The U.S. Supreme Court case Railroad Commission of Louisiana v. Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1908 revolved around the issue of whether a state could regulate interstate commerce, specifically regarding telegraph companies' rates for intrastate messages. The Railroad Commission of Louisiana had set maximum rates that the Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph Company could charge for intrastate telegrams, which was lower than their existing rate structure. The company argued this violated its rights under the Fourteenth Amendment as it would result in confiscatory rates, thus depriving them of property without due process law. However, the court ruled against Cumberland stating that while states cannot directly regulate interstate commerce or discriminate against it indirectly by imposing burdensome regulations on local business operations related to it; they can still exercise traditional police powers over businesses within their borders including setting reasonable price controls unless Congress has legislated otherwise.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of Railroad Commission of Louisiana v. Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph Company, Justice Harlan argued that the state had a right to regulate rates charged by public utilities such as telephone companies. He contended that if a company was given monopoly privileges by a state, it should be subject to regulation in return. The majority's decision effectively stripped states of their power to control these monopolies, which he believed could lead to abuse and exploitation. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's interpretation of 'due process,' arguing that it did not mean courts could override legislative decisions on reasonable rates without clear evidence they were unjust or unreasonable.