Hugo Black

“ The provisions of the War Risk Insurance Act are sufficiently comprehensive and inclusive to authorize its administrators to grant insurance covering past or future total permanent disability, if such action is found necessary to carry out its far reaching national plan and purposes. ”

“ Congress manifestly intended by these sweeping provisions that policies should be granted without regard to the health of applicants and should be enforceable obligations against the government. Any other construction of this broad, wartime legislative grant to soldiers, sailors and nurses would take away the benefits Congress intended them to receive. ”

“ We have followed that, and in all cases where the policy has remained in force for six months we have paid the claim, irrespective of the merits of it, unless there was fraud or failure to pay premiums. * * * However, under date of January 16, 1930, notwithstanding the long practice of the bureau, the Comptroller General, in the case of Mabry W. Woodall, held that if a man was permanently and totally disabled at the time he applied for a reinstatement of insurance, or conversion of insurance, * * * the policy was not incontestable, the statute did not protect it. ”

“ Co. v. Nat. Fire Ins. Co., 8 Cir., 51 F.2d 714, 718, 719, 76 A.L.R. 1287. A valid aleatory contract may be based on an unknown past event. 3 Williston, On Contracts, Rev. Ed., § 888.↑ 9 Compt.Gen. 291 ”