after due notice to interested parties, give a public hearing under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, at which hearing any interested party may appear and be heard, either in person or by attorney: Provided further, That until the Secretary of Agriculture shall have made a determination that such a quarantine is necessary and has duly established the same with reference to any dangerous plant disease or insect infestation, as hereinabove provided, nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent any State, Territory, Insular Possession, or District from promulgating, enacting, and enforcing any quarantine, prohibiting or restricting the transportation of any class of nursery stock, plant, fruit, seed, or other product or article subject to the restrictions of this section, into or through such State, Territory, District, or portion thereof, from any other State, Territory, District, or portion thereof, when it shall be found, by the State, Territory, or District promulgating or enacting the same, that such dangerous plant disease or insect infestation exists in such other State, Territory, District, or portion thereof: Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized, whenever he deems such action advisable and necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, to cooperate with any State, Territory, or District, in connection with any quarantine, enacted or promulgated by such State, Territory, or District, as specified in the preceding proviso: Provided further, That any nursery stock, plant, fruit, seed, or other product or article, subject to the restrictions of this section, a quarantine with respect to which shall have been established by the Secretary of Agriculture under the provisions of this Act shall, when transported to, into, or through any State, Territory, or District, in violation of such quarantine, be subject to the operation and effect of the laws of such State, Territory, or District, enacted in the exercise of its police powers, to the same extent and in the same manner as though such nursery stock, plant, fruit, seed, or other product or article had been produced in such State, Territory, or District, and shall not be exempt therefrom by reason of being introduced therein in original packages or otherwise. (Aug. 20, 1912, sec. 8, 37 Stat. 318; Mar. 4, 1917, 39 Stat. 1165; Apr. 13, 1926, 44 Stat. 250; 7 U. S. C., sec. 161.) 386. Regulations for carrying out the purposes of act.-That the Secretary of Agriculture shall make and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (Aug. 20, 1912, sec. 9, 37 Stat. 318; 7 U. S. C., sec. 162.) 387. General violations of act; forgery, alteration of certificates; proof of violations by common carrier; duty of United States attorney to prosecute; enforcement; search and seizure.-That any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this Act, or who shall forge, counterfeit, alter, deface, or destroy any certificate provided for in this Act or in the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court: Provided, That no common carrier shall be deemed to have violated the provisions of any of the foregoing sections of this Act on proof that such carrier did not knowingly receive for transportation or transport nursery stock or other plants or plant products as such from one State, Territory, or District of the United States into or through any other State, Territory, or District; and it shall be the duty of the United States attorneys diligently to prosecute any violations of this Act which are brought to their attention by the Secretary of Agriculture or which come to their notice by other means. That any employee of the Department of Agriculture, authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture to enforce the provisions of this Act and furnished with and wearing a suitable badge for identification, who has probable cause to believe that any person coming into the United States, or any vehicle, receptacle, boat, ship, or vessel, coming from any country or countries or moving interstate, possesses, carries, or contains any nursery stock, plants, plant products, or other articles the entry or movement of which in interstate or foreign commerce is prohibited or restricted by the provisions of this Act, or by any quarantine or order of the Secretary of Agriculture issued or promulgated pursuant thereto, shall have power to stop and, without warrant, to inspect, search, and examine such person, vehicle, receptacle, boat, ship, or vessel, and to seize, destroy, or otherwise dispose of, such nursery stock, plants, plant products, or other articles found to be moving or to have been moved in interstate commerce or to have been brought into the United States in violation of this Act or of such quarantine or order. (Aug. 20, 1912, sec. 10, 37 Stat. 318; May 1, 1928, 45 Stat. 468; 7 U. S. C., secs. 163, 164, 164a.) 388. "Person" construed; corporations, etc., liable for acts, etc., of officers, agents, etc.-That the word "person as used in this Act shall be construed to import both the plural and the singular, as the case demands, and shall include corporations, companies, societies, and associations. When construing and enforcing the provisions of this Act, the act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent, or other person acting for or employed by any corporation, company, society, or association, within the scope of his employment or office, shall in every case be also deemed to be the act, omission, or failure of such corporation, company, society, or association as well as that of the person. (Aug. 20, 1912, sec. 11, 37 Stat. 319; 7 U. S. C., secs. 151, 153.) 389. Federal Horticultural Board; composition thereof.-Hereafter the functions of the Federal Horticultural Board shall devolve upon and be exercised by the Plant Quarantine and Control Administration, the chief of which shall serve ex-officio as chairman of an advisory Federal Plant Quarantine Board of five members, the four additional members to be designated by the Secretary of Agriculture from existing bureaus and offices of the Department of Agriculture, including the Bureau of Entomology, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Forest Service, and who shall serve without additional compensation. (Aug. 20, 1912, sec. 12, 37 Stat. 319; May 16, 1928, 45 Stat. 565; 7 U. S. C., sec. 165.) 390. Terminal inspection by State; forwarding by postmasters of packages for inspection and disposition thereof; violations; punishment; regulations. That hereafter when any State shall provide for terminal inspection of plants and plant products, and shall establish and maintain, at the sole expense of the State, such inspection at one or more places therein, the proper officials of said State may submit to the Secretary of Agriculture a list of plants and plant products, and the plant pests transmitted thereby, that in the opinion of said officials should be subject to terminal inspection in order to prevent the introduction or dissemination in said State of pests injurious to agriculture. Upon his approval of said list, in whole or in part, the Secretary of Agriculture shall transmit the same to the Postmaster General, and thereafter all packages containing any plants or plant products named in said approved lists shall, upon payment of postage therefor, be forwarded by the postmaster at the destination of said package to the proper State official at the nearest place where inspection is maintained. If the plant or plant products are found upon inspection to be free from injurious pests, or if infected shall be disinfected by said official, they shall upon payment of postage therefor be returned to the postmaster at the place of inspection to be forwarded to the person to whom they are addressed; but if found to be infected with injurious pests and incapable of satisfactory disinfection, the State inspector shall so notify the postmaster at the place of inspection, who shall promptly notify the sender of said plants or plant products that they will be returned to him upon his request and at his expense, or in default of such request that they will be turned over to the State authorities for destruction. On and after the passage and approval of this Act it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to deposit in the United States mails any package containing any plant or plant product addressed to any place within a State maintaining inspection thereof, as herein defined, without plainly marking the package so that its contents may be readily ascertained by an inspection of the outside thereof. Whoever shall fail to so mark said packages shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100. The Postmaster General is hereby authorized and directed to make all needful rules and regulations for carrying out the purposes hereof. (Mar. 4, 1915, 38 Stat. 1113; 7 U. S. C., sec. 166.) 391. Provision relating to District of Columbia regarding shipment, inspection, seizure, destruction of plants; punishment. That in order further to control and eradicate and to prevent the dissemination of dangerous plant diseases and insect infections and infestations no plant or plant products for or capable of propagation, including nursery stock, hereinafter referred to as plants and plant products, shall be moved or allowed to be moved, shipped, transported, or carried by any means whatever into or out of the District of Columbia, except in compliance with such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture as hereinafter provided. Whenever the Secretary of Agriculture, after investigation, shall determine that any plants and plant products in the District of Columbia are infested or infected with insect pests and diseases and that any place, articles, and substances used or connected therewith are so infested or infected, written notice thereof shall be given by him to the owner or person in possession or control thereof, and such owner or person shall forthwith control or eradicate and prevent the dissemination of such insect pest or disease and shall remove, cut, or destroy such infested and infected plants, plant products, and articles and substances used or connected therewith, which are hereby declared to be nuisances, within the time and in the manner required in said notice or by the rules and regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture. Whenever such owner or person cannot be found, or shall fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with the foregoing provisions of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and required to control and eradicate and prevent dissemination of such insect pest or disease and to remove, cut, or destroy infested or infected plants and plant products and articles and substances used or connected therewith, and the United States shall have an action of debt against such owner or persons for expenses incurred by the Secretary of Agriculture in that behalf. Employees of the Plant Quarantine and Control Administration are hereby authorized and required to inspect places, plants, and plant products and articles and substances used or connected therewith whenever the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine that such inspections are necessary for the purposes of this section. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions and requirements of this section and of the rules and regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture made hereunder, and the notices given pursuant thereto, employees of the Plant Quarantine and Control Administration shall have power with a warrant to enter into or upon any place and open any bundle, package, or other container of plants or plant products whenever they shall have cause to believe that infections or infestations of plant pests and diseases exist therein or thereon, and when such infections or infestations are found to exist, after notice by the Secretary of Agriculture to the owner or person in possession or control thereof and an opportunity by said owner or person to be heard, to destroy the infected or infested plants or plant products contained therein. The police court or the municipal court of the District of Columbia shall have power, upon information supported by oath or affirmation showing probable cause for believing that there exists in any place, bundle, package, or other container in the District of Columbia any plant or plant product which is infected or infested with plant pests or disease, to issue warrants for the search for and seizure of all such plants and plant products. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Agriculture, and he is hereby required, from time to time, to make and promulgate such rules and regulations as shall be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, and any person who shall move or allow to be moved, or shall ship, transport, or carry, by any means whatever, any plant or plant products from or into the District of Columbia, except in compliance with the rules and regulations prescribed under the section, shall be punished, as is provided in section 10 of this Act [7 U. S. C., sec. 163]. (Aug. 20, 1912, 37 Stat. 315; May 31, 1920, 41 Stat. 726; 7 U. S. C., sec. 167.) PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS TITLE I-DEFINITIONS 392. Short title of act.-This Act may be cited as the "Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921." (Aug. 15, 1921, sec. 1, 42 Stat. 159; 7 U. S. C., sec. 181.) 66 393. Persons "Secretary ", "meat-food products ", "livestock ", "livestock products", "commerce", "State" defined.-(a) When used in this Act (1) The term "person" includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, and associations; (2) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture; (3) The term "meat-food products" means all products and byproducts of the slaughtering and meat-packing industry-if edible; (4) The term "livestock" means cattle, sheep, swine, horses, mules, or goats-whether live or dead; (5) The term "livestock products means all products and byproducts (other than meats and meat-food products) of the slaughtering and meat-packing industry derived in whole or in part from livestock; and (6) The term "commerce" means commerce between any State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, and any place outside thereof; or between points within the same State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, but through any place outside thereof; or within any Territory or possession, or the District of Columbia. (b) For the purpose of this Act (but not in anywise limiting the foregoing definition) a transaction in respect to any article shall be considered to be in commerce if such article is part of that current of commerce usual in the livestock and meat-packing industries, whereby livestock, meats, meat-food products, livestock products, dairy products, poultry, poultry products, or eggs, are sent from one State with the expectation that they will end their transit, after purchase, in another, including, in addition to cases within the above general description, all cases where purchase or sale is either for shipment to another State, or for slaughter of livestock within the State and the shipment outside the State of the products resulting from such slaughter. Articles normally in such current of commerce shall not be considered out of such current through resort being had to any means or device intended to remove transactions in respect thereto from the provisions of this Act. For the purpose of this paragraph the word "State" includes Territory, the District of Columbia, possession of the United States, and foreign nation. (Aug. 15, 1921, sec. 2, 42 Stat. 159; 7 U. S. C., secs. 182, 183.) TITLE II.-PACKERS 394. "Packer" defined.-When used in this Act The term "packer" means any person engaged in the business (a) of buying livestock in commerce for purposes of slaughter, or (b) of manufacturing or preparing meats or meat food products for sale or shipment in commerce, or (c) of manufacturing or preparing livestock products for sale or shipment in commerce, or (d) of marketing meats, meat food products, livestock products, dairy products, poultry, poultry products, or eggs, in commerce; but no person engaged in such business of manufacturing or preparing livestock products or in such marketing business shall be considered a packer unless (1) Such person is also engaged in any business referred to in clause (a) or (b) above or unless (2) Such person owns or controls, directly or indirectly, through stock ownership or control or otherwise, by himself or through his 28674-36-10 |