SEC. 12. [Reports to Congress of judgments rendered and settlements of claims arising under this Act.] That the Attorney General shall report to the Congress at each session thereof the suits under this Act in which final judgment shall have been rendered for or against the United States and such aforesaid corporation, and the Secretary of any department of the Government of the United States, and the United States Shipping Board, and the board of trustees of any such aforesaid corporation, shall likewise report the arbitration awards or settlements of claims which shall have been agreed to since the previous session, and in which the time to appeal shall have expired or have been waived. [41 Stat. L. 528.]

SEC. 13. [Repeal of inconsistent Acts.] That the provisions of all other Acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. [41 Stat. L. 528.]

An Act Relating to the maintenance of actions for death on the high seas and other navigable waters.

[Act of March 30, 1920, ch. 111, 41 Stat. L. 537.]

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[SEC. 1.] [Actions in Admiralty for death on high seas—parties — beneficiaries.] That whenever the death of a person shall be caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas beyond a marine league from the shore of any State, or the District of Columbia, or the Territories or dependencies of the United States, the personal representative of the decedent may maintain a suit for damages in the district courts of the United States, in admiralty, for the exclusive benefit of the decedent's wife, husband, parent, child, or dependent relative against the vessel, person, or corporation which would have been liable if death had not ensued. [41 Stat. L. 537.]

SEC. 2. [Measure of compensation — apportionment.] That the recovery in such suit shall be a fair and just compensation for the pecuniary loss sustained by the persons for whose benefit the suit is brought and shall be apportioned among them by the court in proportion to the loss they may severally have suffered by reason of the death of the person by whose representative the suit is · brought. [41 Stat. L. 537.]

SEC. 3. [Limitation of actions.] That such suit shall be begun within two years from the date of such wrongful act, neglect, or default, unless during that period there has not been reasonable opportunity for securing jurisdiction of the vessel, person, or corporation sought to be charged; but after the expiration of such period of two years the right of action hereby given shall not be deemed to have lapsed until ninety days after a reasonable opportunity to secure jurisdiction has offered. [41 Stat. L. 537.]

SEC. 4. [Actions in Admiralty brought under law of foreign state.] That whenever a right of action is granted by the law of any foreign State on account of death by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring upon the high seas, such right may be maintained in an appropriate action in admiralty in the courts of the United States without abatement in respect to the amount for which recovery is authorized, any statute of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding. [41 Stat. L. 537.]

SEC. 5. [Death from wrongful act during pendency of action - substitution of parties.] That if a person die as the result of such wrongful act, neglect, or default as is mentioned in section 1 during the pendency in a court of admiralty of the United States of a suit to recover damages for personal injuries in respect of such act, neglect, or default, the personal representative of the decedent may be substituted as a party and the suit may proceed as a suit under this Act for the recovery of the compensation provided in section 2. [41 Stat. L. 537.]

SEC. 6. [Contributory negligence as bar to recovery.] That in suits under this Act the fact that the decedent has been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar recovery, but the court shall take into consideration the degree of negligence attributable to the decedent and reduce the recovery accordingly. [41 Stat. L. 537.]

SEC. 7. [State statutes as affected by this Act certain waters expressly excepted from application of Act.] That the provisions of any State statute giving or regulating rights of action or remedies for death shall not be affected by this Act. Nor shall this Act apply to the Great Lakes or to any waters within the territorial limits of any State, or to any navigable waters in the Panama Canal Zone. [41 Stat. L. 538.]

SEC. 8. [Pending actions as affected by Act.] That this Act shall not affect any pending suit, action, or proceeding. [41 Stat. L. 538.]

[SEC. 1.] [Emergency shipping fund-reduction of appropriation compensation for ship construction-renting buildings in District of Columbia - expenditures for printing.] The authorization of $2,764,000,000, heretofore established for the construction of ships, is reduced to $2,614,000,000. The expenses of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, for administrative purposes, the payment of claims arising from the cancellation of contracts, damage charges and miscellaneous adjustments, maintenance and operation of vessels, and the completion of vessels now under construction, shall be paid from the following sources: (a) The amount on hand July 1, 1920; (b) the amount received during the fiscal year 1921 from the operation of ships; (c) not to exceed $15,000,000 from deferred payments on ships sold prior to the approval of this Act; (d) not to exceed $25,000,000 from plant and material sold during the fiscal year 1921; and (e) not to exceed $30,000,000 from ships sold during the fiscal year 1921: Provided, That, after the approval of this Act, no contract shall be entered into or work undertaken for the construction of any additional vessels for the United States Shipping Board or the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation.

No contracts for ship construction to be entered into shall provide that the compensation of the contractor shall be the cost of construction plus a percentage thereof for profit, or plus a fixed fee for profit.

No part of the funds of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation shall be available for rent of buildings in the District of Columbia, during the fiscal year 1921, if suitable space is provided for the said corporation by the Public Buildings Commission.

No part of the appropriations made in this Act for the Shipping Board or the Emergency Fleet Corporation shall be expended for the preparation, printing, or publication of any bulletins, newspapers, magazines, or periodicals, or for services in connection with same, not including preparation and printing of reports or documents authorized by law. [41 Stat. L. 891.]

This is from the Sundry Civil Appropriation Act of June 5, 1920, ch. 235. A somewhat similar provision appeared in the Sundry Civil Appropriation Act of July 19, 1919, ch. 24, 1919 Supp. Fed. Stat. Ann. 345.

An Act To provide for the promotion and maintenance of the American merchant marine, to repeal certain emergency legislation, and provide for the disposition, regulation, and use of property acquired thereunder, and for other purposes.

[Act of June 5, 1920, ch. 250, 41 Stat. L. 988.1

[SEC. 1.] [Merchant Marine Act-purposes stated general duty of United States Shipping Board.] That it is necessary for the national defense and for the proper growth of its foreign and domestic commerce that the United States shall have a merchant marine of the best equipped and most suitable types of vessels sufficient to carry the greater portion of its commerce and serve as a naval or military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency, ultimately to be owned and operated privately by the citizens of the United States; and it is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to do whatever may be necessary to develop and encourage the maintenance of such a merchant marine, and, in so far as may not be inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act, the United States Shipping Board shall, in the disposition of vessels and shipping property as hereinafter provided, in the making of rules and regulations, and in the administration of the shipping laws keep always in view this purpose and object as the primary end to be attained. L. 988.]

This is popularly known as the Jones Shipping Act.

[41 Stat.

SEC. 2. [Repeal of certain provisions of prior shipping acts — limitations attached to repeal enumerated.] (a) That the following Acts and parts of Acts are hereby repealed, subject to the limitations and exceptions hereinafter, in this Act, provided:

(1) The emergency shipping fund provisions of the Act entitled "An Act making appropriations to supply urgent deficiencies in appropriations for the Military and Naval Establishments on account of war expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, and for other purposes," approved June 15, 1917, as amended by the Act entitled "An Act to amend the emergency shipping fund provisions of the Urgent Deficiency Appropriation Act, approved June 15, 1917, so as to empower the President and his designated agents to take over certain transportation systems for the transportation of shipyard and plant employees, and for other purposes," approved April 22, 1918, and as further amended by the Act entitled "An Act making appropriation to supply deficiencies in appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, and prior fiscal years, on account of war expenses, and for other purposes, approved November 4, 1918;

(2) Section 3 of such Act of April 22, 1918;

(3) The paragraphs numbered 2 and 3 under the heading shipping fund" in such Act of November 4, 1918; and

Emergency

(4) The Act entitled "An Act to confer on the President power to prescribe charter rates and freight rates and to requisition vessels, and for other purposes," approved July 18, 1918.

(5) Sections 5, 7, and 8, Shipping Act, 1916.

(b) The repeal of such Acts or parts of Acts is subject to the following limitations:

(1) All contracts or agreements lawfully entered into before the passage of this Act under any such Act or part of Act shall be assumed and carried out by the United States Shipping Board, hereinafter called the board."

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(2) All rights, interests, or remedies accruing or to accrue as a result of any such contract or agreement or of any action taken in pursuance of any such Act or parts of Acts shall be in all respects as valid, and may be exercised and enforced in like manner, subject to the provisions of subdivision (c) of this section, as if this Act had not been passed.

(3) The repeal shall not have the effect of extinguishing any penalty incurred under such Acts or parts of Acts, but such Acts or parts of Acts shall remain in force for the purpose of sustaining a prosecution for enforcement of the penalty therein provided for the violation thereof.

(4) The board shall have full power and authority to complete or conclude any construction work begun in accordance with the provisions of such Acts or parts of Acts if, in the opinion of the board, the completion or conclusion thereof is for the best interests of the United States.

(c) As soon as practicable after the passage of this Act the board shall adjust, settle, and liquidate all matters arising out of or incident to the exercise by or through the President of any of the powers or duties conferred or imposed upon the President by any such Act or parts of Acts; and for this purpose the board, instead of the President, shall have and exercise any of such powers and duties relating to the determination and payment of just compensation: Provided, That any person dissatisfied with any decision of the board shall have the same right to sue the United States as he would have had if the decision had been made by the President of the United States under the Acts hereby repealed. [41 Stat. L. 988.]

For statutes repealed by the text, see 1918 Supp. Fed. Stat. Ann. 783, 1919 Supp. Fed. Stat. Ann. 340.

SEC. 3. (a) [United States Shipping Board-creation-membership, etc. - duties - rules and regulations- attcrneys-sec. 3 cf "Shipping Act, 1916," amended.] That section 3 of the "Shipping Act, 1916," is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. That a board is hereby created to be known as the United States Shipping Board and hereinafter referred to as the board. The board shall be composed of seven commissioners, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and the President shall designate the member to act as chairman of the board, and the board may elect one of its members as vice chairman. Such commissioners shall be appointed as soon as practicable after the enactment of this Act and shall continue in office two for a term of one year, and the remaining five for terms of two, three, four, five, and six years, respectively, from the date of their appointment, the term of

each to be designated by the President, but their successors shall be appointed for terms of six years, except that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the commissioner whom he succeeds. "The commissioners shall be appointed with due regard to their fitness for the efficient discharge of the duties imposed on them by this Act, and two shall be appointed from the States touching the Pacific Ocean, two from the States touching the Atlantic Ocean, one from the States touching the Gulf of Mexico, one from the States touching the Great Lakes and one from the interior, but not more than one shall be appointed from the same State. Not more than four of the commissioners shall be appointed from the same political party. A vacancy in the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. No commissioner shall take any part in the consideration or decision of any claim or particular controversy in which he has a pecuniary interest.

"Each commissioner shall devote his time to the duties of his office, and shall not be in the employ of or hold any official relation to any common carrier or other person subject to this Act, nor while holding such office acquire any stock or bonds thereof or become pecuniarily interested in any such carrier.

"The duties of the board may be so divided that under its supervision the directorship of various activities may be assigned to one or more commissioners. Any commissioner may be removed by the President for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. A vacancy in the board shall not impair the right of the remaining members of the board to exercise all its powers. The board shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed.

"The board may adopt rules and regulations in regard to its procedure and the conduct of its business. The board may employ within the limits of appropriations made therefor by Congress such attorneys as it finds necessary for proper legal service to the board in the conduct of its work, or for proper representation of the public interest in investigations made by it or proceedings pending before it whether at the board's own instance or upon complaint, or to appear for or represent the board in any case in court or other tribunal. The board shall have such other rights and perform such other duties not inconsistent with the Merchant Marine Act, 1920, as are conferred by existing law upon the board in existence at the time this section as amended takes effect.

"The commissioners in office at the time this section as amended takes effect shall hold office until all the commissioners provided for in this section as amended are appointed and qualify." [41 Stat. L. 989.]

Section 3 of the Shipping Act of 1916 as originally enacted will be found in 1918 Supp. Fed. Stat. Ann. 786.

(b) [United States Shipping Board-salaries-sec. 4 of "Shipping Act, 1916," amended.] The first sentence of section 4 of the "Shipping Act, 1916." is amended to read as follows:

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SEC. 4. That each member of the board shall receive a salary of $12,000 per annum. [41 Stat. L. 990.]

SEC. 4. Vessels and other property acquired by President — transfer to Shipping Board.] That all vessels and other property or interests of whatsoever kind, including vessels or property in course of construction or contracted for, acquired by the President through any agencies whatsoever in pursuance of authority conferred by the Acts or parts of Acts repealed by