59. All books, papers, and other matters relating to the office or accounts of disbursing officers of the Executive Departments, and commissions, boards, and establishments of the Government in the District of Columbia shall at all times be subject to inspection and examination by the Comptroller of the Treasury and the Auditor of the Treasury authorized to settle such accounts, or by the duly authorized agents of such officials. Aet of February 19, 1897 (29 Stat. L., 550). Books, papers. etc., to be accessi ble to accounting officers. 29, p. 550. opes for inclosure ficial communi Sec. 2, ibid. 60. And it shall be the duty of the respective Depart Penalty envel ments to inclose to Senators, Representatives, and Dele- of answers to of gates in Congress, in all official communications requiring cations. answers, or to be forwarded to others, penalty envelopes addressed as far as practicable, for forwarding or answering such official correspondence. Sec. 2, act of March 3, 1883 (22 Stat. L. 563). be made for rent in Washington without appropriation there. 61. Hereafter no contract shall be made for the rent of, No contracts to any building, or part of any building, in Washington, not of any building now in use by the Government, to be used for the purposes of the Government until an appropriation there for shall have been made in terms by Congress. Act of June 22, v. 18, p. 144. 1871 (18 Stat L., 144). 1 For provisions of statutes relating to the free transmission of official mail matter see Chapter VI, THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. for, etc. June 22, 1874, Par. CHAPTER III. THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR. Par. Establishment of the Department of War. Sec. 214, R. S. Assistant Secretary of War to Mar. 5, 1890, v. 20, p. 17. Salary. 62. Establishment of the Depart- 73. Affidavits may be received in 62. There shall be at the seat of Government an Executive Department to be known as the Department of War, and a Secretary of War, who shall be the head thereof.1 63. There shall be in the Department of War an Assistbe appointed. ant Secretary of War, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall be entitled to a salary of four thousand five hundred dollars a year, payable monthly, and who shall perform such duties in the Department of War as shall be prescribed by the Secretary or may be required by law. Act March 5, 1890 (26 Stat. L., 17). Duties. 1 The Department of War and the office of Secretary of War were created by the act of August 7, 1789 (1 Stat. L.. 49). The Secretary of War succeeded to the office and functions of the Secretary at War, whose powers and duties were defined in an ordinance of Congress dated January 27, 1785 (1 Stat. L., 49, note b). The office of Secretary of War included that of Secretary of the Navy until April 30, 1798, when the Department of the Navy was established, and so much of the act of August 7, 178), as imposed duties upon the Secretary of War in connection therewith was repealed (1 Stat. L., 553). For statutory provisions respecting a temporary vacancy in the office of Secretary of War see paragraphs 7 to 14, ante. 2 The act of August 5, 1882, authorizing the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of War was repealed by the act of July 7, 1884 (23 Stat. L., 331), the power conferred by the act of August 5, 1882, never having been exercised. In the case of Ryan e. U. S., 136 U. S., 18, 80, it was held that the authority vested in the Secretary of War could in his absence be exercised by the officer who under the law became for the time acting Secretary of War. 64. There shall be in the Department of War: Subordinate officers. Mar. 3, 1853, v. Sec. 215, R.S. One chief clerk of the Department, at a salary of two 10, p. 211. thousand five hundred dollars a year. One disbursing clerk. In the office of the Adjutant-General: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Quartermaster-General: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Paymaster-General: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Commissary-General: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Surgeon General: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Chief of Engineers: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Chief of Ordnance: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In the office of the Judge Advocate-General: One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. 65. There shall be in the said Department an inferior officer, to be appointed by the said principal officer to be employed therein as he shall deem proper, and to be called The following offices, created by section 215, Revised Statutes, have ceased to exist: One superintendent of the War Department building, at $250 per year (see section 6 of the act of August 5, 1882, 22 Stat. L., 256, paragraph 82. post); one superintendent of building in the Quartermaster-General's Office, a at $200 per year; one superintendent of building in the Paymaster-General's Office, a at $250 per year; one superintendent of building in the office of the Commissary-General of Subsistence, a at $250 per year. The strength and composition of the clerical force in the War Department and its several bureaus and offices is now fixed and established in the anual acts of appropriation. (For the existing statute respecting the force of clerks, messengers, and laborers authorized to be employed in the Department, see the act of March 15, 1898.) The acts of May 31, 1893. and July 7, 1898, contained provisions making appropriation forthe temporary employment of such additional force of clerks, messengers laborers, and other assistants as in the judgment of the Secretary of War may be proper and necessary to the prompt, efficient, and accurate dispatch of official business in the War Department and its bureaus, to be allotted by the Secretary of War to such bureaus and offices as the exigencies of the existing situation may demand." The force so employed is to be exempted from the operations of the act of January 16, 1883 (22 Stai. L. 403, paragraphs 87-101, post). a This office ceased to exist upon the transfer of the several offices of the War Department to the Department building in 1888. (See section 6 of the act of August 5, 1888 (22 Stat. L., 256.) Management of military af fairs. Aug. 7, 1789. c. the chief clerk in the Department of War, and who, whenever the said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President of the United States, or in any other case of vacancy, shall, during such vacancy, have the charge and custody of all records, books, and papers appertaining to the said Department. Act of February 27, 1877 (19 Stat. L., 241). 66. The Secretary of War shall perform such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him 7, s. 1, v. 1. p. 49. by the President relative to military commissions, the miliSec. 216, R. S. tary forces, the warlike stores of the United States, or to other matters respecting military affairs; and he shall conduct the business of the Department in such manner as the President shall direct. (See secs. 3660–3665, 3669, R. S.) Custody of the 67. The Secretary of War shall have the custody and departmental records and prop charge of all the books, records, papers, furniture, fixtures, Aug, 7, 1789, c. and other property appertaining to the Department. erty. 7,88. 2,4. v. 1, p. 50. Collecting flags, etc. Sec. 217, R. S. 68. The Secretary of War shall from time to time cause to be collected and transmitted to him, at the seat of Govc. 78, s. 1, v.3, p. ernment, all such flags, standards, and colors as are taken Sec. 218, R. S. by the Army from the enemies of the United States. Apr. 18, 1814, 133. Purchase and transportation of 69. The Secretary of War shall from time to time define supplies. Mar. c. P3, 1813, e. and prescribe the kinds as well as the amount of supplies 48, s. 5. v. 2, P. to be purchased by the Subsistence and Quartermaster Sec. 219, R.S. Departments of the Army, and the duties and powers 817. 1 See paragraphs 15-17 and 34 for the general powers and duties of chief clerks. The Secretary of War is the regular constitutional organ of the President for the administration of the military establishment of the nation; and rules and orders publicly promulgated through him must be received as the acts of the Executive and, as such, be binding upon all within the sphere of his legal and constitutional authority. Such regulations can not be questioned or defied because they may be thought unwise or mistaken. The right of so considering and treating the authority of the Executive, vested as it is with the command of the military and naval forces, could not be intrusted to officers of any grade inferior to the Commander in Chief; its consequence, if tolerated, would be a complete disorganization of both the Army and Navy. U. S. v. Eliason, 16 Pet.. 291, 302; Wilcox v. Jackson, 13 Pet., 498, 513; Wolsey v. Chapman, 101 U.S., 755; Runkle v. U. S., 122 U. S., 543, 557; U. S. v. Adams, 7 Wall., 463. The Secretary of War is not required to perform duties in the field. He does not compose any part of the Army, and has no service to perform that may not be done at the seat of Government. 1 Opin. Att. Gen., 457; U. S. v. Burns, 12 Wall, 246; see, also, note 2 to par. 5, and the title Bridges over the navigable waters of the United States, in the chapter entitled THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. Duties imposed by statute. In addition to his duties as the constitutional organ of the President for the administration of the military establishment, the Secretary of War is, by other statutes, charged with the supervision of the administration of the several bureaus or offices of the War Department, their estimates, contracts, expenditures, reports and returns being under his sole direction and control. He has also been charged, from time to time, with the execution of laws relating to national cemeteries, the Soldiers' Home, the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the Military Prison, the detail of officers to colleges, the distribution of relief to suf ferers by fire, flood, or by the failure of crops, due to drought or other causes, the construction and operation of canals, roads, and lines of telegraph, the location and and construction of bridges over the navigable waters of the United States, of railroads through the public lands, the protection of settlers and emigrants, the estab lishment of harbor lines, the adjustment of claims, the establishment and mainte nance of national military parks, and the location, marking, and preservation of lines of battle on the battlefields of the civil war. Since the act of June 28, 1864, all statutes authorizing the construction of works of river and harbor improvement have contained the provision that the sums appropriated shall be expended under his direction. The Military Academy and the schools of application at Willetts Point, Fortress Monroe, and at Forts Leavenworth and Riley are also carried on under the immediate supervision of the Secretary of War. By the act of April 10, 1878, the Secretary of War is authorized to prescribé rules and regulations to be observed in the preparation, submission, and opening of bids for contracts under the War Depart ment. See also pars. 5 and 6, and notes thereunder for general provisions respecting the powers and duties of the heads of the several Executive Departments. thereof respecting such purchases; and shall prescribe general regulations for the transportation of the articles of supply from the places of purchase to the several armies, garrisons, posts, and recruiting places, for the safe-keeping of such articles, and for the distribution of an adequate and timely supply of the same to the regimental quartermasters, and to such other officers as may by virtue of such regulations be intrusted with the same; and shall fix and make reasonable allowances for the store rent and storage necessary for the safe-keeping of all military stores and supplies. Transportation of troops, etc. 15, s. 4, v. 12, p. 334. 70. The transportation of troops, munitions of war, equipments, military property, and stores, throughout the Jan. 31, 1862, c. United States, shall be under the immediate control and supervision of the Secretary of War and such agents as he may appoint. Sec. 220, R. S. of new lines of June 20, 1878, v. 71. That the construction of new lines of telegraph shall Construction be under the supervision and direction of the several mili- telegraph, etc. tary commanders, subject to the approval of the Secretary of War. Act of June 20, 1878 (20 Stat. L., 219). 20, p. 219. Loss of certifi cate of discharge. Mar. 3, 1873, c. 582. Sec. 224, R. S. 72. Whenever satisfactory proof is furnished to the War Department that any non-commissioned officer or private 48.31, v. 17, p. soldier who served in the Army of the United States in the late war against the rebellion has lost his certificate of discharge, or the same has been destroyed without his privity or procurement, the Secretary of War shall be authorized to furnish, on request, to such non-commissioned officer or private a duplicate of such certificate of discharge, to be indelibly marked, so that it may be known as a duplicate; but such certificate shall not be accepted as a voucher for the payment of any claim against the United States for pay, bounty, or other allowance, or as evidence in any other case. be received in counts of com ers for clothing, 73. In settling the accounts of the commanding officer of, Affidavits may a company for clothing and other military supplies, the settlement of ac affidavit of any such officer may be received to show the pany commandloss of vouchers or company books, or any matter of cir- etc. cumstance tending to prove that any apparent deficiency v. 19, p. 241. was occasioned by unavoidable accident or lost in actual The act of October 1, 1890, provides that "the civilian duties now performed by the Signal Corps of the Army shall hereafter devolve upon a burean, which, on or after July first, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, shall be established in the Department of Agriculture, and the Signal Corps of the Army shall remain a part of the military establishment, under the direction of the Secretary of War, and all esti mates for its support shall be included with other estimates for the support of the military establishment." Vol. 26, Stat. L., ch. 1266, p. 653. This statute operates to repeal so much of sections 221, 222, and 223 of the Revised Statutes as imposed duties upon the Secretary of War and the Chief Signal Officer in connection with the observation and report of storms, leaving under their direction such duties, in connection with the construction and repair of military telegraph lines as were imposed by the acts of March 3, 1875, 18 Stat. L., p. 388; and June 20, 1878, 20 Stat. L., p. 219. See chapter entitled THE SIGNAL DEPARTMENT, post. Feb. 27, 1877, Sec. 224, R. S. |