Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1916-10-10
UNITED STATES
WAREHOUSE ACT
Synopsis of Measure Passed
by Congress as Prepared
by United States De-
partment of Agri-
culture.

q
law on August IL, 1916, is to establish
a form of warehouse receipt for cot
ton, grain, wool, tobacco and f1aXSeed,
which will make these receipts easily
and widely negotiable as delivery or
ders or as collateral for loans and,
therefore, of definite assistance in f.
nancing crops. This purpose the act
aims TO attain by licensing and bond
ing warehouses under conditions which
will insure the integrity of their re-
ceipts and make these receipts reliable
evidence of the condition, quality,
quantity, and ownership of the prod
ucts named which may be stored with
them.
The secretary of agriculture is given
general authority to investigate the
storage, warehousing. classification,
weighing, and certifying of cotton,
to classify warehouses for which
licenses are applied for or issued.
Permissive Statute.
He may issue to warehousemen Ii
censes for the conduct OF warehouses
in which such products may be stored
for interstate or foreign commerce,
and also of warehouses located in
places under the exclusive jurisdiction
of the United States in which such
products may be stored. Persons who
are not warehousemen may also be
licensed, subject to the same require
{O
accept such products for storage in
warehouses owned, operated or leased
by any state. Licenses may be issued
for periods not exceeding one year,
and are renewable upon showing sat
isfactory to the secretary of agricul-
ture. A fee not exceeding 50 may be
charged for each license or renewal,
and, in addition, a reasonable fee for
each examination or inspection of a
warehouse made upon application of
the warehOuseman. 1t is not however
compulsory that any warehouseman be
licensed by the secretary of agricul-
fure. The system is wholly permits
Sfve.
Every applicant for a license as a
warehOuseman must agree to comply
with the act and the rules and regu-
latiOns prescribed under it. He must
give bond, with other than personal
surety, to secure the performance of
his obligations as a warehouseman I'M
der the laws of the place in which the
warehouse is conducted, under his con-
tracts with his depositors, and under
the United States warehouse act. The
right is given to any person injured
through its breach to sue in his own
name on the bond for any damages
sustained by him. When such bond
has been given. the warehouse may be
designated as bonded under the United
States warehouse act.
Inspection Of Warehouses.
The secretary of agriculture is au-
thOriZed to inspect warehouse licenses,
or for which licenses are applied for:
to determine whether they are suitable
for the proper storage of agricultural
products; to prescribe the duties of Ii
censed warehousemen with respect to
their care of, and responsibility for,
agricultural products; and to examine
agricultural products stored in Ii
censed warehouses. Deposits of ag-
ricultural products in such warehouses
are made subject to the act and the
rules and regulations under it.
Duties of Warehousemen.
Licensed warehousemen are not per-
mitted to discriminate between per-
sons desiring TO store agricultural
products in their warehouses. All az
ricultural products, except fungibIe
products (such as grain and the iike),
of the same kind and grade, for which
separate receipts are issued, must be
so Ike that they may be separately
identified and redelivered to the de-
pOsitor. Warehousemen may mix
grain and other fungible products, or
dinarily mixed in storage, when they
are of the same kind and grade and
are delivered from the same mass, but
may not mix such products when they
are of different grades.
Warehouse Receipts.
Original receipts must be issued for
licensed warehouses, but only when
such products are actually stored at
the time of the issuance of the re-
ceipts. Additional or further receipts
for the same products may only be is
sued in place of lost or destroyed re-
ceipts, and then only under specified
conditions.
The act enumerates certain facts
which must be stated in all receipts
issued by licensed warehOusemen.
They must show (a) the location of
the warehouse, (b) the date of issu-
ance, (c) the consecutive number, (d)
whether the products will be delivered
to the bearer, to a specified person, or
to specified person or his order, (e)
the rate of storage charges, (f) a
description of the product stored, in
Guiding the quantity of weight (g)
the grade or other class, according to
the official standards of the United
States for such products, unless there
be no such standard, in which event it
must be stated according to some
recognized standard or according to
rules and regulations prescribed by
the secretary of agriculture, (h) that
they are issued subject to the United
States warehouse act and the rules
and regulations under it, ID owner
ship, if any, of the products by the
warehouseman, ID any lien claimed
by the warehouseman for advance
made or liabilities incurred, (k) any
other facts required by the secretary
of agriculture. ID the signature of the
warehouseman, which may be made by
his authorized agent. Unless other
wise required by the law of the state
in which the warehouse is located, the
grade may be omitted at the request
of depositors, except in case of fungi