Public Law 55–31

That there shall be held a national exposition of American products and manufactures, suitable for export, at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, under the auspices of the Philadelphia Exposition Association; and that there may be admitted to said exposition such articles not of American manufacture and such other objects as may conduce to the interest of the exposition and may be useful for comparison with American products and manufactures:

Proviso.

Liability of United States for, limited.

Provided, That the United States shall not be liable for any of the expenses attending or incident to such an exposition, nor by reason of the same, further than hereinafter provided for.

Sec. 2.

Imports for exposition admitted free of duty.

That all articles which shall be imported from foreign countries for the sole purpose of exhibition at said exposition, upon which there shall be a tariff or customs duty, shall be admitted free of payment of duty, customs fees, or charges, under such regulations as the

—subsequent sale of.

Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe; but it shall be lawful at any time during the exhibition to sell, for delivery at the close thereof, any goods or property imported for and actually on exhibition in the exhibition building, or on the grounds, subject to such regulation for the security of the revenue and for the collection of import duties as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe:

Proviso.

—duty on.

Provided, That all such articles when sold or withdrawn for consumption in the United States shall be subject to the duty, if any, imposed upon such articles by the revenue laws in force at the date of importation; and all penalties prescribed by the law shall be applied and enforced against the persons who may be guilty of any illegal sale or withdrawal.

Sec. 3.

Appropriation for collecting foreign merchandise exhibits.

That for the purpose of enabling the collection in foreign markets of samples of merchandise of the character in favor and demand therein, of illustrating the manner in which merchandise for such markets should be prepared and packed, together with necessary business data concerning said samples to be displayed at the said exposition for the instruction and benefit of American manufacturers and merchants, and thereby laying the foundation of a great system of national commercial education, there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the board of trustees of the Philadelphia Museums the sum of fifty thousand dollars:

Proviso.

—limitations.

Provided, That this sum shall be expended only for the purposes set forth in this section, and the samples of merchandise so collected shall

Consular service to cooperate.

become the property of said Philadelphia Museums. The Department of State is hereby directed to cooperate in this work, through the consular service of the United States, in such a manner as may be agreed upon by conference between the Secretary of State and the trustees and officers of the exposition association.

Sec. 4.

That to aid in providing buildings necessary for the purposes

Appropriation for building; Government exhibit.

of the exposition (said buildings to be erected on lands set aside by the city of Philadelphia for the board of trustees of the Philadelphia Museums, and after the close of the exposition to be available for one or more of the various purposes of the Philadelphia Museums corporation, as set forth in its charter), and for the purpose of collecting, installing, and caring for such an exhibit by the United States Government as may be found expedient and desirable, there is hereby appropriated, out of any money not otherwise appropriated, to the said Philadelphia Exposition Association the sum of three hundred thousand dollars:

Proviso.

—subscriptions to equal appropriation.

Provided, That no liability against the Government shall be incurred, and no payments of money under this section shall be made, until the officers of said exposition shall have furnished the Secretary of the Treasury proofs to his satisfaction that there have been obtained by said board of trustees of the Philadelphia Museums and said Philadelphia Exposition Association, in good faith, subscriptions, contribu-FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Sess. III. Chs. 31–33. 1898.tions, donations, or appropriations, from all sources, for the purpose of said exposition and the buildings to be used therefor, a sum aggregating not less than an amount equal to the sum appropriated in this section.

Sec. 5.

That the United States shall not in any manner, nor under

Liability of United States limited.

any circumstances, be liable for any of the acts, doings, proceedings, or representations of said board of trustees of the Philadelphia Museums or the Philadelphia Exposition Association, its officers, agents, servants, or employees, or any of them, or for service, salaries, labor, or wages of said officers, agents, servants, or employees, or any of them, or for any subscriptions to the capital stock, or for any certificates of stock, bonds, mortgages, or obligations of any kind issued by said corporation, or for any debts, liabilities, or expenses of any kind whatever attending such corporation or accruing by reason of the same, other than are in this Act provided.

Sec. 6.

That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to create

No liability beyond appropriation.

any liability of the United States, direct or indirect, for any debts or obligations incurred, nor for any claim for aid or pecuniary assistance from Congress or the Treasury of the United States in support or liquidation of any debts or obligations created by said board of trustees of the Philadelphia Museums or the Philadelphia Exposition Association in excess of the sums herein appropriated.