Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-15
Controller Says School List
Must Be Prepared by Board.
CONTRACT WORK BARRED
Predicted Delay in Monthly Pay
ment of Teachers Salaries.
PROTESTS ARE UNAvAILING
District Officials Sought to Have
Old System Continued-Appeal
From Treasury Auditor.

Several days OF delay each month in
pa wing the teachers of the public schools
it is predicted. will result from a decision
OF the controller Of the Treasury. Depart
ment announced today. holding that the
school pay rolls cannot be prepared by
an outside typewriting bureau. but must
be prepared by the clerks of the board
Of education
should the task of preparing monthly
pay rolls be required of the clerical force
of the board of education" District Au-
ditor Tweedale and District Disbursing
Officer Louis Wilson explained to the
controller before his decision was made.
1T would result. so We are informed. In
the work devolving upon one employe
who happens to be the only stenographer
and typewriter in the executive Office of
the board, and decision to the effect
that this one employee should prepare the
rolls would mean that il would be prac-
tically a physical impossibility to secure
the payment Of school salaries by the
sacrificing other important administrative
work OF the board of education.
Result Of Decision.
This situation results from the con-
troller's decision:
The auditor of the State and other de-
partments disalIowed payments aggre-
eating $13920 made by Disbursing Off
Ger Wilson for typewriting the school
pay rolls outside of the offices of the
board of education. District Auditor
Tweedale and Disbursng Officer Wilson
appealed to the controller, asking that
the decision be reversed and that the
payments be allowed by him. That
brought the question to an issue. and the
lIar hos foi he cin Of
the auditor for the State and other de-
partments i'm disalowing the payments.
THE auditor for the State and othes
departments) disallowed these payments
ON the ground that Congress has made
provision for clerical force. and the
| rolls should have been made up by this
| force" says the controller in his de-
cision.
Disbursing Officers Contention.
The disbursing officer contends that
| the payments should not be disallowed,
because under the act OF June 20, 1903.
| being an act to fix and regulate the
salaries of teachers, school officers and
other employees Of the board of educa-
ton for the District of Columbia, the
board of education. having the authority
! to direct the expenditures made for the
public schools. subject to the supervisory
direction of the District Commissioners,
| has directed such expenditures to be
made. and for the further reason, if it
| be reason, that the auditor has al
a payment for printing similar pay rolls
for the month of September, 1909.
| Whether the printing of pay rolls
may be made from any appropriation
for the public schools is not question
before me for decision. and l express no
opinion on the subject.
| THE question in this case is whether
or not payments from the appropriation
for contingent expenses of the public
schools may be made for prepa ring the
typewriter pay rolls in question
| The board of education quoting from
the disbursing officers appeaD has found
| it impossible to assign and detail the
clerk or clerks for the specific duties Of
typewriting the pay rolls
This Ia a condition for which the ac-
| counting officers are in no wise re-
sponsible. The necessity for an expendi-
ture does not authorize the use therefor
plicable thereto.
Quotation From Revised Statutes.
Section 1862 of the Revised Statutes
provides:
mo moneys appropriated for contin-
gent, incidental or miscellaneous pur-
poses shall be expended or paid for off,
| cial or clerical compensation.
THE words contingent expenses as
employed In the acts making apprOpria-
tons have been construed to mean such
incidental. casual and unforeseen expenses
| as are necessary and appropriate to the
execution of duties required by law in
connection with the object for which the
appropriation is made
THE preparation Of these pay rolls for
payment by the discussing officer may
| be- and doubtless is, a laborious under
taking, but there was nothing incidental,
casual OF unforeseen about it. The prepa-
ration of the pay rolls in question,
whether made by typewriters or other
| clerks. Is essentially a clerical work: and
this is no less true il the typewriting be
done outside the administrative offices of
the school board.
1T would not be seriously contended
in view of the prohibition OF section 36So
Revised Statutes. supra, that the clerical
force of the school board could be in
creased by hiring extra clerk TO do
this work, with his compensation to be
paid from the appropriation for contin-
gent expenses. II this cannot be done
directly the law will not permit it TO be
done by indirecton or evasion