April 15, 1910. [S. 5287.] [Public, No. 134.] CHAP. 164.-An Act To parole juvenile offenders. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United District of Columbia. States of America in Congress assembled, That every female juvenile Reform School for offender who is now or may hereafter be committed to the Reform School for Girls of the District of Columbia, and who has by her conduct given sufficient evidence that she has reformed, may be released on parole as hereinafter provided. Girls. Parole to inmates. Discretion of board of trustees. SEC. 2. That if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the board of trustees of said school that there is reasonable probability that any girl detained in the said school will, if conditionally released, remain at liberty without violating the laws, then said board of trustees may, in its discretion, parole such girl under such conditions and regulations as the said board of trustees may deem proper: Provided, That the other than District parole of all such juvenile offenders committed by courts other than those of the District of Columbia shall be subject to the approval of the Attorney-General of the United States. Proviso. Commitments from courts. Repeal of inconsistent laws. SEC. 3. That all Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed. Approved, April 15, 1910. April 15, 1910. [Ĥ. R. 21755.] [Public, No. 135.] River. Warren, R. I., may bridge. CHAP. 165.-An Act To authorize the towns of Warren and Barrington, Rhode Island, or either of them, to construct a bridge across Palmers or Warren River, in the State of Rhode Island. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Palmers or Warren States of America in Congress assembled, That the town of Warren Barrington and and the town of Barrington, or either of them, municipal corporations organized under the laws of the State of Rhode Island, are hereby authorized to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge, without a draw, and with approaches thereto, across the Palmers or Warren River at a point suitable to the interests of navigation, at or near the point of their existing bridge across said river, in the county of Bristol, in the State of Rhode Island, in accordance with the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the construction of bridges over navigable waters," approved March twenty-third, nineteen hundred Vol. 34, p. 84. Amendment, etc. and six. SEC. 2. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act, including the right to require the insertion of a suitable draw in the bridge herein authorized, or the removal of said bridge in whole or in part, in all cases at the expense of the owners thereof, is hereby expressly reserved. Approved, April 15, 1910. April 15, 1910. [H. R. 23186.] [Public, No. 136.] Wabash River. ney and Frank L. Lit- Mount Carmel, Ill. Vol. 34, p. 84. CHAP. 166.-An Act To authorize Leonard J. Hackney, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Frank L. Littleton, of Indianapolis, Indiana, to construct a bridge across the Wabash River near the city of Mount Carmel, Illinois. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Leonard J. Hackney, of the city of Cincinnati, State of Ohio, and Frank L. Littleton, of the city of Indianapolis, State of Indiana, and their assigns, are hereby authorized to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge and approaches thereto across the Wabash River, at a point suitable to the interests of navigation, at or near the city of Mount Carmel, in the county of Wabash, in the State of Illinois, in accordance with the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the construction of bridges over navigable waters," approved March twenty third, nineteen hundred and six. SEC. 2. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby Amendment. expressly reserved. SEC. 3. That the Act entitled "An Act to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Wabash River," approved June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and six, is hereby repealed. Approved, April 15, 1910. Former act repealed. CHAP. 167.-An Act To make uniform the law of warehouse receipts in the District of Columbia. April 15, 1910. [S. 4932.] [Public, No. 137.] District of Columbia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following provisions Warehouse receipts. to make uniform the law of warehouse receipts in the District of Columbia shall be in effect on and after the approval of this Act, namely: PART I. THE ISSUE OF WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS. Issue. Warehousemen au SECTION 1. PERSONS WHO MAY ISSUE RECEIPTS.-Warehouse re- thorized. ceipts may be issued by any warehouseman. SEC. 2. FORM OF RECEIPTS-ESSENTIAL TERMS.- -Warehouse receipts need not be in any particular form, but every such receipt must embody within its written or printed terms (a) The location of the warehouse where the goods are stored; (b) The date of issue of the receipt; (c) The consecutive number of the receipt; (d) A statement whether the goods received will be delivered to the bearer, to a specified person, or to a specified person or his order; (e) The rate of storage charges; (f) A description of the goods or of the packages containing them; (g) The signature of the warehouseman, which may be made by his authorized agent; (h) If the receipt is issued for goods of which the warehouseman is owner, either solely or jointly or in common with others, the fact of such ownership; and (i) A statement of the amount of advances made and of liabilities incurred for which the warehouseman claims a lien. If the precise amount of such advances made or of such liabilities incurred is, at the time of the issue of the receipt, unknown to the warehouseman or to his agent who issues it, a statement of the fact that advances have been made or liabilities incurred and the purpose thereof is sufficient. A warehouseman shall be liable to any person injured thereby for all damage caused by the omission from a negotiable receipt of any of the terms herein required. SEC. 3. FORM OF RECEIPTS-WHAT TERMS MAY BE INSERTED. -A warehouseman may insert in a receipt issued by him any other terms and conditions, provided that such terms and conditions shall not(a) Be contrary to the provisions of this Act; (b) In any wise impair his obligation to exercise that degree of care in the safe-keeping of the goods intrusted to him which a reasonably careful man would exercise in regard to similar goods of his own. SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF NONNEGOTIABLE RECEIPT.-A receipt in which it is stated that the goods received will be delivered to the depositor, or to any other specified person, is a nonnegotiable receipt. SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF NEGOTIABLE RECEIPT.-A receipt in which it is stated that the goods received will be delivered to the bearer, or to the order of any person named in such receipt, is a negotiable receipt. Form. No provision shall be inserted in a negotiable receipt that it is nonnegotiable. Such provision, if inserted, shall be void. SEC. 6. DUPLICATE RECEIPTS MUST BE SO MARKED.-When more than one negotiable receipt is issued for the same goods, the word "Duplicate" shall be plainly placed upon the face of every such receipt, except the one first issued. A warehouseman shall be liable for all damage caused by his failure so to do to anyone who purchased the subsequent receipt for value, supposing it to be an original, even though the purchase be after the delivery of the goods by the warehouseman to the holder of the original receipt. SEC. 7. FAILURE TO MARK "NOT NEGOTIABLE."-A nonnegotiable receipt shall have plainly placed upon its face by the warehouseman issuing it "Nonnegotiable" or "Not negotiable." In case of the warehouseman's failure so to do, a holder of the receipt who purchased it for value supposing it to be negotiable, may, at his option, treat such receipt as imposing upon the warehouseman the same liabilities he would have incurred had the receipt been negotiable. This section shall not apply, however, to letters, memoranda, or written acknowledgements of an informal character. PART II. OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF WAREHOUSEMEN UPON THEIR RECEIPTS. SEC. 8. OBLIGATION OF WAREHOUSEMAN TO DELIVER.-A warehouseman, in the absence of some lawful excuse provided by this Act, is bound to deliver the goods upon a demand made either by the holder of a receipt for the goods or by the depositor, if such demand is accompanied with (a) An offer to satisfy the warehouseman's lien; (b) An offer to surrender the receipt if negotiable, with such indorsements as would be necessary for the negotiation of the receipt; and (c) A readiness and willingness to sign, when the goods are delivered, an acknowledgement that they have been delivered, if such signature is requested by the warehouseman. In case the warehouseman refuses or fails to deliver the goods in compliance with a demand by the holder or depositor so accompanied, the burden shall be upon the warehouseman to establish the existence of a lawful excuse for such refusal. SEC. 9. JUSTIFICATION OF WAREHOUSEMAN IN DELIVERING.- -A warehouseman is justified in delivering the goods, subject to the provisions of the three following sections, to one who is (a) The person lawfully entitled to the possession of the goods or his agent; (b) A person who is either himself entitled to delivery by the terms of a nonnegotiable receipt issued for the goods, or who has written authority from the person so entitled either indorsed upon the receipt or written upon another paper; or (c) A person in possession of a negotiable receipt by the terms of which the goods are deliverable to him or order or to bearer, or which has been indorsed to him or in blank by the person to whom delivery was promised by the terms of the receipt or by his mediate or immediate indorsee. SEC. 10. WAREHOUSEMAN'S LIABILITY FOR MISDELIVERY.-Where a warehouseman delivers the goods to one who is not in fact lawfully entitled to the possession of them, the warehouseman shall be liable as for conversion to all having a right of property or possession in the goods if he delivered the goods otherwise than as authorized by subdivisions (b) and (c) of the preceding section, and though he delivered the goods as authorized by said subdivisions he shall be so liable, if prior to such delivery he had either (a) Been requested, by or on behalf of the person lawfully entitled to a right of property or possession in the goods, not to make such delivery; or (b) Had information that the delivery about to be made was to one not lawfully entitled to the possession of the goods. Canceling negotiable receipts. Exception. SEC. 11. NEGOTIABLE RECEIPTS MUST BE CANCELED WHEN GOODS DELIVERED. Except as provided in section thirty-six, where a warehouseman delivers goods for which he had issued a negotiable receipt, Post, p. 307. the negotiation of which would transfer the right to the possession of the goods, and fails to take up and cancel the receipt, he shall be liable to anyone who purchases for value in good faith such receipt for failure to deliver the goods to him, whether such purchaser acquired title to the receipt before or after the delivery of the goods by the warehouseman. Liability for not canceling, etc., on de SEC. 12. NEGOTIABLE RECEIPTS MUST BE CANCELED OR MARKED WHEN PART OF GOODS DELIVERED.-Except as provided in section livery in part. thirty-six, where a warehouseman delivers part of the goods for which he had issued a negotiable receipt and fails either to take up and cancel such receipt or to place plainly upon it a statement of what goods or packages have been delivered he shall be liable, to anyone who purchases for value in good faith such receipt, for failure to deliver all the goods specified in the receipt, whether such purchaser acquired title to the receipt before or after the delivery of any portion of the goods by the warehouseman. SEC. 13. ALTERED RECEIPTS.-The alteration of a receipt shall not excuse the warehouseman who issued it from any liability if such alteration was (a) Immaterial, (b) Authorized, or (c) Made without fraudulent intent. If the alteration was authorized, the warehouseman shall be liable. according to the terms of the receipt as altered. If the alteration was unauthorized, but made without fraudulent intent, the warehouseman shall be liable according to the terms of the receipt as they were before alteration. Altered receipts. Effect if immaterial, etc. Effect if material and fraudulent. Material and fraudulent alteration of a receipt shall not excuse the warehouseman who issued it from liability to deliver, according to the terms of the receipt as originally issued, the goods for which it was issued, but shall excuse him from any other liability to the person who made the alteration and to any person who took with notice of the alteration. Any purchaser of the receipt for value without notice Purchasers for value of the alteration shall acquire the same rights against the warehouse- without notice. man which such purchaser would have acquired if the receipt had not been altered at the time of the purchase. receipt lost or de SEC. 14. LOST OR DESTROYED RECEIPTS.-Where a negotiable, Delivery of goods if receipt has been lost or destroyed, a court of competent jurisdiction stroyed. may order the delivery of the goods upon satisfactory proof of such loss or destruction and upon the giving of a bond with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the court, to protect the warehouseman from any liability or expense which he or any person injured by such delivery may incur by reason of the original receipt remaining outstanding. The court may also in its discretion order the payment of the warehouseman's reasonable costs and counsel fees. Order of court. houseman. The delivery of the goods under an order of the court as provided Liability of in this section shall not relieve the warehouseman from liability to a person to whom the negotiable receipt has been or shall be negotiated for value without notice of the proceedings or of the delivery of the goods. ware Effect of duplicate receipts. Title of warehouse man. Interpleader of adverse claimants. Determination of adverse claims before delivery. Limit to defense on adverse title. Liability for nonexistence or misdescription. Limitation. Care required. Separation of deposits. Commingling of fungible goods. SEC. 15. EFFECT OF DUPLICATE RECEIPTS.-A receipt upon the face of which the word "duplicate" is plainly placed is a representation and warranty by the warehouseman that such receipt is an accurate copy of an original receipt properly issued and uncanceled at the date of the issue of the duplicate, but shall impose upon him no other liability. SEC 16. WAREHOUSEMAN CAN NOT SET UP TITLE IN HIMSELF.-No title or right to the possession of the goods, on the part of the warehouseman, unless such title or right is derived directly or indirectly from a transfer made by the depositor at the time of or subsequent to the deposit for storage, or from the warehouseman's lien, shall excuse the warehouseman from liability for refusing to deliver the goods according to the terms of the receipt. SEC. 17. INTERPLEADER OF ADVERSE CLAIMANTS.-If more than one person claim the title or possession of the goods, the warehouseman may, either as a defense to an action brought against him for nondelivery of the goods, or as an original suit, whichever is appropriate, require all known claimants to interplead. SEC. 18. WAREHOUSEMAN HAS REASONABLE TIME TO DETERMINE VALIDITY OF CLAIMS.-If some one other than the depositor or person claiming under him has a claim to the title or possession of the goods, and the warehouseman has information of such claim, the warehouseman shall be excused from liability for refusing to deliver the goods, either to the depositor or person claiming under him or to the adverse claimant, until the warehouseman has had a reasonable time to ascertain the validity of the adverse claim or to bring legal proceedings to compel all claimants to interplead. SEC. 19. ADVERSE TITLE IS NO DEFENSE, EXCEPT AS ABOVE PROVIDED.-Except as provided in the two preceding sections and in sections nine and thirty-six, no right or title of a third person shall be a defense to an action brought by the depositor or person claiming under him against the warehouseman for failure to deliver the goods according to the terms of the receipt. SEC. 20. LIABILITY FOR NONEXISTENCE OR MISDESCRIPTION OF GOODS.-A warehouseman shall be liable to the holder of a receipt for damages caused by the nonexistence of the goods or by the failure. of the goods to correspond with the description thereof in the receipt at the time of its issue. If, however, the goods are described in a receipt merely by a statement of marks or labels upon them, or upon packages containing them, or by a statement that the goods are said to be goods of a certain kind, or that packages containing the goods are said to contain goods of a certain kind, or by words of like purport, such statements, if true, shall not make liable the warehouseman issuing the receipt, although the goods are not of the kind which the marks or labels upon them indicate or of the kind they were said to be by the depositor. SEC. 21. LIABILITY FOR CARE OF GOODS.-A warehouseman shall be liable for any loss or injury to the goods caused by his failure to exercise such care in regard to them as a reasonably careful owner of similar goods would exercise, but he shall not be liable, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, for any loss or injury to the goods which could not have been avoided by the exercise of such care. SEC. 22. GOODS MUST BE KEPT SEPARATE.-Except as provided in the following section, a warehouseman shall keep the goods so far separate from goods of other depositors and from other goods of the same depositor for which a separate receipt has been issued as to permit at all times the identification and redelivery of the goods deposited. SEC. 23. FUNGIBLE GOODS MAY BE COMMINGLED, IF WAREHOUSEMAN AUTHORIZED.-If authorized by agreement or by custom, a ware |