Evening star., 1925-08-12
i. s. PLANS TO TEST
RULING BY M'CARL
Supreme Court Decision Is
Sought on Right to Stop
Navy Pay.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The Supreme Court of the United
States probably will be asked TO
referee the next round of the bout
between Controller General McCarl
and the Government departments.
The Controller General has lost
the decision, so far as the lower
courts are concerned, in a number OF
cases where the pay OF Navy officers
was held up to compensate the Gov
ernment for alleged overpayment to
them in previous years.
To day the Department of Justice
announced 1t was considering the
question with view to appealing IN
seventy-two cases. under the impress
sion that there is possibly no au-
thority for withholding the pay OF
naval officers where the Govern
ments claim is not based on the
failure OF the officer to account for
public moneys entrusted to his care.
Some Cases i'm China.
Some of the cases" the depart
ments statement continued. were in
the United Estates Court for China,
some in the District Courts OF the
United states, some had been carried
10 the Circuit Court of Appeals of the
United States. and some so or more
We're In the Supreme Court of the Dis
uict of Columbia
AS the cases outside of the District
of Columbia involved many technical
questions of practice and procedure
obscuring in measure the main is
sue, the department will not authorize
appeals in any case outside OF the
District of Columbia.
with respect to the cases in the
District of Columbia. the decision was
reached some months ago to authorize
an appeal TO the Court of Appeals of
the District in two OF the cases. and
this was done. Those two cases are
now awaiting decision in the Court of
Appeals of the District of Columbia.
Case Planned. -.
LAS to the other cases involved in
the Supreme Court of the District of
Columbia in favor of naval officers,
some stipulation will be made so they
will abide by the result in the test
cases, with view TO avoiding trouble
and expense to the Government and
the naval officers. There is now under
consideration by the department the
question whether one of the District
VI SOIuIliOld cases VIII De taken TO the
Supreme Court as test case.
I'm the meantime in all of the cases
DEGREES are in force restraining the
disbursing officers from Withholding
pay, and the officers whose cases have
been tried are receiving their com.
pensatiOn in fun pending the final
outcome of the litigation"
Cites Issue Involved.
The principal question involved in
this matter" the announcement said,
lis whether accounting and disbursing
officers of the United States are
authorized by law to withhold compen-
sation of naval officers to cover claims
OF the Government for alleged over
payments to the officers in prior years
OF allowance for dependents.
The merits of the Government $
claims against the officers are not in.
volved, but only the right of the
controller general and the disburs.
ing officers to withhold pay to cover
the claims.
"As a result of the action of the
controller general in ordering their
compensation withheld, many suits
were brought by naval officers against
accounting and disbursing officers TO
compel payment in fun of the conn
pensation fixed by law. In all cases
which have been tried the naval Off
GERS were successful"