Connell Steamboat Co. v. United States

My inability to assent to the foregoing judgment rests upon a belief that the transaction involved was a mere contract for service and not a demise of the boats. The numerous letters and acceptances which make up the contract nowhere expressly characterize it as either a contract for service or a demise of the boats; so under the decisions of the Supreme Court the question must be determined by an examination of the contracts and the conduct of the parties thereunder, always giving a construction adverse to a demise of the boats when the issue is doubtful, the courts uniformly leaning toward…