"(d) If any rail carrier subject to the Act to regulate commerce enters into arrangements with any water carrier operating from a port in the United States to a foreign country, through the Panama Canal or otherwise, for the handling of through business between interior points of the United States and such foreign country, the Interstate Commerce Commission may require such railway to enter into similar arrangements with any or all other lines of steamships operating from said port to the same foreign country.'

The orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission relating to this section shall only be made upon formal complaint or in proceedings instituted by the commission of its own motion and after full hearing. The orders provided for in the two amendments to the Act to regulate commerce enacted in this section shall be served in the same manner and enforced by the same penalties and proceedings as are the orders of the commission made under the provisions of section fifteen of the Act to regulate commerce, as amended June eighteenth, nineteen hundred and ten, and they may be conditioned for the payment of any sum or the giving of security for the payment of any sum or the discharge of any obligation which may be required by the terms of said order. (Sec. 11.)

All laws and treaties relating to the extradition of persons accused of crime in force in the United States, to the extent that they may not be in conflict with or superseded by any special treaty entered into between the United States and the Republic of Panama with respect to the Canal Zone, and all laws relating to the rendition of fugitives from justice as between the several States and Territories of the United States, shall extend to and be considered in force in the Canal Zone, and for such purposes and such purposes only the Canal Zone shall be considered and treated as an organized Territory of the United States. (Sec. 12.)

In time of war in which the United States shall be engaged, or when, in the opinion of the President, war is imminent, such officer of the Army as the President may designate shall, upon the order of the President, assume and have exclusive authority and jurisdiction over the operation of the Panama Canal and all of its adjuncts, appendants, and appurtenances, including the entire control and government of the Canal Zone, and during a continuance of such condition the Governor of the Panama Canal shall, in all respects and particulars as to the operation of such Panama Canal, and all duties, matters, and transactions affecting the Canal Zone, be subject to the order and direction of such officer of the Army. (Sec. 13.)

This Act shall be known as, and referred to as, the Panama Canal Act, and the right to alter, amend, or repeal any or all of its provisions or to extend, modify, or annul any rule or regulation made under its authority is expressly reserved. (Aug. 24, 1912, sec. 14.)

Purchases of material and equipment for use in the construction of the Panama Canal shall be restricted to articles of domestic production and manufacture, from the lowest responsible bidder, unless the President shall, in any case, deem the bids or tenders therefor to be extortionate or unreasonable. (June 25, 1906, J. Res.)

All laws affecting imports of articles, goods, wares, and merchandise and entry of persons into the United States from foreign countries shall apply to articles, goods, wares, and merchandise, and per

sons coming from the Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama, and seeking entry into any State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia. (Mar. 2, 1905.)

Employment of Vessels of the United States for Public Purposes.

Vessels of the United States, or belonging to the United States, and no others, shall be employed in the transportation by sea of coal, provisions, fodder, or supplies of any description, purchased pursuant to law, for the use of the Army or Navy unless the President shall find that the rates of freight charges by said vessels are excessive and unreasonable, in which case contracts shall be made under the law as it now exists: Provided, That no greater charges be made by such vessels for transportation of articles for the use of the said Army and Navy than are made by such vessels for transportation of like goods for private parties or companies. (Apr. 28, 1904-)

Exemption of Private Property at Sea.

It is the sense of the Congress of the United States that it is desirable, in the interest of uniformity of action by the maritime States of the world in time of war, that the President endeavor to bring about an understanding among the principal maritime powers with a view of incorporating into the permanent law of civilized nations the principle of the exemption of all private property at sea, not contraband of war, from capture or destruction by belligerents. (J. R., Apr. 28, 1904.)

Hospital Ships.

Hospital ships, concerning which the conditions set forth in articles one, two, and three of the convention concluded at The Hague on July twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva convention of August twenty-second, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, are fulfilled, shall, in the ports of the United States and the possessions thereof, be exempted, in time of war, from all dues and taxes imposed on vessels by the laws of the United States, and from all pilotage charges. (Sec. 1.)

The President of the United States shall by proclamation name the hospital ships to which this Act shall apply, and shall indicate the time when the exemptions herein provided for shall begin and end. (Mar. 24, 1908, sec. 2.)

Sponge Fishing.

On and after August fifteenth, anno Domini nineteen hundred and fourteen, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States, or person owing duty of obedience to the laws of the United States, or any boat or vessel of the United States, or person belonging to or on any such boat or vessel, to take or catch, by any means or method, in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the Straits of Florida outside of State territorial limits, any commercial sponges measuring when wet less than five inches in their maximum diameter, or for any person or vessel to land, deliver, cure, offer for sale, or have in possession at any port or place in the United States, or on any boat or vessel of the United States, any such commercial sponges. (Sec. 1.)

The presence of sponges of a diameter of less than five inches on any vessel or boat of the United States engaged in sponging in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the Straits of Florida outside of State territorial limits, or the possession of any sponges of less than the said diameter sold or delivered by such vessels, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this Act. (Sec. 2.)

Every person, partnership, or association guilty of a violation of this Act shall be liable to a fine of not more than $500, and in addition such fine shall be a lien against the vessel or boat on which the offense is committed, and said vessel or boat shall be seized and proceeded against by process of libel in any court having jurisdiction of the offense. (Sec. 3.)

Any violation of this Act shall be prosecuted in the district court of the United States of the district wherein the offender is found or into which he is first brought. (Sec. 4.)

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce to enforce the provisions of this Act, and he is authorized to empower such officers and employees of the Department of Commerce as he may designate, or such officers and employees of other departments as may be detailed for the purpose, to make arrests and seize vessels and sponges, and upon his request the Secretary of the Treasury may employ the vessels of the Coast Guard Service or the employees of the Customs Service to that end. (Aug. 15, 1914, sec. 5.)

Liens on Vessels.

Any person furnishing repairs, supplies, or other necessaries, including the use of dry dock or marine railway, to a vessel, whether foreign or domestic, upon the order of the owner or owners of such vessel, or of a person by him or them authorized, shall have a maritime lien on the vessel which may be enforced by a proceeding in rem, and it shall not be necessary to allege or prove that credit was given to the vessel. (Sec. 1.)

The following persons shall be presumed to have authority from the owner or owners to procure repairs, supplies, and other necessaries for the vessel: The managing owner, ship's husband, master, or any person to whom the management of the vessel at the port of supply is intrusted. No person tortiously or unlawfully in possession or charge of a vessel shall have authority to bind the vessel. (Sec. 2.)

The officers and agents of a vessel specified in section two shall be taken to include such officers and agents when appointed by a charterer, by an owner pro hac vice, or by an agreed purchaser in possession of the vessel, but nothing in this Act shall be construed to confer a lien when the furnisher knew, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence could have ascertained, that because of the terms of a charter party, agreement for sale of the vessel, or for any other reason, the person ordering the repairs, supplies, or other necessaries was without authority to bind the vessel therefor. (Sec. 3.)

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent a furnisher of repairs, supplies, or other necessaries from waiving his right to a lien at any time, by agreement or otherwise, and this Act shall not be construed to affect the rules of law now existing, either in regard to the right to proceed against a vessel for advances, or in regard to laches in the enforcement of liens on vessels, or in regard to the priority or rank of liens, or in regard to the right to proceed in personam. (Sec. 4.)

This Act shall supersede the provision of all state statutes conferring liens on vessels in so far as the same purport to create rights of action to be enforced by proceedings in rem against vessels for repairs, supplies, and other necessaries. (June 23, 1910,1 sec. 5.) Enforcement of Navigation Laws.

To enable the Secretary of Commerce to provide and operate such motor boats and employ thereon such persons as may be necessary for the enforcement, under his direction by customs officers, of laws relating to the navigation and inspection of vessels, boarding of vessels, and counting of passengers on excursion boats, $89,000.

To enable the Secretary of Commerce to employ temporarily, in addition to those now provided for by law, such other persons as may be necessary, of whom not more than two at any one time may be employed in the District of Columbia, to enforce the laws to prevent overcrowding of passenger and excursion vessels, and all necessary expenses in connection therewith, $18,840. (Feb. 24, 1927.) Use of Seized Vessels or Vehicles.

Any vessel or vehicle summarily forfeited to the United States for violation of the customs laws, may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, under such regulations as he may prescribe, be taken and used for the enforcement of the customs laws or the National Prohibition Act, in lieu of the sale thereof under existing law. (Sec. 1.)

Upon application therefor by the Secretary of the Treasury, any vessel or vehicle forfeited to the United States by a decree of any court for violation of the customs laws or the National Prohibition Act may be ordered by the court to be delivered to the Treasury Department for use in the enforcement of the customs laws or the National Prohibition Act, in lieu of the sale thereof under existing law. (Sec. 2.)

Any vessel or vehicle acquired under the provisions of section 1 or 2 of this Act shall be utilized only for official purposes in the enforcement of the customs laws or the National Prohibition Act. The appropriations available for defraying the expenses of collecting the revenue from customs or for enforcement of the National Prohibition Act shall hereafter be available for the payment of expenses of maintenance, repair, and operation of said vessels and vehicles, including motor-propelled passenger-carrying vehicles. Said appropriations shall also be available for the payment of the actual costs incident to the seizure and forfeiture, and if the seizure is made under any section of law under which liens are recognized, for the payment of the amount of such lien allowed by the court: Provided, however, That a report shall be submitted to Congress each year in the Budget, setting forth in detail a description of the vessels or vehicles so acquired, the cost of acquiring, the appraised value thereof, the uses to which they have been put, the appraised value of seizures resulting from their use, and the expense of operating such vessels or vehicles: Provided further, That any vessel or vehicle so acquired when no longer needed for official use shall be

1 Act June 23, 1910, was repealed by subsection X of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920, but provisions not inconsistent with the subsection were reenacted.

disposed of in the same manner as other surplus property. (Mar. 3, 1925, sec. 3.)

Licensing of Customhonse Brokers.

The collector or chief officer of the customs at any port of entry or delivery shall, upon application, issue to any person of good moral character, being a citizen of the United States a license to transact business as a customhouse broker in the collection district in which such license is issued, and no person shall transact business as a customhouse broker without a license granted in accordance with this provision; but this act shall not be so construed as to prohibit any person from transacting business at a customhouse pertaining to his own importations. (Sec. 1.)

The collector or chief officer of the customs may at any time, for good and sufficient reasons, serve notice in writing upon any customhouse broker so licensed to show cause why said license shall not be revoked, which notice shall be in the form of a statement specifically setting forth the grounds of complaint. The collector or chief officer of customs shall within ten days thereafter notify the customhouse broker in writing of a hearing to be held before him within five days upon said charges. At such hearing the customhouse broker may be represented by counsel, and all proceedings, including the proof of the charges and the answer thereto, shall be presented, with right of cross-examination to both parties, and a stenographic record of the same shall be made and a copy thereof shall be delivered to the customhouse broker. At the conclusion of such hearing the collector or chief officer of customs shall forthwith transmit all papers and the stenographic report of the hearing, which shall constitute the record in the case, to the Secretary of the Treasury for his action. Thereupon the said Secretary of the Treasury shall have the right to revoke the license of any customhouse broker, in which case formal notice shall be given such customhouse broker within ten days. (Sec. 2.)

Any licensed customhouse broker aggrieved by the decision of the Secretary of the Treasury may, within thirty days thereafter, and not afterwards, apply to the United States district court for the district in which the collection district is situated for a review of such decision. Such application shall be made by filing in the office of the clerk of said court a petition praying relief in the premises. Thereupon the court shall immediately give notice in writing of such application to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall forthwith transmit to said court the record and evidence taken in the case, together with a statement of his decision therein. The filing of such application shall operate as a stay of the revocation of the license. The matter may be brought on to be heard before the said court in the same manner as a motion, by either the United States district attorney or the attorney for the customhouse broker, and the decision of said United States district court for the district in which the collection district is situated shall be upon the merits as disclosed by the record and be final, and the proceeding remanded to the Secretary of the Treasury for further action to be taken in accordance with the terms of the decree. (Sec. 3.)

The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe regulations necessary or convenient for carrying this Act into effect. (Sec. 4.)