William R. Day

“ In dealing with interstate commerce it is not in some instances regarded as an infringement upon the authority delegated to Congress, to permit the states to pass laws indirectly affecting such commerce, when needed to protect or regulate matters of local interest. Such laws are operative until Congress acts under its superior authority by regulating the subject-matter for itself. ”

“ The facts are undisputed. The plaintiff in error, the Pennsylvania Gas Company, is a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Pennsylvania and engaged in transmitting and selling natural gas in the state of New York and Pennsylvania. It transports the gas by pipe lines about fifty miles in length from the source of supply in the state of Pennsylvania into the state of New York. It sells and delivers gas to consumers in the city of Jamestown, in the town of Ellicott, and in the village of Falconer, all in Chatauqua county, New York. ”

“ But while admitting this general principle, it, like others of a general nature, is subject to qualifications not inconsistent with the general rule, which now are as well established as the principle itself. ”