Melville Fuller

“ Yet it is urged that the bank had contended at every stage of the litigation that the trial court had no power to proceed to judgment against it under sections 5197 and 5198, because of the want of averment in the petition of facts essential to give such jurisdiction, and hence that the bank must be held to have specially set up or claimed the title, right, privilege, and immunity under said sections to be exempt from liability to the plaintiff below for any matter or thing alleged in his complaint. ”

“ That provided a form of action to be called a civil action, and to be commenced by the filing of a petition and the issue of summons thereon; what the petition must contain; that the pleadings should be liberally construed; that redundant matter might be stricken out, and the allegations of a pleading required to be made definite and certain by amendment, when necessary; that neither presumptions of law nor matters of which judicial notice is taken need be stated in the pleading; that amendments in furthernance of justice might be made before or after judgment ”

“ Spies v. Illinois, 123 U.S. 131, 8 Sup. Ct. Rep. 21; Brooks v. Missouri, 124 U.S. 394, 8 Sup. Ct. Rep. 443; Chappell v. Bradshaw, 128 U.S. 132, 9 Sup. Ct. Rep. 40; Texas & P. Ry. Co. v. Southern Pac. Co., 137 U.S. 48, 11 Sup. Ct. Rep. 10. ”