Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“ But in those very strict applications of a well-known rule, however strong the motives of the insured or owners for acting as they did, the loss ensued upon their own conduct. But if a vessel should be taken from an owner's hands without his consent and should be lost while thus held by a paramount power, obviously a company that had insured against such a taking could not look beyond and attribute the loss to a peril of the sea. Whatever happens while the taking insured against continues fairly may be attributed to the taking. ”

“ When the United States went into the insurance business, issued policies in familiar form and provided that in case of disagreement it might be sued, it must be assumed to have accepted the ordinary incidents of suits in such business. The policies promised that claims would be paid within 30 days after complete proofs of interest and loss had been filed with the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. ”

“ In defense it is argued that the proximate cause was a marine peril not covered by the policies and that the decision should be governed by Morgan v. United States, 14 Wall. 531, 20 L. Ed. 738; Queen Insurance Co. ”