2d Session. THE ESPIONAGE ACT. APRIL 23, 1918.-Ordered to be printed. No. 507. Mr. WEBB, from the committee of conference, submitted the following CONFERENCE REPORT: [To accompany H. R. 8753.] The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 8753) to amend section three, title one, of the act entitled "An Act to punish acts of interference with the foreign relations, the neutrality, and the foreign commerce of the United States, to punish espionage, and better to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and for other purposes," approved June fifteenth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, having niet, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: That the Senate recede from its amendment numbered 6. That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendments of the Senate numbered 1, 2, and 3; and agreed to the same. Amendment numbered 4: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 4, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment insert the following: or attempt to obstruct; and the Senate agree to the same. Amendment numbered 5: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 5, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment insert the following: and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States, or any language intended to bring the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States into contempt, scorn, contumely, or disrepute, or shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any language intended to incite, provoke, or encourage resistance to the United States, or to promote the cause of its enemies, or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully by utterance, writing, printing, publication, or language spoken, urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production in this country of any thing or things, product or products, necessary or essential to the prosecution of the war in which the United States may be engaged, with intent by such curtailment to cripple or hinder the United States in the prosecution of the war, and whoever shall willfully advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated, and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein; and the Senate agree to the same. Amendment numbered 7: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 7, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment insert the following: Provided, That any employee or official of the United States Government who commits any disloyal act or utters any unpatriotic or disloyal language, or who, in an abusive and violent manner criticizes the Army or Navy or the flag of the United States shall be at once dismissed from the service. Any such employee shall be dismissed by the head of the department in which the employee may be engaged, and any such official shall be dismissed by the authority having power to appoint a successor to the dismissed official; and the Senate agree to the same. Amendment numbered 8: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 8, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment insert the following: Sec. 2. That section one of Title XII and all other provisions of the act entitled "An act to punish acts of interference with the foreign relations, the neutrality, and the foreign commerce of the United States, to punish espionage, and better to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and for other purposes," approved June fifteenth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, which apply to section three of Title I thereof shall apply with equal force and effect to said section three as amended. Title XII of the said act of June fifteenth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following section: Sec. 4. When the United States is at war, the Postmaster General may, upon evidence satisfactory to him that any person or concern is using the mails in violation of any of the provisions of this act, instruct the postmaster at any post office at which mail is received addressed to such person or concern to return to the postmaster_at the office at which they were originally mailed all letters or other matter so addressed, with the words " Mail to this address undeliverable under Espionage Act" plainly written or stamped upon the outside thereof, and all such letters or other matter so returned to such postmasters shall be by them returned to the senders thereof under such regulations as the Postmaster General may prescribe. And the Senate agree to the same. That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate to the title, and agree to the same. E. Y. WEBB, C. C. CARLIN, DICK T. MORGAN, GEORGE S. GRAHAM, Managers on the part of the House. DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, KNUTE NELSON, Managers on the part of the Senate. STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE. The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 8753) to amend section 3, title 1, of the act entitled "An act to punish acts of interference with the foreign relations, the neutrality, and the foreign commerce of the United States, to punish espionage, and better to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and for other purposes," approved June 15, 1917, submit the following written statement explaining the effect of the action agreed on: Amendment No. 1, on which the House recedes, brings within the crimes denounced in section 1 of the bill those who "say or do anything except by way of bona fide and not disloyal advice to an investor or investors." Amendment No. 2, on which the House recedes, is a matter of punctuation made necessary by amendment No. 3. Amendment No. 3, on which the House recedes, adds the words "or incite or attempt to incite ", making a person guilty who attempts to cause, or incite or attempts to incite, insubordination, etc. Amendment No. 4: Here the House recedes with an amendment. This amendment relates to the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States. The Senate amendment reads "or discourage or willfully attempt to obstruct or discourage." The amendment agreed on strikes out all of this amendment except the words "or attempt to obstruct." With this amendment it will be a crime to willfully obstruct and also to attempt to obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States. The Amendment No. 5: The House recedes with an amendment. effect of this amendment is to modify the Senate amendment as shown in the bill printed with the Senate amendment, on page 2, line 21, by striking out the word "contemptuous,"; on page 3, line 8, after the word "shall" to add "willfully"; and on page 3, line 15, to strike out the word "favor.". Amendment No. 6: The Senate recedes on this amendment. Amendment No. 7: The House here recedes with an amendment. The Senate amendment was modified in conference by striking therefrom the words "in executive branch." The Senate amendment provided for dismissal from the service any employee or official in the executive branch of the Government. The amendment as agreed upon in conference extends this to any official or employee of the Government. Amendment No. 8: The House recedes with an amendment. The change made in the Senate amendment by the conferees consisted in limiting section 4 of the espionage act as amended in section 2 of this bill by the words placed at the beginning of the section, "When the United States is at war." E. Y. WEBB, C. C. CARLIN, DICK T. MORGAN, Managers on the part of the House. 2d Session. No. 509. PORT OF ENTRY, SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO. APRIL 24, 1918.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. DIXON, from the Committee on Ways and Means, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 11243.] The Committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 11243) providing for the establishment of the port of San Juan, customs district of Porto Rico, as a port of entry for immediate transportation without appraisement of dutiable merchandise, having had the same under consideration, report it back to the House without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The letter of the Secretary of the Treasury relative to this measure explains the necessity for this legislation and is hereto attached and made a part of this report: The CHAIRMAN Committee on Ways and Means, TREASURY Department, House of Representatives. SIR: The department is in receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, inclosing a bill, H. R. 11243, providing for the establishment of San Juan, Porto Rico, as a port of entry for the immediate transportation without appraisement of dutiable merchandise and requesting that your committee be furnished with such suggestions as may be deemed proper regarding the merits of the bill and the propriety of its passage. It is noted that the bill extends to San Juan the privileges of the first and seventh sections of the act approved June 10, 1880, governing the immediate transportation without appraisement of dutiable merchandise. It appears that there has been a steady increase in the volume of merchandise arriving at San Juan en route to points in the United States and that the extension to San Juan of the privileges of shipment of merchandise under immediate transportation without appraisement would enable the collector to facilitate the handling of such shipments. The shipments arrive at San Juan at such times as to make it almost impossible under the present procedure for the collector's office to examine and appraise the merchandise so as to permit it to be promptly forwarded on outgoing steamers. The extension to San Juan of the privileges of the seventh section of the act approved June 10, 1880, will permit the shipment from the place of first arrival in the United States to San Juan without examination or appraisement of merchandise ultimately destined for San Juan where the goods may be examined and appraised and the duties paid. |