 Even if the state imposed a tax of 25 or even 50 percent, creating an immediate, direct, consequential burden, Congress had the legislative power to ensure that such a tax did not hinder or unduly burden the federal government.The majority upheld the validity of the West Virginia tax, and reversed.Associate Justice James Clark McReynolds dissented, and was joined by Associate Justices George Sutherland, Pierce Butler, and Owen Roberts.