This 1912 U.S. Supreme Court case involved the United States, Cincinnati and Columbus Traction Company, Interstate Commerce Commission versus Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company and The Norfolk and Western Railway Company. The dispute centered around whether a railroad company could charge more for shorter distances than longer ones under certain circumstances without violating the long-and-short-haul clause of the Hepburn Act (1906). This act prohibited railroads from charging more per mile for short hauls than long hauls over the same line in similar conditions. However, it was argued that exceptions should be made when competition existed at longer-haul points but not at shorter ones. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of allowing such differential pricing if approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), stating that this did not violate federal law as long as it was justifiable due to competitive factors.

The dissenting opinion in this case argued that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) did not have the authority to force a railroad company to provide service for another company's passengers. The ICC had ordered Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company and Norfolk and Western Railway Company to allow Cincinnati and Columbus Traction Company's passengers access to their rail lines, but the dissenters believed this was an overreach of power. They contended that while Congress could regulate interstate commerce, it couldn't compel one private business entity into providing services for another without just compensation. Furthermore, they asserted that such orders would result in undue hardship on railway companies who were already struggling financially due to increased competition from other modes of transportation like automobiles.