Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-12-01

money allowances then received by officers Of
I re Army. II the former construction Is 20 be
given IL, IL then really siisrOntinues the allow
aure Of servants altogether, which all forme
law aud Regulations nsVc encouraged, anI
wonld often unfit Off ~ for effective serves
b. depriving him Of transp rtatio1 for author
lied horses and baggage that often could not
b. purchassd OF obtained at his new station.
All these have been furnished by the Govern
ment from its foundation. and for its own
primarily, the benefit to The officer
be ng but n -idenisl, and while Ii Is presume I'd
hat the clause referred TO intend I'd to embr ace
In q "a airy all that had been included In money
allowances, in providing for the compens tt,on
of officers of the Army, a distinct enunciation
of its meaning by Congress is desirable. |
deemed II necessary, on the 18th day of Feb
rusry, 1873, to issue the following order in con-
nection with this subject, which will continue
as the rule unless further legislation Is had:
The payment of rent, or any allowance for fueI or
quarters OF ofeers servants, Is hereby prob bitei
until more specific legislation shall sanction 1t.
During the past year the five Inspectors gen.
eral OF the Army have been exclusively subject
10 the orders of the Secretary of War and the
General OF the Army, and have made careful
and thorough inspections of the South, the De-
partments of Texas, OF the Missouri, of the
Gulf, of Arizona, Of Dakota, and of the Column
bia, excepting Alaska In the Departments of
Arizona, Texas, Dakota, and the Columbia,
thorough examination was made into the con-
ditiOn of the personnel and material of the
Army at all the remote and widely-dispersed
posts, stations, and depots within the limits of
s.
ks,) embracing one hundred and seventeen mil
itary posts, garrisOned by eighteen giments of
infantry, seventeen com panies of artillery, and
eight res iments of cavalry. Besides this, other
minor inspections and investigations have,
from time TO time, been made by the Off GERS of
IN corps, involving vOluminous reports, which
have been made without any expenditure for
Slerlcal assist ance. Ser atlnizing examinations
nave been made by the Inspector general OF
the accounts of all officers who have m ade i'm
portant disburse ments OF public money during
the year The funds received and expended by
them, with the balances reported due the
United States, have been carefully verified nv
official statements received from the Treasury
Department and Repositories, and under this
system Il Is hardly possible that a defalcation
or fraud on the part of discussing oice of this
Department can escape timely detection,
The assistant inspectors general have been
attached to the headquarters of the various
military divisions, and they, as well as several
officers who have been tel porarily assigned to
duty in some of the remote departments as act
ing assistant inspectors general, have been a,-
lively and usefully engaged in the uties per-
tanning to their positions.
Since the close of the war, in the Quarter
masters Department, much time and labor
have been bestowed upon the examination and
settlement of the accounts of officers for dis
bursements made during the rebellion and since
its close. Most of these accounts have been
adjusted, and the accounts of disbursing Off
GERS of that Department are now examined
promptly AS received. Within the past two
years have caused the forms and methods of
business in this Department to be simplited, to
the advantage of the service aud the relief of
officers. "
Much difficulty is experienced in keeping the
expenses of the Qusrtermaster's Department
within the amounts appropriated by Congress-
and so apparent was IL during the past fiscal
year that the appropriation for barracks and
quarters would not admit of any expenditure
nom that appropriation beyond the PAYMENT of
rent OF offices and hire of quarters for troops.
that u was found necessary early In the spring
20 enureiy arrest any work upon the repair and
construction OF barracks and quarters. Not
this necessary and sharp measure
which involved much Inconvenience to the
troops, crowded into buildings much in need of
repair, or cautioned in tents and huts too much
e1P posed to the inclemency of the weather, the
liabilities have to small amount exceeded the
sum appropriated.
1t is necessary that should ask the atten-
ton OF Congress to the difficulties of keeping
accounts, and of paving for supplies and SER
vices, which arises under the operation of the
act approved July II, 1870. The act in its ope-
ration requires every disbursing officer To keen
a separate and distinct set of accounts under
every head of appropriation, and to keen a bal
ance OF money on hand to meet the demands
under each head, thereby compelling officers to
keep to their credit at repositories much largsr
balances than heretofore. A remedy for this is
70 make the appropriation for the Qnartermas-
lers Department under one head as a single
requiring, "a now. that the esti-
mates upon which the appropriation is based
shall be submitted in detail. No benefit can
arise in practice from the system of keening
,epsrate heads OF appropriation in this depart
hent, While its existence gives many occasions
or error and mistakes, and is a burden upon
ne ofncef who IL required to disburse the pub
nc money, as well as upon the Treasury. The
Evils OF the present system are fully set forth in
The report Of the Committee on Expenditures i'm
last session.
As many leutenants of the line are often re-
lnired to assume the lsbors and responsibilities
)f acting assistant quartermas ters, IL is recon-
nended that an allowance of SO per month he
n ade by law to officers 20 detailed, as a mode
ate compensation to them for the risk as we'll
Is the labor in discussing public money and
Ieeping and distributing stores.
VI the nifty railroads which, at the close of
ne war, under executive orders, purchased
rom this Department railroad material to the
appraised value OF over 81 500, 900, thirty of
hem have paid their debts in full. The remain.
ng twenty are still in our debt to the amount
4 81 ,65S ,92407. The total amount collected
rom these sales, with interest and expenses. has
hus far been s. 1l6 ,6O5.53.
recommend the passage OF a law which will
Unable the Department to collect from the Post
once Department the postal earnings Of sew
raj Of these delinquent railroads. The bonds
u the roads given at the time OF purchase
pledge them to use these earnings in liquida-
,ntly neglect to give to the POSTMASTER General
he necessary formal orders to turn over the
funds to this Department.
Ten thousand dollars was appropriated dur
ng the last year for the prosecution Of the work
IN the artesian well at Fort ID. A. RUSSELL
since then considerable progress has been M de
70 that work. 1t has now reached q depth of
,S5 feet. The work has now for some hun
ireds Of feet been carried through a stratum
u clay, and there is good reason to hope that
when the clay is pierced the water will be
reached, and strong flowing well developed.
from the Importance to the people Of the Ter.
'itories Of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and
Dakota, which q series of flowing wells would
have upon the development of their material
interests, recommend that an appropriation
De made to continue the present experiment.
Under the provisions of the appropriation act
approved March 3, 1873, advertisement was
made for bids to provide head-stones for the
graves of deceased soldiers In the national Gem
eteries. Eighty bids were received and opened
N public by the Quartermaster General on the
;th of September.
The advertisement called for bids for furnish
ng head-stones of gray granite and white mar
BILE or specified quality, as these materials,
n my Judgment, best fulfilled the requirements
IF the law in respect to "deceney, durability,
and cheapness."
A careful examination Of the bids resulted in
An award of contract for granite head stones
or the National Cemetery at Fredericksburyh,
Va. For all the other national cemeteries con-
tracts have been awarded to the four lowest
bidders for white marble head stones. The re-
,ronsibility of the bondsmen of these contractors
3 required to be certified TO by the United
states district judge, or by the collector of in
ernal revenue OF the district in which they re-