Evening star., 1914-01-27
SPENDING UNCLE SANS
MONEY.
VII.-The Controller of
the Treasury.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

NO less an autnOfltV tnan JOhn Sner-
man. speaking from the fullness of his
experience as Secretary of the Treasury.
declared that the duties of the controller
of the Treasury, if properly performed,
were equal in Importance to those of the
Chief Justice of the United states. Also,
that while the country might manage
with weak Attorney General. 1t could
not well get along with an incompetent
controller. The experiment has never
been tried. The occupants of this post
have been almost inva riably men of sin
Gular ability
Although the soubriquet watchdog OF
the Treasury is popularly applied to the
chairman of the House appropriations
committee. it might with greater pro-
priety be accorded to the controller. For,
while the chairman may exercise a de-
terrent influence on extravaganza. bis
duty after all, is to vote money out of
the Treasury. whereas the function OF
the controller is to prevent a dollar be-
Ing taken out without legal authority.
Upon the application of disbursing Off
GERS, or the head of any department or
other establishment not under the eX-
ecutive departments, the controller is re-
quired to give his decision upon any
question involving payment to be made
by them or under them This decision
when given shall govern the auditor and
controller in the settlement of the ac-
count at issue.
For instance government laborer en-
ployed in an icehouse renders a bill for
pair of
When Can Rubber ru r
Boots Be Called Tools? soverno - ~
ment is asked to pay for them on the
ground that for work in an icehouse
rubber boots are tools and not wearing
apparel. The controller has approved
such expenditures under the appropria-
ton for tools but has been obliged to
disallow expenditure for some other arti-
Gle of dress which would be available for
use of the employe when off duty. The
determination of just where travelling ex-
expenses and become personal expenses
is constantly arising
In general the officials of the govern
ment are constantly striving to stretch
the authority under which money has
been appropriated by Congress, and the
controllers duty Is to maintain intact
the restrictions as he believes Congress
intended they should be observed.
Advance decisions by the controller are
in the nature of precautions, and pre-
vent much misunderstanding and confu-
sion They remain law, to all intents and
purposes unless later modified or revoked,
but sometimes a controller upon the sub
mission Of new evidence, or possibly
through a court decision affecting the
controversy. will acknowledge himself
wrong. The men who are big enough
lawyers to be successful controllers have
usually not hesitated to acknowledge
error.
John Sherman said in 1894 that the con-
trollers of the Treasury had been equal
in ability to and better lawyers than
the Secretaries of the Treasury since the
beginning of the government Alexander
Hamilton pronounced the controllership
the second trust of the Treasury, evil
IDENTIFY placing himself first.
X x
If, under an appropriation headed car
riages and harness." the head of depart
ment desires to
Auto Is Vehicle, purchase an
But Not a Carriage. the aisb,rzins sing
officer feels doubt as to the legality of the
transaction. he is required to seek deci-
sion from the controller. In just such a
case the controller held that the reference
to harness indicated that Congress de-
signed the appropriation for horse-drawT
vehicles. But in another department
appropriation bill. a certain sum had beer
voted for vehicles which. the controller