ARMY PAYMASTERS' MANUAL.

PAY DEPARTMENT.

The Pay Department was established as such by the act of April 24, 1816.—3 Stat.,

297.

The Pay Department shall consist of

1 brigadier-general, Paymaster-General.

3 colonels, Assistant Paymasters-General.

4 lieutenant-colonels, Deputy Paymasters-General.

20 majors, paymasters.

25 captains, paymasters.—Act Feb. 2, 1901, 31 Stat., 754; G. O., 9, 1901. Vacancies occurring in the office of Paymaster-General shall be filled by selection from officers holding permanent appointments in the Pay Department. Other vacancies which can not be filled by promotion by seniority shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army from the grade in which the vacancies exist for periods of four years.—Act Feb. 2, 1901, 31 Stat., 755; G. O., 9, 1901.

When volunteers are called into the service of the United States the President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, additional paymasters with the rank of major, not to exceed one for every two regiments of volunteers.-R. S., 1184.

"Officers of the Pay Department shall not be entitled in virtue of their rank, to command in the line or in other staff corps."-R. S., 1183.

"An officer of the Pay or Medical Department can not exercise command, except in his own department; but any staff officer, by virtue of his commission, may command all enlisted men like other commissioned officers."—A. R., 19, 1908.

"The Pay Department has charge of the supply and distribution of and accounting for funds for the payment of the Army, and such other financial duties as are specially assigned to it.”—A. R., 1272, 1908.

"Manuals issued by the staff departments and approved by the Secretary of War, when not in conflict with any of the provisions of Army Regulations, will have equal force therewith."-A. R., 1588, 1908.

ADVANCE OF PUBLIC MONEY.

1. "No advance of public moneys shall be made in any case whatever. It shall, however, be lawful, under the special direction of the President, to make such advances to the disbursing officers of the Government as may be necessary to the faithful and prompt discharge of their respective duties and to the fulfillment of the public engagements. The President may also direct such advances as he may deem necessary

and proper to persons in the military and naval service employed on distant stations where the discharge of the pay and emoluments to which they may be entitled can not be regularly effected."-R. S., 3648.

2. Advances under section 3648, Revised Statutes, are not payments for services rendered, and the paymaster making the advance must show his authority and should not use pay vouchers, but should take credit "as for a transfer of funds;" and the officer receiving the money should render accounts the same as any other disbursing officer.-4 Comp., 252, Nov. 22, 1897. (Case Dr. Edie.)

3. “Payments made on the next to the last day of a month when the last day falls on Sunday or a legal holiday are not authorized by law, and where a disbursing officer makes such payments he does so at his own risk."-11 Comp., 86, Aug. 15, 1904. (Case Treasury Department.)

4. The provision of the act of May 26, 1898, amended by the act of July 7, 1898 (30 Stat., 420 and 721), for the advance of one month's pay to officers and enlisted men about to embark for service in the Philippine Islands, has been construed by the Comptroller of the Treasury as applying to volunteer troops then in service and not to be either general or permanent legislation.-Comp., June 26, 1905; P. M. G. O.

51395.

ALLOTMENTS.

5. "The Secretary of War is authorized to permit enlisted men of the United States Army to make allotments of their pay, under such regulations as he may pre*scribe, for the support of their families or relatives, for their own savings, or for other purposes, during such time as they may be absent on distant duty, or under other circumstances warranting such action."-Sec. 16, Act Mar. 2, 1899, 30 Stat., 981; G. O. 36, 1899.

6. "Every enlisted man absent on distant duty shall be allowed to allot such portion of his pay as he may desire for the support of his family or relatives, for his own savings, or for any other purpose, excepting that of obtaining an advance on his pay; but the allotment privileges to soldiers serving within the boundaries of the United States will be limited to the support of their families and relatives."-A. R., 1366, 1908. 7. "As soon as possible after the receipt of an order for distant duty the commanding officers of troops, batteries, companies, bands, noncommissioned staff, signal or hospital corps, or any other detachments affected by such order will prepare allotments on the prescribed blanks for all men of their organizations who desire to make the same. When executed these allotments will be forwarded by registered mail to the PaymasterGeneral, who will make acknowledgment thereof to the respective commanding officers, stating the names of the grantors and the amounts and periods of the allotments."-A. R., 1367, amended by G. O., 128, 1908.

8. "All allotments shall be executed in duplicate and witnessed by the respective commanding officers specified in paragraph 1367, one copy to be retained by said commanding officers and the other to be forwarded immediately to the Paymaster-General. Before witnessing an allotment such commanding officer shall, however, satisfy himself that the allotment is not made for the purpose of obtaining an advance on the soldier's pay. When a bank is designated as allottee, the immediate commanding officer of the grantor shall furnish the bank, at the same time that he furnishes the allotment roll to the Paymaster-General, with the signature of the grantor, and also inform the bank of the amount and period of allotment. Such commanding officer shall also, if possible, satisfy himself that the bank named has an existence. -A. R., 1368, 1908.

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9. "When the grantor of an allotment desires it discontinued prior to the expiration of the period for which it was granted, the commanding officers specified in paragraph 1367 will prepare and transmit to the Paymaster-General, on the prescribed blank, the soldier's request for such discontinuance. This request must specify the month

for which the last payment is to be made, but the stoppage of pay to meet the allotment should be continued until receipt of the Paymaster-General's acknowledgment of request for discontinuance. If on receipt of the request for discontinuance of an allotment payment thereon has been made beyond the month specified the PaymasterGeneral, in making acknowledgment, will state the date to which the allotment has been paid and direct the repayment to the soldier of any pay deducted in excess of the payments on the allotment. When an allotment is to run for the full period for which granted no request for discontinuance or notice of the expiration is necessary."-A. R., 1370, amended by G. O., 128, 1908.

10. The interpretation on which the Pay Department has hitherto acted that "allotments and discontinuances are voluntary and entirely within the discretion of the persons making them" is approved and will be rigidly adhered to.-Sec. War, Nov. 23, 1901; P. M. G. O., 26468.

11. "When an allotment is discontinued, at the request of the person making it, before the expiration of the term for which it is granted, it shall not be renewed within that term except by permission of the regimental or post commander, on satisfactory reasons being given for such discontinuance and renewal."—A. R., 1379, 1908.

12. "The date, period, and amount of allotment shall be entered as a part of the soldier's record and also noted on each pay roll during the period of allotment. The discontinuance of an allotment shall be similarly entered and noted.”—A. R., 1376, 1908..

13. "When the grantor of an allotment is soon entitled to discharge and is so much in debt to the United States that it will require the whole or a part of his allotted pay to cancel his obligation, the allotment shall be terminated in the prescribed manner."A. R., 1377, 1908.

14. "On the death, discharge, or desertion of a soldier who has an allotment running, the allotment ceases. In such cases the immediate commanding officer will report as expeditiously as possible to the Paymaster-General, or in the Philippines Division to the adjutant-general of the division, the names of grantors whose allotments thus In the Philippines Division, except in the case of deaths which are otherwise reported, the division commander will send by cable notification to the AdjutantGeneral, who will at once notify the Paymaster-General."—A. R., 1369, 1908. NOTE.-Allotments ceasing by reason of the reported desertion of the allotter are not revived upon his acquittal of the charge, but a new allotment may be made.

cease.

15. Payments made to an allottee after the date of desertion of the grantor of the allotment are not debts which are payable from the amount due the soldier at date of his desertion.—Auditor for the War Department Oct. 13, 1909. (P. M. G. O., 77692.)

16. Whenever allotters shall be discharged on an intermediate day of the month the allotment deduction stops with the day of discharge, and paymasters will only deduct a pro rata of the allotment for the final month of service.—P. M. G., Sept. 16, 1907, 63805.

17. "In case of the transfer of a soldier whose period of allotment still continues, all the data respecting said allotments shall be entered on his descriptive list, and the commanding officer of the troop, battery, or company from which he is transferred shall at once report such transfer to the Paymaster-General.”—A. R., 1375, 1908.

18. "All allotments of pay of enlisted men that have been or shall be paid to the designated allottees, after the expiration of one month subsequent to the month in which said allotments accrued, shall pass to the credit of the disbursing officer who has made or shall make such payment. Said disbursing officer shall, before making payment of such allotment, use due diligence in obtaining and making use of all information that may have been received in the War Department relative to the grantors of the allotments."-Act Mar. 2, 1901, 31 Stat., 896; G. O., 26, 1901. See A. R., 1371, and 1373, 1908.

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19. "If an erroneous payment is made because of the failure of an officer responsible for such report to report, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of War, the death of the grantor, or any fact which renders the allotment not payable, then the amount of such erroneous payment shall be collected by the Paymaster-General from the officer who fails to make such report, if such collection is practicable.”—Act Mar. 2, 1901, 31 Stat., 897; G. O., 26, 1901. See A. R., 1372, 1908.

20. "In case of forfeiture by sentence of a court-martial the stoppage of pay to meet the allotment, being a reimbursement to the United States of the amount paid the allottee, will take precedence of the forfeiture; when, however, the forfeiture is such that possibly it can not be stopped in full prior to the discharge of the soldier if the allotment is continued, the immediate commanding officer will report at once by mail to the Paymaster-General requesting a discontinuance of the allotment. Similar action will be taken when, due to reduction, to stoppages for clothing overdrawn, to continued misconduct, or to any reason, the soldier's available pay will not warrant the continuance of the allotment. The Paymaster-General will notify a soldier's immediate commanding officer of the fact of discontinuance of payment to the allottee and the last month's allotment paid. The stoppage of pay to meet the allotment will be continued until this notice is received, and the soldier will be credited on the next roll with any amount withheld in excess of amount paid the allottee."—A. R., 1369,

1908.

NOTE. This does not authorize the suspension of an allotment, as distinguished from a discontinuance, but the Paymaster-General, in the exercise of his administrative authority, may direct that the payments to an allottee be withheld when the interests of the Government manifestly require such action.-P. M. G. O., 78221.

21. "In case of the capture by the enemy of soldiers who have made allotments which may expire after their capture, the monthly payments of the same shall be continued until otherwise ordered by the Secretary of War."-A. R., 1374, 1908.

22. Allotments are in the nature of powers of attorney, which are revoked by the death of the principal. If the soldier dies before the allotment is in the possession of the allottee, the allotment is not payable, but becomes part of the estate of the soldier and is subject to the control of his legal representatives.-10 Comp., 208, Aug. 27, 1903. 23. An enlisted man indefinitely quarantined for infectious disease may allot his entire pay, allotment to be paid at post where he is stationed. The allottee will sign the pay roll as "Allottee of ‚” and the paymaster who pays the roll will make the usual deductions and pay the balance to the allottee.-Sec. War, June 8, 1903, based on Comp., May 19, 1903, P. M. G. O., 36390.

24. If "the allottee failed to reduce the allotment to possession prior to the soldier's dishonorable discharge from the service with forfeiture of all pay and allowances then due, payment of the allotment is not authorized."-Comp., Oct. 17, 1907, P. M. G. O., 62627.

Allotments do not give a vested right to the money allotted and an allotment deducted from the pay of a soldier who deserts before payment of the amount to the allottee is not payable, but is forfeited to the United States.-Comp., July 16, 1903, P. M. G. O., 64201.

25. The allotment will be dropped from each soldier's pay in the column "Total pay due" on the pay rolls and from the amount of "Pay" on final statements when it pertains to the period for which the soldier is being paid. An allotment pertaining to a period for which the soldier has been paid without deduction of the allotment represents an overpayment and will be treated as a collection.-Par. 1, Circular 223, P. M. G. O., Jan. 29, 1900, hereby amended.

26. On the death of an allottee before payment or issue of check, the amount reverts to the soldier and does not become a part of the allottee's estate, subject to the control of his legal representatives.-Comp., Aug. 2, 1900, P. M. G. O., 17038.