similitude, or colorable imitation of the said last-mentioned stamp, or any engraver or printer who shall sell or give away said stamps, or selling the same, or, being a merchant, broker, peddler, or person dealing, in whole or in part, in similar goods, wares, merchandise, manufactures, preparations, or articles, or those designed for similar objects or purposes, shall have knowingly or fraudulently in his, her, or their possession any such forged, counterfeited likeness, similitude, or colorable imitation of the said last-mentioned stamp, shall be deemed guilty of a crime, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

SEC. 10. That if any person or persons shall make, sign, or issue, or cause to be made, signed, or issued, or shall accept or pay, or cause to be accepted or paid, with design to evade the payment of any stamp tax, any bill of exchange, draft, or order, or promissory note for the payment of money, liable to any of the taxes imposed by this Act, without the same being duly stamped, or having thereupon an adhesive stamp for denoting the tax hereby charged thereon, he, she, or they shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 11. That the acceptor or acceptors of any bill of exchange or order for the payment of any sum of money drawn, or purporting to be drawn, in any foreign country, but payable in the United States, shall, before paying or accepting the same, place thereupon a stamp, indicating the tax upon the same, as the law requires for inland bills of exchange or promissory notes; and no bill of exchange shall be paid or negotiated without such stamp; and if any person shall pay or nego. tiate, or offer in payment, or receive or take in payment, any such draft or order, the person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, in the discretion of the court.

SEC. 12. That in any collection district where, in the judgment of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the facilities for the procurement and distribution of adhesive stamps are or shall be insufficient, the Commissioner, as aforesaid, is authorized to furnish, supply, and deliver to the collector of any district, and to any assistant treasurer of the United States or designated despositary thereof, or any postmaster, a suitable quantity of adhesive stamps, without prepayment therefor, and may in advance require of any collector, assistant treasurer of the United States, or postmaster a bond, with sufficient sureties, to an amount equal to the value of the adhesive stamps which may be placed in his hands and remain unaccounted for, conditioned for the faithful return, whenever so required, of all quantities or amounts undisposed of, and for the payment monthly of all quantities or amounts sold or not remaining on hand. And it shall be the duty of such collector to supply his deputies with, or sell to other parties within his district who may make application therefor, adhesive stamps, upon the same terms allowed by law or under the regulations of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is hereby authorized to make such other regulations, not inconsistent herewith, for the security of the United States and the better accommodation of the public, in relation to the matters hereinbefore mentioned, as he may judge necessary and expedient. And the Secretary of the Treasury may from time to time make such regulations as he may find necessary to insure the safe-keeping or prevent the illegal use of all such adhesive stamps.

SEC. 13. That any person or persons who shall register, issue, sell, or transfer, or who shall cause to be issued, registered, sold, or transferred, any instrument, document, or paper of any kind or description whatsoever mentioned in Schedule A of this Act, without the same being duly stamped, or having thereupon an adhesive stamp for denoting the tax chargeable thereon, and canceled in the manner required by law, with intent to evade the provisions of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, in the discretion of the court; and such instrument, document, or paper, not being stamped according to law, shall be deemed invalid and of no effect: Provided, That hereafter, in all cases where the party has not affixed to any instrument the stamp required by law thereon at the time of issuing, selling, or transferring the said bonds, debentures, or certificates of stock or of indebtedness, and he or they, or any party having an interest therein, shall be subsequently desirous of affixing such stamp to said instrument, or, if said instrument be lost, to a copy thereof, he or they shall appear before the collector of internal revenue of the proper district, who shall, upon the payment of the price of the proper stamp required by law, and of a penalty of ten dollars, and, where the whole amount of the tax denoted by the stamp required shall exceed the sum of fifty dollars, on payment also of interest, at the rate of six per centum, on said tax from the day on which such stamp ought to have been affixed, affix the proper stamp to such bond, debenture, certificate of stock or of indebtedness or copy, and note upon the margin thereof the date of his so doing, and the fact that such penalty has been paid; and the same shall thereupon be deemed and held to be as valid, to all intents and purposes, as if stamped when made or issued: And provided further, That where it shall appear to said collector, upon oath or otherwise, to his satisfaction, that any such instrument has not been duly stamped, at the time of making or issuing the same, by reason of accident, mistake, inadvertence, or urgent necessity, and without any willful design to defraud the United States of the stamp, or to evade or delay the payment thereof, then and in such case, if such instrument, or, if the origi nal be lost, a copy thereof, duly certified by the officer having charge of any records in which such original is required to be recorded, or otherwise duly proven to the satisfaction of the collector, shall, within twelve calendar months after the making or issuing thereof, be brought to the said collector of internal revenue to be stamped, and the stamp tax chargeable thereon shall be paid, it shall be lawful for the said collector to remit the penalty aforesaid and to cause such instrument to be duly stamped. And when the original instrument, or a certified or duly proven copy thereof, as aforesaid, duly stamped so as to entitle the same to be recorded, shall be presented to the clerk, register, recorder, or other officer having charge of the original record, it shall be lawful for such officer, upon the payment of the fee legally chargeable for the recording thereof, to make a new record thereof, or to note upon the original record the fact that the error or omission in the stamping of said original instrument has been corrected pursuant to law; and the original instrument or such certified copy, or the record thereof, may be used in all courts and places in the same manner and with like effect as if the instrument had been originally stamped: And provided further, That in all cases where the party has not affixed the stamp required by law upon any such instrument issued, registered, sold, or transferred at a time when and

at a place where no collection district was established, it shall be lawful for him or them, or any party having an interest therein, to affix the proper stamp thereto, or, if the original be lost, to a copy thereof. But no right acquired in good faith before the stamping of such instrument, or copy thereof, as herein provided, if such record be required by law, shall in any manner be affected by such stamping as aforesaid.

SEC. 14. That hereafter no instrument, paper, or document required by law to be stamped, which has been signed or issued without being duly stamped, or with a deficient stamp, nor any copy thereof, shall be recorded or admitted, or used as evidence in any court until a legal stamp or stamps, denoting the amount of tax, shall have been affixed thereto, as prescribed by law: Provided, That any bond, debenture, certificate of stock, or certificate of indebtedness issued in any foreign country shall pay the same tax as is required by law on similar instruments when issued, sold, or transferred in the United States; and the party to whom the same is issued, or by whom it is sold or transferred, shall, before selling or transferring the same, affix thereon the stamp or stamps indicating the tax required.

SEC. 15. That it shall not be lawful to record or register any instrument, paper, or document required by law to be stamped unless a stamp or stamps of the proper amount shall have been affixed and canceled in the manner prescribed by law; and the record, registry, or transfer of any such instruments upon which the proper stamp or stamps aforesaid shall not have been affixed and canceled as aforesaid shall not be used in evidence.

SEC. 16. That no instrument, paper, or document required by law to be stamped shall be deemed or held invalid and of no effect for the want of a particular kind or description of stamp designated for and denoting the tax charged on any such instrument, paper, or document, provided a legal documentary stamp or stamps denoting a tax of equal amount shall have been duly affixed and used thereon.

SEC. 17. That all bonds, debentures, or certificates of indebtedness, issued by the officers of the United States Government, or by the officers of any State, county, town, municipal corporation, or other corporation exercising the taxing power, shall be, and hereby are, exempt from the stamp taxes required by this Act: Provided, That it is the intent hereby to exempt from the stamp taxes imposed by this Act such State, county, town, or other municipal corporations in the exercise only of functions strictly belonging to them in their ordinary governmental, taxing, or municipal capacity: Provided further, That stock and bonds issued by cooperative building and loan associations whose capital stock does not exceed ten thousand dollars, and building and loan associations or companies that make loans only to their shareholders, shall be exempt from the tax herein provided.

SEC. 18. That on and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, no telegraph company or its agent or employee shall transmit to any person any dispatch or message without an adhesive stamp, denoting the tax imposed by this Act, being affixed to a copy thereof, or having the same stamped thereupon, and in default thereof shall incur a penalty of ten dollars: Provided, That only one stamp shall be required on each dispatch or message, whether sent through one or more companies: Provided, That the messages or dispatches of the officers and employees of any telegraph or telephone company concerning the affairs and service of the company, and like messages or dispatches of the officials and employees of railroad companies sent over the wires on their respective railroads shall be exempt from this

requirement: Provided further, That messages of officers and employees of the Government on official business shall be exempt from the taxes herein imposed upon telegraphic and telephonic messages.

SEC. 19. That all the provisions of this Act relating to dies, stamps, adhesive stamps, and stamp taxes shall extend to and include (except where manifestly inapplicable) all the articles or objects enumerated in Schedule B, subject to stamp taxes, and apply to the provisions in relation thereto.

SEC. 20. That on and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, any person, firm, company, or corporation that shall make, prepare, and sell, or remove for consumption or sale, drugs, medicines, preparations, compositions, articles, or things, including perfumery and cosmetics, upon which a tax is imposed by this Act, as provided for in Schedule B, without affixing thereto an adhesive stamp or label denoting the tax before mentioned shall be deemed guilty of a misde meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That no stamp tax shall be imposed upon any uncompounded medicinal drug or chemical, nor upon any medicine sold to or for the use of any person which may be mixed or compounded for said person according to the written recipe or prescription of any practicing physician or surgeon, or which may be put up or compounded for said person by a druggist or pharmacist selling at retail only. The stamp taxes provided for in Schedule B of this Act shall apply to all medicinal articles compounded by any formula, published or unpublished, which are put up in style or manner similar to that of patent, trade-mark, or proprietary medicine in general, or which are advertised on the package or otherwise as remedies or specifics for any ailment, or as having any special claim to merit, or to any peculiar advantage in mode of preparation, quality, use, or effect.

SEC. 21. That any manufacturer or maker of any of the articles for sale mentioned in Schedule B, after the same shall have been so made, and the particulars hereinbefore required as to stamps have been complied with, or any other person who shall take off, remove, or detach, or cause, or permit, or suffer to be taken off, or removed or detached, any stamp, or who shall use any stamp, or any wrapper or cover to which any stamp is affixed, to cover any other article or commodity than that originally contained in such wrapper or cover, with such stamp when first used, with the intent to evade the stamp duties, shall for every such article, respectively, in respect of which any such offense shall be committed, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court, and every such article or commodity as aforesaid shall also be forfeited.

SEC. 22. That any maker or manufacturer of any of the articles or commodities mentioned in Schedule B, as aforesaid, or any other person who shall sell, send out, remove, or deliver any article or commodity, manufactured as aforesaid, before the tax thereon shall have been fully paid by affixing thereon the proper stamp, as in this Act provided, or who shall hide or conceal, or cause to be hidden or concealed, or who shall remove or convey away, or deposit, or cause to be removed or conveyed away from or deposited in any place, any such article or commodity, to evade the tax chargeable thereon, or any part thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not

more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court, together with the forfeiture of any such article or commodity: Provided, That articles upon which stamp taxes are required by this Act may, when intended for exportation, be manufactured and sold or removed without having stamps affixed thereto, and without being charged with tax as aforesaid; and every manufacturer or maker of any article as aforesaid, intended for exportation, shall give such bonds and be subject to such rules and regulations to protect the revenue against fraud as may be from time to time prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 23. That every manufacturer or maker of any of the articles or commodities provided for in Schedule B, or his foreman, agent, or superintendent shall at the end of each and every month make, sign, and file with the collector of internal revenue for the district in which he resides a declaration in writing that no such article or commodity has, during such preceding month or time when the last declaration was made, been removed, or carried, or sent, or caused or suffered or known to have been removed, carried, or sent from the premises of such manufacturer or maker other than such as have been duly taken account of and charged with the stamp tax, on pain of such manufacturer or maker forfeiting for every refusal or neglect to make such declaration one hundred dollars; and if any such manufacturer or maker, or his foreman, agent, or superintendent, shall make any false or untrue declaration, such manufacturer or maker, or foreman, agent, or superintendent making the same shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 24. That the stamp taxes prescribed in this Act on the articles provided for in Schedule B shall attach to all such articles and things sold or removed for sale on and after the said first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. Every person, except as otherwise provided in this Act, who offers or exposes for sale any article or thing provided for in said Schedule B, whether the article so offered or exposed is of foreign manufacture and imported or of domestic manufacture, shall be deemed the manufacturer thereof, and shall be subject to all the taxes, liabilities, and penalties imposed by law for the sale of articles without the use of the proper stamp denoting the tax paid thereon; and all such articles of foreign manufacture shall, in addition to the import duty imposed on the same, be subject to the stamp tax prescribed in this Act: Provided further, That internal revenue stamps required by existing law on imported merchandise shall be affixed thereto and canceled at the expense of the owner or importer before the withdrawal of such merchandise for consumption, and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the affixing and canceling of such stamps, not inconsistent herewith.

SEC. 25. That the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall cause to be prepared for the payment of the taxes prescribed in this Act suitable stamps denoting the tax on the document, article, or thing to which the same may be affixed, and he is authorized to prescribe such method for the cancellation of said stamps, as substitute for or in addition to the method provided in this Act, as he may deem expedient. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, is authorized to procure any of the stamps provided for in this Act by contract whenever such stamps can not be speedily prepared by