United States v. Southern Pac. Co.

The original bill of complaint in the case above entitled, No. 46 Civil, was filed in December, 1912. It came on for hearing thereafter on numerous motions to' dismiss, and was amended pursuant to order of court after the submission of the motions to dismiss and while the same were under consideration by Judge Dooling of the Northern district of this court, whereupon new *198 motions to dismiss were made, which were argued and submitted to this court at the November term thereof, held in Fresno in last year. The bill in- this one case states that the value of the property in controversy exceeds $250,000,000. The aggregate in all the suits exceeds $320,000,000. Because of that fact, and also because of the tremendous importance of the controversy, both to the government and to the various defendants, the court has endeavored to- give all the matters submitted to it in the case above entitled, and in the others similar thereto, and which are decided herewith, its most careful consideration, and, it has examined with particular care each point advanced .by the various parties.

Owing to- the great length of time that has elapsed since the submission of these cases, and while the…