Stanley Forman Reed,
Coverdale v. Arkansas-Louisiana Pipe Line Company…
“ The question is whether a state statute imposing a privilege tax on the production of mechanical power contravenes the interstate commerce clause in so far as it is applied to an engine used to supply mechanical power to a compressor which increases the pressure of natural gas and thus permits it to be transported to purchasers in other states. ”
Stanley Forman Reed,
Coverdale v. Arkansas-Louisiana Pipe Line Company…
“ It bears generally on all use of power and is not discriminatory. It obviously adds to the cost of the interstate commerce. But increased cost alone is not sufficient to invalidate the tax as an interference with that commerce. ”
Stanley Forman Reed,
Coverdale v. Arkansas-Louisiana Pipe Line Company…
“ The power used by the appellee is obtained from internal combustion engines which transform the potential energy of natural gas into mechanical power, transmitted by piston and piston-rod from the combustion chamber of the engine to the compression chamber of the compressor. While the engine and compressor units are assembled on a common bed plate, their functions are thus seen to be as completely separate as if they operated through belting. The engine is the 'prime mover' of the tax act, producing power to drive the compressor. ”
