of Columbia shall be charged against the department or agency of the United States primarily responsible for the care and custody of such persons in quarterly accounts to be rendered by the Disbursing Officer of the District of Columbia. The amount to be charged for such care and custody shall be ascertained by multiplying the average daily number of such persons so confined during the quarter by the per capita cost for the same quarter for all prisoners in the institution where confined, excluding expenses of construction or extraordinary repair of buildings. The sum so derived shall be credited to the current appropriation for the maintenance and operation of such institutions.

Approved June 27, 1946.

[CHAPTER 537-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 32]

AN ACT

To amend the Act entitled "An Act to protect trade and commerce against interference by violence, threats, coercion, or intimidation", approved June 18, 1934.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled "An Act to protect trade and commerce against interference by violence, threats, coercion, or intimidation", approved June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 979; U. S. C., 1940 edition, title 18, secs. 420a-420e), be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"TITLE I

"SEC. 1. As used in this title

"(a) The term 'commerce' means (1) commerce between any point in a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia and any point outside thereof, or between points within the same State, Territory, or the District of Columbia but through any place outside thereof, and (2) commerce within the District of Columbia or any Territory, and (3) all other commerce over which the United States has jurisdiction; and the term "Territory' means any Territory or possession of the United States.

"(b) The term 'robbery' means the unlawful taking or obtaining of personal property, from the person or in the presence of another, against his will, by means of actual or threatened force, or violence, or fear of injury, immediate or future, to his person or property, or property in his custody or possession, or the person or property of a relative or member of his family or anyone in his company at the time of the taking or obtaining.

"(c) The term 'extortion' means the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.

"SEC. 2. Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce, or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion, shall be guilty of a felony.

"SEC. 3. Whoever conspires with another or with others, or acts in concert with another or with others to do anything in violation of section 2 shall be guilty of a felony.

"SEO. 4. Whoever attempts or participates in an attempt to do anything in violation of section 2 shall be guilty of a felony.

"SEC. 5. Whoever commits or threatens physical violence to any person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of section 2 shall be guilty of a felony.

"SEC. 6. Whoever violates any section of this title shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not more than twenty years or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

"TITLE II

"Nothing in this Act shall be construed to repeal, modify, or affect either section 6 or section 20 of an Act entitled 'An Act to supplement existing laws against unlawful restraints and monopolies, and for other purposes', approved October 15, 1914, or an Act entitled 'An Act to amend the judicial code and to define and limit the jurisdiction of the courts in equity, and for other purposes', approved March 23, 1932, or an Act entitled 'An Act to provide for the prompt disposition of disputes between carriers and their employees, and for other purposes', approved May 20, 1926, as amended, or an Act entitled 'An Act to diminish the causes of labor disputes burdening or obstructing interstate or foreign commerce, to create a National Labor Relations Board, and for other purposes', approved July 5, 1935."

Approved July 3, 1946.

[CHAPTER 547-2D SESSION]

[S. 342] AN ACT

To amend section 5296 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, relating to the discharge of indigent convicts for nonpayment of fines.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 5296 of the Revised Statutes, as amended by section 4 of the Act entitled "An Act to amend certain laws governing Federal prisoners, and for other purposes", approved June 29, 1940 (54 Stat. 692; 18 U. S. C. 641), is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 5296. When a poor convict, sentenced by any court of the United States to be imprisoned and pay a fine, or fine and costs, or to pay a fine, has been confined in prison thirty days, solely for the nonpayment of such fine, or fine and costs, such convict may make application in writing to the nearest commissioner of the United States court in the district where he is imprisoned or, if confined in a Federal penal institution, to the warden of such institution, setting forth his inability to pay such fine, or fine and costs, and after notice to the district. attorney of the United States, who may appear, offer evidence, and be heard, the commissioner or the warden as the examining authority to whom such application is addressed shall by an appropriate administrative proceeding inquire into the matter. If on examination it shall appear to the examining authority that such convict is unable to pay such fine, or fine and costs, and that he has not any property exceeding $20 in value, except such as is by law exempt from being taken on execution for debt, the examining authority shall administer to him the following oath: 'I do solemnly swear that I have not any property, real or personal, to the amount of $20, except such as is by law exempt from being taken on civil process for debt by the laws of (naming the State where oath is administered); and that I have no property in any way conveyed or concealed, or in any way disposed of, for my future use or benefit. So help me God.' Upon taking such oath such convict shall be discharged; and the examining authority shall file with the institution in which the convict is confined a certificate setting forth the facts. Any such convict to whom the warden shall fail or refuse to administer the oath may apply to the nearest commissioner for the administration of the oath upon a proceeding de novo as above provided, and upon taking such oath shall be discharged. In case the convict is found by the examining authority to possess property valued at an amount in excess of said exemption, nevertheless, if the Attorney General finds that the retention by such convict of all of such property is reasonably necessary for his support or that of his family, such convict shall be released without further imprisonment solely for the nonpayment of such fine, or fine and costs;

or if he finds that the retention by such convict of any part of such property is reasonably necessary for his support or that of his family, such convict shall be released without further imprisonment solely for nonpayment of such fine or fine and costs upon payment on account of his fine and costs, of that portion of his property in excess of the amount found to be reasonably necessary for his support or that of his family."

Approved July 10, 1946.