The bill also extends the requirements of the wireless law to vessels on the Great Lakes carrying 50 or more persons and making voyages of 200 miles or more between ports. Already 34 vessels on the Great Lakes are so equipped and the committee has received strong letters from shipowners on the Lakes urging that the protection afforded by radio communication be extended to the fleets of large vessels on those waters. The committee has complied with these recommendations, although it has not overlooked the fact that the season of navigation on the Lakes is short, the waters crowded so that vessels are, as a rule, in sight of one another, and that the necessity for radio communication is much less on those waters than on the wider stretches of the oceans. The act, however, is not to apply to the Great Lakes until April 1, 1913, the opening of the next season of navigation, so that ample time will be afforded for the necessary preparations. Of course, under this provision of the bill it will be necessary to extend the system of Government inspection to the Great Lakes. The sailing distance from Buffalo to Duluth is 996 miles.

Two or more operators.-The act of June 24, 1910, prescribed that there should be at least one skilled operator in charge of the apparatus on vessels subject to the act. This provision went as far as it was practicable for legislation to go until a corps of skilled operators had been educated at home and abroad. Two operators, of course, are not required ordinarily for the purpose of keeping the apparatus in working order and of sending messages, but they are indispensable for the maintenance of a continuous watch during the entire period when a vessel is being navigated. The maritime nations of the world at the Brussels Conference on Maritime Law, on September 23, 1910, united in the declaration to be found in Article II of that convention, as follows:

Every master is bound, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his vessel, her crew, and passengers, to render assistance to everybody, even though an enemy, found at sea in danger of being lost.

The Senate of the United States has ratified that convention, and the bill to carry it into effect (H. R. 23111) is pending before a committee of this House. The Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries knows of no more thorough way to give vitality to this principle than through the requirement in the pending bill that there shall be a constant watch on ships subject to the wireless act over a horizonso to speak of at least 100 miles, to insure prompt aid in peril to those on board other ships. The wireless operator is required to sit at his desk with a telephone receiver strapped to his head, and under this strain short watches only can be useful. So far as American vessels are concerned the bill at page 7, lines 11-17, requires the master to maintain such a watch. The Congress of the United States, of course, has no authority to prescribe such a watch at sea on foreign vessels. The committee, however, is hopeful that at the coming International Radiotelegraphic Conference, to be held at London in June, some international provision will be made so that the principle covered in this measure may be generally adopted, if not by a requirement for two operators, by a requirement that at stated intervals of not less than an hour each ship shall listen in on the general ship's wave length for distress or other urgency signals.

To begin examinations at once so that the necessary operators may be available, the bill should pass at an early day, as it will call for

about 150 additional operators on American ships and about 300 to 350 additional operators on foreign ships.

Auxiliary power. The present law prescribes that the apparatus shall be "efficient." The power to operate this apparatus is usually supplied by the main electrical power plant of the ship located in or near the ship's engine room. In case of disaster, such as the collision with another ship or with an iceberg, or the stranding of the vessel, of course, the water rushes into the hold and puts out of commission the ship's engine and boiler room and its main power plant. Whether apparatus for radio communication can be deemed efficient if, at the time when it is most needed, the power is lacking to enable it to perform its functions is a question of construction. The committee has deemed it best to remove all doubt on this point by prescribing specifically at page 6, line 25, for an auxiliary power supply, independent of the vessel's main power plant, which will secure effective communication for at least four hours. Some steamers already have this equipment, but the committee deems that all should carry it. Besides auxiliary storage batteries other means of furnishing auxiliary power adequate for the purpose are being worked out by inventors under the stimulus of the several departments of the Government concerned in the general subject of radio communication.

Summary. Under the third section of the bill the number of vessels under the wireless ship act will be increased to about 800, and by this extension all the ports on the Great Lakes and several additional ports on the seaboard of the United States will be brought within the scope of this legislation. On all of these vessels auxiliary power will be required, and in every case where there is now only one operator two operators must also be supplied. The committee is aware that the legislation is broad in its application and is a marked step in advance of the laws of our own country as well as of other countries, but it believes that the measure will impose no undue hardships and that in a very short time its benefits will be recognized even by those who may be disposed to doubt the advisability of so sweeping a measure. The committee is confirmed in this belief by the recollection that in its earlier stages a few years ago the legislation it recommended was questioned by some of those who have since had the strongest reasons for gratitude at its enactment.

This bill will not be effective unless adequate provision shall be made at a later day for the extension of the present system of examining operators and inspecting apparatus, and the committee takes the occasion offered by its report upon this bill to state that it deems necessary adequate appropriations to carry out such legislation as soon as Congress shall have determined that it desires the legislation to pass.

The section embraces the provisions of H. R. 16803, introduced by Mr. Maguire of Nebraska, requiring vessels equipped with apparatus for radio communication to have such apparatus in charge of two or more skilled operators. This bill was introduced January 4, 1912.

It is unnecessary for the committee to emphasize the necessity for the legislation proposed in this bill. The reasons are fresh in the minds of all. The demand for more stringent laws to protect life at sea is general, both here and in Europe.

While the committee believe this bill if enacted into law will contribute largely to that end, we are not unmindful that disasters at sea

will occur, accompanied by loss of life, despite all the safeguards that human ingenuity and foresight can provide. With good laws, rigidly enforced, however, such horrors as those attending the sinking of the Titanic can and should be prevented.

In the framing of section 3 of the bill the committee is indebted to Hon. E. T. Chamberlain, Commissioner of Navigation, for attending the sessions of the committee and giving them the benefit of his valuable knowledge and experience relating to the subject matter. The committee is also indebted to Inspector General Uhler for valuable suggestions in connection with other features of the bill.

CONGRESS

Session, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. No.

IMPORTATION AND MOVEMENT OF PLANTS, FRUITS, AND VEGETABLES.

MAY 6, 1912.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. SIMMONS, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 24119.]

The Committee on Agriculture, having had under consideration the bill (H. R. 24119) to regulate the importation of nursery stock and other plants and plant products; to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and maintain quarantine districts for plant diseases and insect pests; to permit and regulate the movement of fruits, plants, and vegetables therefrom, and for other purposes, report thereon with the recommendation that it do pass.

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL.

In general, the Federal powers granted in this act relate to the establishment of foreign and domestic quarantine, the issuance of permits, foreign certification, and the distribution to the several State or Territorial officials of exact information in regard to origin, arrival, and destination of importations.

To the several States are left the responsibility of inspection at destination of imported stock and the cleaning up and disinfection of local quarantined districts.

The

Section 1 provides that "nursery stock" may be imported only after a permit has been taken out and when accompanied by a certificate showing foreign inspection. The issuance of the permit is mandatory when the conditions of the section have been met. section provides, however, that for scientific or experimental purposes plants may be imported by the Department of Agriculture without the permit. Provision is also made for the importation without certificate of inspection, under proper regulations, from countries where there are no means for such inspection.

While the issuance of the permit required in this section is mandatory, it nevertheless affords a large protection, in that it gives opportunity for a warning, if necessary, to be sent to the importer before he makes his importation if the goods covered are deemed dangerous, and also opportunity to warn the State official long in advance of the intended importation of stock if the same again are deemed likely to carry danger.

Furthermore, the foreign certification can be made to have distinct value, inasmuch as such certification to be acceptable can be required to be made by proper and accredited foreign officers, and of such character as to give assurance that the stock covered is clean.

Finally, the permit and the foreign certification will act of themselves very largely to prevent the importation of refuse stock by department stores or such as is now shipped in by foreign dealers to be sold at auction, and very much miscellaneous small importations, which have an especial danger from the difficulty of following up and inspecting such sendings.

Section 2. Notification section; requires notification from customs officers, first receivers of stock, person or firm offering it for transportation, and transporting firm or other carrier, the object being to fully advise the Secretary of Agriculture of the arrival and transportation of such stock to destination, information now only partially available. This information is to be transmitted by the department to the proper State officials so that all imported stock can be inspected by the latter. The Department of Agriculture acts merely as a clearing house for information, and the actual inspection of imported stock is left entirely to State officials.

Section 3. Labeling of imported stock as a condition of entry. Section 4. Labeling of imported stock as a condition of interstate transportation.

Section 5. After due notice and public hearing, makes provision for the inclusion under the foregoing provisions of the act, when necessary, of the plants and plant products excepted in the definition of "nursery stock" as given in section 6. The quarantine sections, 7 and 8, and the subsequent sections of the act apply to all plants and plant products, including these excepted articles.

These excepted articles will normally carry little danger of introducing new insects or diseases, and therefore, to save both unnecessary Federal supervision, extending to thousands of small seed packets and similar importations, and also to avoid placing unnecessary burdens on importers of such articles, the requirements of the first four sections, relating to the permit, notification, and labeling, are not to be placed on these articles except when some real danger develops.

Section 6 defines "nursery stock" as used in this act.

Section 7. After due notice and public hearing, provides for quarantining foreign districts to exclude plants or plant products which may convey fruit diseases or insect pests new to or not theretofore widely prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United States. Excludes such articles, which are to be specifically enumerated, until quarantine is withdrawn, even though such articles are offered for entry accompanied by a foreign certificate. Provides that, in its application to the white-pine blister rust, the potato wart, and the Mediterranean fruit fly, the quarantine provisions of his section shall become applicable upon the enactment of the bill.