AMENDING THE NATIONAL STOLEN PROPERTY ACT

MAY 5, 1937.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

Mr. HEALEY, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 5901]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5901) to amend the National Stolen Property Act, after consideration, report the same favorably to the House with amendments with the recommendation that, as so amended, the bill do pass.

The committee amendments are as follows:

Page 1 line 10, strike out the word "unlawfully” and insert in lieu thereof the word "feloniously".

Page 1 line 12, strike out the word "unlawfully" and insert in lieu thereof the word "feloniously".

Page 2 line 1, after the word "whoever" insert the following: "with unlawful or fraudulent intent".

Page 4 line 10, after "apparent" insert "or purported".

The bill here reported widens the scope of the National Stolen Property Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 794, U. S. C. title 18, sec, 415) by making its prohibitions applicable to embezzled property, securities, and money, and counterfeited securities, in the particulars below noted. The bill is in line with a recommendation of the Attorney General.

SECTION 1

Section 3 of the Stolen Property Act makes it a Federal criminal offense knowingly to transport in interstate or foreign commerce stolen property, securities, or money of the value of $5,000 or more. This section of the law is amended by section 1 of the reported bill to include such transportation of property, securities, or money of the same minimum value which have been feloniously converted, and also to include transportation of falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities of the apparent or purported value of $5,000 or more. Counterfeited securities of the United States and foreign governments

are exempted by a proviso because they are dealt with adequately by other provisions of existing law.

The limitation requiring the property involved to be of a value of $5,000 or more before the bill becomes operative is left unchanged. This limitation was put into the law for the reason, as stated in the House Judiciary Committee report (H. Rept. 1462, 73d Cong., 2d sess.) at the time the original bill was reported:

It is believed that it would place too great a burden on the Department of Justice to ask it to undertake to apprehend and prosecute every person violating the substantive provisions of such a law without regard to the amount of property involved. The minimum valuations fixed in the bill required to give the Federal Government jurisdiction are the figures asked and recommended by the Attorney General.

It is to be noted, in this connection, that under the terms of section 5 of the act in the event the defendant is charged with a series of violations, the aggregate value of the property referred to in the indictment may be taken to make up the minimum valuation.

SECTION 2

Section 4 of the Stolen Property Act penalizes the act of knowingly receiving, concealing, or disposing of stolen property, securities, or money of the value of $5,000 or more in interstate commerce. It also makes the penalties of the act applicable to one who in interstate commerce pledges or accepts as security for a loan any property or securities of the value of $500 or more, knowing the same to have been stolen.

Section 2 of the reported bill amends this section of the law by extending its provisions, as in the preceding amendment, to the case of embezzled property, money, and securities, and to forged or counterfeited securities, with the same limitations as to minimum real or apparent or purported value. The same exemption with regard to obligations of the United States or foreign governments as contained in the preceding section is contained in this amendment, and for the

same reason.

The language with reference to the interstate commerce element of the transactions denounced is clarified.

SECTION 3

Section 5 of the present act provides that in the event a defendant is charged with two or more violations of the act the aggregate value of the property, securities, and money involved shall constitute the value thereof for the purpose of meeting the minimum valuation. requirements of the act.

Section 3 of the reported bill amends section 5 of the act by adding a clause defining the value of securities as the face, par, or market value, whichever is greatest. It also defines the value of forged or counterfeited securities as the apparent or purported face, par, or market value, whichever is greatest.

SECTION 4

Section 4 of the reported bill amends section 6 of the present act, by providing that persons violating the act may be tried in any district from which the transportation in interstate commerce takes place as well as into or through which such transportation occurs.

SECTION 5

This section adds a new conspiracy section to the act, to be known as section 7. It provides that when two or more persons enter into a conspiracy to violate any provision of the act and commit any overt act toward effectuating the same, they shall be punished in like manner as provided in other sections of the act, that is, by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.

SECTION 6

This is merely a clerical change redesignating section 7 of the present act as "section 8." This is made necessary by the insertion of the new section 7 referred to in the preceding paragraph.

The following communication from the Attorney General addressed to the Speaker of the House recommends enactment of this legislation:

Hon. WILLIAM B. BANKHead,

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MARCH 16, 1937.

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: The National Stolen Property Act, approved May 22, 1934 (48 Stat. 794; U. S. C., title 18, sec. 415), in effect makes it a criminal offense to transport in interstate or foreign commerce any stolen goods, securities, or money of a value of at least $5,000.

Experience in the administration of the act has indicated that it is desirable to include within its provisions property, money, or securities that have been embezzled as well as those that have been stolen.

It is also desirable to include the transportation of counterfeited securities within the prohibitions of the statute. It need not, however, embrace counterfeited Government obligations or counterfeited foreign obligations, as the statutes relating to counterfeiting penalize their possession.

Section 1 of the enclosed bill proposes to amend section 3 of the act in order to accomplish the foregoing results.

Section 4 of the present act relates to receiving stolen goods after their transportation in interstate or foreign commerce. The language of the act requires clarification on this point. Section 2 of the enclosed bill proposes to attain this objective, as well as to make it sufficiently broad to cover the receiving of embezzled property and of counterfeited securities.

Section 3 seeks to clarify the definition of "value" for the purposes of the act, while section 4 amends the jurisdictional provisions of the statute to correspond with the other amendments.

I recommend the enactment of the measure.

Sincerely yours,

HOMER CUMMINGS, Attorney General.

In compliance with clause 2a of rule XIII, existing law is printed below in roman, with matter proposed to be stricken out enclosed in black brackets and new matter proposed to be inserted printed in italics:

SEC. 3. Whoever shall transport or cause to be transported in interstate or foreign commerce any goods, wares, or merchandise, securities, or money, of the value of $5,000 or more theretofore stolen, feloniously converted, or taken feloniously by fraud or with intent to steal or purloin, knowing the same to have been so stolen, feloniously converted, or taken, or whoever with unlawful or fraudulent intent shall transport or cause to be transported in interstate or foreign commerce any falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities of the value of $5,000 or more, knowing the same to have been falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited, or spurious representation of (1) an "obligation or other security of the United States" as defined in section 147 of the Criminal Code (U. S. C., title 18, sec. 261) or (2) an obligation, bond, certificate, security, treasury note, bill, promise to pay, or bank note, issued by any

"foreign_government" as defined in the Act of June 15, 1917, title VIII, section 4 (U. S. C., title 18, sec. 288), or by a bank or corporation of any foreign country. SEC. 4. Whoever shall receive, conceal, store, barter, sell, or dispose of any goods, wares, or merchandise, securities, or money of the value of $5,000 or more, or whoever shall pledge or accept as security for a loan any goods, wares, or merchandise, or securities, of the value of $500 or more, [which, while moving in or constituting a part of interstate or foreign commerce, has been stolen or taken feloniously by fraud or with intent to steal or purloin, knowing the same to have been stolen or taken,] moving as, or which are a part of, or which constitute interstate or foreign commerce, knowing the same to have been stolen, unlawfully converted or taken, or whoever shall receive, conceal, store, barter, sell, or dispose of any falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities, of the value of $5,000 or more, or whoever shall pledge or accept as security for a loan any falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities, of the value of $500 or more, moving as, or which are a part of, or which constitute interstate or foreign commerce, knowing the same to have been so falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment [of] for not more than ten years, or both: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited, or spurious representation of (1) an “obligation or other security of the United States" as defined in section 147 of the Criminal Code (U. S. C., title 18, sec. 261) or (2) an obligation, bond, certificate, security, treasury note, bill, promise to pay, or bank note, issued by any "foreign government" as defined in the Act of June 15, 1917, title VIII, section 4 (U. S. C., title 18, sec. 288), or by a bank or corporation of any foreign country.

"SEC. 5. In the event that a defendant is charged in the same indictment with two or more violations of this Act, then the aggregate value of all goods, wares, and merchandise, securities, and money referred to in such indictment shall constitute the value thereof for the purposes of sections 3 and 4 thereof, and the value of any securities referred to shall be considered to be the face, par, or market value, whichever is the greatest. For the purposes of this Act, the value of any falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities shall be considered to be the apparent or purported face, par, or market value, whichever is the greatest, of the securities so falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited."

"SEC. 6. Any person violating this Act may be [punished] tried in any district from, into or through which such goods, wares, or merchandise, or such securities, or money or such falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities have been transported or removed."

"SEC. 7. If two or more persons enter into an agreement, confederation, or conspiracy to violate any provision of this Act, and do any overt act toward carrying out such unlawful agreement, confederation, or conspiracy, such person or persons shall be punished in like manner as hereinbefore provided by this Act."

о

1st Session

No. 762

AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND

MAY 5, 1937.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. PALMISANO, from the Committee on Education, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 4582]

The Committee on Education, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4582) to amend the act entitled "An act providing additional aid for the American Printing House for the Blind", approved August 4, 1919, as amended, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass without change or amendment.

The bill is as follows:

A BILL To amend the Act, approved August 4, 1919, as amended, providing additional aid for the American Printing House for the Blind

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled "An Act providing additional aid for the American Printing House for the Blind", approved August 4, 1919, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"That for the purpose of enabling the American Printing House for the Blind more adequately to provide books and apparatus for the education of the blind, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated annually to it, in addition to the permanent appropriation of $10,000 made in the Act entitled 'An Act to promote the education of the Blind', approved March 3, 1879, as amended, the sum of $115,000, which sum shall be expended in accordance with the requirements of said Act to promote the education of the blind."

PURPOSE OF BILL

The purpose of the bill is to amend the act approved August 4, 1919 (c. 31, 41 Stat. 272), as amended by the act approved February 8, 1927 (c. 76, 44 Stat. 1060). See House Report No. 1645 on lastnamed measure (H. R. 13453), Sixty-ninth Congress, second session. The act of August 4, 1919, authorized an annual appropriation of $40,000 for the printing of books and the making of tangible apparatus for the use of the blind pupils in all of the schools and institutions for