In the 1924 case of St. Louis, Kennett & Southeastern Railroad Co. v. United States et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States government and against a railroad company that had challenged an order by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC's order required all railroads to install automatic train control devices as a safety measure to prevent accidents caused by human error. The railroad company argued that this requirement was arbitrary and unreasonable, constituting an abuse of power on part of ICC under its statutory authority from Congress to regulate interstate commerce for public convenience and necessity. However, after considering evidence about how these devices could help avoid accidents due to oversights or mistakes made by train operators, especially during periods when they were fatigued or distracted, the court upheld ICC’s decision stating it was within their jurisdictional rights granted by Congress.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of St. Louis, Kennett & Southeastern Railroad Co. v. United States et al., Justice McReynolds disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold an order by Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) that required a railroad company to build and maintain a new line despite its financial inability to do so. He argued that such an order was beyond ICC's authority as it essentially forced bankruptcy on a private corporation without due process or just compensation, violating constitutional rights under Fifth Amendment protections against taking private property for public use without fair compensation. The justice also expressed concerns about potential abuses of power if regulatory agencies were allowed unchecked discretion in imposing burdensome obligations on businesses based on their subjective determination of what constitutes "public convenience and necessity".