The railroad company charged much more to carry goods to and from Shreveport, LA than they did to cities within TX even when the cities in TX were much further away.
These rates affected the commerce of Shreveport.
The Interstate Commerce Commission stepped in and established maximum rates.
The railroad company argued that the gov't was changing their interstate rates based on their intrastate rates, something that is outside the power of Congress.
Procedural History:
SCOTUS held that Congress's regulation of the railroad was constitutional.
Issues:
May Congress regulate intrastate operations that might cause injury to interstate commerce?
Holding/Rule:
Congress may regulate intrastate operations that might cause injury to interstate commerce.
Reasoning:
Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce is supreme.
Congress is empowered to enact all appropriate legislation to protect and advance interstate commerce, to adopt measures to promote its growth and safety, and to foster protect control and restrain it.
This authority necessarily embraces the right to control operations that have a close and substantial relation to interstate commerce and its safety.
Congress, in preserving interstate commerce, may regulate interstate agencies who threaten to cripple or retard interstate commerce.
Congress may prevent the common instrumentalities of interstate and intrastate commercial intercourse from being used in their intrastate operations to the injury of interstate commerce.
