In the Southern Pacific Railroad Company v. United States case of 1905, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute over land grants given to railroad companies by Congress in order to encourage westward expansion. The issue at hand was whether or not these land grants included oil and mineral rights beneath the surface of granted lands. The government argued that it had retained all subsurface rights when it made its original grant, while Southern Pacific claimed that they were entitled to everything below as well as above ground level. The court sided with the U.S. government, ruling that unless explicitly stated otherwise in legislation, such land grants only conveyed surface rights and did not include minerals or other substances found underground. This decision established an important precedent for future cases involving federal land grants and resource extraction rights.

In the dissenting opinion for Southern Pacific Railroad Company v. United States, 1905, Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a federal law that regulated rates charged by railroads for interstate commerce. He argued that this was an overreach of Congress' power under the Commerce Clause and infringed upon states' rights to regulate their own internal affairs. Harlan believed that such regulation should only be allowed if it directly affected interstate commerce or had a substantial impact on other states. He also expressed concern about potential abuses of power and arbitrary rate-setting by government regulators without sufficient checks and balances in place.