William O. Douglas

“ But I do not see how it is possible for the United States to take a man's property without his consent when the United States is not a creditor in the accepted sense. The only constitutional way in which that can be done is by taxation or by condemnation. ”

“ Section 1 regulates the disposition of the property of any veteran who dies while in a Veterans' Hospital and who leaves personal property not disposed of by will and to which no surviving spouse, next of kin or heirs are entitled under the laws of his domicile. Such property, the Act says, 'shall immediately vest in and become the property of the United States.' § 1. The acceptance of care or treatment at a Veterans' Hospital is by the terms of the Act acceptance of the provisions of the Act, and has 'the effect of an assignment' of the property effective at death. ”

“ But when the Federal Government enters a field as historically local as the administration of decedents' estates, some clear relation of the asserted power to one of the delegated powers should be shown. At times the exercise of a delegated power reaches deep into local problems. ”