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ucts, whose gross annual receipts exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, shall be subject to pay annually a special excise tax equivalent to one-quarter of one per centum on the gross amount of all receipts of such persons, firms, corporations, and companies in their respective business in excess of said sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

And a true and accurate return of the amount of gross receipts as aforesaid shall be made and rendered monthly by each of such associations, corporations, companies, or persons to the collector of the district. in which any such association, corporation, or company may be located, or in which such person has his place of business. Such return shall be verified under oath by the person making the same, or, in case of corporations, by the president or chief officer thereof. Any person or officer failing or refusing to make return as aforesaid, or who shall make a false or fraudulent return, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars and not exceeding ten thousand dollars for each failure or refusal to make return as aforesaid and for each and every false or fraudulent return.

SEC. 28. That from and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, a stamp tax of one cent shall be levied and collected on every seat sold in a palace or parlor car and on every berth sold in a sleeping car, the stamp to be affixed to the ticket and paid by the company issuing the same.

LEGACIES AND DISTRIBUTIVE SHARES OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

SEC. 29. That any person or persons having in charge or trust, as administrators, executors, or trustees, any legacies or distributive shares arising from personal property, where the whole amount of such personal property as aforesaid shall exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars in actual value, passing, after the passage of this Act, from any person possessed of such property, either by will or by the intestate laws of any State or Territory, or any personal property or interest therein, transferred by deed, grant, bargain, sale, or gift, made or intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment after the death of the grantor or bargainer, to any person or persons, or to any body or bodies, politic or corporate, in trust or otherwise, shall be, and hereby are, made subject to a duty or tax, to be paid to the United States, as follows-that is to say: Where the whole amount of said personal property shall exceed in value ten thousand and shall not exceed in value the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars the tax shall be:

First. Where the person or persons entitled to any beneficial interest in such property shall be the lineal issue or lineal ancestor, brother, or sister to the person who died possessed of such property, as aforesaid, at the rate of seventy five cents for each and every hundred dollars of the clear value of such interest in such property.

Second. Where the person or persons entitled to any beneficial interest in such property shall be the descendant of a brother or sister of the person who died possessed, as aforesaid, at the rate of one dollar and fifty cents for each and every hundred dollars of the clear value of such interest.

Third. Where the person or persons entitled to any beneficial interest in such property shall be the brother or sister of the father or mother, or a descendant of a brother or sister of the father or mother, of the person who died possessed as aforesaid, at the rate of three dollars for each and every hundred dollars of the clear value of such interest.

Fourth. Where the person or persons entitled to any beneficial interest in such property shall be the brother or sister of the grandfather or grandmother, or a descendant of the brother or sister of the grandfather or grandmother, of the person who died possessed as aforesaid, at the rate of four dollars for each and every hundred dollars of the clear value of such interest.

Fifth. Where the person or persons entitled to any beneficial interest in such property shall be in any other degree of collateral consanguinity than is hereinbefore stated, or shall be a stranger in blood to the person who died possessed, as aforesaid, or shall be a body politic or corporate, at the rate of five dollars for each and every hundred dollars of the clear value of such interest: Provided, That all legacies or property passing by will, or by the laws of any State or Territory, to husband or wife of the person died possessed, as aforesaid, shall be exempt from tax or duty.

Where the amount or value of said property shall exceed the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, but shall not exceed the sum or value of one hundred thousand dollars, the rates of duty or tax above set forth shall be multiplied by one and one-half; and where the amount or value of said property shall exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, but shall not exceed the sum of five hundred thousand dollars, such rates of duty shall be multiplied by two; and where the amount or value of said property shall exceed the sum of five hundred thousand dollars, but shall not exceed the sum of one million dollars, such rates of duty shall be multiplied by two and one-half; and where the amount or value of said property shall exceed the sum of one million dollars, such rates of duty shall be multiplied by three.

SEC. 30. That the tax or duty aforesaid shall be a lien and charge upon the property of every person who may die as aforesaid for twenty years, or until the same shall, within that period, be fully paid to and discharged by the United States; and every exécutor, administrator, or trustee, before payment and distribution to the legatees, or any parties entitled to beneficial interest therein, shall pay to the collector or deputy collector of the district of which the deceased person was a resident the amount of the duty or tax assessed upon such legacy or distributive share, and shall also make and render to the said collector or deputy collector a schedule, list, or statement, in duplicate, of the amount of such legacy or distributive share, together with the amount of duty which has accrued, or shall accrue, thereon, verified by his oath or affirmation, to be administered and certified thereon by some magistrate or officer having lawful power to administer such oaths, in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which schedule, list, or statement shall contain the names of each and every person entitled to any beneficial interest therein, together with the clear value of such interest, the duplicate of which schedule, list, or statement shall be by him immediately delivered, and the tax thereon paid to such collector; and upon such payment and delivery of such schedule, list, or statement said collector or deputy collector shall grant to such person paying such duty or tax a receipt or receipts for the same in duplicate, which shall be prepared as hereinafter provided. Such receipt or receipts, duly signed and delivered by such collector or deputy collector, shall be sufficient evidence to entitle such executor, administrator, or trustee to be credited and allowed such payment by every tribunal which, by the laws of any State or Territory, is, or may be, empowered to decide upon and settle the accounts of executors and administrators. And in case such executor, admin

istrator, or trustee shall refuse or neglect to pay the aforesaid duty or tax to the collector or deputy collector, as aforesaid, within the time hereinbefore provided, or shall neglect or refuse to deliver to said collector or deputy collector the duplicate of the schedule, list, or statement of such legacies, property, or personal estate, under oath, as aforesaid, or shall neglect or refuse to deliver the schedule, list, or statement of such legacies, property, or personal estate, under oath, as aforesaid, or shall deliver to said collector or deputy collector a false schedule or statement of such legacies, property, or personal estate, or give the names and relationship of the persons entitled to beneficial interests therein untruly, or shall not truly and correctly set forth and state therein the clear value of such beneficial interest, or where no administration upon such property or personal estate shall have been granted or allowed under existing laws, the collector or deputy collector shall make out such lists and valuation as in other cases of neglect or refusal, and shall assess the duty thereon; and the collector shall commence appropriate proceedings before any court of the United States, in the name of the United States, against such person or persons as may have the actual or constructive custody or possession of such property or personal estate, or any part thereof, and shall subject such property or personal estate, or any portion of the same, to be sold upon the judgment or decree of such court, and from the proceeds of such sale the amount of such tax or duty, together with all costs and expenses of every description to be allowed by such court, shall be first paid, and the balance, if any, deposited according to the order of such court, to be paid under its direction to such person or persons as shall establish title to the same. The deed or deeds, or any proper conveyance of such property or personal estate, or any portion thereof, so sold under such judgment or decree, executed by the officer lawfully charged with carrying the same into effect, shall vest in the purchaser thereof all the title of the delinquent to the property or personal estate sold under and by virtue of such judgment or decree, and shall release every other portion of such property or personal estate from the lien or charge thereon created by this Act. And every person or persons who shall have in his possession, charge, or custody any record, file, or paper containing, or supposed to contain, any information concerning such property or personal estate, as aforesaid, passing from any person who may die, as aforesaid, shall exhibit the same at the request of the collector or deputy collector of the district, and to any law officer of the United States, in the performance of his duty under this Act, his deputy or agent, who may desire to examine the same. And if any such person, having in his possession, charge, or custody any such records, files, or papers, shall refuse or neglect to exhibit the same on request, as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars: Provided, That in all legal controversies where such deed or title shall be the subject of judicial investigation, the recital in said deed shall be prima facie evidence of its truth, and that the requirements of the law had been complied with by the officers of the Government.

SEC. 31. That all administrative, special, or stamp provisions of law, including the laws in relation to the assessment of taxes, not heretofore specifically repealed are hereby made applicable to this Act.

LOANS.

SEC. 32. That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to borrow from time to time, at a rate of interest not exceeding three per centum

per annum, such sum or sums as, in his judgment, may be necessary to meet public expenditures, and to issue therefor certificates of indebtedness in such form as he may prescribe and in denominations of fifty dollars or some multiple of that sum; and each certificate so issued shall be payable, with the interest accrued thereon, at such time, not exceeding one year from the date of its issue, as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe: Provided, That the amount of such certificates outstanding shall at no time exceed one hundred millions of dollars; and the provisions of existing law respecting counterfeiting and other fraudulent practices are hereby extended to the bonds and certificates of indebtedness authorized by this Act.

SEC. 33. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to borrow on the credit of the United States from time to time as the proceeds may be required to defray expenditures authorized on account of the existing war (such proceeds when received to be used only for the purpose of meeting such war expenditures) the sum of four hundred million dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, and to prepare and issue therefor, coupon or registered bonds of the United States in such form as he may prescribe, and in denominations of twenty dollars or some multiple of that sum, redeemable in coin at the pleasure of the United States after ten years from the date of their issue, and payable twenty years from such date, and bearing interest payable quarterly in coin at the rate of three per centum per annum; and the bonds herein authorized shall be exempt from all taxes or duties of the United States, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, or local authority: Provided, That the bonds authorized by this section shall be first offered at par as a popular loan under such regulations, prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, as will give opportunity to the citizens of the United States to participate in the subscriptions to such loan, and in allotting said bonds the several subscriptions of individuals shall be first accepted, and the subscriptions for the lowest amounts shall be first allotted: Provided further, That any portion of any issue of said bonds not subscribed for as above provided may be disposed of by the Secretary of the Treasury at not less than par, under such regulations as he may prescribe, but no commissions shall be allowed or paid thereon; and a sum not exceeding one-tenth of one per centum of the amount of the bonds and certificates herein authorized is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay the expense of preparing, advertising, and issuing the same.

COINAGE OF SILVER BULLION.

SEC. 34. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to coin into standard silver dollars as rapidly as the public interests may require, to an amount, however, of not less than one and one half millions of dollars in each month, all of the silver bullion now in the Treasury purchased in accordance with the provisions of the Act approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An Act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of Treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes," and said dollars, when so coined, shall be used and applied in the manner and for the purposes named in said Act.

MIXED FLOUR.

SEC. 35. That for the purposes of this Act the words "mixed flour" shall be understood to mean the food product made from wheat mixed or blended in whole or in part with any other grain or other material, or the manufactured product of any other grain or other material than wheat.

SEC. 36. That every person, firm, or corporation, before engaging in the business of making, packing, or repacking mixed flour, shall pay a special tax at the rate of twelve dollars per annum, the same to be paid and posted in accordance with the provisions of sections thirty-two hundred and forty-two and thirty-two hundred and thirty-nine of the Revised Statutes, and subject to the fines and penalties therein imposed for any violation thereof.

SEC. 37. That every person, firm, or corporation making, packing, or repacking mixed flour shall plainly mark or brand each package containing the same with the words "mixed flour" in plain black letters not less than two inches in length, together with the true weight of such package, the names of the ingredients composing the same, the name of the maker or packer, and the place where made or packed. In addition thereto, such maker or packer shall place in each package a card not smaller than two inches in width by three inches in length, upon which shall be printed the words "mixed flour," together with the names of the ingredients composing the same, and the name of the maker or packer, and the place where made or packed. Any person, firm, or corporation making, packing, or repacking mixed flour hereunder, failing to comply with the provisions of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred and fifty dollars and not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not less than sixty days nor more than one year.

SEC. 38. That all sales and consignments of mixed flour shall be in packages not before used for that purpose; and every person, firm, or corporation knowingly selling or offering for sale any mixed flour in other than marked and branded packages, as required by the provisions of this Act relating to the manufacture and sale of mixed flour, or who packs in any package or packages any mixed flour in any manner contrary to the provisions relating to the manufacture and sale of mixed flour of this Act, or who falsely marks or brands any package or packages containing mixed flour, or unlawfully removes such marks or brands, shall, for each such offense, be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred and fifty dollars and not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not less than thirty days nor more than one year.

SEC. 39. That in addition to the branding and marking of mixed flour as herein provided, there shall be affixed to the packages containing the same a label in the following words: "Notice.-The (manufacturer or packer, as the case may be) of the mixed flour herein contained has complied with all the requirements of law. Every person is cautioned not to use this package or label again or to remove the contents without destroying the revenue stamp thereon, under the penalty prescribed by law in such cases." Every person, firm, or corporation failing or neglecting to affix such label to any package containing mixed flour made or packed by him or them, or who removes from any such package any label so affixed, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than fifty dollars for each label so removed.

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