The U.S. Supreme Court case Pittsburgh &C. Railway v. Board of Public Works of West Virginia in 1898 revolved around a dispute between the railway company and the state board over taxation matters. The railway company contested that it was being unfairly taxed by the state, arguing that its property within West Virginia was not receiving any special benefits from public improvements to justify such taxes, thereby violating their constitutional rights under equal protection clause and due process clause of Fourteenth Amendment. However, the court ruled against them stating that all properties benefited indirectly from public improvements even if they did not directly benefit from them; hence it is justifiable for states to levy taxes on these properties for funding these improvements without infringing upon constitutional rights of owners.

In the dissenting opinion for Pittsburgh &C. Railway v. Board of Public Works of West Virginia, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings regarding interstate commerce and taxation by states. He contended that the tax imposed on railroad companies by West Virginia violated the Commerce Clause as it interfered with interstate commerce activities. The tax, he believed, was not a fair means to support public services but rather an unjust burden placed specifically on railroads engaged in such trade across state lines - thus unfairly targeting them due to their nature of business operations which spanned multiple states unlike other businesses confined within one state only. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential negative impacts this ruling could have on future cases involving similar issues around taxation and interstate commerce regulation.