11. 12. in rates. Powers of Federal Communications Commission. 13. Violations; punishment; action for damages. mission; reports; failure to make. 15. Reservation of power to alter, amend, or repeal act; power to fix rates and purchase lines. 16. Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System; money transfers; portion of receipts withheld; bonds. 17. Establishment of telegraph or cable lines by foreigners prohibited. §§ 1 to 6. Repealed. July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1, 61 Stat. 327. Section 1, R. S. § 5263, related to use of public domain. Section 2, R. S. § 5264, related to use of materials from public lands. Section 3, R. S. $ 5266; acts June 19, 1934, ch. 652, §601, 48 Stat. 1101; Mar. 6, 1943, ch. 10, § 6, 57 Stat. 12, related to Government priority in transmission of messages. Section 4, R. S. § 5267; act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101, related to purchase of lines. Section 5, R. S. § 5268; act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101, related to acceptance of obligations to be filed. Section 6, R. S. § 5265; act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101, provided that rights were not transferable. EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL Section 3 of act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, 61 Stat. 327, repealing sections 1-6 and 8 of this title, provided that act July 16, 1947 should take effect on the tenth day following July 16, 1947. AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION; EFFECT OF REPEAL Section 2 of act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, 61 Stat. 327, repealing sections 1-6 and 8 of this title, provided: "Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the Federal Communications Commission under the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended [chapter 5 of this title), to prescribe charges, classifications, regulations, and practices, including priorities, applicable to Government communications." §7. Transmission of telegrams by railroads. CODIFICATION Section, act June 23, 1879, ch. 35, § 1, 21 Stat. 31, which was dependent upon and incorporated by reference in repealed sections 1-6 and 8 of this title which sections were repealed by act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1, 61 Stat. 327, was omitted as obsolete. Page 11633 47-5000-71-vol. 10-60 § 8. Repealed. July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1, 61 Stat. 327. Section, R. S. $ 5269; acts Feb. 27, 1877, ch. 69, § 1, 69 Stat. 252; June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101, related to refusal to transmit dispatches. EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL Section 3 of act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, 61 Stat. 327, repealing sections 1-6 and 8 of this title, provided that act July 16, 1947, should take effect on the tenth day following July 16, 1947. AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION; EFFECT OF REPEAL Section 2 of act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, 61 Stat. 327, repealing sections 1-6 and 8 of this title, provided: "Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the Federal Communications Commission under the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended [chapter 5 of this title), to prescribe charges, classifications, regulations, and practices, including priorities, applicable to Government communications." § 9. Subsidized companies required to construct and operate lines. All railroad and telegraph companies to which the United States has granted any subsidy in lands or bonds or loan of credit for the construction of either railroad or telegraph lines, which, by the acts incorporating them, or by any act amendatory or supplementary thereto, are required to construct, maintain, or operate telegraph lines, and all companies engaged in operating said railroad or telegraph lines shall, by and through their own respective corporate officers and employees, maintain, and operate, for railroad, governmental, commercial, and all other purposes, telegraph lines, and exercise by themselves alone all the telegraph franchises conferred upon them and obligations assumed by them under the acts making the grants as aforesaid. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 1, 25 Stat. 382.) CROSS REFERENCES Federal Communications Commission, jurisdiction of, see section 601 of this title. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 10, 11, 12, 15, 601 of this title. § 10. Equal facilities to connecting lines; discrimination in rates. Whenever any telegraph company which shall have accepted the provisions of sections 5263 to 5269, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes, prior to the effective date of the repeal of such sections, shall extend its line to any station or office of a telegraph line belonging to any one of said railroad or telegraph companies, referred to in section 9 of this title, said telegraph company so extending its line shall have the right and said railroad or telegraph company shall allow the line of said telegraph company so extending its line to connect with the telegraph line of said railroad or telegraph company to which it is extended at the place where their lines may meet, for the prompt and convenient interchange of telegraph business between said companies; and such railroad and telegraph companies, referred to in section 9 of this title, shall so operate their respective telegraph lines as to afford equal facilities to all, without discrimination in favor of or against any person, company, or corporation whatever, and shall receive, deliver, and exchange business with connecting telegraph lines on equal terms, and affording equal facilities, and without discrimination for or against any one of such connecting lines; and such exchange of business shall be on terms just and equitable. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 2, 25 Stat. 383; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1263, § 48, 68 Stat. 1243.) REFERENCES IN TEXT Sections 5263 to 5269, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes, referred to in the text, were formerly classified to sections 1-6 and 8 of this title, and were repealed by act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1, 61 Stat. 377. AMENDMENTS 1954-Act Sept. 3, 1954, amended section to make it clear that the rights and obligations of companies which accepted benefits under former sections 5263-5269 of the Revised Statutes, which have been repealed, continue irrespective of the repeal. CROSS REFERENCES Federal Communications Commission, jurisdiction of, see section 601 of this title. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 12, 15, 601 of this title. § 11. Powers of Federal Communications Commission. If any railroad or telegraph company referred to in section 9 of this title, or company operating such railroad or telegraph line shall refuse or fail, in whole or in part, to maintain, and operate a telegraph line as provided herein, for the use of the Government or the public, for commercial and other purposes, without discrimination, or shall refuse or fail to make or continue such arrangements for the interchange of business with any connecting telegraph company, then any person, company, corporation, or connecting telegraph company may apply for relief to the Federal Communications Commission, whose duty it shall thereupon be, under such rules and regulations as said commission may prescribe, to ascertain the facts, and determine and order what arrangement is proper to be made in the particular case, and the railroad or telegraph company concerned shall abide by and perform such order; and it shall be the duty of the Federal Communications Commission, when such determination and order are made, to notify the parties concerned, and, if necessary, enforce the same by writ of mandamus in the courts of the United States, in the name of the United States, at the relation of either of said communication commissioners. The commissioners may institute any inquiry, upon their own motion, in the same manner and to the same effect as though complaint had been made. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 3, 25 Stat. 383; June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101.) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS All duties, powers, and functions under this section relating to operation of telegraph lines by railroad and telegraph lines granted Government aid in the construction of their lines are imposed on and vested in the Federal Communications Commission by act June 19, 1934. See section 601 of this title. FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE Application, see Rule 81, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Effect of rules on this section, see note by Advisory Committee under Rule 81. Writ of mandamus abolished, see Rule 81(b). This section is referred to in sections 12, 15, 601 of this title. § 12. Interference with liens of United States. In order to secure and preserve to the United States the full value and benefit of its liens upon all the telegraph lines required to be constructed by and lawfully belonging to railroad and telegraph companies referred to in section 9 of this title, and to have the same possessed, used, and operated in conformity with sections 9 to 15 of this title, it is made the duty of the Attorney General of the United States, by proper proceedings, to prevent any unlawful interference with the rights and equities of the United States under all acts of Congress relating to such railroads and telegraph lines, and to have legally ascertained and finally adjudicated all alleged rights of all persons and corporations whatever claiming in any manner any control or interest of any kind in any telegraph lines or property, or exclusive rights-of-way upon the lands of said railroad companies, or any of them, and to have all contracts and provisions of contracts set aside and annulled which have been unlawfully and beyond their powers entered into by said railroad or telegraph companies, or any of them, with any other person, company, or corporation. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 4, 25 Stat. 383.) CROSS REFERENCES Federal Communications Commission, jurisdiction of, see section 601 of this title. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in section 15, 601 of this title. § 13. Violations; punishment; action for damages. Any officer or agent of said railroad or telegraph companies, or of any company operating the railroads and telegraph lines of said companies, who shall refuse or fail to operate the telegraph lines of said railroad or telegraph companies under his control, or which he is engaged in operating, in the manner herein directed, or who shall refuse or fail, in such operation and use, to afford and secure to the Government and the public equal facilities, or to secure to each of said connecting telegraph lines equal advantages and facilities in the interchange of business, as herein provided for, without any discrimination whatever for or adverse to the telegraph line of any or either of said connecting companies. or shall refuse to abide by or perform and carry out within a reasonable time the order or orders of the Federal Communications Commission, shall in every such case of refusal or failure be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall in every such case be fined in a sum of not exceeding $1,000, and may be imprisoned not less than six months; and in every such case of refusal or failure the party aggrieved may not only cause the officer or agent guilty thereof to be prosecuted under the provisions of this section, but may also bring an action for the damages sustained thereby against the company whose officer or agent may be guilty thereof, in the district court of the United States in any State or Territory in which any portion of the road or telegraph line of said company may be situated; and in case of suit process may be served upon any agent of the company found in such State or Territory, and such service shall be held by the court good and sufficient. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 5, 25 Stat. 384; Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, § 289, 36 Stat, 1167; June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101.) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS All duties, powers, and functions under this section relating to operation of telegraph lines by railroad and telegraph lines granted Government aid in the construction of their lines are imposed on and vested in the Federal Communications Commission by act June 19, 1934. See section 601 of this title. CROSS REFERENCES Misdemeanor defined, see section 1 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE Continuation of section under Rule 4, see note by Advisory Committee under Rule 4, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Process, see Rule 4, Title 28, Appendix. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 12, 15, 601 of this title. § 14. Contracts filed with Federal Communications Commission; reports; failure to make. It shall be the duty of each and every one of the aforesaid railroad and telegraph companies annually to report to the Federal Communications Commission, with reasonable fullness and certainty, the nature, extent, value, and condition of the telegraph lines and property then belonging to it, the gross earnings, and all expenses of maintenance, use, and operation thereof, and its relation and business with all connecting telegraph companies during the preceding year, at such time and in such manner as may be required by a system of reports which said commission shall prescribe; and if any of said railroad or telegraph companies shall refuse or fail to make such reports or any report as may be called for by said commission, or refuse to submit its books and records for inspection, such neglect or refusal shall operate as a forfeiture, in each case of such neglect or refusal, of a sum not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, to be recovered by the Attorney General of the United States, in the name and for the use and benefit of the United States; and it shall be the duty of the Federal Communications Commission to inform the Attorney General of all such cases of neglect or refusal, whose duty it shall be to proceed at once to judicially enforce the forfeitures hereinbefore provided. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 6, 25 Stat. 384; June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 601, 48 Stat. 1101.) CODIFICATION A provision in the original enactment of this section requiring filing of copies of contracts, agreements, etc., within 60 days from passage of act Aug. 7, 1888 was omitted as executed. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS All duties, powers, and functions under this section relating to operation of telegraph lines by railroad and telegraph lines granted Government aid in the construction of their lines are imposed on and vested in the Federal Communications Commission by act June 19, 1934. See section 601 of this title. CROSS REFERENCES Exclusive jurisdiction of district court of the United States of action for recovery of forfeiture, see section 1355 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 12, 15, 601 of this title. § 15. Reservation of power to alter, amend, or repeal act; power to fix rates and purchase lines. Nothing in sections 9 to 15 of this title shall be construed to affect or impair the right of Congress, at any time hereafter, to alter, amend, or repeal sections 5263 to 5269, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes; and sections 9 to 15 of this title shall be subject to alteration, amendment, or repeal as, in the opinion of Congress, justice or the public welfare may require; and nothing herein contained shall be held to deny, exclude, or impair any right or remedy in the premises now or hereafter existing in the United States, or the authority of the Federal Communications Commission under the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to prescribe charges, classifications, regulations, and practices, including priorities, applicable to Government communications. (Aug. 7, 1888, ch. 772, § 7, 25 Stat. 385; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1263, § 49, 68 Stat. 1244.) REFERENCES IN TEXT Sections 5263 to 5269, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes, referred to in the text, were formerly classified to sections 1-6 and 8 of this title, and were repealed by act July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1, 61 Stat. 377. The Communications Act of 1934, as amended, referred to in the text, is classified to chapter 5 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1954-Act Sept. 3, 1954, corrected references and eliminated obsolete material. CROSS REFERENCES Federal Communications Commission, jurisdiction of, see section 601 of this title. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 12, 601 of this title. § 16. Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System; money transfers; portion of receipts withheld; bonds. After May 20, 1926, such amount of money as may be authorized by the Secretary of the Army may be withheld temporarily from the receipts of the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System by the auditor of said system as a working balance from which to make payments of money transfers from and to Alaska and between points within Alaska, to be accounted for accordingly; and the expenses of procuring necessary official bonds, as determined by the Secretary of the Army, of enlisted men employed in connection with such money transfers, shall be paid out of the receipts of such system as an operating expense. (May 20, 1926, ch. 345, 44 Stat. 576.) CODIFICATION The Department of War was designated the Department of the Army and the title of the Secretary of War was changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. Section 205 (a) of act July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted "Title 10, Armed Forces" which in sections 3011-3013 continued the military Department of the Army under the administrative supervision of a Secretary of the Army. § 17. Establishment of telegraph or cable lines by foreigners prohibited. No telegraph or cable lines owned or operated or controlled by persons not citizens of the United States, or by any foreign corporation or government shall be established in or permitted to enter Alaska. (May 26, 1900, ch. 586, 31 Stat. 206.) § 21. Submarine cables; willful injury to; punishment. Any person who shall willfully and wrongfully break or injure, or attempt to break or injure, or who shall in any manner procure, counsel, aid, abet, or be accessory to such breaking or injury, or attempt to break or injure, a submarine cable in such manner as to interrupt or embarrass, in whole or in part, telegraphic communication, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine not exceeding $5,000, or to both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. (Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, § 1, 25 Stat. 41.) SHORT TITLE Sections 21 to 33 of this title are popularly known as the "Submarine Cable Act". INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION The protection of submarine cables was made the subject of an international convention between the United States and Germany, Argentine Confederation, AustriaHungary, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Spain, United States of Colombia, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Netherlands, Persia, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Salvador, Servia, Sweden and Norway, Uruguay, and the British Colonies. It was concluded March 14, 1884, ratified January 26, 1885, ratifications exchanged April 16, 1885, and proclaimed May 22, 1885. Its provisions were set forth in 33 of this title. CROSS REFERENCES Offense punishable by imprisonment for term in excess of one year deemed a felony, see section 1 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 23, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33 of this title. § 22. Same; negligent injury to; punishment. Any person who by culpable negligence shall break or injure a submarine cable in such manner as to Interrupt or embarrass, in whole or in part, telegraphic communication, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding $500, or to both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. (Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, §2, 25 Stat. 41.) CROSS REFERENCES Misdemeanor defined, see section 1 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 28, 29, 30, 32, 33 of this title. § 23. Same; injury in efforts to save life excepted. The provisions of sections 21 and 22 of this title shall not apply to a person who breaks or injures a cable in an effort to save the life or limb of himself or of any other person, or to save his own or any other vessel: Provided, That he takes reasonable precautions to avoid such breaking or injury. (Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, § 3, 25 Stat. 41.) SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 28, 29, 30, 32, 33 of this title. § 24. Vessels laying cables; signals; avoidance of buoys. The master of any vessel which, while engaged in laying or repairing submarine cables, shall fail to observe the rules concerning signals that have been or shall be adopted by the parties to the convention described in section 30 of this title with a view to preventing collisions at sea; or the master of any vessel that, perceiving, or being able to perceive the said signals displayed upon a telegraph ship engaged in repairing a cable, shall not withdraw to or keep at distance of at least one nautical mile; or the master of any vessel that seeing or being able to see buoys intended to mark the position of a cable when being laid or when out of order or broken, shall not keep at a distance of at least a quarter of a nautical mile, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month, or to a fine of not exceeding $500. (Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, § 4, 25 Stat. 41.) REGULATIONS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA, 1948 The Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1948, adopted by act Oct. 11, 1951, ch. 495, 65 Stat. 406, are set forth under chapter 2 of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters, CROSS REFERENCES Misdemeanor defined, see section 1 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 of this title. |