The Portland daily press., 1885-11-20
reasons for DisaIIowing Claims.


furnished the following statement in relation to
claims disallowed by him in adjusting the ac-
nsV' navy The Ss' Second Comptroller discovered two
vouchers, one for $27, purporting to be for
$40 fve-cent foreign postage stamps, and the
the hawai- dispensary here. They. were
artist residing in Washington and were certified
to and approved by Philip S. Wales, chief Of the
bureau of medicine and surgery. The Comptroller
reports that investigation proved they were both
false and fraudulent and that the money was act
ually paid for two crayon portraits OF Wales,
drawn y hs artist one e Mcn o@ra @ 4 & 9po Ns1 sne
Department and the other at his private resi-
dence. The artist signed the vouchers upon rep
which such expenditures could be properly paid
and that it was necessary to make the vouchers
in this form in order to obtain payment, and that
it was customary to do so. The vouchers being
regular in FORM lhe pay director was protested IN
paying them but the Comptroller directs that the
amount be charged against Surgeon Wales IN his
account with the government
of this pay director, an item OF $l4l, being for
subsistence of the committee on appropriations OF
the House of Representatives while making q
visit on board the United States steamer Talla-
poosa from Washington to Norfolk, Fortress
Monroe and Hampton, March 2Sth to 31st in
The Comptroller also disallows in the settlement
of the accounts of PaymaSter Smith, U. S. A.. an
item of S1340 for 753 miles of travel claimed
to have been performed by Surgeon Billings in
attending Tile InternaIlOndl Meulcal congress dt
London ii August 1881, and in travelling else
where throughout the various countries in
Europe under an order from the War Depart
ment of May 13, 1881. Under this order it is
claimed that he travelled the number of miles
above stated between the Goth of June and 10th
of November, visiting several places in Europe;
The Comptroller holds that the War Department
had no authority to send a delegate to the Inter
national Medical Congress at the governments
expense; that Congress alone could authorize
such representation and that the service was In
no proper sense a military service. He also holds
that the order of the War Department which
leaves it to the discretion of an officer TO determ-
inc the extent of his travel is void and does not
authorize the payment OF mileage that the de-
partment must designate in order the place OF
places from where and the point or points to
which the travel is to be performed, and he, dl-
rects that the amounts paid in this case shall be
charged against Surgeon Billings in his pay ae-
count.
The Mexican Treaty,
ero the minister of Mexico at Washington, are
about to exchange the ratifications of an addl-
tional article to the commercial treaty between
the United States and Mexico of January, 1883,
proval of the necessary law to carry into effect
the operations Of the said commercial treaty.
Control OF the Senate,
The Republican Senators in this city claim that
the election OF Mitchell in Oregon makes It certain
that they will retain the control of the Senate dur
ing Cleveland's administration.
Speaker Carlisle lit,
| Speaker Carlisle was so i'll when he arrived here
this afternoon that he obliged TO take his bed
| at once. Visitors are not permitted to see hun
and cards are not taken tohis room.
Minor Matters.
The opponents of the Bell Telephone Company
profess to be very confident that the decision OF
| the Interior Department will be in their favor
|