In the United States v. St. Anthony Railroad Company case of 1903, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government, asserting its right to recover lands that were mistakenly patented to a railroad company due to an administrative error. The St. Anthony Railroad Company had received land grants from Congress for constructing railroads across public lands; however, some parcels granted were not eligible for such disposition as they fell within Indian reservations or other excluded areas. When this was discovered years later, the government sued to reclaim these properties arguing that it never intended nor had authority under law to include them in any grant made by Congress and thus their inclusion was a mistake which could be corrected at any time upon discovery. The court agreed with this argument stating that while patents are generally considered conclusive evidence of legal title once issued and cannot be revoked without cause, those issued erroneously can indeed be set aside if found inconsistent with statutory limitations on what lands may be disposed off by patenting authorities. This decision reinforced federal control over public domain dispositions and clarified conditions under which errors in issuing patents could lead to their revocation even after long periods have elapsed since issuance thereby protecting public interests against unintended alienation of national resources through administrative oversights or misinterpretations.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. St. Anthony Railroad Company, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and principles of equity. He contended that when Congress granted land to Minnesota for railroad construction, it did so under an implied trust - namely, that the lands would be sold and proceeds used solely for building railroads. Therefore, if any part of those lands were not needed or used for such purpose (as in this case), they should revert back to the government rather than being retained by the state or its assignees like St. Anthony Railroad Company which had no intention to build a railroad on them but wanted to use them as collateral security in business transactions unrelated to railway construction purposes.