An Act to punish willful damaging or destroying of aircraft or motor vehicles, and their facilities, and for other purposes
PL 84-709 (S.2972), enacted 07/14/1956

538 
PUBLIC LAW 708-JULY 14, 1956 
[70 ST A T . 
Transportation. 
Bond. 
Payments, 
Passport fees. 
SEC. 2. (a) The Secretary of Defense is hereby authorized, under 
such regulations as he may prescribe, to provide, without expense to 
the United States Government, transportation from the United States 
and return on a vessel of the Military Sea Transportation Service for 
(1) those Boy Scouts, Scouters and officials certified by the National 
Council, Boy Scouts of America, as representing the National Coun-
cil, Boy Scouts of America, at the jamboree referred to in the first 
section of this Act, and (2) the equipment and property of such Boy 
Scouts, Scouters and officials and the property loaned to the National 
Council, Boy Scouts of America, by the Secretary of Defense pur-
suant to this Act to the extent that such transportation will not inter-
fere with the requirements of military operations, 
(b) Before furnishing any transportation under this section, the 
Secretary of Defense shall take from the National Council, Boy Scouts 
of America, a good and sufficient bond for the reimbursement to the 
United States by the National Council, Boy Scouts of America, of 
the actual costs of transportation furnished under this section. 
SEC, 3, Amounts paid to the United States to reimburse it for 
expenses incurred under the first section and for the actual costs of 
transportation furnished under section 2 shall be credited to the current 
applicable appropriations or funds to which such expenses and costs 
were charged and shall be available for the same purposes as such 
appropriations or funds. 
SEC. 4. Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State, no 
fee shall be collected for the application for a passport by or the 
issuance of a passport to, any Boy Scout, Scouter or official who is 
certified by the National Council, Boy Scouts of America, as represent-
ing the National Council, Boy Scouts of America, at the jamboree 
referred to in the first section of this Act. 
Approved July 14, 1956. 
July 14, 1956 
[S. 2896] 
Public Law 708 
CHAPTER 594 
AN ACT 
To amend the Act relating to cemetery associations. 
D. C. 
cemetery 
associations. 
Land. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate atid House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assetnbled, That, without regard 
to the provisions of section 27-114 of the District of Columbia Code 
(Act of March 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1295, ch. 854, sec. 670), the Commis-
sioners of the District of Columbia are hereby authorized to license 
for cemetery purposes any parcel of land in the District of Columbia 
which does not exceed one acre in size, and which, except for a one-side 
frontage of less than 100 feet on a public street or highway, is other-
wise completely bounded by land dedicated to cemetery purposes. 
Approved July 14, 1956. 
Public Law 709 
CHAPTER 595 
July 14, 1956 
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« 2972] 
rp^j punish the willful damaging or destroying of aircraft or motor vehicles, and 
their facilities, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
c7di"amendn^ent' United States of America in Congress assembled^ That title 18 of the 
62^staT.*686',*" * United States Code is amended by inserting immediately after section 
14 thereof the following new chapter: 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 709-JULY 14, 1956 
539 
"CHAPTER 2.—AIRCRAFT AND MOTOR VEHICLHS 
"Sec. 
"31. Definitions. 
"32. Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities. 
''33. Destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle facilities. 
"34. Penalty when death results. 
"35. Imparting or conveying false information. 
"§31. Definitions 
"When used in this chapter the term— 
" 'Aircraft engine', 'air navigation facility', 'appliance', 'civil air-
craft', 'foreign air commerce', 'interstate air commerce', 'landing area', 
'overseas air commerce', 'propeller', and 'spare part' shall have the 
meaning ascribed to those terms in the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, 
^1 ^*|^' Isu 
as amended. 
" 'Motor vehicle' means every description of carriage or other con-
trivance propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used for com-
mercial purposes on the highways in the transportation of passengers, 
or passengers and property; 
" 'Destructive substance' means any explosive substance, flammable 
material, infernal machine, or other chemical, mechanical, or radio-
active device or matter of a combustible, contaminative, corrosive, or 
explosive nature; and 
" 'Used for commercial purposes' means the carriage of persons or 
property for any fare, fee, rate, charge or other consideration, or 
directly or indirectly in connection with any business, or other under-
taking intended for profit. 
"§ 32. Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities 
"Whoever willfully sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or 
wrecks any civil aircraft used, operated, or employed in interstate, 
overseas, or foreign air commerce; or 
"Whoever willfully sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or 
wrecks any aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or spare part with 
intent to damage, destroy, disable, or wreck any such aircraft; or 
"Whoever, with like intent, willfully places or causes to be placed 
any destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to any such air-
craft, or any aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, spare part, fuel, 
lubricant, hydraulic fluid, or other material used or intended to be 
used in connection with the operation of any such aircraft, or any 
cargo carried or intended to be carried on any such aircraft, or other-
w^ise makes or causes to be made any such aircraft, aircraft engine, 
propeller, appliance, spare part, fuel, lubricant, hydraulic fluid, or 
other material unworkaole or unusable or hazardous to work or use; or 
"Whoever, with like intent, willfully sets fire to, damages, destroys, 
disables, or wrecks, or places or causes to be placed any destructive 
substance in, upon, or in proximity to any shop, supply, structure, 
station, depot, terminal, hangar, ramp, landing area, air-navigation 
facility or other facility, warehouse, property, machine, or apparatus 
used or intended to be used in connection with the operation, loading, 
or unloading of any such aircraft or making any such aircraft ready 
for flight, or otherwise makes or causes to be made any such shop, 
supply, structure, station, depot, terminal, hangar, ramp, landing 
area, air-navigation facility or other facility, warehouse, property, 
machine, or apparatus unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work 
or use; or 
"Whoever, with like intent, willfully incapacitates any member of 
the crew of any such aircraft; or 
"Whoever willfully attempts to do any of the aforesaid acts or 
things— 
"shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more 
^ 
than twenty years, or both. 
540 
PUBLIC LAW 710-JULY 14, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
"§ 83. Destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle facilities 
"Whoever willfully, with intent to endanger the safety of any 
person on board or anyone who he believes will board the same, or 
with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life, damages, dis-
ables, destroys, tampers with, or places or causes to be placed any 
explosive or other destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to, 
any motor vehicle which is used, operated, or employed in interstate 
or foreign commerce, or its cargo or material used or intended to be 
used in connection with its operation; or 
"Whoever willfully, with like intent, damages, disables, destroys, 
sets fire to, tampers with, or places or causes to be placed any explosive 
or other destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to any garage, 
terminal, structure, supply, or facility used in the operation of, or 
in support of the operation of, motor vehicles engaged in interstate 
or foreign commerce or otherwise makes or causes such property to be 
made unworkable, unusable, or hazardous to work or use; or 
"Whoever, with like intent, willfully disables or incaj)acitates any 
driver or person employed in connection with the operation or main-
tenance of the motor vehicle, or in any way lessens the ability of such 
person to perform his duties as such; or 
"Wlioever willfully attempts to do any of the aforesaid acts— 
shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 
twenty years, or both. 
"§ 34. Penalty when death results 
"Whoever is convicted of any crime prohibited by this chapter, 
which has resulted in the death of any person, shall be subject also 
to the death penalty or to imprisonment for life, if the jury shall in 
its discretion so direct, or, in the case of a plea of guilty, or a plea 
of not guilty where the defendant has waived a trial by jury, if the 
court in its discretion shall so order. 
"§ 35. Imparting or conveying false information 
"Whoever willfully imparts or conveys or causes to be imparted or 
conveyed false information, knowing the information to be false, con-
cerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made, to 
do any act which would be a crime prohioited by this chapter or 
chapter 97 or chapter 111 of this title— 
shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 
one year, or both." 
SEC. 2. The part analysis preceding chapter 1 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting between chapters 1 and 3 the 
following item: 
"2. Aircraft and motor vehicles 
31" 
Approved July 14, 1956. 
Public Law 710 
CHAPTER 596 
July 14, 1956 
AN ACT 
[S 37231 
LI 
i 
To authorize the Secretary of the Navy to convey certain land in the county of 
Alameda, California, and to accept other land in exchange therefor. 
Alameda, Calif. 
Conveyances. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the Secretary 
of the Navy is authorized to convey to the State of California all of 
the right, title, and interest of the United States of America in and to 
that certain real property located in the county of Alameda, State of 
California, as more particularly described in section 2 of this Act,