I am the inventor of the Holland submarine boat, now in use in the United States Navy and in Europe. My old patents, to the number of about twenty, are owned by the Electric Boat Company. On June 16, 1900, I entered into a contract with that company to serve as their engineer for five years, dating back to April 1, 1899, and expiring April 1, 1904. Since the expiration of my contract with the Electric Boat Company I have devoted myself to remedying the defects in my old inventions, and perfecting designs by which the low speed of the present Holland boats can be increased three or four times. Having perfected these inventions until I was sure I could obtain about 25 knots per hour submerged, and after making numerous other alterations, greatly improving the efficiency over my submarine boats now in use in the Navy, I procured the organization of a company, "John P. Holland's Submarine Boat Company," May 18, 1905, with sufficient capital to build a boat under my new plans and inventions, and was about to start to work, when the Electric Boat Company filed a suit against me in the Court of Chancery of New Jersey, applying for an injunction, and claiming substantially that I had agreed to assign to them all my inventions and patents during the term of my natural life. Two other suits have been started, one against my new company in the United States Circuit Court to enjoin the use of the name "Holland"; the other against me personally, alleging a verbal contract never to compete with the Electric Boat Company, was commenced in the New Jersey Court of Chancery. My contract with the Electric Boat Company to act as their engineer, and to give them my patents and inventions, was for the five years during which I acted as engineer, and no longer, and expired April 1, 1904, as stated above. These suits have had the effect of frightening off the capital that I had enlisted, and I have not as yet been able to get the capital to build my new boat, by reason of these suits. The only object of these suits was to prevent me from building a boat and going into competition before the Navy Department with the submarine boats now being built by the Electric Boat Company under my old patents.