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statute is not limited to kidnapings for pecuniary gain, they assert that it is restricted to kidnapings for an otherwise illegal purpose. This contention is without support in the language of the provision, its legislative history, judicial decisions, or reason. The wording certainly suggests no distinction based on the ultimate purpose of a kidnaping; were one intended, the exclusion of parentchild kidnapings would have been largely superfluous, since such conduct is rarely the result of an intrinsically illegal purpose. Nothing in the reports or debates supports appellees' position. In two cases, Wheatley v. United States, 159 F. 2d 599, 600; Bearden v. United States, 304 F. 2d 532 (judgment vacated on another ground, 372 U. S. 252), Courts of Appeals have assumed that the applicability of the statute does not turn on the illegality of the ultimate purpose of the kidnaper. No policy considerations support appellees' strained reading of 18 U. S. C. § 1201. A murder committed to accelerate the accrual of one's rightful inheritance is hardly less heinous than one committed to facilitate a theft; by the same token, we find no compelling correlation between the propriety of the ultimate purpose sought to be furthered by a kidnaping and the undesirability of the act of kidnaping itself. Appellees rely on the principle of strict construction of penal statutes, but that maxim is hardly a directive to this Court to invent distinctions. neither reflective of the policy behind congressional enactments nor intimated by the words used to implement the legislative goal.'

6 Chatwin v. United States, 326 U. S. 455, which involved the transporting of a girl to maintain a "celestial" marriage, is inapposite. There the element of coercion or deception, central to the crime of kidnaping, was absent.

7 Our disposition of this issue relieves us from considering whether appellees' ultimate purpose was unlawful and, if so, whether illegality of purpose, if not obvious, is a necessary element in the

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Opinion of the Court.

We hold that the District Court improperly dismissed the first count of the indictment.

III.

The 1961 "aircraft piracy" amendment to the Federal Aviation Act makes it a federal crime, inter alia, to exercise control, by threat of force with wrongful intent, of "an aircraft in flight in air commerce," § 902 (i), 75 Stat. 466, 49 U. S. C. (Supp. IV) § 1472 (i). Examination of the provision itself and its relation to the rest of the statute, apart from reference to the legislative history, stands against the conclusion of the court below. The Cessna 172 was "an aircraft"; it was "in flight"; it was in flight "in air commerce." Appellees assert that had Congress. intended to include private airplanes it could have referred to "any aircraft," but, standing alone, the phrase “an aircraft" is on its face an all-inclusive term. Appellees' contention that the statutory language refers only to commercial airlines is contradicted by the definition of air commerce in the original act, § 101 of the Federal

indictment. However, it may be observed that a trip to Cuba would have been lawful only if appellees had had passports specifically endorsed for travel to Cuba. See Presidential Proclamations No. 2914, Dec. 16, 1950 (64 Stat. A454); and No. 3004, Jan. 17, 1953 (67 Stat. C31); § 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 66 Stat. 163, 190, 8 U. S. C. § 1185; Department of State Public Notice 179, 26 Fed. Reg. 492, Jan. 16, 1961. Appellees, without claiming lawfulness of purpose, argue that the burden of showing that they had not complied with the regulations governing travel to Cuba rests with the United States and that noncompliance has to be specifically alleged in an indictment.

The discussion concerning the legality of travel to Cuba points. up how untenable is appellees' basic position. It would surely be anomalous were application of the Kidnaping Act made to turn on whether existing regulations permit travel to the point of destination without a passport, with an ordinary passport, or only with a passport specially endorsed.

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376 U.S.

Aviation Act of 1958, 72 Stat. 737, 49 U. S. C. (Supp. IV) § 1301:

"(4) 'Air commerce' means interstate, overseas, or foreign air commerce or the transportation of mail by aircraft or any operation or navigation of aircraft within the limits of any Federal airway or any operation or navigation of aircraft which directly affects, or which may endanger safety in, interstate, overseas, or foreign air commerce."

Without question, this definition covers the facts alleged in the indictment in this case. That the relation between the language of the "aircraft piracy" amendment and the above definition was not overlooked by the drafters is indicated by the different phraseology used in a contemporaneous amendment concerning concealed weapons. Section 902 (1) of the amended act, 75 Stat. 466, 49 U. S. C. (Supp. IV) § 1472 (1), makes it a crime to carry such a weapon "while aboard an aircraft being operated by an air carrier in air transportation." Thus Congress knew how to choose words to refer solely to commercial airliners when it wished to do so.

The conclusions drawn from the statute itself are confirmed by the legislative history. The House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce reported, H. R. Rep. No. 958, 87th Cong., 1st Sess., that the term "air commerce" was used by design because of its broad scope as defined in existing law, p. 8. It specifically cited "the urgent need for stronger Federal laws applicable to criminal acts committed aboard commercial and private aircraft," p. 3, and noted that the subsection regarding weapons "would be limited to aircraft being used in air carrier commercial operations, whereas these other subsections [including that relating to aircraft piracy] would apply also in the case of private aircraft," p. 15.

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Opinion of the Court.

Comments during House debate accord with the Committee's understanding, see remarks of Congressman Harris (107 Cong. Rec. 16545) and Congressman Williams (107 Cong. Rec. 16547-16548). The remarks of Senator Engle, the sponsor of the aircraft piracy provisions in the Senate, during debate are explicit: "Yes; it applies to all airplanes in air commerce, which includes, of course, not only commercial aircraft, but private airplanes as well." (107 Cong. Rec. 15243). The statements of members of Congress evincing a concern for the protection of passengers aboard commercial airlines, see, e. g., remarks of Congressman Rostenkowski (107 Cong. Rec. 16552), do not reflect any intent to put private aircraft beyond the scope of the provision. Indeed, since one of the often-expressed purposes of the aircraft piracy amendment was to provide a solution to the jurisdictional problems involved in fixing a locus for a crime committed in transit and in arresting a deplaning passenger who may have engaged in criminal activity over the territory of a different State, see, e. g., H. R. Rep. No. 958, 87th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 3-5, one would suppose, absent any other evidence, a design to include private aircraft; these problems are as pertinent to acts committed aboard them as to those done on commercial airliners. Finding that the plainly expressed intent of Congress, as manifested both in the statutory language and legislative history, was to include private aircraft within the scope of § 902 (i), we conclude that dismissal of the second count of the indictment was also incorrect.

The judgment below is reversed and the case is remanded to the District Court with instructions to reinstate both counts of the indictment.

It is so ordered.

720-509 O-65-10

Syllabus.

376 U.S.

UNITED STATES v. WIESENFELD

WAREHOUSE CO.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA.

No. 92. Argued January 16, 1964. Decided February 17, 1964. Appellee, a public storage warehouseman, was charged by criminal information with violations of § 301 (k) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits acts involving defacement of labels of food and other specified articles held for sale after interstate shipment and the "doing of any other act" with respect to such articles which results in their being adulterated or misbranded. Under § 402 (a) (4) adulteration is defined to include holding food under insanitary conditions whereby it may have been contaminated with filth. The District Court, construing the statute under the rule of ejusdem generis as applying only to acts of the same general nature as those specifically enumerated with respect to label-defacing and as being too vague to include the mere "holding" of articles, dismissed the information for failure to state an offense. Held:

1. Section 301 (k), as is clear from its wording and legislative history, defines two distinct offenses-one concerning label-defacing and the other concerning adulteration; and the criminal information properly charged an offense for adulteration under the Act. Pp. 89-92.

2. Section 301 (k) is not limited to one holding title to goods and therefore applies to a public storage warehouseman whether he owns the goods stored or not. P. 92.

217 F. Supp. 638, reversed and remanded.

Louis F. Claiborne argued the cause for the United States. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Cox, Assistant Attorney General Miller, Beatrice Rosenberg and William W. Goodrich.

James S. Taylor argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief was Clarence G. Ashby.