Ex Rel. Members of the Waste Merchants Association of New York, 1922, waste merchants in New York challenged a ruling by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) that allowed railroads to charge higher rates for transporting garbage than other commodities. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of ICC and upheld its decision allowing differential pricing based on commodity type. The court held that it was within ICC's authority to determine whether different types or classes of freight justified different transportation charges due to factors such as additional handling requirements or potential damage to other cargo. This case affirmed ICC's regulatory power over railroad tariffs and its ability to make distinctions between different types of goods for rate-setting purposes.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Interstate Commerce Commission v. United States ex rel. Members of the Waste Merchants Association of New York argued that the majority's decision to uphold a ruling by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was incorrect because it misinterpreted and overstepped its authority under federal law. The ICC had ruled against certain railroad companies, ordering them to stop charging higher rates for transporting waste materials than they did for other commodities, on grounds that these practices were discriminatory and violated interstate commerce laws. However, according to this dissenting view, such decisions should be left up to market forces rather than government regulation; moreover, it contended that there was no clear evidence showing these rate differences resulted from unfair discrimination or caused harm to competition or public interest as required by law for ICC intervention.