reasons for the desired legislation, but have received no information from them on the subject. They also referred the matter to the corporation counsel and received an opinion from that official, a copy of which is herewith transmitted. In view of the fact that they have not been advised as to the circumstances which led to the introduction of the bill, they are not prepared to make any recommendation in the premises.

Very respectfully, Hon. J. W. BABCOCK,

HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND, President Board of Commissioners, District of Columbia.

Chairman Committee on the District of Columbia, House of Representatives.

APRIL 6, 1906.

GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to return to you H. R. 17202, entitled "A bill to amend an act to incorporate the Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Pythias."

Section 2 of the act approved June 29, 1894, incorporating this body provides "That the said corporation shall have the power to take and hold real and personal estate, not exceeding in value one hundred thousand dollars, which shall not be divided among the members of the corporation, but shall descend to their successors for the promotion of the fraternal and benevolent purposes of said corporation.”

The purpose of the bill intends to strike out the words "not exceeding in value one hundred thousand dollars," thus giving the corporation power to take and hold real and personal estate of unlimited value for the purposes of the corporation.

The general policy of the law as indicated in the Code of the District of Columbia applicable to institutions of learning, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, mechanical, insurance, mercantile, transportation, market, savings bank corporations, and building associations restricts the quantity of land such corporations shall hold to what is necessary for their purposes, and in the case of manufacturing and other corporations of like character, the personal estate as well as the real estate which is

necessary.

Reference to sections 580, 607, and 700 of the Code of the District of Columbia will give fuller information on this subject. Religious societies may acquire an acre of land. (Sec. 587 of the Code, District of Columbia.)

Boards of trade, one city lot and building in the District. (Sec. 703, Code, District of Columbia.)

Benevolent, charitable, educational, literary, musical, scientific, religious, or missionary societies may hold real and personal estate necessary for their purposes and their real and personal property the clear annual income from which shall not exceed in value $25,000. (Sec. 600, Code, District of Columbia.)

Trust loan, safe deposit, title insurance and mortgage companies may hold and convey real estate not exceeding in value $500,000, and such in addition as may be acquired in satisfaction of debts. (Sec. 726, Code, District of Columbia.)

Whether in view of the policy indicated in the legislation above set forth, it is the opinion of the Commissioners that this bill should contain no restriction in value of the real and personal property such corporation may hold and acquire is a matter respectfully submitted for consideration.

E. H. THOMAS,
Corporation Counsel.

RETENT ON CONTRACTS WITH THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

JANUARY 25, 1907.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed.

Mr. TAYLOR, of Ohio, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 21684.]

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 21684) to amend section 2 of the act entitled "An act regulating the retent on contracts with the District of Columbia," approved March 31, 1906, report the same back to the House with the recommendation that it do

pass.

Section 2 of the act approved March 31, 1906, reads as follows:

SEC. 2. That this act shall cover and comprehend all contracts for the construction of bridges and sewers as herein specified, which are now completed by the contractors according to their contracts and accepted by the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia.

The act approved March 31, 1906, failed to provide for the retent on contracts which were pending at the date of the passage of the act and not completed, and consequently worked inequitably against certain contractors who had not finished their work and were carrying it on at the date of the passage of the above-mentioned act. The bill herewith reported amends the law so as to allow such contractors, who have since completed their contracts, to share in the provisions of the act. This measure has received the approval of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, as will be seen by their following letter on this subject:

OFFICE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
Washington, December 14, 1906.

SIR: The Commissioners of the District of Columbia have the honor to submit the following on H. R. 21684, Fifty-ninth Congress, second session, "to amend section two of the act entitled 'An act regulating the retent on contracts with the District of Columbia,' approved March thirty-first, nineteen hundred and six," which you referred to them for examination and report.

The act which it is the purpose of this bill to amend was passed at the request of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. The object of the bill was to change existing law by the reducing in the case of certain contracts the period within which

the retent was held to guarantee repairs and maintenance. Previous to the passage of the act a retent of 10 per cent of the amount of each contract was held generally on all construction contracts as a guarantee fund to keep the work in repair.

The Commissioners, believing that this period was excessive in the case of contracts for bridges, sewers, buildings, etc., recommended a change in the law by which the "etent on contracts for pavements should be held for five years, and on bridges and sewers for one year from the date of the completion of the contract, and on contracts for buildings and other contracts for construction work only until the completion of the work.

The intention of the Commissioners, as stated in their letter recommending the bill, was to save the extra cost of work which was involved in withholding a portion of the contract price for this long period of years when there was no necessity for the same, and it was their intention that the law should operate only from the date of the passage of the act. The bill as drafted by them, however, was amended by Congress so as to provide that the act should cover and comprehend all contracts for the construction of bridges and sewers which were completed by contractors according to their contracts and accepted by the Board of Commissioners at the date of the passage of the act.

The law, however, failed to provide for contracts which were pending at the date of the passage of the act and not completed, and as a consequence the bill worked inequitably against certain contractors who had not finished their work at the date of the passage of the act, but who were carrying on work at that date.

The present bill is to amend the law so as to allow such contractors who have since completed their contracts to share in the provisions of the act, and the purpose of the bill seems to the Commissioners to be equitable and just. The Cominissioners therefore recommend the passage of the bill.

Very respectfully,

Hon. J. W. BABCOCK,

HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND,

President Board of Commissioners, District of Columbia.

REGISTRATION OF NURSES, ETC., IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

JANUARY 25, 1907.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed.

Mr. TAYLOR, of Ohio, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 12690.]

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 12690) to define the term of "registered nurse" and to provide for the registration of nurses in the District of Columbia, report the same back to the House with the recommendation that it do pass, when amended as follows:

Page 4, line 3, insert after the word "act" the following:

or shall have graduated from any training school in the District of Columbia within the five years immediately preceding the passage of this act.

The development of the art of nursing and the greatly increased number of training schools for nurses in the past ten or fifteen years have made necessary some definite amount of education which all such schools shall furnish to their pupils, in order to properly equip them for the important and responsible situations in which they find themselves. An analogous state of affairs existed before the passage of acts in various States licensing physicians and surgeons, some medical schools requiring only one year of preparation for the diploma enabling a man to practice medicine, other schools requiring as many as three.

The passage of an act in April, 1903, in the State of New York, providing for the registration of nurses, and incidentally of training schools (New York being the second State to pass such an act), has already had a definite and decided effect by requiring training schools to furnish a prescribed minimum amount of practical and theoretical training in order to obtain registration in that State. This is clearly shown by the annual reports of the nurses' examining board and of the board of regents.

The existence of various correspondence schools of nursing giving diplomas as valuable to the uninitiated public as any from the best

training schools of the country, constitute a menace to the public interests, which the fixing of a definite standard by the State will go far to obviate.

The passage of similar bills in 12 States in the past three years makes it necessary to protect the District of Columbia from becoming the refuge of all those who are debarred from obtaining the stamp of the State's approval, and who will naturally drift to the places where no such standard exists.

The following briefly explains the provisions of the various sections: Section 1 protects the title "Registered nurse."

Section 2 provides for the appointment of a nurses' examining board by the Commissioners, and removal for just cause.

Section 3 provides for organization of said board, for keeping record of meetings and a register of nurses duly registered under the act, and for furnishing certificates to said nurses, also for notice in public print of examinations thirty days in advance.

Section 4 fixes the registration fee and qualifications necessary to secure registration and provides also for the registration of training schools according to standards to be determined by the nurses' examining board.

Section 5 provides for registration without examination under certain specified conditions.

Section 6 provides for the revocation and cancellation of a certificate, if such be found to have been fraudulently obtained, or any holder of a certificate be found to be guilty of any immoral or criminal act, after thirty days' notice of charges, and a full and fair hearing before the whole nurses' examining board.

Section 7 provides for expenditure of fees and payment of nurses' board.

Section 8 fixes a punishment for violation of any of the provisions of this act.

Section 9 provides for reciprocity with other States and Territories maintaining equally high standards.

Section 10 provides that nothing in this act shall prevent any person from nursing either gratuitously or for hire, nor shall this act permit anyone to violate any provision of the act entitled "An act to regulate the practice of medicine and surgery, to license physicians and surgeons, and to punish persons violating the provisions thereof," approved June 3, 1896.

Section 11 makes the act to include both men and women who may engage in nursing.

The proposed legislation does not prohibit the practice as a nurse by anyone for compensation in the District, whether they may have had preparation along these lines by attendance at a school of training or not, but prohibits such persons from claiming to be "registered nurses," and protects the public from imposition, as only those who have complied with the provisions of the bill will be permitted to designate themselves as "registered nurses."

Your committee believes that this legislation, which is in the interest of the public as well as those nurses who have prepared themselves for their duties by a course of training, should be enacted into law.