as given its classic expression in
the opinion of Chief Justice Waite in the case of the Pensacola
Telegraph Co. _v._ Western Union Co.,[340] a case closely paralleling
Gibbons _v._ Ogden in other respects also. The passage alluded to reads
as follows: "The powers thus granted are not confined to the
instrumentalities of commerce, or the postal service known or in use
when the Constitution was adopted, but they keep pace with the progress
of the country, and adapt themselves to the new developments of times
and circumstances. They extend from the horse with its rider to the
stage-coach, from the sailing-vessel to the steamboat, from the coach
and the steamboat to the railroad, and from the railroad to the
telegraph, as these new agencies are successively brought into use to
meet the demands of increasing population and wealth. They were intended
for the government of the business to which they relate, at all times
and under all circumstances. As they were intrusted to the general
government for the good of the nation, it is not only the right, but the
duty, of Congress to see to it that intercourse among the States and the
transmission of intelligence are not obstructed or unnecessarily
encumbered by State legislation."[341] The Radio Act of 1927 whereby
"all forms of interstate and foreign radio transmissions within the
United States, its Territories and possessions" were brought under
national control, affords another illustration. Thanks to the foregoing
doctrine the measure met no serious constitutional challenge either on
the floors of Congress or in the Courts.[342]

Congressional Regulation of Waterways

NAVIGATION

In the case of Pennsylvania _v._ Wheeling & Belmont Bridge Co.,[343]
decided in 1852, the Court, on the application of the complaining State,
acting as representative of the interests of its citizens, granted an
injunction requiring that a bridge, erected over the Ohio under a
charter from the State of Virginia, either be altered so as to admit of
free navigation of the river, or else be entirely abated. The decision
was justified by the Court on the basis both of the commerce clause and
of a compact between Virginia and Kentucky, whereby both these States
had agreed to keep the Ohio River "free and common to the citizens of
the United States." The injunction was promptly rendered inoperative by
an act of Congress declaring the bridge to be "a lawful structure" and
requiring all vessels navigat