license to carry gunpowder, the local inspectors shall examine such vessel, and if they find that she is provided with a chest or safe composed of metal, or entirely lined and sheathed therewith, or if the vessel has one or more compartments thoroughly lined and sheathed with metal, at a secure distance from any fire, they may grant a certificate to that effect, authorizing such vessel to carry as freight, within such chest, safes, or compartments, the article of gunpowder. No loose hay, loose cotton, or loose hemp, camphene, R. S., 4472. nitro-glycerine, naphtha, benzine, benzole, coal-oil, crude or refined petroleum, or other like explosive burning fluids, or like dangerous articles, shall be carried as freight or used as stores on any steamer carrying passengers; nor shall baled cotton or hemp be carried on such steamers unless the bales are compactly pressed and thoroughly covered with bagging of similar fabric, and secured with good rope or iron bands; nor shall gunpowder be carried on any such vessel, except under special license; nor shall oil of vitriol, nitric or other chemical acids be carried on such steamers except on the decks or guards thereof, or in such other safe part of the vessel as shall be prescribed by the inspectors. Refined petroleum, which will not ignite at a temperature less than one hundred and ten degrees of Fahrenheit thermometer, may be carried on board such steamers upon routes where there is no other practicable mode of transporting it, and under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor; and oil or spirits of turpentine may be carried on such steamers when put up in good metallic vessels, or casks or barrels well and securely bound with iron and stowed in a secure part of the vessel; and friction-matches may be carried on such steamers when securely packed in strong tight chests or boxes, the covers of which shall be well secured by locks, screws, or other reliable fastenings, and stowed in a safe part of the vessel at a secure distance from any fire or heat. All such other provisions shall be made on every steamer carrying passengers or freight, to guard against and extinguish fire, as shall be prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors, and approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Feb. 14, 1903. sec. 10. Feb. 14, 1903. Sec. 10. Nothing in the foregoing or following sections of this Feb. 20, 1901. Act shall prohibit the transportation by steam vessels of gasoline, or any of the products of petroleum when carried by motor vehicles (commonly known as automobiles) using the same as a source of motive power: Provided, however, That all fire, if any, in such vehicles or automobiles be extinguished before entering the said vessel, and that the same be not relighted until after said vehicle shall have left the same: Provided, further, That any owner, master, agent, or other person having charge of passenger steam vessels shall have the right to refuse to transport automobile R. S., 4473. R. S., 4474. Sec. 10. vehicles the tanks of which contain gasoline, naphtha, or other dangerous burning fluids. Every bale of cotton or hemp that shall be shipped or carried on any passenger-steamer, without conforming to the provisions of the preceding section, shall be subject to a penalty of five dollars, and shall be liable to seizure and sale to secure the payment of such penalty. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor may grant perFeb. 14, 1903. mission to the owner of any steam-vessel, to use any invention or process for the utilization of petroleum or other mineral oils or substances in the production of motivepower, and may make and enforce regulations concerning the application and use of the same for such purpose. But no such permission shall be granted, unless upon the certificate of the supervising inspector of steamboats for the district wherein such vessel is registered, and other satisfactory proof that the use of the same is safe and efficient; and upon such proof, and the approval of such certificate by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, a special license for the use of such process or invention shall issue under the seal of the Department of Commerce and Labor. Oct. 18, 1888. Feb. 14, 1903. R. S., 4475. R. S., 4476. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor may permit the use of petroleum as fuel on steamers not carrying passengers, without the certificate of the supervising inspector of the district where the vessel is to be used, subject to such conditions and safeguards as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor in his judgment shall provide. For a violation of any of the conditions imposed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor a penalty of five hundred dollars shall be imposed, which penalty shall be a lien upon the vessel, but a bond may, as provided in other cases, be given to secure the satisfaction of the judgment. All gunpowder, nitro-glycerine, camphene, naphtha, benzine, benzole, coal-oil, crude or refined petroleum, oil of vitriol, nitric or other chemical acids, oil or spirits of turpentine, friction-matches, and all other articles of like character, when packed or put up for shipment, shall be securely packed and put up separately from each other and from all other articles; and the package, box, cask, or other vessel containing the same shall be distinctly marked on the outside, with the name or description of the article contained therein. Every person who packs or puts up, or causes to be packed or put up for shipment, any gunpowder, nitroglycerine, camphene, naphtha, benzine, benzole, coal-oil, crude or refined petroleum, oil of vitriol, nitric or other chemical acids, oil or spirits of turpentine, friction-matches, or other articles of like character otherwise than as directed by the preceding section, or who knowingly ships or attempts to ship the same, or delivers the same to any such vessels as stores unless duly packed and marked, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding eighteen months, or both; one-half of the fine to go to the informer, and the articles to be liable to seizure and forfeiture. Every person who knowingly transports, or delivers or R. S., 5353. causes to be delivered, nitro-glycerine, nitroleum or blasting-oil or nitrated oil, or powder mixed with any such oil, or fiber saturated with any such substance or article, on board any vessel or vehicle whatever, employed in conveying passengers by land or water between any place in a foreign country and any place within the United States, or between a place in one State, Territory, or district of the United States and a place in any other State, Territory, or district thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars; one-half to the use of the informer. When the death of any person is caused by the explosion R. S., 5354. of any quantity of such articles, or either of them, while the same is being placed upon any vessel or vehicle, to be transported in violation of the preceding section, or while the same is being so transported, or while the same is being removed from such vessel or vehicle, every person who knowingly placed or aided, or permitted the placing of such articles upon such vessel or vehicle, to be so transported, is guilty of manslaughter, and shall suffer imprisonment for a period not less than two years. Every person who knowingly ships, sends, or forwards R.S., 5355. any quantity of the articles mentioned in section fifty-three hundred and fifty-three, or who transports the same by any mode of conveyance upon land or water, between any of the places specified in that section, unless such articles be securely inclosed, deposited, or packed in a metallic vessel surrounded by plaster of Paris, or other non-explosive material when saturated with such oil, and separated from all other substances, and the outside of the package be marked, printed, or labeled in a conspicuous manner with the words "nitro-glycerine; dangerous," shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars; one-half to the use of the informer. 137. Carriage of passengers. The inspectors shall state in every certificate of inspec- R.S., 4464. tion granted to steamers carrying passengers, other than ferry-boats, the number of passengers of each class that any such steamer has accommodations for, and can carry with prudence and safety. It shall not be lawful to take on board of any steamer a greater number of passengers than is stated in the certificate of inspection; and for every violation of this provision the master or owner shall be liable, to any person suing for the same, to forfeit the amount of passage-money and ten dollars for each passenger beyond the number allowed. R. S., 4465. July 9, 1886. Any steam vessel engaged in the business of towing vésFeb. 23, 1901. sels, rafts, or water craft of any kind, also steam vessels engaged in oyster dredging and planting, and fishing steamers engaged in food fishing on the Great Lakes and all other inland waters of the United States, and not carrying passengers, may be authorized and licensed by the supervising inspector of the district in which said steamer shall be employed to carry on board such number of persons, in addition to its crew, as the supervising inspector, in his judgment, shall deem necessary to carry on the legitimate business of such towing, oyster and fishing steamers, not exceeding, however, one person to every net ton of measurement of said steamers: Provided, however, That the person so allowed to be carried shall not be carried for hire. July 9, 1886. R. S., 4466. R. S., 4467. R. S., 4468. R. S., 4469. R. S., 4421. Every steam-vessel licensed under the foregoing section shall carry and have on board, in accessible places, one life-preserver for every person allowed to be carried, in addition to those provided for the crew of such vessel. If any passenger-steamer engages in excursions, the inspectors shall issue to such steamer a special permit, in writing, for the occasion, in which shall be stated the additional number of passengers that may be carried, and the number and kind of life-saving appliances that shall be provided for the safety of such additional passengers; and they shall also, in their discretion, limit the route and distance for such excursions. The master of every passenger-steamer shall keep a correct list of all the passengers received and delivered from day to day, noting the places where received and where landed, which record shall be open to the inspection of the inspectors and officers of the customs at all times; and the aggregate number of passengers shall be furnished to inspectors as often as called for; but on routes not exceeding one hundred miles, the number of passengers, if kept, shall be sufficient. Every master of any passenger-steamer who fails, through negligence or design, to keep a list of passengers, as required by the preceding section, shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars. The penalties imposed by sections forty-four hundred and sixty-five and forty-four hundred and sixty-eight shall be a lien upon the vessel in each case; but a bond may, as provided in other cases, be given to secure the satisfaction of the judgment. 138. Certificate of inspection. When the inspection of a steam-vessel is completed and the inspectors approve the vessel and her equipment throughout, they shall make and subscribe a certificate to the collector or other chief officer of the customs of the district in which such inspection has been made, in accordance with the form and regulations prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors. Such certificate shall be verified by the oaths of the inspectors signing it, before the chief officer of the customs of the district, or any other person competent by law to administer oaths. If the inspectors refuse to grant a certificate of approval, they shall make a statement in writing, and sign the same, giving the reasons for their disapproval. Every collector or other chief officer of the customs shall R. S., 4423. retain on file all original certificates of the inspectors required to be delivered to him, and shall give to the master or owner of the vessel therein named three certified copies thereof; two of which shall be placed by such master or owner in conspicuous places in the vessel where they will be most likely to be observed by passengers and others, and there kept at all times, framed under glass; and the other shall be retained by such master or owner, as evidence of the authority thereby conferred. Whenever any passenger is received on board any steam- R. S., 4424. vessel not having the certified copies of the certificate of approval placed and kept as required by this Title [R. S., 4399-4500], or whenever any passenger steam-vessel receives or carries any gunpowder on board, not having a certificate authorizing the same, and a certified copy thereof placed and kept as required, or shall carry any gunpowder at a place or in a manner not authorized by such certificate, such steam-vessel shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense. 139. Exhibit of laws. Every master, or commander of any steam-vessel carry- R. S., 4494. ing passengers shall keep on board of such vessel at least. two copies of the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399–4500], Sec. 10. to be furnished to him by the Secretary of Commerce and Feb. 14, 1903. Labor, and if the master or commander neglects or refuses to do so, or shall unreasonably refuse to exhibit a copy of the same to any passenger who asks for it, he shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars. 140. Inspectors and officers of steam-vessels. Each supervising inspector shall watch over all parts of R. S., 4406. the territory assigned to him, shall visit, confer with, and examine into the doings of the local boards of inspectors within his district, and shall instruct them in the proper performance of their duties; and shall, whenever he thinks it expedient, visit any vessels licensed, and examine into their condition, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500] have been observed, and complied with, both by the board of inspectors and the master and owners. All masters, engineers, mates, and pilots of such vessels shall answer all reasonable inquiries, and shall give all the information in their power in regard to any such vessel so visited, and her machinery for steaming, and the manner of managing both. |