Significance: In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that it had the authority to review the orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) only when the constitutionality of those orders, and not the wisdom of them, was in question.
Background: In 1887 Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act, creating the Interstate Commerce Commission. The ICC had the authority to regulate railroads. Following a complaint from a coal mining company in 1907, the ICC ordered the Illinois Central Railroad to make more railroad cars available to transport coal. According to the ICC, the railroad was not supplying enough coal cars to satisfy demand from mines along its right of way. The coal mines were thus unable to ship their coal, which could not be stored. The railroad refused to obey the order.
Decision: This case was argued on October 15, 1909, and decided on January 10, 1910, by a vote of 8 to 1. The Court ruled in favor of the Interstate Commerce Commission, saying that its order did fall under its authority to regulate interstate commerce.
Excerpt from the Opinion of the Court: “Power to make the order, and not the mere expediency or wisdom of having made it, is the question.”
