(Witness: Zappone.) with the fiscal regulations of the Department. The disbursing officer has also been instructed by the Secretary to bring to his attention any expenditure that may seem of an extravagant character. The bureaus that I have just named are all of the bureaus that are furnished by the Secretary with what we will call general authority for conducting the business of their bureaus. The balance of the Department we will class under another head. To give an illustrative case: When any other division or bureau of the Department requires some supplies in connection with the work of their office say, for instance, the purchase of 25,000 envelopes-the chief of that bureau will make request therefor, on printed form adopted for such purposes, asking that the supplies be purchased. This form is addressed to the chief clerk of the Department, who scrutinizes the request closely, and if he approves of the purchase, sends it to the chief of the supply division of the Department to make the purchase, if not in stock. For envelopes, as they would be under a contract made by the Postmaster-General, he would simply prepare an order on the proper contractor for the goods in question which, when received, he would send to the bureau concerned. These orders for supplies, after being prepared by the chief of the supply division, are also sent to the disbursing officer to see that they are in conformity with the law and the fiscal regulations of the Department. The disbursing officer also stamps the appropriation on them indicating the appropriation properly chargeable with the expense and then sends them to the Secretary for his approval, so that the Secretary of Agriculture approves the orders for purchase of supplies for the entire Departments, except the large bureaus which I have named, and to which he has extended a general authority. I wish to call the attention of the committee to the manner in which traveling expenses are authorized in the Department of Agriculture. When travel becomes necessary, the chief of a bureau or a division, to which no general letter of authority has been issued, makes request in writing to the Secretary and states in specific terms why the travel is necessary. The Secretary then has issued what is known as a letter of authorization directing the employee in question, through the chief of his bureau, to perform the journey. These letters of authorization at the end of each quarter are bound and sent to the accounting officers of the Treasury for the purpose of auditing the accounts. I would like to have inserted here, as an exhibit, regulation No. 12 of the fiscal regulations of the Department of Agriculture in regard to traveling expenses. REG. 12. Before incurring any expense for traveling upon the business of the Department an officer or employee must be furnished with specific written authority to perform the particular journey, or journeys, to which such expenses relate, which authority must be issued by the Secretary of Agriculture (except in the case of employees of the Weather Bureau, who will receive letters of authorization from the Chief of that Bureau). In the absence of such authority no claim for reimbursement of traveling expenses will be allowed, except in cases of actual and extreme emergency. All travel performed upon Department business must be by the shortest practicable routes and without any unusual or unnecessary delays. Proper and legitimate traveling expenses are those usual and essential to the comfort of travelers. (Witness: Zappone.) I also submit as an exhibit regulation No. 16, for telegraphing, that is the use of the telegraph by employees of the Department, to show that they have been properly cautioned in regard to the indiscriminate use of the telegraph. REG. 16. The telegraph must be used sparingly, and only when the delay in using the mail would be injurious to the public interests. Care should be taken to omit all unnecessary words. In a message from one official or employee to another titles should not be used, and in a great many cases the names of the parties in both address and signature may be limited to single words. Numbers should be expressed in words, not in figures. * I think it also proper to invite the attention of the committee at this time to the following clause which appears on the last page of the appropriation act of this Department for 1906: And the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to make such appointments, promotions, and changes in salaries, to be paid out of the lump funds of the several bureaus, divisions and offices of the Department as may be for the best interests of the service: Provided, That the maximum salary of any classified scientific investigator in the city of Washington, or other employee engaged in scientific work, shall not exceed three thousand dollars per annum. And the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and directed to pay the salary of each employee from the roll of the bureau, independent division, or office in which the employee is working, and no other: Provided, however, That details may be made from the office of the Secretary when necessary and the services of the person whom it is proposed to detail are not required in that office; and he is further authorized and directed to submit to Congress each year a statement covering all appointments, promotions, or other changes made in the salaries paid from lump funds, giving in each case the title, salary, and amount of such change or changes, together with reasons therefor. That law, you will notice, limits the salary of scientists in the city of Washington payable from lump-sum appropriations. In the summary of the report that has been prepared for the use of the committee a statement will be found of the amount paid under lump-sum appropriations for salaries in and out of Washington. It aggregates nearly $3,500,000. It not only makes proper provision for such salaries, but it also limits the amounts that any scientist in the city of Washington may receive; that is, it provides that the highest salary for scientific work in the city of Washington shall not exceed $3,000 per annum in any case. As a result the Department loses many of its best men. The maximum salary should be increased. I mention this now, as the salary paid to some scientist from the lump funds may be touched upon in this discussion. You will also find in the summary in the back part of the report an item for rent of office quarters. In making up the groups for the report we did not differentiate between rents in the District of Columbia and rents outside of the District of Columbia. The CHAIRMAN. You refer now to the item on page 293, of $124,729 ? Mr. ZAPPONE. One hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars; yes, sir; that is it. That refers to rents in the District of Columbia and outside of the District of Columbia. For the information of the committee I would like to have inserted here as an exhibit, the amount paid for rent in the District of Columbia during the past fiscal year--1906. The total amount was $46,588.96. (Witness: Zappone.) BUILDINGS UNDER LEASE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. The following statement shows the buildings under lease in the District of Columbia on June 30, 1906. Rate per annum. Office of Secretary: Rooms for storage, 611 Maryland avenue SW___ Bureau of Plant Industry: Vegetable pathological and physiological investiga- $300.00 2,400.00 $3, 720.00 Botanical investigations and experiments, laboratories 3,000.00 1,500.00 Purchase and distribution of valuable seeds, seed warehouse, 221 Thirteen-and-a-half street SW.. 3,000.00 Pomological investigations, offices, 203, 205, 207, 207, and 209 Thirteenth street SW. 2,040. 00 13, 260.00 Forest Service, offices and storage rooms: Atlantic Building, 930 F street NW. Washington Loan and Trust Building, Ninth and F 14, 778. 96 streets NW., 2 rooms.. 913 E street NW. 928 Baptist alley Building in Baptist alley Twenty-sixth and D streets NW. 570.00 270.00 120.00 270.00 120.00 16, 128. 96 2, 800.00 Bureau of Chemistry: Laboratories and offices, 200-202 Fourteenth street SW. and 206 Fourteenth street SW_ Bureau of Soils: Laboratories and offices, 208, 212-214 Thirteenth Bureau of Entomology: Offices 904 B street SW_ Document rooms, 215 Thirteenth street SW. 3,920.00 720.00 $5,000.00 5, 060.00 2,000.00 46, 588.96 Office of Public Roads: Laboratories and offices, 237 Fourteenth street SW Total BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. JANUARY 12, 1907. (Part of testimony, given on above date, before Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture.) STATEMENT OF DR. ALONZO D. MELVIN, CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. (The witness was sworn by the chairman.) The CHAIRMAN. You are the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry? Doctor MELVIN. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. How long have you been the Chief? Doctor MELVIN. Since December of 1905. The CHAIRMAN. Since December, 1905. And how long have you been connected with the Bureau? Doctor MELVIN. Since December, 1886. The CHAIRMAN. And in what capacity during that time? Doctor MELVIN. First as a veterinary inspector, and in 1895 as chief of the inspection division in Washington, and then in January, 1899, as Assistant Chief of the Bureau. The CHAIRMAN. Now, you may state generally of what your Bureau has charge-that is, the sort of work that comes under your direction. Doctor MELVIN. May I read from some printed matter that I have here? The CHAIRMAN. State it in your own way, either reading or stating it from memory. Doctor MELVIN. Under the act approved May 29, 1884, the Bureau was established. The wording of that act was: An act for the establishment of a Bureau of Animal Industry, to prevent the exportation of diseased catttle, and to provide means for the suppression and extirpation of pleuro-pneumonia and other contagious diseases among domestic animals. (Public-No. 41.) Since that time there has been added to the duties of the Bureau the inspection of meat products and of live cattle exports, the inspection of imported animals, the work in dairying, and animal husbandry. I suppose you refer to last year, not this year? The CHAIRMAN. No; bring it right up to date. Doctor MELVIN. Also the investigations regarding various diseases affecting domestic animals and the distribution of such information, and the eradication of the tick producing Texas fever in cattle. (Witnesses: Melvin, Zappone.) The CHAIRMAN. The great bulk of the expenditures in your department relates to services out of Washington? Doctor MELVIN. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. That is necessarily so, of course, on account of the work in which you are engaged? Doctor MELVIN. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. I find here, "Total amount paid for salaries in Washington, $83,595.62.” Mr. ZAPPONE. If you will turn to page 99 you will find a summary; it is at the top of the page. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Lump-fund salaries in Washington, $83,595.62, and lump-fund salaries out of Washington, $1,145,053.65. Then we have statutory salaries, $78,208.29. Where are those distributed, in and out of Washington or altogether in Washington? Doctor MELVIN. The statutory salaries? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Doctor MELVIN. They are all, I believe, in the city of Washington. I do not think there is an exception to that. The CHAIRMAN. The aggregate expense of the Bureau is something like a million and a half of money? Doctor MELVIN. For last year; yes sir. Mr. ZAPPONE. It might be well to state that of that sum there will be a balance to be turned back into the Treasury of $92,647. The CHAIRMAN. So that you have kept well within your appropriation? Doctor MELVIN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Who fixes the salaries under the lump-sum appropriation? Doctor MELVIN. The Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Ichief of the Bureau. The CHAIRMAN. So that that is upon your recommendation? The CHAIRMAN. So that in the first instance you determine the amounts, and then that is subject to the approval of the Secretary? Doctor MELVIN. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. How many classes of clerks have you? The CHAIRMAN. And their salaries range from what? Mr. ZAPPONE. Are you referring to the salaries in the city of Washington, the statutory salaries, or the lump-fund salaries? Doctor MELVIN. That will qualify my answer somewhat, according to which you refer to. The CHAIRMAN. First, in relation to the salaries in Washington. Mr. ZAPPONE. Statutory salaries. Doctor MELVIN. Of clerks? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Doctor MELVIN. There are four classes. The CHAIRMAN. The salaries are what, beginning with the lowest? Doctor MELVIN. I think there are only four provided for under the civil-service regulations. The CHAIRMAN. What is the distinction between the classes? |