James Clark McReynolds

“ That the word 'property' is nomen generalissimum, as asserted by the petitioner, in not to be denied, but no more is it to be denied that its meaning may be restricted, not only by the application of the maxim, noscitur a sociis, but by the purpose for which it is used, or by its evident use as a word of art, or by its use in a technical sense. ”

“ Our sole present concern is with the interpretation of a particular statute; the scope and purpose of constitutional limitations are in no way involved-they depend upon considerations of a wholly different character.
In view of the well-known purposes of the bankrupt law, exceptions to the operation of a discharge thereunder should be confined to those plainly expressed; and while much might be said in favor of extending these to liabilities incurred for services obtained by fraud, the language of the act does not go so far. ”

“ Congress, we think, never intended that property in the paragraph under consideration should include professional services. At most it denotes something subject to ownership, transfer, or exclusive possession and enjoyment, which may be brought within the dominion and control of a court through some recognized process. ”