Case Name: WILLIAM P. DUNWOODY v. THE UNITED STATES
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1892-01-25
Citations: 27 Ct. Cl. 562
Docket Number: 
Parties: WILLIAM P. DUNWOODY v. THE UNITED STATES.
Judges: 
Reporter: United States Court of Claims Reports
Volume: 27
Pages: 562–563

Head Matter:
WILLIAM P. DUNWOODY v. THE UNITED STATES.
(22 C. Cls. R., 269; 23 id., 82; 143 U. S. R., 578.)
On the claimants Appeal.
The claimant seeks to recover his salaries as chief clerk, disbursing agent, secretary, and member of the National Board of Health. The defendants maintain that their liability ceased when the appropriations therefor were exhaused. They also seek to recover back money paid to the claimant as chief clerk and disbursingofficer before those offices were authorized by Congress.
The court below decides:
The National Board of Health Act, March 8, 1879 (20 Stat. L., 484), may have created offices with fixed compensation; but the subsequent Acts, 3d March, 1881, and 7th August, 1882 (21 Stat. L., 442; 22 id., 315), restricted expenditures to appropriations and took away whatever rights may have existed to fixed salaries under the original act. Therefore when the appropriations were exhausted the liability of the Government for salaries ceased.
By the National Board of Health Act, 1879, the Board was impliedly authorized to appoint a chief clerk, and the right was legislatively recognized by subsequent acts.
The Aot July 1,1879 (21 Stat. L., 46), which says, “ The chief clerh of the National Board of Nealth shall aot as disbursing agent for the Board, and shall give bond eonformabl/y to section 176, of the Bevised Statutes for the faithful performance of that duty, amdfor that service he shall receive ‡800 per annum i/n addition to his salary as chief cleric," is mandatory; nor does section 176 authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to diminish or take away the salary.
When Congress appropriate money to pay "expenses” they must mean those expenses which are necessarily incident to the work they direct to he done.
Where a duty is placed upon an officer, the performance of which neces- ' sarily involves travel or clerk hire, or office rent, a broad provision for “expenses” will include the cost of such travel, clerk hire, or office rent.
The Revised Statutes (§ 3682) forbid money appropriated for contingent, incidental, or miscellaneous purposes being used for official or clerical compensation. The adjectives “contingent,” “incidental,” and “miscellaneous” have a technical and well understood meaning; and where a specific appropriation is made for specific objects, such as clerks, messengers, light, fuel, no disbursement can be made therefor from the appropriation for “miscellaneous expenses.”
On claimant’s motion for a new trial the court below decides :
The powers given by the Act 8 Jume, 1879 (21 Stat. L., 5), to the National Board of Health were limited' by the Act 7 August, 1882 (22 id., 315); and the pay and expenses of the current year were thereby specifically restricted to a sum stated.
The policy of Congress as indicated by the act August, 1882, was to transfer from the Board to the President the general oversight of quarantine.
In creating a National Board of Health, Congress intended to organize a board advisory in character to which the Government could turn for assistance when necessary.
The civilian members of the Board being entitled only to a per diem compensation, each annual appropriation became the measure of the Government’s liability. No legal obligations arose to pay for service voluntarily rendered in excess of the annual appropriation.
The decision of the court below is affirmed on the same grounds.

Opinion:
Mr. Justice Harlan
delivered the opinion of the Supreme Court, January 25, 1892.