Page images
PDF
EPUB

SEC. 3. That all power and authority hereby vested in the President or by him delegated and all restrictions imposed in this Act shall cease upon the proclamation of the final treaty of peace between the United States and the Imperial German Government: Provided, That if, in the judgment of the President, the tonnage shortage at such time is so severe that national interests of the United States are jeopardized, he may, by proclamation, extend the provisions of this Act for a further period of not exceeding six months.205

SEC. 4. That the powers herein conferred shall be without prejudice to any power heretofore conferred on the President, or by him delegated.

SEC. 5. That the President may, by proclamation, require that vessels of the United States of any specified class or description, or in any specified trade or trades, shall not be chartered unless the instrument in which such charter is embodied, and the rates, terms, and conditions thereof are first approved by him. Whenever any vessel is comprised in any such proclamation, it shall be unlawful to make any charter thereof, or comply with or perform any of the rates, terms, or conditions of any charter thereof, or to operate such vessel under any charter, without first obtaining the approval thereof by the President.

Whenever any charter of such vessel is approved, it shall be unlawful, without the approval of the President first obtained, to make any alterations in such charter, or additions thereto or deletions therefrom, or to make or receive any payment or do any act with respect to such vessel, except in accordance with such charter.

SEC. 6. That the President shall have power to determine, prescribe, and enforce reasonable freight rates and the terms and conditions of affreightment which shall govern the transportation of goods on vessels of the United States, which shall be filed with the United States Shipping Board and open to public inspection. It shall be unlawful to charge or collect any compensation for the transportation of goods on any such vessel, or to enforce or attempt to enforce any terms or conditions of affreightment, or to make or receive any payment or do any act with respect to such transportation, not in accordance with the rates, terms, and conditions so prescribed, anything in any contract, whether heretofore or hereafter made, to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 7. That the President shall have power to prescribe the order of priority in which goods shall be carried or other services performed by any vessel of the United States and to specify goods which shall be carried or to direct the voyage or employment of any such vessel and to make such rules, regulations, and orders, with respect to any such vessel, relating to the loading, discharging, lighterage, or storage of goods, or the procurement of bunker fuel, or any other matter relating to the receiving, handling, transporting, storing, or delivering of goods, as may in his judgment be necessary and proper for the efficient utilization of transportation facilities and the effective conduct of the war.

SEC. 8. That the President may by proclamation extend the provisions of sections five, six, and seven, or any of them, to any vessel of foreign nationality under charter to a citizen of the United States or other person subject to the jurisdiction thereof.

SEC. 9. That the President shall have power to make such rules, regulations, and orders regarding voyages, courses, the use of protective devices, and any other matters affecting the navigation, equipment, fueling, painting, or arming of vessels of the United States as may, in his judgment, be conducive to the protection of such vessels from submarines, mines, or other war perils, any expense so incurred to be allowed for in determining freight and charter rates under this Act. If in his judgment any vessel or class of vessels on account of size, speed, structure, method of propulsion, or for any other reason is unfit for service in any waters which he may declare to be a danger zone, he may, by order, exclude such vessel or vessels from such danger zone. It shall be unlawful to violate any order, rule, or regulation made under this section. Rules, regulations, or orders issued under this section may, in the discretion of the President, be issued confidentially, in which event they shall be binding only on such persons as have notice thereof.

SEC. 10. That the President may by proclamation require that no citizen of the United States, or other person subject to the jurisdiction thereof, shall charter any vessel of foreign nationality unless the instrument in which such charter is embodied and the rates, terms, and conditions thereof are first approved by the President. After the making of such proclamation it shall be unlawful for any such citizen or person to make any charter of any such vessel, or comply with or perform any of

205 See Jt. Res. of Mar. 3, 1921, p. 231, declaring that certain acts, resolutions, and proclamations shall be construed as if the war had ended Mar. 3, 1921.

the rates, terms, or conditions of any charter thereof, or to operate any such vessel under any charter, without first obtaining the approval thereof by the President. Whenever any such charter is approved it shall be unlawful, without the approval of the President first obtained, to make any alterations in such charter or additions thereto or deletions therefrom, or to make or receive any payment or do any act with respect to such vessel, except in accordance with such charter.

SEC. 11. That the President shall have power to requisition for military purposes, or for any other national purpose connected with or arising out of the present war, the temporary possession of any vessel, or, without taking actual possession, to requisition the services of any vessel and to require the person entitled to the possession thereof to issue to the master such instructions as may be necessary to place the vessel at the service of the United States.

Upon requisitioning such possession or services, or as soon thereafter as the exigencies of the situation may permit, the President shall transmit to the person entitled to the possession of such vessel a charter setting forth the terms which, in his judgment, should govern the relations between the United States and such person and a statement of the rental or rate of hire which, in his judgment, will be just compensation for the use of such vessel and for the services required under the terms of such charter. If such person does not execute and deliver such charter and accept such rental or rate of hire, the President shall pay to such person a sum equal to seventy-five per centum of such rental or rate of hire as the same may from time to time be due under the terms of the charter, and such person shall be entitled to sue the United States to recover such further sum as added to such seventy-five per centum will make up such amount as will be just compensation for the use of the vessel and for the services required. In the event of loss of or damage to such vessel, due to the operation of a risk assumed by the United States under the terms of such charter (in the event that no valuation of such vessel or mode of compensation has been agreed to), the United States shall pay just compensation for such loss or damage, to be determined by the President; and if the amount so determined is not satisfactory to the person entitled to receive just compensation, the President shall pay to such person seventy-five per centum of the amount so determined, and such person shall be entitled to sue the United States to recover such further sum as added to such seventy-five per centum will make up such amount as will be just compensation.

SEC. 12. That the President shall have power to prescribe the order of priority in which persons in possession of dry docks, wharves, lighterage systems, or loading or discharging terminal facilities in any port of the United States, or warehouses, equipment or terminal railways connected therewith, shall serve vessels and shippers, and to determine, prescribe, and enforce the rates, terms, and conditions charged or required for the furnishing of such services, including stevedoring and handling of cargo, and the handling, dispatching, and bunkering of vessels, and to make such rules and regulations with respect to the conduct of any such business as may be necessary and proper. It shall be unlawful to charge, collect, or claim any compensation, or to enforce or attempt to enforce any terms or conditions, or to make or receive any payment or do any act, with respect to any such service not in accordance with the rates, terms, and conditions so prescribed, any thing in any contract, whether heretofore or hereafter made, to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 13. That the President shall have power to lease or requisition the use or temporary possession of, or to assume temporary control of, any dry docks, wharves, or loading or discharging terminal facilities, in any port of the United States, or warehouses, equipment, or terminal railways connected therewith.

Whenever the President requisitions or assumes control of any such property, the United States shall pay just compensation therefor, to be determined by the President. If the amount so determined is not satisfactory to the person entitled to receive just compensation, the President shall pay to such person seventy-five per centum of the amount so determined and such person shall be entitled to sue the United States to recover such further sum as added to such seventy-five per centum will make up such amount as will be just compensation.

Whenever the President acquires by purchase, lease, or requisition, or assumes control of any such property immediate possession may be taken thereof to the extent of the interest acquired therein, and such property may be immediately occupied and used without regard to the provisions of section three hundred and fifty-five of

the Revised Statutes.

Nothing in this section shall authorize the President to requisition the title to any such property owned by any State, municipality, or subdivision thereof.

SEC. 14. That whenever by this Act permission is given to sue the United States such suit shall be brought in the manner provided in section twenty-four, paragraph twenty, and section one hundred and forty-five of the Judicial Code.

SEC. 15. That all vessels of which the possession or services are requisitioned under this Act, and all dry docks, wharves, loading or discharging terminal facilities, warehouses, equipment, or terminal railways, of which the President may acquire the title or possession or of which he may assume control under this Act, may be operated and managed as the President may from time to time direct. The net proceeds derived from any activity authorized in this Act or the joint resolution of May twelfth, nineteen hundred and seventeen (Public Numbered Two), or the division entitled "Emergency shipping fund" of the Act of June fifteenth, nineteen hundred and seventeen (Public Numbered Twenty-three), shall be deposited in the Treasury in a separate and distinct fund and may be expended by the President in carrying out the purposes of this Act, and within the limits of the amounts heretofore or hereafter authorized, for the construction, requisitioning, or purchasing of vessels: Provided, That none of the provisions of this Act shall apply to vessels plying exclusively on the inland rivers and canals of the United States.

SEC. 16. That whoever does or attempts to do anything this Act declares to be unlawful, or willfully violates any rule, regulation, or order issued under authority conferred herein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both: Provided, That the district court of the Canal Zone shall have jurisdiction of offenses committed against the provisions of this Act within the Canal Zone.

SEC. 17. That if any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to certain circumstances, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act, and the application of such provision to circumstances other than those as to which it is held unconstitutional, shall not be affected thereby.

Approved, July 18, 1918., [40 Stat., 913.]

AN ACT Making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and nineteen.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and they are hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, in full compensation for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and nineteen, for the purposes and objects hereinafter expressed, namely:

[blocks in formation]

GENERAL EXPENSES, Weather BUREAU: For carrying into effect in the District of Columbia and elsewhere in the United States, in the West Indies, in the Panama Canal, the Caribbean Sea, and on adjacent coasts, in the Hawaiian Islands, in Bermuda, and in Alaska, the provisions of an Act approved October first, eighteen hundred and ninety, so far as they relate to the weather service transferred thereby to the Department of Agriculture,

[blocks in formation]

AN ACT Making appropriations to supply deficiencies in appropriations for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1919, and prior fiscal years, on account of war expenses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money

in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to supply deficiencies in appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, and prior fiscal years on account of war expenses, and for other purposes, namely:

FORTIFICATIONS.

PANAMA CANAL.

For the purchase, manufacture, and test of ammunition for seacoast and land defense cannon, including the necessary experiments in connection therewith, and the machinery necessary for its manufacture, $350,000.

For purchase of submarine mines and nets and the necessary appliances to operate them for closing the channels leading to the Panama Canal, $2,000, to be available for the fiscal years 1918 and 1919.

For alteration, maintenance, and repair of submarine-mine material, $6,866, to be available for the fiscal years 1918 and 1919.

Approved, November 4, 1918. [40 Stat., 1020, 1032.]

*

AN ACT To provide revenue, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE X.-SPECIAL TAXES.

*

SEC. 1006. That section 1 of the Act of Congress approved December 17, 1914, is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 1. That on or before July 1 of each year every person who imports, manufactures, produces, compounds, sells, deals in, dispenses, or gives away opium or coca leaves, or any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, or preparation thereof, shall register with the collector of internal revenue of the district his name or style, place of business and place or places where such business is to be carried on, and pay the special taxes hereinafter provided;

Every person who on January 1, 1919, is engaged in any of the activities above enumerated, or who between such date and the passage of this Act first engages in any of such activities, shall within 30 days after the passage of this Act make like registration, and shall pay the proportionate part of the tax for the period ending June 30, 1919; and

Every person who first engages in any of such activities after the passage of this Act shall immediately make like registration and pay the proportionate part of the tax for the period ending on the following June 30th;

Importers, manufacturers, producers, or compounders, $24 per annum; wholesale dealers, $12 per annum; retail dealers, $6 per annum; physicians, dentists, veterinary surgeons, and other practitioners lawfully entitled to distribute, dispense, give away, or administer any of the aforesaid drugs to patients upon whom they in the course of their professional practice are in attendance, shall pay $3 per annum. Every person who imports, manufactures, compounds, or otherwise produces for sale or distribution any of the aforesaid drugs shall be deemed to be an importer, manufacturer, or producer.

Every person who sells or offers for sale any of said drugs in the original stamped packages, as hereinafter provided, shall be deemed a wholesale dealer.

Every person who sells or dispenses from original stamped packages, as hereinafter provided, shall be deemed a retail dealer: Provided, That the office, or if none, the residence, of any person shall be considered for the purpose of this Act his place

of business; but no employee of any person who has registered and paid special tax as herein required, acting within the scope of his employment, shall be required to register and pay special tax provided by this section: Provided further, That officials of the United States, Territorial, District of Columbia, or insular possession, State or municipal governments, who in the exercise of their official duties engage in any of the business herein described, shall not be required to register, nor pay special tax, nor stamp the aforesaid drugs as hereinafter prescribed, but their right to this exemption shall be evidenced in such manner as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may by regulations prescribe.

It shall be unlawful for any person required to register under the provisions of this Act to import, manufacture, produce, compound, sell, deal in, dispense, distribute, administer, or give away any of the aforesaid drugs without having registered and paid the special tax as imposed by this section.

That the word "person" as used in this Act shall be construed to mean and include a partnership, association, company, or corporation, as well as a natural person; and all provisions of existing law relating to special taxes, as far as necessary, are hereby extended and made applicable to this section.

That there shall be levied, assessed, collected, and paid upon opium, coca leaves, any compound, salt, derivative, or preparation thereof, produced in or imported into the United States, and sold, or removed for consumption or sale, an internal-revenue tax at the rate of 1 cent per ounce, and any fraction of an ounce in a package shall be taxed as an ounce, such tax to be paid by the importer, manufacturer, producer, or compounder thereof, and to be represented by appropriate stamps, to be provided by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury; and the stamps herein provided shall be so affixed to the bottle or other container as to securely seal the stopper, covering, or wrapper thereof.

The tax imposed by this section shall be in addition to any import duty imposed on the aforesaid drugs.

It shall be unlawful for any person to purchase, sell, dispense, or distribute any of the aforesaid drugs except in the original stamped package or from the original stamped package; and the absence of appropriate tax-paid stamps from any of the aforesaid drugs shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section by the person in whose possession same may be found; and the possession of any original stamped package containing any of the aforesaid drugs by any person who has not registered and paid special taxes as required by this section shall be prima facie evidence of liability to such special tax: Provided, That the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any person having in his or her possession any of the aforesaid drugs which have been obtained from a registered dealer in pursuance of a prescription, written for legitimate medical uses, issued by a physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner registered under this Act; and where the bottle or other container in which such drug may be put up by the dealer upon said prescription bears the name and registry number of the druggist, serial number of prescription, name and address of the patient, and name, address, and registry number of the person writing said prescription; or to the dispensing, or administration, or giving away of any of the aforesaid drugs to a patient by a registered physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner in the course of his professional practice, and where said drugs are dispensed or administered to the patient for legitimate medical purposes, and the record kept as required by this Act of the drugs so dispensed, administered, distributed, or given away.

And all the provisions of existing laws relating to the engraving, issuance, sale, accountability, cancellation, and destruction of tax-paid stamps provided for in the internal-revenue laws are, in so far as necessary, hereby extended and made to apply to stamps provided by this section.

That all unstamped packages of the aforesaid drugs found in the possession of any person, except as herein provided, shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture, and all the provisions of existing internal revenue laws relating to searches, seizures, and forfeitures of unstamped articles are hereby extended to and made to apply to the articles taxed under this Act and the persons upon whom these taxes are imposed. Importers, manufacturers, and wholesale dealers shall keep such books and records and render such monthly returns in relation to the transactions in the aforesaid drugs as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may by regulations require.

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall make all needful rules and regulations for carrying the provisions of this Act into effect.

« PreviousContinue »