[8. 2127]

AN ACT

To ainend section 4471 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, as amended.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 4471 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, as amended (U. S. C., title 46, sec. 464), be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following new paragraph:

"On and after July 1, 1937, every passenger vessel with berthed or stateroom accommodation for fifty or more passengers shall be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, which shall be in addition to any other device or devices for fire protection, of a type prescribed by the Board of Supervising Inspectors and approved by the Secretary of Commerce. All enclosed portions of such vessels accessible to passengers or crew (except cargo holds, machinery spaces, and, when of fire-resisting construction, toilets, bathrooms, and spaces of similar construction) shall be protected by an automatic sprinkler system: Provided, That if after investigation the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection finds in the case of a particular vessel the application of this Act is unnecessary properly to protect life on such vessel, an exception may be made. The Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection shall cause to be made suitable tests and inspections as will insure the proper working of such systems. In carrying out the provisions of this paragraph the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection is hereby authorized and directed to prescribe the particular approved type, character, and manner of installation of systems to be fitted. The term 'type' as herein used shall be considered to mean any system which will give a prescribed or required efficiency and shall not mean some peculiar shape or design and shall not be confined to some certain brand or make.”

Approved, June 20, 1936.

(H. R. 11915]

AN ACT

To amend the Coastwise Load Line Act, 1935.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2 of the Coastwise Load Line Act, 1935, approved August 27, 1935 (U. S. C., 1934 edition, Supp. I, title 46, sec. 88a), be amended to read as follows:

"SEO. 2. The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized and directed in respect of the vessels defined above to establish by regulations from time to time the load-water lines and marks thereof indicating the maximum depth to which such vessels inay safely be loaded and in establishing such load lines due consideration shall be given to, and differentials made for, the various types and character of vessels and the trades in which they are engaged. In establishing load-water lines on passenger vessels due consideration shall be given to, and differentials shall be made for, the age and condition of the vessel, its subdivision and efficacy thereof, and the probable stability of the vessel if damaged: Provided, That the load-line provisions of this Act shall apply to the Great Lakes and that no load line shall be established or marked on any vessel which load line gives a lesser freeboard and less buoyance than the load line established by the International Treaty on Load Lines of 1930, and tha. the regulations established under this proviso shall have the force of law: Provided further, That in applying the load lines to vessels on the Great Lakes and to steam colliers, tugs, barges, and self-propelled barges engaged in special services on inter-island voyages and on coastwise voyages from port to port in the continental United States the Secretary of Commerce is vested with discretion to vary the load-line marks from those established by said treaty when in his opinion the changes made by him will not be above the actual line of safety."

Approved, June 20, 1936.

(H. R. 12419]

AN ACT

To apply laws covering steam vessels to seagoing vessels of three hundred gross tons and over propelled by internal-combustion engines.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That existing laws covering the inspections of steam vessels be, and they are hereby, made applicable to seagoing vessels of three hundred gross tons and over propelled in whole or in part by internal-combustion engines to such extent and upon such conditions as may be required by the regulations of the Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce: Provided, That this Act shall not apply to any vessel engaged in fishing, oystering, clamming, crabbing, or any other branch of the fishery or kelp or sponge industry: Provided further, That as to licenses required for masters and engineers operating vessels propelled by internalcombustion engines operating exclusively in the district covering the Hawaiian Islands, said masters and engineers shall be under the jurisdiction of the hull and boiler inspectors having jurisdiction over said waters, who shall make diligent inquiry as to the character, merits, and qualifications, and knowledge and skill of any master or engineer applying for a license. If the said inspe-tors shall be satisfied from personal examination of the applicant and from other proof submitted that the applicant possesses the requisite character, merits, qualifications, knowledge, and skill, and is trustworthy and faithful, they shall grant him a license for the term of five years to operate such vessel under the limits prescribed in the license.

SEO. 2. The term "seagoing vessels" as used in the preceding section shall be construed to mean vessels which in the usual course of their employment proceed outside the line dividing the inland waters from the high seas as designated and determined under the provisions of section 2 of the Act of February 19, 1895. Approved, June 20, 1936.

(179)

[S. 4252]

AN ACT

To provide for the modification of the contract of lease entered into on June 12, 1922, between the United States and the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War, with the consent of the lessee, may, in his discretion, and in such manner as he may consider desirable, reduce the consideration or obligation, require repairs and maintenance, and otherwise modify the terms, consideration, and provisions of the lease entered into between the United States and the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans on June 12, 1922, as now or hereafter supplemented, covering the New Orleans Army Base or portions thereof, in the event it appears that full performance of the lessee's obligations under such lease will result in default by, or impose undue hardship upon, the lessee: Provided, That the rental shall not be made lower than the fair rental value to be determined by the Secretary of War from an appraisal by qualified disinterested appraisers, the cost of appraisal to be paid by the Secretary of War from the rental collected under the lease. Approved, June 20, 1936.

(180)

(H. R. 12305]

AN ACT

To define the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That commissioned, warrant, and petty officers of the Coast Guard are hereby empowered to make inquiries, examinations, inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests upon the high seas, and the navigable waters of the United States, its Territories, and possessions, except the Philippine Islands, for the prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of laws of the United States: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall apply to the inland waters of the United States, its Territories, and possessions, other than the Great Lakes and the connecting waters thereof. For such purposes, such officers are authorized at any time to go on board of any vessel, subject to the jurisdiction, or to the operation of any law, of the United States, to address inquiries to those on board, to examine the ship's documents and papers, and to examine, inspect, and search the vessel and use all necessary force to compel compliance. When from such inquiries, examination, inspection, or search it shall appear that a breach of the laws of the United States rendering a person liable to arrest is being, or has been committed, by any person, such person shall be arrested or, if escaping to shore, shall be immediately pursued and arrested on shore, or other lawful and appropriate action shall be taken; or, if it shall appear that a breach of the laws of the United States has been committed so as to render such vessel, or the merchandise, or any part thereof, on board of, or brought into the United States by, such vessel, liable to forfeiture, or, so as to render such vessel liable to a fine or penalty and if necessary to secure such fine or penalty, such vessel shall be seized.

SEC. 2. The officers of the United States Coast Guard, insofar as they are engaged, pursuant to the authority contained in this Act, in enforcing any law of the United States, shall

(a) Be deemed to be acting as agents of the particular executive department or independent establishment charged with the administration of the particular law; and

(b) Be subject to all the rules and regulations promulgated by such department or independent establishment with respect to the enforcement of that law.

SEO. 8. The foregoing provisions. shall be in addition to any powers conferred by law upon such officers, and not in limitation of any powers conferred by law upon such officers or any other officers of the United States.

SEC. 4. The term "inland waters" as used in this Act shall not be construed to include harbors, bays, sounds, roadsteads, and like bodies of water along the coasts of the United States, its Territories, and possessions, and shores of the Great Lakes.

Approved, June 22, 1936.