Joseph McKenna

“ This would seem to make the difficulty or ease of proof a substitute for the condition which the statute makes necessary to the imposition of the tax; that is, the disposition with which the transfer is made, and certainly, whether that disposition exist at an instant before death or years before death, it is a condition of the tax.
The construction of the government is more tenable though more unrestrained. ”

“ Upon refusal of the court to so charge, but not otherwise, that the deed of Mrs. Dickel to the Detroit Trust Company took effect more than a year before the enactment of the Act of September 8, 1916; that is, took effect immediately, not in possession or enjoyment at or after the death of Mrs. Dickel. (3) The words 'in contemplation of death' do not refer to that general expectation of death which every mortal entertains, but rather the apprehension which arises from some existing condition of body or some impending peril. ”

“ In this there is much to allure an administrative officer. Indeed, its simplicity attracts any one. It removes puzzle from construction and perplexity and pertinence on account of the distance of death from the transfer, risking no chances of courts or juries, in repugnance or revolt, taking liberties with the act to relieve from its exactions to satisfy the demands of revenue.
If Congress, however, had the purpose assigned by the Commissioner, it should have declared it ”