EEPOETS OF STORAGE HOLDINGS. 9 
of each month, the form mailed on the 8th being for the reports of the 
loth, and those on the 24th to be used for the 1st of the following 
month. Warehouses in the States of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, 
New Mexico, and west thereof are requested to telegraph their 
reports in addition to submitting the regular form by mail. 
Prior to September 1, 1917, the success of the work was dependent 
upon the voluntary cooperation of the cold-storage warehouses. 
Naturally in such a large list of firms there were a few delinquents, 
some of which reported irregularly, and there were a few who abso- 
lutely refused their cooperation. Although the reports were not 
then entirely complete, the statements compiled from them gave a 
very clear idea as to the quantities stored and the percentage of 
movement. 
After the entrance of the United States into the war the Sixty-fifth 
Congress passed legislation by which these reports may be required 
by the Secretary of Agriculture. Section 2 of Public No. 40, ap- 
proved August 10, 1917, provides as follows : 
That the Secretary of Agriculture, with the approval of the President, is 
authorized to investigate and ascertain the demand for, the supply, consump- 
tion, costs, and prices of, and the basic facts, relating to the ownership, pro- 
duction, transportation, manufacture, storage, and distribution of, foods, food 
materials, feeds, seeds, fertilizers, agricultural implements and machinery, and 
any article required in connection with the production, distribution, or utiliza- 
tion of food. It shall be the duty of any person, when requested by the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture, or any agent acting under his instructions, to answer 
correctly, to the best of his knowledge, under oath or otherwise, all questions 
touching his knowledge of any matter authorized to be investigated under 
this section, or to produce all books, letters, papers, or documents in his 
possession, or under his control, relating to such matter. Any person who shall, 
within a reasonable time, to be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture, 
not exceeding 30 days from the date of the request, willfully fail or refuse to 
answer such questions or to produce such books, letters, papers, or documents, 
or who shall willfully give any answer that is false or misleading, shall be 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a 
fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. 
On August 17, 1917, the Secretary of Agriculture authorized and 
instructed the Chief of the Bureau of Markets to take such steps as 
might be necessary to acquire authorative information for the pur- 
poses of the act. As cold storage is an important factor in the 
conservation of food, information such as that covered by the monthly 
storage reports was considered essential to a thorough investigation 
under the act. Under the provisions of the Act three business days 
after the 1st or the 15th of each month are allowed by the Secretary 
for the preparation of the returns, and they must be mailed or tele- 
graphed not later than the fourth business day. 
60188°— 18— Bull. 709 2 
