Evening star., 1903-07-29
Payment Of Departmental
Employees in National Guard,
GEN. HARRIES' INQUIRY
OPINION RENDERED BY THE CON
TRoLLER OF THE TREASURY.
Reviews the Statutes and Finds That
the Prohibition Against Double
Compensation Does Not Apply.

| The Secretary of War has received an
| opinion from Judge Tracewell, controller
| of the treasury. which is of considera BILE
| interest to all members of the District Ma
| tional Guard who in the employ of
! the government as it Is to their benefit in
| a pecuniary sense. On the 25th inst. Gen
| Harr1es, commanding the militia OF the
| District of Columbia. addressed letter to
| the Secretary of War requesting that he
| ask the controller of the treasury for
| an opinion as to whether government en-
! ployes may be paid for field service rem
| dered as officers and enlisted men of the
| organized militia of the District of Column
| bia. under section IA Of An act to pro-
| mote the efficiency of the militia and for
! other purposes, approved January u,
| 1903
''Ofcers and enlisted men tother than
I government employes) of the organized
militia in this jurisdiction, the letter con-
| 1nueS. now receive nominal pay out OF
| the appropriation annually provided in the
J District of Columbia appropriation act;
! that pay excluding the days of service in
the brigade encampment. 1t is my desire
| to pay for camp service out Of the Dis
| trict of Columbia allotment under the
| afOre mentioned section IA.
! 1T seems to me that While some variety
| of objection might be made to such pay
| ment in case government employe was
| on military leave, it would be entirely
| fair to permit me to pay him If the field
| service WAS rendered while he was on
| annual leave am not aware of any
| in which the government has sought to eX-
| erciSe any control over the movements of
| an emplOye while absent from his Office
! leave, and l hope there will be no obsta Gle
| in the way of properly if sufficiently COM
| pensatinS the men who perform nationally
| valuable and essentially patriotic service
| instead of devoting that same time to self
| lSh Qf necessary amusement"
l
Secretary Root referred Gen. Harris let
| ter to the controller of the treasury and he
! replied today follows:
| The question submitted for decision Is
| whether the officers and enlisted men of
| the organized militia of the District of Co.
lumbia participating in the encampment
| who are at the same time in the Service and
| pay of the United States, are entitled to be
paid the pay etc, under section IA of the
| act of January II. 1903. which provided:
| 1hat Whenever 1t shall appear by the
| report or Inspections. which it shall be the
| duty of the Secretary of War to cause to be
| made at least once in each wear hv officers
| detailed by him for that purpose. that the
| organized militia of a state territory or
| of the District of Columbia is sufficiently
armed. uniformed and equipped for active
| duty in the field, the Secretary of War is
| authorized, on the reGuSitiOn of the gov
| ernor of such state or territory, to pay to
| d
such other officer of the militia of said
state as the said governor may designate
| and appoint for the purpose SO much of its
| allotment out of the said annual appropri-
alton under section 1861 of the Re
NiSed Statutes amended shall be nee
| essary for the payment. subsistence and
| transportation of such portion of said or
| ganiZed militia shall engage in actual
| field or camp service for instruction, and
| the officers and enlisted men of such mill
! tia while so engaged shall be entitled to
| the same pay, subsistence and traEsporta-
| ton or travel allowances officers and
enlisted men of corresponding grades Of
the regular army, are or may hereafter lie
| entitled by law and the officer so desg-
| mated and appointed shall be regarded as
/ a disbursing officer of the United States,
and shall render his accounts through the
| War Department to the proper accounting
| officers of the Treasury for settlement, and
| he shall be required to give good and sutfi-
| cient bonds to the United States. in such
| sums as the Secretary of War may direct.
| faithfully to account for the safe keeping
and payment of the public moneys in
| trusted to him for disbursement"
The Acts Granting Leave.
1T is understood that the officers and
| listed men of the militia who are in the ser
vice of the United States have been granted
| leaves of absence under either the act Of
March ], 1889. or the act of March 10, 1898
The act of January 21, 1893 supra. pro-
vdes that for the time the organized mil
itia is engaged in actual field and camp
service for instruction, the officers and
| listed men thereof while SO engaged shall
| be entitled to be paid the same pay, etc.
| as officers and enlisted men of the corre-
spending grades of the regular army.
The statute makes exception to
| the officers and men who are at the same
| time In the service of the United States.
| The terms of the act would appear to ap-
| ply alike to all members of the organized
| militia participating In the actual field or
camp service for instruction, SO that If
| those officers and enlisted men who are in
| the service and pay of the United States
| are to be denied the pay provided by sec
| tion IA of the act Of January p, 1903 supra,
| 1t must be under some other and controlling
statute.
Double Compensation.
1.-The laws bearing directly upon the ques-
| tion of double compensation are sections
1863, 1764 and 1865, Revised Statutes. They
are follows:
".Section 1868 No person who holds an
| office, the salary annual compensation
attached to which amounts to the sum of
| two thousand five hundred dollars. shall re-
ceive compensation for discharging the
duties of any other office, unless expressly
authorized by law
"'Section 1764. No allowance compen-
| sation shall be made to any officer or clerk.
by reason Of the discharge of duties which
belong to any other officer or clerk in the
same or any other department.; and no al
lowance or compensation Shall be made for
any extra services whatever, which any Of
| ficer or clerk may be required to perform,
unless expressly authorized by law
"Sec. 1865. No officer in any branch ofthe
service, any person whose salary, pay,
emoluments are fixed by law regula-
tions, shall receive any additional pay.
| ira allowances, compensation. in any
form whatever for the disbursement of
public money, for any other service or
duty whatever unless the same is authoriz
ed by law and the appropriation therefor
explicitly states that 1t is for such addition
al pay. extra allowance. or compensation"
Courts Decision Quoted.
In the case of the United States against
Saunders the court held that these sections