REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FEDERAL LEGISLATION.

To the President, Georgia Bar Association:

The Committee on Federal Legislation begs leave to submit the following report:

Since the adjournment of the last annual meeting a number of laws of great importance have been passed by the Congress. The war has caused the National Government to exert its powers in every direction and the Congress constituting the law-making branch of the government, has not been idle. Perhaps in no other period of twelve months in the history of the country has so much important legislation been adopted-certainly not since the Civil War. This legislation has not been restricted by any means to what might be termed war measures. It has covered a broad range and, under the general head of what became popularly denominated "Preparedness," the National Congress has dealt extensively by means of new legislation with the subjects of Economics, Banking and Business, Agriculture and Transportation, as well as with war measures. It would be impossible in this report, as it would unduly extend the same, to dwell in detail upon these various subjects and we will content ourselves by merely making a brief reference to the more important of them:

1. On May 4, 1916, the Congress amended the Act of 1907 relating to the hours of service of railroad employees by providing a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for a violation of that Act.

2. On June 3, 1916, the Congress reorganized the Regular Army and the National Guard in a comprehensive Act. Section 124 of that Act made provision for a domestic supply of nitrate for use by the Government in the making of powder for war purposes, and in times of peace for use in the

manufacture of fertilizer. The sum of twenty million dollars was appropriated for the purpose of a site, or sites, and for the erection of necessary plants.

3. On July 11, 1916, the Congress passed an Act appropriating seventy-five million dollars to aid the States in the Union in the construction of rural post roads. This Act is very liberal in its provisions and it is believed that a very considerable improvement in the roads and highways of the country may be anticipated.

4. On July 17, 1916, the Congress passed the Federal Farm Loan Act. Under it twelve farm loan banks have been organized throughout the United States and are now in operation. The provision of this Act as to organization of the banks is modeled largely after the Federal Reserve Act. The Organization Committee divided the continental United States into twelve districts and selected one city in each district as the head office of the bank. These cities are as follows: Springfield, Massachusetts; Baltimore, Maryland; Columbia, South Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; St. Paul, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; Wichita, Kansas; Houston, Texas; Berkeley, California; and Spokane, Washington.

A new security is provided for in this law, known as Federal Farm Loan Bonds. These are tax free. Their security is based on first mortgages on farm lands. The Act is too extensive in its details to attempt further analysis in this report.

5. On August 11, 1916, the Congress passed the United States Warehouse Act. Jurisdiction over this subject is given the Secretary of Agriculture. It gives technical definitions of such expressions as "warehouse," "agricultural product," "warehouseman" and "receipt," and then proceeds to make provision in the greatest detail as to how this business shall be lawfully conducted. A wise provision was inserted in Section 29 to the effect that nothing in the Act should be construed to conflict with or to impair or limit the effect or operation of the laws of any of the States relating to the same subject.

6. On August 11, 1916, the Congress passed the United States Cotton Futures Act, the object and purpose of which was to regulate the cotton exchanges throughout the country. Section 17 of this Act provides that the payment of any tax levied under it shall not exempt any person from any penalty or punishment provided by the laws of any State for entering into contracts of sale of cotton for future delivery. It is believed by some that because of this section State laws on this subject are not repealed, such, for instance, as the Boykin Anti-Futures Act in Georgia. However, a careful study of the Act makes this conclusion not free from doubt.

7. On August 29, 1916, the Congress passed an Act relating to Bills of Lading in interstate and foreign commerce. This is a very important measure and is deserving of very careful study by all those interested in that subject. The whole subject is exhaustively dealt with. A new departure is contained in Section 14, which authorizes courts of competent jurisdiction to order the delivery of goods, under certain conditions, in cases where the bill of lading has been lost, stolen or destroyed. Other interesting features are added.

8. On September 1, 1916, the Congress passed a comprehensive Child Labor Act, which, in substance, prevents the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of any article or commodity, the product of any mine, mill, cannery, workshop, factory or manufacturing establishment in which children under the age of fourteen years have been employed or permitted to work, or children between the ages of fourteen years and sixteen years have been employed more than eight hours in any day, or more than six days in any week, or after the hour of 7 o'clock P. M., or before the hour of 6 o'clock A. M. The Attorney General, Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor, are constituted a Board and given jurisdiction, power and authority for the enforcement of the Act. Severe penalties are provided for a violation of any of its provisions.

9. The Federal Reserve Act of December 23, 1913, has been variously amended since its passage, but not in any fun

damental particulars. The dates of these several amendments are August 4, 1914, August 15, 1914, March 3, 1915, May 15, 1916, and September 7, 1916. We do not consider it necessary to refer in any sort of detail to these several amendments. It may be stated that their object and purpose was mainly to extend the powers and authority of the Federal Reserve Banks, and this is true particularly of the last amendment of September 7, 1916. Several other important amendments to this Act have passed the House and the Senate and are in conference at this writing. None of these amendments, however, will fundamentally alter the original Act. One of them, and perhaps the most important, is designed to alter the provisions of the original Act relating to State Banks and Trust Companies entering the Federal Reserve System, and it is believed that when this amendment is adopted the State Banks and Trust Companies will enter the system in very large numbers. At the present time there are forty State Banks and Trust Companies in the system and 7,581 National Banks. I will state in that connection that there are 20,000 State Banks and Trust Companies in the United States and only forty in the Federal Reserve System.

10. On September 7, 1916, the Congress passed an Act establishing the United States Shipping Board, for the purpose of encouraging the development and creating a naval auxiliary and naval reserve, and a merchant marine to meet the requirements of the commerce of the United States with its territories and possessions and with foreign countries, and to regulate carriers by water engaged in foreign and interstate commerce of the United States. A board of five commissioners, to be known as the United States Shipping Board was created and given jurisdiction, power and authority over the subject matter of the Act. This law is a new departure in the United States. In order to make its provisions effective the sum of fifty million dollars was appropriated. It is a very comprehensive law and the whole subject is worked out in detail in its numerous provisions.

11. On September 8, 1916, Congress passed an Act mak

ing very important changes in the Income Tax, raising the former tax to two per cent. Section 212 of this Act makes provision for a new Government tax, known as an Inheritance or Estate Tax, on all estates in excess of fifty thousand dollars. Certain deductions are allowed. This tax becomes due one year after the decedent's death. The executor is required to give notice to the Collector within thirty days after qualifying. A lien is given the Government for the tax for ten years after it becomes due upon the gross estate of the decedent.

Section 300 of this Act makes provision for a tax on the manufacturers of munitions, and Section 407 fixes a special excise tax of fifty cents for each $1,000 of capital stock of all corporations having a capital in excess of $99,000.

This Act also created, in Section 700, a Tariff Commission, to be composed of six members, and said Commission is given jurisdiction, power and authority to hear and report upon such matters as may be submitted to them arising under the tariff laws of the United States.

12. On April 6, 1917, the Congress passed a resolution declaring war against Germany, as follows:

"Whereas, The Imperial German Government has committed repeated acts of war against the Government and the people of the United States of America; therefore, be it

"Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, that the State of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government, which has thus been thrust upon the United States, is hereby formally declared; and

"That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the Government to carry on war against the Imperial German Government; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination all the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States."

As is well known, events of far-reaching importance have