published from time to time by the War Department. A firm, as such, will not be accepted as surety, nor a partner for a copartner or firm of which he is a member. Stockholders who are not officers of a corporation may be accepted as sureties for such corporation."-A. R., 575, 1908.

62. "In case of financial embarrassment, failure, or other disqualifying cause on the part of the surety to a bond, the Secretary of War will require the bond to be renewed to his satisfaction, upon notification to the principal. Official bonds may not be renewed at the will of the principal or surety, but only by direction of the Secretary, and the substitution of one corporate company for another as surety on a bond will not be permitted except by direction of the Secretary, or after the bond has run for a period of four years, when a renewal thereof is required by law."—A. R., 583, 1908. 63. "The principal and surety must sign and seal the bond. The corporate seal of the corporation must be affixed to the bond by some person duly authorized, who must also affix the name of the corporation to it, followed by his own signature and official designation written after the word 'by.' The names and places of business of the principal and surety must be written in the body of the bond."-A. R., 582, 1908.

CHAPLAINS.

64. Chaplains appointed prior to April 21, 1904, shall have the rank, pay, and allowances of captain of infantry until they shall have completed seven years' service, after which they shall have the grade, pay, and allowances of captain mounted.—Act Feb. 2, 1901, 31 Stat., 750; G. O., 9, 1901, and act Apr. 21, 1904, 33 Stat., 226; G. O., 79, 1904.

65. Chaplains appointed after April 21, 1904, shall have the grade, pay, and allowances of first lieutenant mounted until they shall have completed seven years' service, after which they shall have the grade, pay, and allowances of captain mounted.—Act Apr. 21, 1904, 33 Stat., 226; G. O., 79, 1904.

66. Chaplains having not less than ten years' service in the grade of captain may be promoted to chaplains with the grade, pay, and allowances of major.—Act Apr. 21, 1904, 33 Stat., 226; G. O., 79, 1904.

When promoted to the grade of major, chaplains are entitled to the pay and allowances of the new grade from date of appointment, payable after confirmation by the Senate.-13 Comp., 745, May 2, 1907, P. M. G. O., 44519.

67. The provisions of the act of April 21, 1904, are not applicable to chaplains on the retired list at date of its passage.-10 Comp., 765, May 7, 1904.

CHECK BOOKS.

68. "Official check books are issued by the Treasurer and assistant treasurers of the United States direct to disbursing officers who have public money on deposit with them. Rules for issue, transfer, etc., of these check books accompany each book. In making payments only official checks will be used."-A. R., 612, 1908.

69. “Official check books on national-bank depositories are furnished by chiefs of bureaus, by whom records of blank checks issued will be kept and to whom unused checks will be returned. Rules for issue, transfer, etc., of these check books accompany each book. The chief of bureau issuing a check book on a national-bank depository will keep a complete record of its size, its character, the serial numbers of its checks, and when and to whom issued.

"When an officer transfers such book, or any of its unused checks, he will immediately advise the chief of bureau by whom it was issued of the serial numbers, inclusive, so transferred, forwarding a receipt therefor, that the necessary change in the record may be made. When an officer ceases to act as a disbursing officer or agent he should

transfer all unused checks to his successor as above provided, or, if there be no successor, return them to the chief of bureau by whom issued. Should any officer make an erasure or alteration of any of his checks, however slight, he will certify to the correctness of such erasure or alteration on the upper margin of such check.”—A. R., 613, 1908.

70. "An officer to whom an official check book is issued by the Treasurer or an assistant treasurer of the United States will at once receipt for it to the Treasurer or to the assistant treasurer from whom it was received."-G. O. 110, 1901.

71. "An officer relieved from duty as a disbursing officer and having a check book on the Treasurer or an assistant treasurer in his possession will cut from the book the stubs used by him (to be filed with his retained papers), and will transfer the unused checks and stubs to his successor, taking a receipt therefor in duplicate, which shall describe the unused checks by their serial numbers, one copy of which will be transmitted by the officer relieved to the Treasurer or to the assistant treasurer by whom the check book was originally issued. If there be no successor the book of unused checks and stubs, after the used stubs have been removed, will be at once returned to the Treasurer or assistant treasurer by whom originally issued, with a letter describing the serial numbers of the unused checks so returned and a receipt obtained therefor. Before transferring any check book the transferring officer will first examine the unused checks to see that there is no break in the serial numbers showing that checks are missing.”—G. O., 110, 1901.

72. "An officer who for the convenience of any disbursing officer detaches any blank checks and stubs from the check book on the Treasurer or any assistant treasurer in his possession will take the receipt of such disbursing officer in duplicate for such checks by serial numbers and transmit one copy of the same in the manner directed in the preceding paragraph."—G. O., 110, 1901.

73. "Under no circumstances will unused check books or blank checks taken from check books on the Treasurer or an assistant treasurer be kept for an unreasonable time in the possession of any disbursing officer of the War Department. If at any time his credit with the Treasurer or an assistant treasurer becomes exhausted and there is no reasonable expectation that money will be placed to his credit at an early day, he will transfer his check book or checks to the Treasurer or assistant treasurer in the manner directed for an officer ceasing to act as a disbursing officer. If he has notice of a remittance, or a reasonable expectation that money at an early day will be placed to his credit, he will upon his deposit becoming exhausted inform the Treasurer or assistant treasurer of such notice or of such expectation and renew the advice to the Treasurer or assistant treasurer semimonthly until the remittance is received or until the check book or checks are transferred."-G. O., 110, 1901.

74. "In the interest not only of the disbursing officer himself, but of the Treasurer, the assistant treasurer, and innocent takers of checks made out on the official blank check forms, the greatest care will be exercised by disbursing officers in the custody of official check books. They will be kept under lock and key when not in use, and the serial numbers of the unused checks will be frequently examined to see that no check in the series is missing."-G. O., 110, 1901.

75. The check books of paymasters will be kept in condition for inspection by an inspector-general, chief paymaster, or other authorized inspector at any moment. With this in view, and to secure uniform method in the keeping of deposit and check accounts, the following instructions will be strictly observed:

1. Check stubs may be footed either by pages or days, at the discretion of the paymaster.

2. All deposits during a month will be entered immediately following the balance brought forward from the preceding month.

54748°-10--2

3. Each deposit entry will show its date and amount and also its nature by brief note, as follows: "Warrant No. -." "Transfer from Major "Cash."

4. At the close of business on the last day of each calendar month the footings of both pages of the check book will be closed, to include the latest deposit and last issue within the month, and a balance struck, which will represent the balance on deposit, subject to draft, and will form the first entry upon the deposit page for the following month. These monthly footings will thus include on one side the balance on hand at the end of the preceding month, with all deposits and credits during the month; on the other side the total of checks issued within the month.

5. Paymasters will preserve a permanent separate file of the periodical statements of their accounts rendered to them by each depository. On comparison of these statements with the stub books the stubs of paid checks will be marked with the date of the statement upon which payment is reported, thus serving the double purpose of showing that the check has been paid and indicating the particular statement upon which it is so reported.

6. A memorandum will be entered upon the deposit page, opposite the last check drawn on Saturday of each week, showing the balance with the depository at the close of business on that day and the data on which it is based.-Cir. 271, P. M. G. O., Feb. 20, 1904, hereby amended.

CHECKS.

76. No liability of the payor of a check operates to relieve the drawer from the obligation of determining the identity of the payee to whom he issues a check.— P. M. G., L. B., July 2, 1869.

77. As section 3620, Revised Statutes, requires check to be drawn "in favor of the person to whom payment is to be made," disbursing officers' checks must be drawn to order and not to bearer.-15 Comp., 604, Apr. 6, 1909.

78. "A disbursing officer may draw his check in favor of himself (a) to make payments of amounts not exceeding $20; (b) to make payments at a distance from a depositary; or (c) to make payments of fixed salaries due at a certain period. In the first and last named cases the check will be drawn not more than two days before the payments become due. In all other cases the checks will be drawn only in favor of the persons, firms, or corporations, by name, to whom the payments are to be made.”—A. R., 603, 1908.

79. "On the face of each check that he draws a disbursing officer will state his address, the object of the expenditure, the number or other necessary description of the voucher, and, in case of payment to an officer, enlisted man, or civilian employee, the period for which the payment is made. Such statements will be brief, but clear, as, for instance, 'pay,' 'pay roll,' or 'payment of troops,' adding the post or station; 'purchase of subsistence,' or of other supplies, naming them; ‘on contract for construction,' mentioning the fortification or other public work for which the payment is made; 'payments under $20.' Payment is refused on all checks where regulations are not complied with, and report of the fact is made to the Treasury Department. Rubber stamps or the typewriter will not be used to insert the date, payee's name, or the amount of the check issued in payment of a public creditor. The data on the check stub will be the same as on the check to which it relates."-Par. 604, A. R., amended by G. O., 13, Jan. 25, 1910.

80. "A check drawn to the order of a banking institution, or to an individual other than the person in whose favor an account is stated, should have stated on its face, in the appropriate space therefor, the nature of the account paid thereby, and the name and rank of the payee. If there is not sufficient space on the face of the check, it can be stated on the back, care being taken to leave room for proper endorsement of the check. Where several accounts are paid in one check the data will be stated as to each account."-See P. M. G. O., 66666, Aud., Feb. 27, 1908."

81. "So far as relates to disbursements in the Philippine Islands and other places, including Alaska, beyond the boundary of the States composing the Union, and for the convenience of the paymaster in obtaining ready money, as well as for the accommodation of both officers and men at such distant places, a check may be drawn for a portion of the pay due the soldier (or officer), in which case it will be drawn in favor of the soldier (or officer), and the object or purpose will be stated as "part pay for month of -;" if for any sum which the soldier (or officer) may desire in exchange for money after he has been paid, the check will be drawn by the paymaster in favor of himself and indorsed by him payable to the order of the soldier (or officer), and the object or purpose will be stated as "to obtain cash to make payments at a distance from a depositary." In this case the data on the check stub will be the same as on the check to which it relates, including the name of the soldier (or officer) to whom the check is indorsed by the paymaster."-A. R., 1337, amended by G. O., 13, Jan. 25,

1910.

82. All checks, drafts, etc., which pass, by indorsement, in the Philippine Islands, must, under the local law, bear the date of such indorsement.-Cir. 101, 1908.

83. Checks for deposit of army paymasters' collections and soldiers' deposits will be dated on the last day of the month in which the collections are made or deposits received or when an account is closed. If the paymaster is unable to deposit checks on that date he will do so at the earliest practicable date.-Cir. 219, P. M. G. O., Jan. 5, 1900, hereby amended.

84. "Mutilated or spoiled official checks upon the United States Treasurer or an assistant treasurer will be forwarded promptly to the office to which they pertain, but mutilated or spoiled checks upon a national-bank depository will be forwarded promptly, for preservation and future reference, to the chief of bureau by whom issued, who will acknowledge the receipt of such checks. In either case a record of the dates of both cancellation and transmission will be entered on the stub.”—A. R., 614, 1908.

85. "Upon receipt of the statement of his disbursing account for the month of June of each year, from the office or bank in which his funds are kept, each disbursing officer will immediately make a return to the Secretary of the Treasury, through the chief of his bureau, of all checks drawn by him which have been outstanding and unpaid for three full fiscal years on June 30 of that year, stating the number of each check, its date and amount; in whose favor, on what office or bank, and for what purpose drawn; the number of the voucher in payment of which it was drawn, and, if known, the address of the payee, and he will inclose in the return all checks described therein that may be in his possession."—A. R., 609, 1908; see R. S., 310.

NOTE.-If a paymaster has no outstanding checks, he should report "No checks outstanding three years."

Checks reported as outstanding and unpaid for three full fiscal years will not be dropped from the paymaster's account of outstanding checks until receipt of a statement from the depositary reporting the amount thereof covered into the Treasury.

86. "At the close of each fiscal year all amounts remaining to the credit of a disbursing officer, represented by checks or drafts drawn upon the Treasurer, an assistant treasurer, or any designated depositary, three or more years prior thereto, will be covered into the Treasury and there stand to the credit of the payees in an appropriation account denominated 'outstanding liabilities.'"-A. R., 610, as amended by G. O., 135, 1908; see R. S., 306.

87. "A check drawn by a disbursing officer still in active service, presented before it shall have been issued three full fiscal years, will be paid in the usual manner by the office or bank on which it is drawn, and from funds to the credit of the drawer."A. R., 608, 1908.

"Thus, any check issued on or after July 1, 1900, will be paid as stated above until June 30, 1904."-Treas. Cir. 49, 1903.

88. "A check which has been issued for a period longer than three full fiscal years will be paid only by the settlement of an account in the Treasury Department. For this purpose an officer who receives such a check will transmit it, through the proper channels, to the Secretary of the Treasury. If a check is lost, proof of ownership and loss and a bond of indemnity will be furnished.”—A. R., 611, 1908; see R. S., 308.

89. Whenever any original disbursing officer's check is lost, stolen, or destroyed, the Secretary of the Treasury may authorize the officer issuing the same, after the expiration of six months and within three years from the date of such disbursing officer's check, to issue a duplicate thereof upon the execution of such bond to indemnify the United States as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe: Provided, That when such original disbursing officer's check does not exceed in amount the sum of fifty dollars the Secretary of the Treasury may authorize the issuance of a duplicate at any time after the expiration of thirty days and within three years from the date of such disbursing officer's check.-R. S., 3646, amended by Act Feb. 23, 1909, 35 Stat., 643; G. O., 56, 1909; see par. 606, A. R., 1908.

90. The owner of a lost check should file with the paymaster who issued the check an indemnity bond and affidavit regarding the loss, in accordance with instructions on blank bond; and after expiration of the required time the paymaster will forward them with a duplicate check direct to the Secretary of the Treasury for his approval.-P. M. G.

The affidavit must state name and residence of applicant in full, describe check and indorsements, show applicant's interest therein, detail circumstances of its loss and what action, if any, was taken to stop payment. It should be made and signed before an officer authorized to administer oaths generally, who must certify that he administered the oath. If such officer is not available, a judge-advocate or summary court officer can administer the oath, in which case the necessity therefor must be stated. Treasury Instructions.

91. In case the disbursing officer or agent by whom such lost, destroyed, or stolen original check was issued is dead or no longer in the service of the United States it shall be the duty of the proper accounting officer, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, to state an account in favor of the owner of such original check for the amount thereof and to charge such amount to the account of such officer or agent.-Sec. 3647, R. S., amended by Act Feb. 23, 1909, 35 Stat., 644; G. O., 56, 1909; see A. R., 606, 1908.

92. "A disbursing officer who ceases to act as such will, through the chief of his bureau, inform the Secretary of the Treasury at once whether he has any public funds to his credit in any office or bank and, if so, what checks drawn by him against such funds, if any, are still outstanding and unpaid."—A. R., 592, 1908.

93. "In case of death, resignation, or removal from active service of a disbursing officer, checks previously drawn by him will be paid from the funds to his credit, unless such checks were drawn more than four months before their presentation, or reasons exist for suspecting fraud. A check previously drawn by him and not presented for payment within four months of its date will not be paid until its correctness shall have been attested by the Comptroller of the Treasury or by his chief clerk.”— A. R., 607, 1908; Treas. Cir. 102, 1906.

CLAIMS.

94. When a paymaster has finally paid an officer or soldier, he should take no further action in the case. Any claim for amounts short paid should be settled by the Auditor. Comp., Sept. 30, 1896, P. M. G. O., 3011.

95. Any person whose accounts may have been settled by the Auditor or the head of the Executive Department to which the account pertains may, "within a year, obtain revision of the said account by the Comptroller of the Treasury, whose decision