200 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 126

at any hotel, inn, boarding house, hospital or sanitarium
shall abscond or fraudulently depart or fraudulently re-
move his baggage therefrom without discharging the debts
as aforesaid incurred, whether or not such person shall
have made any payment on account, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be pun-
ished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by
imprisonment in jail for a term of not less than one month
nor more than six months, or by both such fine and impris-
onment, in the discretion of the Court. And in determina-
tion of any question arising under this section the fact that
any such persons so obtaining food, accommodation or
credit, upon request or demand for payment of any amount
then due therefor failed or neglected to comply in full with
such demand shall be treated as presumptive evidence that
such failure or neglect to make such payment was fraudu-
lent even though payment of a portion of the amount then
due shall have been made or a payment on account for the
food, accommodation or credit so obtained had theretofore
been made, and similarly the fact that the departure of any
such person or removal of his baggage without first pay-
ing or discharging in full his debt as aforesaid, even though
a payment on account of such debt may have been made,
was without the knowledge or consent of the proprietor or
manager of such hotel, inn, boarding house, hospital or
sanitarium, or the representative or agent of such pro-
prietor or manager, shall be treated as presumptive evi-
dence that such departure or removal was fraudulent.
Nothing in this Section shall apply to or affect the prose-
cution of any offense which may have been committed prior
to June 1, 1939, or the punishment provided for such
offense.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall
take effect June 1, 1939.

Approved May 3_? 1939.

CHAPTER 126.
(Senate Bill 90)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact with amendments Section
141 of Article 27 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1924 Edition), title "Crimes and Punishments, " sub-
title "False Pretenses, " relating to worthless checks.