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arrangements or wage-earner plans and reinstate the proceedings or cases; [(4)] (6) perform such [part] of the duties [except as to questions arising out of the applications of bankrupts for compositions or discharges] as are by this Act conferred on courts of bankruptcy, including those incidental to ancil lary jurisdiction, and as shall be prescribed by rules or orders of the courts of bankruptcy of their respective districts, except as herein otherwise provided; and 【(5)] (7) during the examination of the bankrupt, or during other proceedings, authorize the employment of stenographers for reporting and transcribing [the] proceedings at such reasonable expense to the estate as the court may fix.

SEC. 39. DUTies of RefereES.—a. Referees shall (1) give notice to creditors and other parties in interest, as provided in this Act; (2) prepare and file the schedules of property and lists of creditors required to be filed by the bankrupts or cause the same to be done when the bankrupts fail, refuse, or neglect to do 80; (3) examine all schedules of property, lists of creditors, and statements of affairs, filed as provided under this Act, and cause such as are incomplete and defective to be amended; (4) furnish or cause to be furnished such information concerning proceedings before them as may be requested by parties in interest; (5) declare dividends and cause to be prepared dividend sheets showing the dividends declared and to whom payable; (6) transmit to the clerks such papers as may be on file before them whenever the same are needed in any proceedings in courts and secure the return of such papers after they have been used, or, if it be impractical to transmit the original papers, transmit certified copies thereof by mail; (7) upon application of any party in interest, preserve the evidence taken, or the substance thereof, as agreed upon by the parties before them when a stenographer is not in attendance; (8) prepare promptly and transmit to the clerks certificates on petitions for review of orders made by them, together with a statement of the questions presented, the findings and orders thereon, the petition for review, a transcript of the evidence or a summary thereof, and all exhibits; (9) transmit forthwith to the clerks all bonds filed with and approved by them, the originals of all orders made by them granting adjudications or dismissing the petitions as provided in this Act, and certified copies of all orders made and entered by them, granting, denying, or revoking discharges, or confirming or refusing to confirm arrangements or plans or setting aside the confirmation of arrangements or wageearner plans and reinstating the proceedings or cases, and reports of the completion thereof; and (10) safely keep, perfect, and transmit to the clerks, when the cases are concluded, the records herein required to be kept by them.

[SEC. 39. DUTIES OF REFEREES.-a. Referees shall (1) declare dividends and prepare and deliver to trustees dividend sheets showing the dividends declared and to whom payable; (2) examine all schedules of property and lists of creditors filed by bankrupts and cause such as are incomplete or defective to be amended: (3) furnish such information concerning the estates in process of administration before them as may be requested by the parties in interest; (4) give notices to creditors as herein provided; (5) make up records embodying the evidence, or the substance thereof, as agreed upon by the parties in all contested matters arising before them, whenever requested to do so by either of the parties thereto, together with their findings therein, and transmit them to the judges; (6) prepare and file the schedules of property and lists of creditors required to be filed by the bankrupts, or cause the same to be done, when the bankrupts fail, refuse, or neglect to do so; (7) safely keep, perfect, and transmit to the clerks the records, herein required to be kept by them, when the cases are concluded; (8) transmit to the clerks such papers as may be on file before them whenever the same are needed in any proceedings in courts, and in like manner secure the return of such papers after they have been used, or, if it be impracticable to transmit the original papers, transmit certified copies thereof by mail; (9) upon application of any party in interest, preserve the evidence taken or the substance thereof as agreed upon by the parties before them when a stenographer is not in attendance; and (10) whenever their respective offices are in the same cities or towns where the courts of bankruptcy convene, call upon and receive from the clerks all papers filed in courts of bankruptcy which have been referred to them.]

b. Referees shall not (1) act in cases in which they are directly or indirectly interested; (2) practice as attorneys and counselors at law in any [bankruptcy] proceedings;] under this Act; or (3) purchase, directly or indirectly, any property of an estate in any proceeding under this Act. [bankruptcy.]

c. A person aggrieved by an order of a referee may, within ten days after the entry thereof or within such extended time as the court may for cause shown

allow, file with the referee a petition for review of such order by a judge and serve a copy of such petition upon the adverse parties who were represented at the hearing. Such petition shall set forth the order complained of and the alleged errors in respect thereto. Upon application of any party in interest, the execution or enforcement of the order complained of may be suspended by the court upon such terms as will protect the rights of all parties in interest. SEC. 40. COMPENSATION OF REFEREES.-a. Referees shall receive as full compensation for their services, payable after they are rendered, a fee of $15, [fifteen dollars] deposited with the clerk at the time the petition is filed in each case, except when a fee is not required from a voluntary bankrupt; a fee of 25 [twenty-five] cents for every proof of claim filed for allowance, to be paid from the estate, if any, as a part of the cost of administration; and from estates which have been administered before them, 1 [one] per centum commissions on all moneys disbursed to creditors by the trustees or, upon confirmation of an arrangement, one-half of 1 [one] per centum on the amount to be paid to creditors [upon the confirmation of a composition] in respect to the composition of debts and one-half of 1 per centum on the amount of the debts whose maturity is to be extended and of the debts, if any, to be paid in full: Provided, however, That the judge may, by standing rule or otherwise, fix a lower rate of compensation, so that no referee shall receive excessive compensation during his term of office, and that, in any case of an extension, the judge may prescribe terms and conditions for the payment of the referee's compensation. Referees in ancillary proceedings shall receive as full compensation for their services, payable after they are rendered, a fee of $15 deposited in each case with the clerk of the ancillary court at the time the ancillary proceeding is instituted, and 1 per centum commissions on all moneys and on the fair value of all property transmitted in kind by the ancillary court to the court of primary jurisdiction.

b. Whenever a case is transferred from one referee to another the judge shall determine the proportion in which the fee and commissions therefor shall be divided between the referees.

c. In the event of the reference of a case being revoked before it is concluded, and when the case is specially referred, the judge shall determine what part of the fee and commissions shall be paid to the referee.

SEC. 41. CONTEMPTS BEFORE REFEREES.-a. A person shall not, in proceedings before a referee (1) disobey or resist any lawful order, process or writ; (2) misbehave during a hearing or so near the place thereof as to obstruct the same; (3) neglect to produce, after having been ordered to do so, any pertinent document; or (4) refuse to appear after having been subpoenaed, or, upon appearing, refuse to take the oath as a witness, or [after] having taken the oath, refuse to be examined according to law: Provided, That a person other than a bankrupt or, where the bankrupt is a corporation, its officers, or the members of its board of directors or trustees or of other similar controlling bodies, shall not be required to attend as a witness before a referee at a place more than one hundred miles from such person's place of residence, and unless his lawful mileage and fee for one day's attendance shall be first paid or tendered to him. [Provided, that no person shall be required to attend as a witness before a referee at a place outside of the state of his residence, and more than one hundred miles from such place of residence and only in case his lawful mileage and fee for one day's attendance shall be first paid or tendered to him.]

b. The referee shall forthwith certify the facts to the judge, if any person shall do any of the things forbidden in this section, and he may serve or cause to be served upon such person an order requiring such person to appear before the judge upon a day certain to show cause why he should not be adjudged in contempt by reason of the facts so certified. The judge shall thereupon, in a summary manner, hear the evidence as to the acts complained of and, if it is such as to warrant him in so doing, punish such person in the same manner and to the same extent as for a contempt committed before him, [the court of bankruptcy.] or commit such person upon the same conditions as if the doing of the forbidden act had occurred with reference to the process of the court of bankruptcy or in the presence of the judge. [court.]

SEC. 42. RECORDS OF REFEREES.-a. The records of all proceedings in each case before a referee shall be kept as nearly as may be in the same manner as records are [now] kept in equity cases in district [circuit] courts of the United States.

b. A separate record shall be kept of the proceedings in each case [A record of the proceedings in each case shall be kept in a separate book or books,] and shall, together with the papers on file, constitute the records of the case.

c. The [book or books containing a] record of the proceedings shall, when the case is concluded before the referee, be certified to by him and shall, together with such papers as are on file before him, be transmitted to the clerk [court of bankruptcy] and shall [there] remain in the office of the clerk as a part of the records of the court.

SEC. 43. REFEREE'S ABSENCE OR DISABILITY.-(No change.)

SEC. 44. [APPOINTMENT OF] TRUSTEES; CREDITORS' COMMITTEES; AND ATTORNEYS.-a. The creditors of a bankrupt, exclusive of the bankrupt's relatives or, where the bankrupt is a corporation, exclusive of its stockholders or members, its officers and the members of its board of directors or trustees or of other similar controlling bodies, [estate] shall, at [their] the first meeting of creditors after the adjudication, or after a vacancy has occurred in the office of trustee, or after an estate has been reopened, or after a composition has been set aside or a discharge revoked, or if there is a vacancy in the office of trustee, appoint a [one] trustee or three trustees of such estate. If the creditors do not appoint a trustee [or trustees] or if the trustee so appointed fails to qualify as herein provided, the court shall make the appointment. [do so.]

[The district court or any judge thereof shall, in its or his discretion, so apportion appointments of receivers and trustees among persons, firms, or corporations, attorneys therefor, within the district, eligible thereto, as to prevent any person, firm, or corporation from having a monopoly of such appointments within such district. No person shall be appointed as a receiver or trustee who is a near relative of the judge of the court making such appointment. The compensation allowed a receiver or trustee or an attorney for a receiver or trustee shall in no case be excessive or exorbitant, and the court in fixing such compensation shall have in mind the conservation and preservation of the estate of the bankrupt and the interests of the creditors therein.]

b. Such creditors may, at their first meeting, also appoint a committee of not less than three creditors, which committee may consult and advise with the trustee in connection with the administration of the estate, make recommendations to the trustee in the performance of his duties and submit to the court any question affecting the administration of the estate.

c. An attorney shall not be disqualified to act as attorney for a receiver or trustee merely by reason of his representation of a general creditor.

SEC. 45. QUALIFICATIONS OF RECEIVERS AND TRUSTEES.—a. Receivers and trustees shall [may] be (1) individuals who are [respectively] competent to perform their [the] duties [of that office,] and who reside or have an office in the judicial district within which they are appointed; or (2) corporations authorized by their charters or by law to act in such capacity and having an office in the judicial district within which they are appointed.

SEC. 46. DEATH OR REMOVAL OF RECEIVERS OR TRUSTEES.-a. The death or removal of a receiver or trustee shall not abate any suit or proceeding which he is prosecuting or defending at the time of his death or removal, but the same may be proceeded with or defended by his joint receiver or joint trustee or successor in the same manner as though the same had been commenced or was being defended by such joint receiver or joint trustee alone or by such successor. SEC. 47. DUTIES OF TRUSTEES.-a. Trustees shall (1) collect and reduce to money the property of the estates for which they are trustees, under the direction of the court, and close up the estates as expeditiously as is compatible with the best interests of the parties in interest; (2) deposit all money received by them in designated depositories; (3) account for and pay over to the estates under their control all interest received by them upon funds belonging to such estates; (4) disburse money only by check or draft on such depositories; (5) keep records and accounts showing all amounts and items of property received and from what sources, all amounts expended and for what purposes and all items of property disposed of; (6) set apart the bankrupts' exemptions allowed by law, if claimed, and report the items and estimated value thereof to the courts as soon as practicable after their appointment; (7) examine the bankrupts (a) at the first meetings of creditors or at other meetings specially fixed for that purpose, unless they shall already have been fully examined by the referees, receivers or creditors, and (b) upon the hearing of objections, if any, to their discharges, unless otherwise ordered by the court; (8) examine all proofs of claim and object to the allowance of such claims as may be improper;

(9) oppose at the expense of estates the discharges of bankrupts when they deem it advisable to do so; (10) furnish such information concerning the estates of which they are trustees and their administration as may be requested by parties in interest; (11) pay dividends within ten days after they are declared by the referees; (12) report to the courts in writing the condition of the estates, the amounts of money on hand and such other details as may be required by the courts, within the first month after their appointment and every two months thereafter, unless otherwise ordered by the courts; (13) make final reports and file final accounts with the courts fifteen days before the days fixed for the final meetings of the creditors; and (14) lay before the final meetings of the creditors detailed statements of the administration of the estates.

[SEC. 47. DUTIES OF TRUSTEES.-a. Trustees shall respectively (1) account for and pay over to the estates under their control all interest received by them upon property of such estates; (2) collect and reduce to money the property of the estates for which they are trustees, under the direction of the court, and close up the estate as expeditiously as is compatible with the best interests of the parties in interest; and such trustees, as to all property in the custody or coming into the custody of the bankruptcy court, shall be deemed vested with all the rights, remedies, and powers of a creditor holding a lien by legal or equitable proceedings thereon; and also, as to all property not in the custody of the bankruptcy court, shall be deemed vested with all the rights, remedies, and powers of a judgment creditor holding an execution duly returned unsatisfied; (3) deposit all money received by them in one of the designated depositories; (4) disburse money only by check or draft on the depositories in which it has been deposited; (5) furnish such information concerning the estates of which they are trustees and their administration as may be requested by parties in interest; (6) keep regular accounts showing all amounts received and from what sources and all amounts expended and on what accounts; (7) lay before the final meeting of the creditors detailed statements of the administration of the estates; (8) make final reports and file final accounts with the courts fifteen days before the days fixed for the final meetings of the creditors; (9) pay dividends within ten days after they are declared by the referees; (10) report to the courts, in writing, the condition of the estates and the amounts of money on hand, and such other details as may be required by the courts, within the first month after their appointment and every two months thereafter unless otherwise ordered by the courts; and (11) set apart the bankrupt's exemptions and report the items and estimated value thereof to the court as soon as practicable after their appointment.]

b. Whenever three trustees have been appointed for an estate, the concurrence of at least two of them shall be necessary to the validity of their every act concerning the administration of the estate.

e. The trustee shall, within ten [thirty] days after his qualification, [the adjudication, file] record a certified copy of the order approving his bond [decree of adjudication] in the office where conveyances of real estate are recorded in every county where the bankrupt owns real property or an interest therein, [estate] not exempt from execution, and pay the fee for such filing. [and] He shall receive a compensation of 50 [fifty] cents for each copy so filed which, together with the filing fee, shall be paid out of the estate of the bankrupt as a part of the expenses of administration. [costs and disbursements of the proceedings.]

SEC. 48. COMPENSATION OF [TRUSTEES.] RECEIVERS, [AND] MARSHALS, AND TRUSTEES.-a. Receivers.-The compensation of receivers appointed under this Act for their services, payable after they are rendered, shall be as follows:

(1) As Custodians.-Receivers appointed pursuant to clause (3) of section 2 of this Act who serve as mere custodians shall receive such amount as may be allowed by the court, but in no event to exceed [when the receiver or marshal acts as a mere custodian and does not carry on the business of the bankrupt as provided in clause 5 of section 2 of this Act, he shall not receive nor be allowed in any form or guise more than] 2 [two per centum on the first $1,000 [thousand dollars] or less, and one-half of 1 [one] per centum on all above $1,000 [one thousand dollars] on moneys disbursed by them [him] or turned over by them to any persons, including lien holders, and also upon moneys turned over by them [him] to the trustee and on moneys subsequently realized from property turned over by them [him] in kind to the trustee.

(2) With Full Powers.-Receivers or marshals] appointed pursuant to clause (3) of section 2 [sub division 3,] of this Act who serve otherwise than as mere custodians shall receive [for their services, payable after they are rendered.] compensation by way of commissions upon the moneys disbursed or

turned over to any persons, including lienholders, by them and also upon the moneys turned over by them or afterward[s] realized by the trustees from property turned over in kind by them to the trustees, such amount as the court may allow, but in no event [not] to exceed 6 [six] per centum on the first $500 [five hundred dollars] or less, 4 [four] per centum on all [moneys] in excess of $500 [tive hundred dollars] but [and less] not more than $1,500, [one thousand five hundred dollars,] 2 [two] per centum on all above $1,500 [moneys in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars] and not more [less] than $10,000 [ten thousand dollars,] and 1 [one] per centum on all above [moneys in excess of $10,000. [ten thousand dollars:] [Provided, That in case of the confirmation of a composition such commissions shall not exceed one-half of one per centum of the amount to be paid creditors on such compositions.] (3) Conducting Business.-Receivers appointed pursuant to clause (3) of section 2 of this Act who conduct the business of the bankrupt as provided in clause (5) of section of this Act shall receive such amount as may be allowed by the court, but in no event to exceed twice the maximum allowance permitted by paragraph (2) of this subdivision a. [e. Where the business is conducted by trustees, marshals, or receivers, as provided in clause 5 of section 2 of this Act, the court may allow such officers additional compensation for such services by way of commissions upon the moneys disbursed or turned over to any person, including lien holders, by them, and, in cases of receivers or marshals, also upon the moneys turned over by them or afterwards realized by the trus tees from property turned over in kind by them to the trustees; such commissions not to exceed six per centum on the first five hundred dollars or less, four per centum on moneys in excess of five hundred dollars and less than one thousand five hundred dollars, two per centum on moneys in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars and less than ten thousand dollars, and one per centum on moneys in excess of ten thousand dollars: Provided, That in case of the confirmation of a composition such commissions shall not exceed onehalf of one per centum of the amount to be paid creditors on such composition: Provided further, That before the allowance of compensation notice of application therefor, specifying the amount asked, shall be given to creditors in the manner indicated in section fifty-eight of this Act.]

(4) Ancillary Receivers.-The compensation of ancillary receivers appointed pursuant to this Act shall be such amount as may be allowed by the court of ancillary jurisdiction, but in no event to exceed the maximum compensation permitted by paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this subdivision a, as the case may be, based upon assets in such ancillary jurisdiction.

b. Marshals.-The compensation of marshals, payable after their services are rendered, shall be such amount as may be allowed by the court, but in no event to exceed the maximum allowance permitted for receivers for like services. c. Trustees. The compensation of trustees [(a) Trustees shall receive] for their services, payable after they are rendered, shall be a fee of $5 [five dollars] for each estate, deposited with the clerk at the time the petition is filed in each case, except when a fee is not required from a voluntary bankrupt, and such further sum as the court may allow, as follows:

(1) Normal Administration.-When the trustee does not conduct the_business of the bankrupt, such sum as the court may allow, but in no event [commissions on all moneys disbursed or turned over to any person, including lien holders, by them, as may be allowed by the courts, not] to exceed 6 [six] per centum on the first $500 [five hundred dollars] or less, 4 [four] per centum on moneys in excess of $500 [five hundred dollars] and not more [less] than $1,500, [fifteen hundred dollars,] 2 [two] per centum on moneys in excess of $1,500 [fifteen hundred dollars,] and not more [less] than $10,000, [ten thousand dollars, and 1 [one] per centum on moneys in excess of $10,000, [ten thousand dollars.] upon all moneys disbursed or turned over by them to any persons, including lien holders: Provided, however, That if in any case, after the trustee has paid all expenses of administration and has realized upon all available assets, the maximum compensation allowable to him hereunder does not exceed $100, the court may of its own motion allow the trustee a fee which with the commissions, if any, paid or to be paid him, shall not exceed $100. (2) Conducting Business.-Trustees who conduct the business of the bankrupts as provided in clause (5) of section 2 of this Act shall receive such amount as may be allowed by the court, but in no event to exceed twice the maximum allowance permitted by paragraph (1) of this subdivision c.

d. [b.] Apportionment of Fees. In the event of the appointment, concurrently or successively, of more than one receiver of an estate or of more than

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