Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“ If the law requires a party to give up property to a third person without adequate compensation the remedy is, if necessary, to refuse to obey it, not to sue the lawmaker. The statute provides remedies against the Government in other cases, but the claimant argues that this case does not fall within them, and it did not follow the steps prescribed for them. The petition does not even allege that the price the claimant got was not a fair one but only that if the Government had not issued the regulation it would have got more under its contract. ”

“ Whether the rule was valid or void no such consequence follows. Making the rule was not a taking and no lawmaking power promises by implication to make good losses that may be incurred by obedience to its commands. ”

“ We see no ground for the claim. The claimant in consequence of the regulation mentioned sold some of its coal to other parties at a less price than what otherwise it would have got. That is all. It now seeks to hold the Government answerable for making a rule that it saw fit to obey. ”