dom; and as their high function, necessarily, requires knowledge of economics and statesmanship, these become the very vitals of proper solution, where Liberty is in question. And Liberty is always in question, where a taking of property without consent is involved. Indeed, all the Anglo-America Civil Wars have turned chiefly upon this paramount matter; for it must not be forgotten that the same principle which underlies these taxes is involved in the decisions relating to restraints of trade and monopolies. Monopolies have always been denounced as "odious" and "pernicious," because they create a power of taxation without consent, whether it be for the benefit of such governments as the Tudors and Stuarts attempted to erect,—or, what is even worse, that of private individuals seeking to this extent to enslave their fellows. The seed thus sown by Mr. Justice Holmes, therefore, inevitably grew into the great inquiry made by the united Court in the Standard Oil case, 221 U. S. 1, a decision that, at last, has brought satisfactory solution of the general principle, without a knowledge of which the necessary degree of clarity and certainty continued lacking.
To very much the same effect is Mr. Justice White's opinion in the Knowlton case, 178 U. S., at page 57—one of the decisions, also that helps to a correct understanding and proper definition to be gained from the discussions of those taking part in the formation of the original Constitution. He said: "The necessities which gave birth to the Constitution, the controversies which preceded its formation, and the conflicts of opinion which were settled by its adoption, may properly be taken into view for the purpose of tracing to its source any particular provision of the Constitution, in order thereby to be enabled to correctly interpret its meaning."
