Holmes, Oliver Wendel, Jr.
Son of the physician and literary figure, Oliver Wendel Holmes served in the Massachusetts Volunteers during the Civil War. He was a Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court and was nicknamed the "Great Dissenter" because of his many dissenting opinions.

---

It is not lightly to be assumed that in matters requiring national action, "a power which must not belong to and somewhere reside in every civilized Government" is not to be found . . . We see nothing in the Constitution that compels the Government to sit by while a food supply is cut off and the protectors of our forests and our crops are destroyed. It is not sufficient to rely upon the States. The reliance is vain, and were it otherwise, the question is whether the United States is forbidden to act. We are of the opinion that the treaty and the statute must be upheld. Opinion, U. S. Supreme Court, Migratory Bird Treaty Act decision