United States v. Denver & R. G. Ry. Co.

In these actions the government sues for the value of ■ timber taken from public lands, and defendants justify the taking under certain acts of congress. The facts as to the alleged trespasses are not in dispute; the matter for consideration is the proper construction of the acts of congress. In the year 1870, defendant in the first suit, the Denver & Rio Grande Railway Company, was incorporated under a general law of the territory of Colorado relating to corporations, and afterwards built the road and operated it until some time in the year 1886, when the property was sold under foreclosure…