Pivot drawbridges. Proviso. Lawful structures and post routes. Postal telegraph. Use by other companies. Compensation. Secretary of War to approve plans, etc. navigation of said rivers the proceedings shall be instituted in and determined by the district court of the United States for the district of the State of Kentucky. SEC. 2. That the bridges authorized by and constructed under this Act shall be pivot drawbridges, and the bridges shall have a draw over the main channel of the rivers at accessible and navigable points, with spans ofenot less than one hundred and seventy-five feet in length on each sid of the center of the pivot piers of the draws, and the remaining spans of such length as shall be necessary to reach the approaches on either side of the river, all spans to have a clear head-room of ten feet above high water; and the piers of said bridges shall be parallel with the current of the rivers when said bridges shall be erected: Provided, That the length of the drawspans may be increased if, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, the interests of navigation demand it. SEC. 3. That any bridge constructed under this Act and according to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be known and recognized as a post route, and the same is hereby declared to be a post route, and it shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as other post roads in the United States, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for their transportation over the railroads leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right of way for a postal telegraph across said bridge. SEC. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridges shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railroad trains over the same and the approaches thereto, aud in the use of the machinery and fixtures thereof, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use, and in case the owner or owners of said bridges and the railroad companies, or any of them, desiring such use shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid as such compensation, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridges, or either of said matters, then all matters in dispute or at issue between them, or any of them, shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties. SEC. 5. That the structures herein authorized shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said rivers as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, designs and drawings of said bridges and maps of the locations, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed locations, the topography of the banks of the rivers, the shore lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the streams, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plans and locations of the bridges are approved by the Secretary of War the bridges shall not be commenced or built, and should any change be made in the plan of said bridges during the process of construction or after completion, such change shall be subject to the Aids to navigation. approval of the Secretary of War; and the said constructions shall be at all times so managed and kept as to offer reasonable and proper means for the passage of vessels through or under said structures; and to secure the safe passage of vessels at night there shall be displayed on said bridges, from the hour of sunset to that of sunrise, such lights as may be prescribed by the Light-House Board, and the said structures shall be changed, at the cost and expense of the owners thereof, from time to time, as the Secretary of War may direct, so as to preserve the free and convenient navigation of said rivers. Lights, etc. Changes. Commencement and completion. SEC. 6. That this Act shall be null and void if actual construction of the bridges herein authorized be not commenced within three years from the date hereof, and completed within five years. SEC. 7. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby Amendment, etc. expressly reserved. Approved, January 30, 1897. CHAP. 113.-An Act Extending the time for the completion of the bridge across the East River, between the city of New York and Long Island, now in course of construction, as authorized by the Act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven. January 30, 1897. East River, New Time extended for completing bridge Vol. 24, p. 469. over. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the time for the comple- York tion of the bridge of the New York and Long Island Bridge Company across the East River, between the city of New York and Long Island, authorized by the Act of Congress entitled "An Act authorizing the construction of a bridge across the East River, between the city of New York and Long Island," approved March third, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and the various Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, is hereby extended to and including the first day of January in the year nineteen hundred. Approved, January 30, 1897. CHAP. 121.-An Act To provide for an examination and survey of a water route from the mouth of the jetties at the city of Galveston, Texas, through the ship channel and up Buffalo Bayou to the city of Houston, Texas. February 1, 1897. Water route, Gal rected. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War beg veston to Houston, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to make an examination and Tex. survey, with an estimate of the necessary cost, for a water channel not Survey, etc., di less than twenty-five feet deep and one hundred feet wide, extending from the mouth of the jetties at the city of Galveston, Texas, through the existing ship channel and up Buffalo Bayou to the city of Houston, Texas, and for a harbor at or near Houston of a depth of not less than twenty-five feet and of a width of five hundred feet, and to make a report of such examination, survey, and estimate, with its commercial importance, to Congress. Expense. Laws 1st sess. 54th SEC. 2. That the cost of said examination, survey, and estimate be paid out of funds already appropriated for work on the improvement of Cong., pp. 209, 222 the ship channel and Buffalo Bayou. Approved, February 1, 1897. CHAP. 122.—An Act To authorize the construction or acquisition of a bridge across the Rio Grande River at El Paso, in the State of Texas. February 1, 1897. Sierra Madre Construction Company may bridge Rio Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Sierra Madre Construction Company, a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey, and its successors and assigns, be, and the Grande, El Paso, Tex. same is hereby, authorized to erect, construct, maintain, and operate a bridge over the Rio Grande River at the city of El Paso, in the State of Texas, at such point on said river in the county of El Paso as may accommodate the line of railway which said corporation may build to said point. Said bridge shall be constructed so as to provide for the Railway, etc., bridge. passage of railway trains and shall be used for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, and for the transit of animals and for foot passengers, and for the transit of freight, goods, wares, and merchandise, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be fixed by the Secretary of War; and the Secretary of War shall have the right from time to time to revise such rates. Toll. Construction. Unobstructed navi gation. Use by railroad companies. Compensation. Consent of Mexican authorities. Commencement and completion. Reservation of au thority. Amendment, etc. Purchase of existing bridge. SEC. 2. That said bridge may be built with unbroken and continuous spans and of the following dimensions, to wit: Six hundred feet in length, twenty feet in width, ten feet in height above high-water level, and with twenty-eight spans, twelve of which to be thirty feet in length and sixteen of which to be fifteen feet in length, completed in the manner herein specified, shall be deemed and taken to be a legal structure. SEC. 3. That said bridge shall not interfere with the free navigation of said river, and in case of any litigation arising from an obstruction or an alleged obstruction to the free navigation thereof, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be tried before the circuit or district court of the United States for the State in which any portion of said bridge may be situated. SEC. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches thereto, upon payment of a reasonable compensation to the owners of said bridge, and should the several railroad companies, or any one of them, desiring such use, fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridge, all matters at issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties; and all telephone and telegraph companies shall have equal rights and privileges in constructing and operating their lines across said bridge. SEC. 5. That the consent of the State of Chihuahua, United States of Mexico, and of the proper authorities of the Republic of Mexico shall have been obtained before said bridge shall be built or commenced. SEC. 6. That unless the construction of said bridge be commenced within one year and finished within three years from the date of the passage of this Act the provisions of this Act shall be null and void. SEC. 7. That Congress reserves the right to withdraw the authority and power conferred by this Act in case the free navigation of said river shall at any time be substantially or materially obstructed by said bridge, or for any other reason, and to direct the removal or necessary modifications thereof at the cost and expense of the owners of said bridge; and Congress may at any time alter, repeal, or amend this Act. SEC. 8. That said company, instead of erecting such bridge, may Vol. 22, p. 179; Vol. acquire by purchase or otherwise the property and franchises of any street-railway bridge heretofore authorized by Congress to be built and now built and in operation across said river at said point. 25, p. 457. Reconstruction, etc. Consent of Mexican authorities. February 3, 1897. Indian Territory. Recording, if mortgagor a nonresident. SEC. 9. That said company may in such case remodel and strengthen such bridge so acquired so as to conform in all particulars to the requirements for a new bridge, as hereinbefore set out, and may maintain and operate such bridge under the conditions of its original franchises, subject to all the provisions of this Act in respect to a new bridge. SEC. 10. That the consent of the State of Chihuahua, United States of Mexico, and of the proper authorities of the Republic of Mexico shall have been obtained before such property and franchises are acquired. Approved, February 1, 1897. CHAP. 136.—An Act Relating to mortgages in the Indian Territory. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-seven hundred and forty-two of Mansfield's Digest of the Laws of Arkansas, heretofore put in force in the Indian Territory, is hereby amended by adding to said section the following: "Provided, That if the mortgagor is a nonresident of the Indian Territory the mortgage shall be recorded in the judicial district in which the property is situated at the time the mortgage is executed. All mortgages of personal property in the Indian Territory heretofore executed and recorded in the judicial district thereof in which the property was situated at the time they were executed are hereby validated." Approved, February 3, 1897. February 4, 1897. Thomas S. Falck," Barge. CHAP. 145.—An Act To provide an American register for the barge Black Diamond. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Commissioner of Navigation is hereby authorized and directed to cause the foreign-built barge Thomas S. Falck, owned by the Mobile Coal Company, of Mobile, Alabama, a corporation under the laws of Alabama, to be registered as a Diamond." vessel of the United States under the name of Black Diamond. Approved, February 4, 1897. Granted American register and changed to "Black name CHAP. 146.-An Act To authorize officers who served during the war of the rebellion in the Regular Army to bear the title and, on occasions of ceremony, wear the uniform of their highest rank. February 4, 1897. Army. Title and uniform lowed ex-officers for Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all officers who have served during the rebellion as officers of the Regular Army of the of highest rank alUnited States, and have been honorably discharged or resigned from service during the rethe service, shall be entitled to bear the official title and, upon occa bellion. sions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held, by brevet or other commission, as is now authorized for officers of volunteers by section twelve hundred and twenty-six, Revised Statutes. Approved, February 4, 1897. R.S., sec. 1226, p.212. CHAP. 167.-An Act For the protection of yacht owners and shipbuilders of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-two hundred and sixteen of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows: February 5, 1897. Yachts. Exemptions to foreign yacht clubs. R.S., sec. 4216, p. 812, amended. Proviso. citizens. "SEC. 4216. Yachts, belonging to a regularly organized yacht club of any foreign nation which shall extend like privileges to the yachts of the United States, shall have the privilege of entering or leaving any port of the United States without entering or clearing at the custom-house thereof or paying tonnage tax: Provided, That the privileges of this section shall not extend to any yacht built outside of the United States yachts used, etc., by and owned, chartered, or used by a citizen of the United States, unless such ownership or charter was acquired prior to the passage of this Act." SEC. 2. That section eleven of an Act, entitled "An Act to abolish owned, etc., by citi Foreign-built yachts certain fees for official services to American vessels, and to amend the zens to pay tonnage laws relating to shipping commissioners, seamen and owners of vessels, Vol. 24, p. 81. and for other purposes," approved June nineteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, so far as the same exempts any yacht built outside of the United States and owned, chartered, or used by a citizen of the United States, from the payment of tonnage taxes, is hereby repealed. Received by the President, January 25, 1897. [NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.-The foregoing act having been presented to the President of the United States for his approval, tax. and not having been returned by him to the house of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without his approval.] February 6, 1897. South Wis. CHAP. 169.-An Act Authorizing the establishment of a pierhead light at or near South Milwaukee, in the State of Wisconsin. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Milwaukee, States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Pierhead light es- Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to establish a pierhead light at or near South Milwaukee, in the State of Wisconsin, at a cost not to exceed five thousand dollars. Approved, February 6, 1897. tablished. February 6, 1897. Right of way, East Gulf Railway through Omaha and Winneba ern Nebraska and go reservations, Nebr. Time for construc: tion extended. Vol. 28, p. 96. CHAP. 170.-An Act To amend an Act entitled "An Act granting to the Eastern Nebraska and Gulf Railway Company right of way through the Omaha and Winnebago Indian reservations, in the State of Nebraska," by extending the time for the construction of said railway. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the time prescribed by an Act of Congress approved the twenty-seventh day of June, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, entitled "An Act granting to the Eastern Nebraska and Gulf Railway Company right of way through the Omaha and Winnebago Indian reservations, in the State of Nebraska," for the construction of said railway, be, and the same is hereby, extended for a period of three years from the twenty-seventh day of June, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. SEC. 2. That all other provisions of said Act are hereby continued in full force and effect. Approved, February 6, 1897. etc. February 8, 1897. lawful. CHAP. 172.-An Act To prevent the carrying of obscene literature and articles designed for indecent and immoral use from one State or Territory into another State or Territory. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Obscene literature, States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be unlawful for Sending by express any person to deposit with any express company or other common carcompanies, etc., un rier for carriage from one State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia to any other State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia any obscene, lewd, or lascivious book, pamphlet, picture, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of inde cent character, or any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion, or any written or printed card, letter, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, how, or of whom, or by what means any of the herein before mentioned articles, to matters, or things may be obtained or made; and any person who shall knowingly deposit, or cause to be deposited, with any express company or other common carrier for carriage from one State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia to any other State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, or who shall take from such express company or other common carrier with intent to sell, distribute, or circulate any matter or thing herein forbidden to be deposited for carriage, shall for each offense, upon conviction thereof be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned at hard labor not more than five years, or both, at the discretion of the court. Approved, February 8, 1897. Punishment sender. |