The United States Warehouse Act and its Importance to the Bank Acceptance

The United States Warehouse Act is given here in full as a reference aid to the treatise on Acceptances. Since Bank Acceptances secured by warehouse receipts covering staple commodities, are one of the three eligible for rediscount, a study of the Act and the provisions which have greatly improved the financial standing of warehouse receipts, is recommended.

Features of the United States Warehouse Act

The new United States Warehouse Law, approved Aug. 11, 1916, provides for the issuance of licenses by the Secretary of Agriculture, for the operation of warehouses for the storage of agricultural products. The license brings the operation of the warehouse for which it is issued under an inspection service to be maintained by the Department of Agriculture, and makes it incumbent for the licensee to give a bond in a sum fixed by the Secretary of Agriculture for the faithful discharge of his obligations to the owners of commodities placed in his custody. The inspection service includes an examination of the warehouse before the license is issued, and from time to time, to determine whether it is suitable for the purpose, and the practice and competency of the warehouseman in classifying according to grade and otherwise, weighing and certification of products, etc. The bond is a guaranty of faithful observance of State as well as Federal laws governing warehouse operations. An appropriation of $50,000 is made to defray the expenses of the Department of Agriculture in connection with this service for one year.

United States Warehouse Act

§1. Short title. - That this Act shall be known by the short title of "United States Warehouse Act."

§2. Definitions of terms used in Act. - That the term "warehouse" as used in this Act shall be deemed to mean every building, structure, or other protected inclosure in which any agricultural product is or may be stored for interstate or foreign commerce, or, if located within any place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, in which any agricultural product is or may be stored. The term "agricultural product" wherever used in this Act shall be deemed to mean cotton, wool, grains, tobacco, and flaxseed, or any of them. As used in this Act, "person" includes a corporation or partnership or two or more persons having a joint or common interest; "warehouseman" means a person lawfully engaged in the business of storing agricultural products; and "receipt" means a warehouse receipt.

§3. Powers of Secretary of Agriculture under Act. - That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to investigate the storage, warehousing, classifying according to grade and otherwise, weighing, and certification of agricultural products; upon application to him by any person applying for license to conduct a warehouse under this Act, to inspect such warehouse or cause it to be inspected; at any time, with or without application to him, to inspect or cause to be inspected all warehouses licensed under this Act; to determine whether warehouses for which licenses are applied for or have been issued under this Act are suitable for the proper storage of any agricultural product or products; to classify warehouses licensed or applying for a license in accordance with their ownership, location, surroundings, capacity, conditions, and other qualities, and as to the kinds of licenses issued or that may be issued for them pursuant to this Act; and to prescribe, within the limitations of this Act, the duties of the warehousemen conducting warehouses licensed under this Act with respect to their care of and responsibility for agricultural products stored therein.

§4. Issuance of license by the Secretary of Agriculture. - That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, upon application to him, to issue to any warehouseman a license for the conduct of a warehouse or warehouses in accordance with this Act and such rules and regulations as may be made hereunder; Provided, That each such warehouse be found suitable for the proper storage of the particular agricultural product or products for which a license is applied for, and that such warehouseman agree, as a condition to the granting of the license, to comply with and abide by all the terms of this Act and the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder.

§5. Period of issuance of license. - That each license issued under sections four and nine of this Act shall be issued for a period not exceeding one year and shall specify the date upon which it is to terminate, and upon showing satisfactory to the Secretary of Agriculture, may from time to time be renewed or extended by a written instrument, which shall specify the date of its termination.

§6. Warehouseman required to file bond to secure faithful performance of his obligations. - That each warehouseman applying for a license to conduct a warehouse in accordance with this Act, shall, as a condition to the granting thereof, execute and file with the Secretary of Agriculture a good and sufficient bond other than personal security to the United States to secure the faithful performance of his obligations as a warehouseman under the laws of the State, District, or Territory in which he is conducting such warehouse, as well as under the terms of this Act and the rules and regulations prescrbied hereunder, and of such additional obligations as a warehouseman as may be assumed by him under contracts with the respective depositors of agricultural products in such warehouse. Said bond shall be in such form and amount, shall have such surety or sureties, subject to service of process in suits on the bond within the State, District, or Territory in which the warehouse is located, and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe to carry out the purposes of this Act, including the requirements of fire insurance. Whenever the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine that a bond approved by him is, or for any cause has become, insufficient, he may require an additional bond or bonds to be given by the warehouseman concerned, conforming with the requirements of this section, and unless the same be given within the time fixed by a written demand therefor, the license of such warehouseman may be suspended or revoked.

§7. Person injured by breach of any obligation may sue on the bond. - That any person injured by the breach of any obligation to secure which a bond is given, under the provisions of sections six or nine, shall be entitled to sue on the bond in his own name in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the damages he may have sustained by such breach.

§8. When warehouse is bonded. - That upon the filing with and approval by the Secretary of Agriculture of a bond, in compliance with this Act, for the conduct of a warehouse, such warehouse shall be designated as bonded hereunder; but no warehouse shall be designated as bonded under this Act, and no name or description conveying the impression that it is so bonded, shall be used, until a bond, such as provided for in section six, has been filed with and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, nor unless the license issued under this Act for the conduct of such warehouse remains unsuspended and unrevoked.

§9. When license may be issued to person not warehouseman. - That the Secretary of Agriculture may, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, issue a license to any person not a warehouseman to accept the custody of agricultural products and to store the same in a warehouse or warehouses owned, operated, or leased by any State, upon condition that such person agree to comply with and abide by the terms of this Act and the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder. Each person so licensed shall issue receipts for the agricultural products placed in his custody, and shall give bond, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules and regulations hereunder affecting warehousemen licensed under this Act, and shall otherwise be subject to this Act and such rules and regulations to the same extent as is provided for warehousemen licensed hereunder.

§10. Reasonable fees to be charged by Secretary of Agriculture. -That the Secretary of Agriculture shall charge, assess, and cause to be collected a reasonable fee for every examination or inspection of a warehouse under this Act when such examination or inspection is made upon application of a warehouseman, and a fee not exceeding $2 per annum for each license or renewal thereof issued to a warehouseman under this Act. All such fees shall be deposited and covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

§11. When person may be licensed for what purposes. - That the Secretary of Agriculture may, upon presentation of satisfactory proof of competency, issue to any person a license to classify any agricultural product or products, stored or to be stored in a warehouse licensed under this Act, according to grade or otherwise and to certificate the grade or other class thereof, or to weigh the same and certificate the weight thereof, or both to classify and weigh the same and to certificate the grade or other class and the weight thereof, upon condition that such person agree to comply with and abide by the terms of this Act and of the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder so far as the same relate to him.

§12. May suspend such license if person misapplies authority. - That any license issued to any person to classify or to weigh any agricultural product or products under this Act may be suspended or revoked by the Secretary of-Agriculture whenever he is satisfied, after opportunity afforded to the licensee concerned for a hearing, that such licensee has failed to classify or to weigh any agricultural product or products correctly, or has violated any of the provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder, so far as the same may relate to him, or that he has used his license or allowed it to be used for any improper purpose whatsoever. Pending investigation, the Secretary of Agriculture, whenever he deems necessary. may suspend a license temporarily without hearing.

§13. Receipt of products for storage. - That every warehouseman conducting a warehouse licensed under this Act shall receive for storage therein, so far as its capacity permits, any agricultural product of the kind customarily stored therein by him which may be tendered to him in a suitable condition for warehousing, in the usual manner in the ordinary and usual course of business, without making any discrimination between persons desiring to avail themselves of warehouse facilities.

§14. Person depositing does so under terms of this Act. - That any person who deposits agricultural products for storage in a warehouse licensed under this Act shall be deemed to have deposited the same subject to the terms of this Act and the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder.

§15. Inspecting and grading of grains, flaxseed, etc. - That grain, flaxseed, or any other fungible agricultural product stored for interstate or foreign commerce, or in any place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, in a warehouse licensed under this Act shall be inspected and graded by a person duly licensed to grade the same under this Act.

§16. Segregation of stored products to permit identification, etc. -That every warehouseman conducting a warehouse licensed under this Act shall keep the agricultural products therein of one depositor so far separate from agricultural products of other depositors, and from other agricultural products of the same depositor for which a separate receipt has been issued, as to permit at all times the identification and redelivery of the agricultural products deposited; but if authorized by agreement or by custom, a warehouseman may mingle fungible agricultural products with other agricultural products of the same kind and grade, and shall be severally liable to each depositor for the care and redelivery of his share of such mass, to the same extent and under the same circumstances as if the agricultural products had been kept separate, but he shall at no time, while they are in his custody mix fungible agricultural products of different grades.

§17. Warehouseman required to issue receipts for products stored. -That for all agricultural products stored for interstate or foreign commerce, or in any place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, in a warehouse licensed under this Act, original receipts shall be issued by the warehouseman conducting the same, but no receipts shall be issued except for agricultural products actually stored in the warehouse at the time of the issuance thereof.

§18. What receipt should embody. - That every receipt issued for agricultural products stored in a warehouse licensed under this Act shall embody within its written or printed terms (a) the location of the warehouse in which the agricultural products are stored; (b) the date of issue of the receipt; (c) the consecutive number of the receipt; (d) a statement whether the agricultural products 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 agricultural products received, showing the quantity thereof, or, in case of agricultural products customarily put up in bales or packages, a description of such bales or packages by marks, numbers, or other means of identification and the weight of such bales or packages; (g) the grade or other class of the agricultural products received and the standard or description in accordance with which such classification has been made: Provided, That such grade or other class shall be stated according to the official standard of the United States applicable to such agricultural products as the same may be fixed and promulgated under authority of law: Provided Further, That until such official standards of the United States for any agricultural product or products have been fixed and promulgated, the grade or other class thereof may be stated in accordance with any recognized standard or in accordance with such rules and regulations not inconsistent herewith as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture; (h) a statement that the receipt is issued subject to the United States Warehouse Act and the rules and regulations prescribed thereunder; ( i ) if the receipt be issued for agricultural products of which the warehouseman is owner, either solely or jointly or in common with others, the fact of such ownership; (j) a statement of the amount of advances made and of liabilities incurred for which the warehouseman claims a lien: Provided, That if the precise amount of such advances made or of such liabilities incurred be at the time of the issue of the receipt unknown to the warehouseman or his agent who issues it, a statement of the fact that advances have been made or liabilities incurred and the purpose thereof shall be sufficient; (k) such other terms and conditions within the limitations of this Act as may be required by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (1) the signature of the warehouseman, which may be made by his authoried agent: Pro-

Vided, That unless otherwise required by the law of the State in which the warehouse is located, when requested by the depositor of other than fungible agricultural products, a receipt omitting compliance with subdivision (g) of this section may be issued if it have plainly and conspicuously embodied in its written or printed terms a provision that such receipt is not negotiable.

§19. Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate standards. - That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, from time to time, to establish and promulgate standards for agricultural products in this Act defined by which their quality or value may be judged or determined: Provided, That the standards for any agricultural products which have been, or which in future may be, established by or under authority of any other Act of Congress shall be, and are hereby, adopted for the purposes of this Act as the official standards of the United States for the agricultural products to which they relate.

§20. While an original receipt is outstanding no further receipt shall be issued. - That while an original receipt issued under this Act is outstanding and uncanceled by the warehouseman issuing the same no other or further receipt shall be issued for the agricultural product covered thereby or for any part thereof, except that in the case of a lost or destroyed receipt, a new receipt, upon the same terms and subject to the same conditions and bearing on its face the number and date of the receipt in lieu of which it is issued, may be issued upon the compliance with the statutes of the United States applicable thereto in places under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States or upon compliance with the laws of any State applicable thereto in any place not under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States: Provided, That if there be in such case no statute of the United States or law of a State applicable thereto such new receipts may be issued upon the giving of satisfactory security in compliance with the rules and regulations made pursuant to this Act.

§21. Delivery. - That a warehouseman conducting a warehouse licensed under this Act, in the absence of some lawful excuse, shall, without unnecessary delay, deliver the agricultural products stored therein upon a demand made either by the holder of a receipt for such agricultural products or by the depositor thereof if such demand be 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 products are delivered, an acknowledgment that they have been delivered if such signature is requested by the warehouseman.

§22. Warehouseman shall cancel each receipt returned. - That a warehouseman conducting a warehouse licensed under this Act shall plainly cancel upon the face thereof each receipt returned to him upon the delivery by him of the agricultural products for which the receipt was issued.

§23. Warehouseman required to keep records and make reports. - That every warehouseman conducting a warehouse licensed under this Act shall keep in a place of safety complete and correct records of all agricultural products stored therein and withdrawn therefrom, of all warehouse receipts issued by him, and of the receipts returned to and canceled by him, shall make reports to the Secretary of Agriculture concerning such warehouse and the condition, contents, operation, and business thereof in such form and at such times as he may require, and shall conduct said warehouse in all other respects in compliance with this Act and the rules and regulations made hereunder.

§24. Business regulated by Secretary of Agriculture. - That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to cause examinations to be made of any agricultural product stored in any warehouse licensed under this Act. Whenever, after opportunity for hearing is given to the warehouseman conducting such warehouse, it is determined that he is not performing fully the duties imposed on him by this Act and the rules and regulations made hereunder, the Secretary may publish his findings.

§25. Revocation of license after hearing and suspension. - That the Secretary of Agriculture may, after opportunity for hearing has been afforded to the licensee concerned, suspend or revoke any license issued to any warehouseman conducting a warehouse under this Act, for any violation of or failure to comply with any provision of this Act or of the rules and regulations made hereunder or upon the ground that unreasonable or exorbitant charges have been made for services rendered. Pending investigation, the Secretary of Agriculture, whenever he deems necessary, may suspend a license temporarily without hearing.

§26. Publication of results of investigation. - That the Secretary of Agriculture from time to time may publish the results of any investigations made under section three of this Act; and he shall publish the names and locations of warehouses licensed and bonded and the names and addresses of persons licensed under this Act and lists of all licenses terminated under this Act and the causes therefor.

§27. Examination of books, records, etc. - That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized through officials, employees or agents of the Department of Agriculture designated by him to examine all books, records, papers, and accounts of warehouses licensed under this Act and of the warehousemen conducting such warehouses relating thereto.

§28. Make rules and regulations necessary. - That the Secretary of Agriculture shall from time to time make such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary for the efficient execution of the provisions of this Act.

§29. This act not to be construed to conflict with, impair or limit State laws. - That nothing in this Act shall be construed to conflict with, or to authorize any conflict with, or in any way to impair or limit the effect or operation of the laws of any State relating to warehouses, warehousemen, weighers, graders, or classifiers; but the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with such officials as are charged with the enforcement of such State laws in such States and through such cooperation to secure the enforcement of the provisions of this Act; nor shall this Act be construed so as to limit the operation of any statute of the United States relating to warehouses or warehousemen, weighers, graders, or classifiers now in force in the District of Columbia or in any Territory or other place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States.

§30. Punishment provided for misdemeanors. - That every person who shall forge, alter, counterfeit, simulate, or falsely represent, or shall without proper authority use, any license issued by the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any provision of section eight of this Act, or who shall issue or utter a false or fraudulent receipt or certificate, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.

§31. Appropriation. - That there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $50,-000, available until expended, for the expenses of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, including the payment of such rent and the employment of such persons and means as the Secretary of Agriculture may deem necessary in the City of Washington and elsewhere, and he is authorized, in his discretion, to employ qualified persons not regularly in the service of the United States for temporary assistance in carrying out the purposes of this Act, and out of the moneys appropriated by this Act to pay the salaries and expenses thereof.

§32. Effect of invalidity of part of Act. - That if any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this Act shall, for any reason, be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

§33. That the right to amend, alter, or repeal this Act is hereby expressly reserved.