The General Deficiency Appropriation Act, approved June 25, 1910, contained the following provision: "Wreck of battleship Maine: For additional amount for the raising or the removal of the wreck of the battleship Maine from the harbor of Havana, in accordance with the provisions of the act approved May 10, 1910. $200,000.” The mistake in the date given for the approval of the act of May 9, 1910, has raised some question as to the availability of the second appropriation.

The Naval Appropriation Act, approved June 24, 1910, authorized the President to have constructed two first class battleships to cost, exclusive of armor and armament, not exceeding $6,000,000 each, similar to Increase of the Navy. the battleship authorized by the act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June

30, 1909.

Two fleet colliers of fourteen knots trial speed, when carrying not less than 12,500 tons of cargo and bunker coal, to cost not exceeding $1,000,000 each.

And the contract for the construction of said vessels shall contain a provision requiring said vessels to be built in accordance with the provisions of an act entitled "An act relating to the limitation of the hours of daily service of laborers and mechanics employed upon the public works of the United States and of the District of Columbia," approved August 1, 1892, and shall be awarded by the Secretary of the Navy to the lowest best responsible bidder, having in view the best results and most expeditious delivery; and in the construction of all said vessels the provisions of the act of August 3, 1886, entitled "An act to increase the naval establishment," as to materials for said vessels, their engines, boilers and machinery, the contracts under which they are built, the notice of any proposals for the same; the plans, drawings, specifications therefor, and the method of executing said contracts shall be observed and followed, and, subject to the provisions of this act, except that the Secretary of the Navy may accept, in lieu of an indemnity bond, the deposit by contractors of United States government or state bonds, under such conditions and in such manner as the Secretary of the Navy may prescribe, having due regard for the rights and protection of the United States, all said vessels shall be built in compliance with the terms of said act, and in all their parts shall be of domestic manufacture; and the steel material shall be of domestic manufacture, and of the quality and characteristics best adapted to the various purposes for which it may be used, in accordance with specifications approved by the Secretary of the Navy, provided contracts for furnishing the same in a reasonable time, at a reasonable price, and of the required quality can be made with responsible parties: Provided, That not more than one of the battleships provided for in this act shall be built by the same contracting party: Provided always, That one of the battleships herein authorized shall be constructed in one of the navy yards.

For four submarine torpedo boats in an amount not exceeding in the aggregate $2,000,000, and the sum of $800,000 is hereby appropriated toward said purpose.

For six torpedo boat destroyers, to have the highest practicable speed, and to cost in all not to exceed $750.000 each, and toward the construction of said torpedo boat destroyers the sum of $2,225.000 is hereby appropriated.

The Secretary of the Navy may build any or all of the vessels authorized in this act in such navy yards as he may designate, and shall build any of the vessels herein authorized in such navy yards as he may designate, should it reas nably appear that the persons, firms or corporations, or the agents thereof, bidding for the construction of any of said vessels have entered into any combination, agreement or understanding, the effect, object or purpose of which is to deprive the government of fair, open and unrestricted competition in letting contracts for the construction of any of said vessels. An act approved April 21, 1910, aathorized the Secretary of the Treasury to provide and equip two new revenue cutters at a cost not exceeding $250,000 in each case, and when either of said revenue cutters shall Authorizing Two New be placed in service, one of the revenue cutters now in Revenue Cutters. the service shall thereupon be retired from service. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized from time to time to make such transfer and change of stations of revenue cutters as he may deem desirable for the best interests of the service, and in his discretion to direct any revenue cutter to cruise in any waters to perform the duties of the revenue cutter service. The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to have the vessels provided for constructed in accordance with the provisions of the act, entitled "An act relating to the limitation of the hours of daily service of laborers and mechanics employed upon the public works of the United States of the District of Columbia," approved August 1, 1892. An act, approved June 24, 1910, provided that, from and after the first day of July, 1911, it shall be unlawful for any ocean going steamer of the United States, or of any foreign country, carrying passengers and carWireless on rying fifty or more persons, including passengers and crew, to Ocean Steamers. leave or attempt to leave any port of the United States unless such steamer shall be equipped with an efficient apparatus for radio-communication, in good working crder, in charge of a person skilled in the use of such apparatus, which apparatus shall be capable of transmitting and receiving messages over a distance of at least one hundred miles, night or day: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to steamers plying only between ports less than two hundred miles apart.

For the purpose of this act apparatus for radio-communication shall not be deemed to be efficient unless the company installing it shall contract in writing to exchange, and shall, in fact, exchange, as far as may be physically practicable, to be determined by the master of the vessel, messages with shore or ship stations using other

systems of radio-communication. The master or other person being in charge of any such vessel which leaves or attempts to leave any port of the United States in violation of any of the provisions of this act shall, upon conviction, be fined in a sum not more than $5,000, and any such fine shall be a lien upon said vessel, and such vessel may be libeled therefor in any district court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which such vessel shall arrive or depart, and the leaving or attempting to leave each and every port of the United States shall constitute a separate offence. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall make such regulations as may be necessary to secure the proper execution of this act by collectors of customs and other officers of the government.

An act to increase the limit of cost of certain public buildings, etc., approved June 25, 1910, provided in Sections 33-35 that Section 3734 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended so as to read as follows: Plans for "Sec. 3734. And hereafter no money shall be paid nor conPublic Buildings. tracts made for payment for any site for a public building in excess of the amount specifically appropriated therefor, and no money shall be expended upon any public building until after sketch plans showing the tentative design and arrangement of such building, together with outline description and detailed estimates of the cost thereof shall have been made by the supervising architect of the Treasury Department (except when otherwise authorized by law) and said sketch plans and estimates shall have been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and the head of each executive department who will have officials located in such building; but such approval shall not prevent subsequent changes in the design, arrangement, materials, or methods of construction or cost which may be found necessary or advantageous: Provided, That no such changes shall be made involving an expense in excess of the limit of cost fixed or extended by Congress, and all appropriations made for the construction of such building shall be expended within the limit of cost so fixed or extended."

Hereafter the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to enter into contracts for the full architectural services of the successful architect in any competition held under the provisions of the act of February 20, 1893, and to compensate bim for his services from the appropriation for "general expenses of public buildings" available at the time payment for the particular services rendered is due. The Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, upon the request of the head of any other executive department, or establishment of the government not under any executive department, cause the plans, drawings, designs, specifications and estimates to be prepared in the office of the supervising architect, for any building or buildings for governmental purposes which the head of any other executive department or establishment not under an executive department may be authorized to have constructed: Provided, That the proper appropriations for the support and maintenance of the office of the supervising architect be reimbursed for the cost of such work.

An act approved June 14, 1910, provided that the present members of the Philippine Assembly shall hold office until the 4th day of March, A. D. 1912, and their successors shall be chosen by the people in the year 1911, and in every fourth year thereafter, and shall hold office for four years beginning on the 4th day of March next following their election. At its nexi regular session after the passage of this act the Philippine Legislature shall fix the date for the com

Quadrennial Terms for the
Philippine Legislature and
Resident Commissioners.

mencement of its annual sessions.

Hereafter the terms of Resident Commissioners to the United States shall be four years instead of two. The two to be chosen by the Philippine Legislature at its next regular session, in pursuance of law, shall hold office for four years, and thereafter such elections shall be held quadrennially. Each of said Resident Commissioners shall, In addition to the salary and expenses now allowed by law, be allowed the same sum for stationery and for the pay of necessary clerk hire as is now allowed to the members of the House of Representatives of the United States, and the franking privilege now enjoyed by members of the House of Representatives.

a

Two acts, approved May 23, 1910, provided that section 4035 of the Revised Statutes, providing that "the postmaster issuing a money order shall send notice thereof by mail, without delay, to the postmaster on Postal Law Changes. whom it is drawn," be repealed and that section 3928 of the Revised Statutes be amended to read as follows: "Sec. 3,928. Whenever the sender shall so request, a receipt shall be taken on the delivery of any registered mail matter, showing to whom and when the same was delivered, which receipt shall be returned to the sender, and be received in the courts as prima facie evidence of such delivery."

An act approved June 24, 1910, amended section 3939 of the Revised Statutes to read as follows: "Sec. 3939. When the writer of any letter on which the postage is prepaid shall indorse on the outside thereof his name and address, such letter shall not be advertised, but, after remaining uncalled for at the office to which it is directed the time the writer may direct or the Postmaster General prescribe, shall be returned to the writer without additional charge for postage, and if not then delivered, shall be treated as a dead letter."'

Return of Undelivered Letters.

The Sundry Civil Appropriation Act, approved June 25, 1910, contained the

Work of the Tariff Board.

following provision: To enable the President to secure information to assist him in the discharge of the duties imposed upon him by section 2 of the act entitled "An act to provide revenues, equalize duties and encourage the industries of the United States, and for other purposes," approved August 5, 1909, and the officers of the government in administering the customs laws, including such investigations of the cost of production of commodities, covering cost of material, fabrication and every other element of such cost of production, as are authorized by said act, and including the employment of such persons as may be required for those purposes; and to enable him to do any and all things in connection therewith authorized by law, $250,000.

An act approved May 17, 1910, created a permanent Commission of Fine Arts, to be composed of seven well qualified judges of the fine arts, who shall be appointed by the President, and shall serve for a period of Federal Fine Arts four years each, and until their successors are appointed and Commission. qualified. The President shall have authority to fill all vacancies. It shall be the duty of such commission to advise upon the location of statues, fountains and monuments in the public squares, streets and parks in the District of Columbia, and upon the selection of models for statues, fountains and monuments erected under the authority of the United States and upon the selection of artists for the execution of the same. It shall be the duty of the officers charged by law to determine such questions in each case to call for such advice. The foregoing provisions of this act shall not apply to the Capitol building of the United States and the building of the Library of Congress. The commission shall also advise generally upon questions of art when required to do so by the President, or by any committee of either house of Congress. Said commission shall have a secretary and such other assistance as the commission may authorize, and the members of the commission shall each be paid actual expenses in going and returning from Washington to attend the meetings of said commission and while attending the same.

A joint resolution, approved June 25, 1910, provided that a commission of five members be appointed by the President of the United States to consider the expediency of utilizing existing international agencies for the Universal Peace purpose of Imiting the armaments of the nations of the world Commission. by international agreement, and of constituting the combined navies of the world an international force for the preservation of universal peace, and to consider and report upon any other means to diminish the expenditures of government for military purposes and to lessen the probabilities of Provided, That the total expense authorized by this joint resolution shall not exceed the sum of $10,000 and that the said commission shall be required to make final report within two years from the date of the passage of this resolution.

war:

Any

A joint resolution approved January 19, 1910, created a joint committee of both houses of Congress, to be composed of six members of the Senate, to be appointed by the president thereof, and six members of the Pinchot-Ballinger House of Representatives, to be elected by that body. Investigation. vacancy occurring on the committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The said committee is hereby empowered and directed to make a thorough and complete investigation of the administration, action and conduct of the Department of the Interior and its several bureaus, officers and employes, and of the Bureau of Forestry, in the Department of Agriculture, and its officers and employes, touching, relating to, or bearing upon the reclamation, conservation, management and disposal of the lands of the United States or any lands held in trust by the United States for any purpose, including all the resources and appurtenances of such lands, and said committee is authorized and emLowered to make any further investigation touching said Interior Department, its bureaus, officers and employes as it may deem desirable. Said committee or any subcommittee thereof is hereby empowered to sit and act during the session or recess of Congress, or of either House thereof; to require by subpoena, or otherwise, the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, documents and papers; to take the testimony of witnesses under or th; to obtain documents, papers, and other information from the several departments of the government, or any bureau thereof; to employ stenographers to take and make a record of all evidence taken and received by the committee, and to keep a record of its proceedings; to have such evidence, record and other matter required by the committee printed and suitably bound. and to employ such assistance as may be deemed necessary. The chairman of the committee or any member thereof may administer oaths to witnesses. Subpoenas for witnesses shall be issued under the signature of the chairman of the committee or the chairman of any subcommittee thereof. And in case of disobedience to a subpœna this committee may invoke the aid of any court of the United States or of any of the territories thereof or of the District of Columbia or the District of Alaska, within the jurisdiction of which any Inquiry may be carried on by said committee in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents under the provisions of this resolution. And any such court within the jurisdiction of which the inquiry under this resolution is beng carried on may, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any person under authority of this resolution issue an order requiring such person to appear before said committee and produce books and papers if so ordered and give evidence touching the matter in question, and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof. The claim that any such testimony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such evidence shall not excuse such witness from testifying, but such evidence or testimony shall not be used against

such person on the trial of any criminal proceeding except in prosecution for perjury committed in giving such testimony. In addition to being subject to punishment for contempt, as hereinbefore provided, every person who, having been summoned as a witness by authority of said committee, or any subcommittee thereof, wilfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the investigation herein authorized, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 nor less than $100, and imprisonment in a common jail for not more than one year nor less than one month.

Any official or ex-official of the Department of the Interior, or of the Bureau of Forestry, in the Department of Agriculture, whose official conduct is in question, may appear and be heard before the said joint committee or any subcommittee thereof, in person or by counsel.

All bearings by and before said joint committee or any subcommittee thereof shall be open to the public. The said joint committee shall conclude its investigation and report to this Congress all the evidence taken and received and their findings and conclusions thereon. The sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of said joint committee, the said sum to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate upon vouchers to be approved by the chairman.

A joint resolution, approved June 25, created a commission consisting of two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and two members of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by Employers' Lia- the Speaker thereof, together with two persons to be selected bility Commission. by the President of the United States, for the purpose of making a thorough investigation of the subject of employers' liability and workman's compensation, said commission to submit a report through the President to the Congress of the United States not later than the first Monday in December, 1911; and any vacancy occurring on said commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. To carry out the purpose of this resolution the commission hereby created is authorized to employ persons who are familiar with the subject, and take such other steps as are necessary to make a thorough examination in the matter.

All expenses of said commission, together with compensation to be fixed by the President for the two members of the commission to be appointed by the President, for all time in which said commission shall be actually engaged in this investigation, shall be paid out of any funds in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, on a certificate of the chairman of said commission, who shall be selected from the membership of the commission named under this resolution, and the sum necessary for carrying out the provisions of this resolution is hereby appropriated: Provided, That the total expense authorized by this resolution shall not exceed the sum of $15,000, which shall include the compensation herein authorized. To carry out and give effect to the provisions of this resolution, the commission hereby created shall have power to issue subpoenas, administer oaths, summon witnesses, require the production of books and papers, and receive testimony taken before any proper officer in any state or territory of the United States.

The Sundry Civil Appropriation Act, approved June 25, 1910, contained the following provision: To enable the President, by the employment of accountants and experts from official and private life, to more effectively Economy Commis- inquire into the methods of transacting the public business of sion Authorized. the government in the several executive departments and other government establishments, with the view of inaugurating new or changing old methods of transacting such public business so as to attain greater efficiency and economy therein, and to ascertain and recommend to Congress what changes in law may be necessary to carry into effect such results of his inquiry as can not be carried into effect by executive action alone, and for each and every purpose necessary hereunder, including the employment of personal services at. Washington, District of Columbia, or elsewhere, $100,000.

The Agricultural Appropriation Act, approved May 26, 1910, authorized the

Cost of Food Supplies Investigation. proval of this act.

Secretary of Agriculture to investigate the cost of food supplies at the farm and to the consumer, and to disseminate the results of such investigation in whatever manner he may deem best; this authorization to be effective upon the ap

An act, approved June 25, 1910, provided that the consent of Congress be given to the City of New York, in the State of New York, to obstruct navigation

Obstructing Navigable Waters in New York City.

of any river or other waterway which does not form a connecting link between other navigable waters of the United States, and lying wholly within the limits of said city, by closing all or any portion of the same or by building structures in or over the same when the said city shall be lawfully authorized to do so by the state of New York: Provided, however. That any such obstruction shall be unlawful unless the location and plans for the proposed work or works before the commencement thereof shall have been filed with and approved by the Secretary of War and Chief of Engineers; and when the plans for any such ob struction have been approved by the Chief of Engineers and by the Secretary of War It shall not be lawful to deviate from such plans either before or after the completion of such obstruction, unless the modification of such plans has previously been submitted to and received the approval of the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of

War: And provided further, That the city of New York shall be liable for any damage that may be inflicted upon private property by reason of any of the provisions of this act. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is expressly reserved, and the United States shall incur no liability for the alteration, amendment, or repeal thereof to the city of New York. or to the owner or owners, or any other persons interested in any obstruction which shall have been constructed under its provisions.

An act, approved June 25, 1910, authorized the expenditure of $100,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the erection upon the site of the encampment during the winter of 1777 and 1778 of the American army Valley Forge at Valley Forge, Penn., of a memorial arch within the Valley Memorial Arch. Forge Park, in commemoration of the patriotism displayed and the suffering endured by General George Washington, his officers and men during said winter: Provided, That the money authorized to be expended as aforesaid shall be expended by the Valley Forge Park Commission under the direction of the Secretary of War, and that the location, plans, specifications, and designs for the said arch shall be approved by the Secretary of War: Provided further. That when the said arch is erected the responsibility for the care and keeping of the same shall be with the said Valley Forge Park Commission or as may otherwise be provided by the state of Pennsylvania and without expense to the United States.

An act approved June 23, 1910, authorized the expenditure of $5,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be made under the direction of the Secretary of State and the joint committee on the library for Gift of Von Steuben the erection of a bronze replica of the statue of General Replica to Germany. Von Steuben authorized to be erected in Washington; said replica to be presented to his majesty the German Emperor and the German nation in recognition of the gift of the statue of Frederick the Great, presented by the Emperor to the people of the United States.

Among the other acts and joint resolutions passed at the second session and approved by the President were the following: To amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the American National Red Cross," approved Miscellaneous. January 5, 1905; to create, establish and enforce a miner's labor lien in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes; to provide for the care and support of insane persons in the Territory of Alaska; to provide additional protection for owners of patents of the United States, and for other purposes; to provide for determining the heirs of deceased Indians, for the disposition and sale of allotments of deceased Indians, for the leasing of allotments, and for other purposes; to authorize the sale and disposition of the surplus and unallotted lands in Bennett County, in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in the state of South Dakota, and making appropriation to carry the same into effect; granting leaves of absence to homesteaders on lands to be irrigated under the provisions of the act of June 17, 1902; extending the time for certain homesteaders to establish residence upon their lands; to enable the states of Missouri and Kansas to agree upon a boundary line and to determine the jurisdiction of crimes committed on the Missouri River and adjacent territory; to enable the states of Oregon and Washington to agree upon a boundary line between said states where the Columbia River forms said boundary; to provide for an additional judge of the district court for the Eastern District of New York; providing for the appointment of an additional district judge in and for the northern Judicial district of the state of Ohio, and an additional district judge in and for the southern judicial district of the state of Ohio; to provide for the appointment of an additional district judge in and for the district of Maryland; to license custom house brokers; to repeal Section 860 of the Revised Statutes; authorizing the President to appoint John K. Barton, now a captain on the retired list of the United States navy, to be an engineer in chief, retired, with rank of rear admiral on the retired list of the United States navy; providing for the printing of daily consular reports; to authorize the President to convey to the people of Porto Rico certain lands and buildings not needed for purposes of the United States; to provide for an enlarged homestead; to open to settlement and entry under the general provisions of the homestead laws of the United States certain lands in the state of Oklahoma, and for other purposes; providing that entrymen for homesteads within reclamation projects may assign their entries upon satisfactory proof of residence, improvement, and cultivation for five years, the same as though said entry had been made under the original homestead act; authorizing and directing the Department of State to ascertain and report to Congress damages and losses sustained by certain citizens of the United States on account of the naval operations in and about the town of Apia, in the Samoan Islands, by the United States and Great Britain, in March, April and May, 1899; to prevent the dumping of refuse material in Lake Michigan or near Chicago: granting certain lands in the Coconino National Forest, in Arizona, for observatory purposes; extending the time in which to file adverse claims and institute adverse suits against mineral entries in the District of Alaska; to extend the time for construction and beginning of construction of its line of railway in Alaska by the Alaska Short Line Railway and Navigation Company; to establish "The Glacier National Park" in the Rocky Mountains south of the international boundary line, in the state of Montana, and for other purposes; granting public lands to certain cities and towns in the state of Colorado for public park purposes; providing for the reappraisement of unsold lots in town sites on reclamation projects, and for other purposes; to enable the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan to determine the jurisdiction of crimes committed on Lake Michigan; creating a commission to represent the United States at the celebration of the first centennial of the Republic of Mexico; for the establishment of a probation system for the District of Columbia; authorizing the President of the United States to invite the International Congress of Refrigeration to