entitled thereto. Procedure.The proceedings of such libel cases shall conform as near as may be to the proceedings in admiralty, except that either party may demand trial by jury of any issue of fact joined in any such case, and all such proceedings shall be at the suit of and in the name of the United States. District attorneys to prosecute, etc.It shall be the duty of the United States attorney for the proper district to institute and prosecute any such action upon presentation to him of satisfactory evidence to sustain the same.
Sec. 8. Punishment for willfully destroying necessaries.That any person who willfully destroys any necessaries for the purpose of enhancing the price or restricting the supply thereof shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not exceeding $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
Sec. 9. Punishment for conspiracies respecting necessaries.
Offenses designated.That any person who conspires, combines, agrees, or arranges with any other person (a) to limit the facilities for transporting, producing, manufacturing, supplying, storing, or dealing in any necessaries; (b) to restrict the supply of any necessaries; (c) to restrict the distribution of any necessaries; (d) to prevent, limit, or lessen the manufacture or production of any necessaries in order to enhance the price thereof shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not exceeding $10,000, or be imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
Sec. 10. Requisition of necessaries for public use, authorized.That the President is authorized, from time to time, to requisition foods, feeds, fuels, and other suplplies necessary to the support of the Army or the maintenance of the Navy, or any other public use connected with the common defense, and to requisition, or otherwise provide, storage facilities for such supplies; Payment for.and he shall ascertain and pay a just compensation therefor. If the compensation so determined be not satisfactory to the person entitled to receive the same, Suit authorized if amount not satisfactory.such person shall be paid seventy-five per centum of the amount so determined by the President, and shall be entitled to sue the United States to recover such further sum as, added to said seventy-five per centum will make up such amount as will be just compensation for such necessaries or storage space,Jurisdiction of district courts. and jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the United States District Courts to hear and determine all such controversies: Provided, That nothing in this section, or in the section that follows, Proviso.
Necessaries for personal consumption exempt.shall be construed to require any natural person to furnish to the Government any necessaries held by him and reasonably required for consumption or use by himself and dependents, Seed for seeding also.nor shall any person, firm, corporation, or association be required to furnish to the Government any seed necessary for the seeding of land owned, leased, or cultivated by them.
Sec. 11. Purchase, sale, etc., of food necessaries by United States.That the President is authorized from time to time to purchase, to store, to provide storage facilities for, and to sell for cash at reasonable prices, wheat, flour, meal, beans, and potatoes: Provided, That if any minimum priceProviso.
Minimum price. shall have been theretofore fixed, pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen of this Act, then the price paid for any such articles so purchased shall not be less than such minimum price. Use of receipts from sales.Any moneys received by the United States from or in connection with the disposal by the United States of necessaries under this section may, in the discretion of the President, be used as a revolving fund for further carrying out the purposes of this section. Any balance of such moneys not used as part of such revolving fund shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
Sec. 12. Authority to take over and operate plants to manufacture necessaries, etc.That whenever the President shall find it necessary to secure an adequate supply of necessaries for the support of the Army or the maintenance of the Navy, or for any other public use connected with the common defense, he is authorized to requisition and take over, for use or operation by the Government, any factory, packing house, oil pipe line, mine, or other plant, or any part thereof, in or through which any necessaries are or may be manufactured, produced,
