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partment. Previous to said amendment authority had been conferred on the chief clerk, in the absence of the Secretary, to sign papers requiring the Secretary's signature, by Act March 4, 1874, c. 44, post, § 315. These provisions are practically superseded, to a great extent, by the subsequent provisions for such a vacancy of Act Aug. 5, 1882, c. 389, § 1, ante, § 313, and for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of War. Act March 5, 1890, c. 26, ante, 312.

The Record and Pension Office of the War Department, to have charge of the military and hospital records of the volunteer armies and the pension and other business of the War Department connected therewith, was established by Act May 9, 1892, c. 62, post, § 336. Thereafter said office and the AdjutantGeneral's Office, as bureaus of the War Department, were constituted a consolidated Bureau, known as the Adjutant-General's Office. See notes to said section 336, post.

A Bureau of Insular Officers was established in the Department by Act July 1, 1902, c. 1369, § 87, post, § 345. See notes to said section.

A provision of this section for "one superintendent of the War Department Building," and other provisions for superintendents of buildings occupied by the Department or particular officers, were superseded by the provision for a superintendent of the State, War, and Navy Department Building, contained in Act March 3, 1883, c. 128, § 1, post, § 3328, and are omitted.

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superintendent of the State, War, and Navy building is also to act as Superintendent of certain annex buildings, by a provision of Act May 22, 1908, c. 186, § 1, post, § 3329.

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Provision of the army appropriation act of June 23, 1879, c. 35, § 3, 21 34, as to the pay, etc., of the Examiner of State Claims in the Office of Secretary of War, was repealed by Act June 30, 1882, c. 254, § 1, 22 Stat.

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rovision accompanying appropriations for compensation of officers, clerks, ther employés in the Department, in Act June 20, 1874, c. 328, § 1, 18 101, making it unlawful to allow or pay to any of the persons designated in the act any additional compensation, or to employ in the Department any persons other than those therein authorized, except in the Signal Offices and Engineer Corps, and except such commissioned officers as the Secretary might assign to special duties, may be regarded as superseded by subsequent appropriations varying as to the numbers and salaries of officers, clerks, etc., by the provisions relating to the same subject contained in Act Aug. 5, 1882. c. 389, § 4, ante, § 249.

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addition to the specific appropriations in the annual legislative, executive, judicial appropriation acts for compensation of the officers, clerks, and

other employés, enumerated therein, said acts make special provisions each year for the employment of services of skilled draftsmen and other services which the Secretary may deem necessary, in the Signal Office, in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, and in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, to carry into effect appropriations for purposes specified, and to be paid from such appropriations, the entire expenditures by each of said offices for such purpose for the fiscal year not to exceed a specified sum; the terms of such provisions and the amounts limited varying from year to year. The provisions for the fiscal year 1914, including, in the Signal Office, the services of one radio engineer and one radio assistant, and in the office of the Chief of Engineers, civil engineers, were made by Act March 4, 1913, c. 142, § 1, 37 Stat. 764, 765.

A provision of Act July 25, 1912, c. 253, 37 Stat. 233, which authorized the Chief of Engineers in case of emergency to employ such additional office force as he may find necessary for preparation for and consideration of river and harbor estimates and bills, was repealed by Act March 4, 1913, c. 142, § 1, 37 Stat. 765.

A General Staff Corps of the Army, to be composed of officers detailed from the Army at large, was established by Act Feb. 14, 1903, c. 553, set forth post, under Title XIV, "The Army," c. 1. Subsequent provisions forbidding the detail to or assignment to duty with any office or bureau of the War Department of clerks or other employés at headquarters of divisions, departments, or the office of the Chief of Staff, or such detail from the Department to the office

of the General Staff, contained in Act June 22, 1906, c. 3514, § 1, and Act March 2, 1913, c. 93, are also set forth post, §§ 316, 317.

Provisions relating to a Division of Militia Affairs, in the office of the Chief of Staff, in the War Department, are set forth or referred to post, under Title XVI, "The Militia."

Provisions applicable to all the Departments, relating to the employment of clerks and others, were made R. S. § 169, and Act Aug. 5, 1882, c. 389, § 4, ante, §§ 248, 249.

Provisions applicable to all the Departments, relating to the duties of chief clerks and disbursing clerks, were made by R. S. §§ 173, 174, 176, ante, §§ 255, 256, 258, and other statutes collected under those sections.

§ 315. (Act March 4, 1874, c. 44.) Chief clerk may be authorized to sign papers instead of Secretary of War.

When, from illness or other cause, the Secretary of War is temporarily absent from the War Department, he may authorize the chief clerk of the Department to sign requisitions upon the Treasury Department, and other papers requiring the signature of said Secretary; the same, when signed by the chief clerk during such temporary absence, to be of the same force and effect as if signed by the Secretary of War himself. (18 Stat. 19.)

This act was entitled "An act authorizing the chief clerk of the War Department to sign requisitions on the Treasury during the temporary absence of the Secretary of War." It may be regarded as superseded, to some extent, by Act March 5, 1890, c. 26, ante, § 312, providing for an Assistant Secretary of War, who, by R. S. § 177, ante, § 259, was authorized, in the absence of the head of the Department, to perform the duties of the office.

Requisitions on the Treasury for the use of the War Department were provided for by R. S. § 3673, post, § 6746.

§ 316. (Act June 22, 1906, c. in office of General Staff; forbidden.

3514, § 1.)

Clerks and employés detail to or from War Department

It shall not hereafter be lawful to detail clerks or other civilian employees authorized for the Office of the General Staff for duty, temporary or otherwise, in any office or bureau of the War Department at Washington, District of Columbia, or to detail clerks or other employees from the War Department for service in the Office of the General Staff. (34 Stat. 418.)

This was a provision of the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act for the fiscal year 1907, cited above. Provisions in the same language, except the word "hereafter," were contained in the similar appropriation acts for the two fiscal years immediately preceding.

The General Staff Corps was established by Act Feb. 14, 1903, c. 553, post, §§ 1759-1763.

A similar provision forbidding the assignment to duty with any bureau in the War Department of clerks or other employés at the office of the Chief of Staff, of Act March 2, 1913, c. 93, is set forth post, § 317.

§ 317. (Act March 2, 1913, c. 93.) Clerks and employés at headquarters of divisions of Army, etc., or office of Chief of Staff; assignment to duty in War Department forbidden.

No clerk, messenger, or laborer at headquarters of divisions. departments, posts commanded by general officers, or office of the

Chief of Staff, shall be assigned to duty with any bureau in the War Department. (37 Stat. 707.)

These are provisions accompanying appropriations for specified numbers of clerks, messengers, and laborers, in the Army appropriation act for the fiscal year 1914, cited above. Provisions similar to these, to a greater or less extent. accompanied the appropriations for the same purposes in previous years.

A similar provision relating to the office of the General Staff, contained in Act June 22, 1906, c. 3514, § 1, ante, § 316.

$318. (R. S. § 216.) Management of military affairs.

The Secretary of War shall perform such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him by the President relative to military commissions, the military 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.

Act Aug. 7, 1789, c. 7, § 1, 1 Stat. 49.

Provisions applicable to the War Department with other Departments, reiring commissions of all officers under direction and control of the Secretary to be made out and recorded in the Department, and the Department seal affixed thereto, were made by Act March 28, 1896, c. 73, § 1, post, § 3250. Provisions for inspection of disbursements by officers of the Army were made by Act April 20, 1874, c. 117, post, §§ 330, 331.

General provisions for the submission by the heads of Departments to Congress of estimates of expenditures and appropriations were made by R. S. §§ 36603666, 3669, and other statutes, post, §§ 6671–6705, 6732.

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The Secretary of War was authorized to lease property under his control,
required for public use, by a provision of Act July 28, 1892, c. 316, post, §
The powers and duties of the Secretary of War in regard to the acquisition
Sites for fortifications and coast defenses were prescribed by provisions of
Aug. 18, 1890, c. 797, § 1, post, § 6911.

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provision requiring the Secretary to cause an inspection of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers to be made, yearly, and a report therewas made by Act Aug. 18, 1894, c. 301, § 1, post, § 9280.

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§ 319. (R. S. § 217.) Custody of the departmental records and Property.

The Secretary of War shall have the custody and charge of all the books, records, papers, furniture, fixtures, and other property appertaining to the Department.

Act Aug. 7, 1789, c. 7, §§ 2, 4, 1 Stat. 50.

The transfer of military rolls and records of the Civil War and prior wars from other Departments to the War Department was provided for by Act July 27, 1892, c. 267, Act Aug. 18, 1894, c. 301, § 1, Res. April 28, 1904, No. 35, and Act March 2, 1913, c. 94, post, §§ 337, 339–341.

$320. (R. S. § 218.) Collecting flags, etc.

The Secretary of War shall from time to time cause to be collected and transmitted to him, at the seat of Government, all such flags, standards, and colors as are taken by the Army from the enemies of the United States.

Act April 18, 1814, c. 78, § 1, 3 Stat. 133.

A similar requirement of the Secretary of the Navy, as to flags, etc., taken by the Navy, was made by R. S. § 428, post, § 644.

Provisions for the disposition of certain Union and Confederate battle flags, in the custody of the Department, were made by Res. Feb. 28, 1905, No. 22, 33 Stat. 1284, and Res. June 29, 1906, No. 43, 34 Stat. 837, but are omitted as temporary merely, and executed.

§ 321. (R. S. § 219.) Purchase and transportation of supplies. The Secretary of War shall from time to time define and prescribe the kinds as well as the amount of supplies to be purchased by the Subsistence and Quartermaster Departments of the Army, and the duties and powers 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 storerent and storage necessary for the safe-keeping of all military stores and supplies.

Act March 3, 1813, c. 48, § 5, 2 Stat. 817.

Contracts for supplies or services for the military service were required to be made by or under the direction of the chief officers of the War Department, and accounts were to be rendered for settlement to the accountant of the Department, by R. S. § 3714, post, § 6842. See note to that section.

The Secretary of War was to prescribe regulations for bids for contracts under the War Department, by provisions of Act April 10, 1878, c. 58, amended by Act March 3, 1883, c. 120, post, § 6843.

Provisions for inspection of disbursements by officers of the Army were made by Act April 20, 1874, c. 117, post, §§ 330, 331.

§ 322. (R. S. § 220.) Transportation of troops, etc.

The transportation of troops, munitions of war, equipments, military property, and stores, throughout the United States, shall be under the immediate control and supervision of the Secretary of War and such agents as he may appoint.

Act Jan. 31, 1862, c. 15, § 4, 12 Stat. 334.

(R. S. §§ 221-223. Superseded.)

These sections required the Secretary of War to provide for meteorological observations, for giving notice of storms, for signal stations and telegraph lines connecting them, etc. They were superseded by the transfer of the Weather Service to the Department of Agriculture by Act Oct. 1, 1890, c. 1266, and subsequent statutes, collected under Title XII, "The Department of Agriculture," c. B.

Provisions relating to the Signal Corps of the Army, as part of the military establishment, are collected under Title XIV, "The Army," c. 1. § 323. (R. S. § 224.) Loss of certificate of discharge.

Whenever satisfactory proof is furnished to the War Department that any non-commissioned officer or private 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.

Act March 3, 1873, c. 248, § 1, 17 Stat. 582.

Further provisions for the issue of a certificate in lieu of a lost certificate,

to any officer or enlisted man honorably discharged from the military service, as well as to those who served in the War of the Rebellion, as provided by this section, were made by Act July 1, 1902, c. 1353, post, § 324.

Similar provisions for furnishing duplicates of lost or destroyed certificates of discharge to officers or men who served in the Navy or the Marine Corps in the War of 1812, the Mexican War, or the War of the Rebellion, were made by Act Feb. 7, 1890, c. 8, post, § 620.

Provisions for the issue of certificates of discharge or orders of acceptance of resignation in the true names of persons who enlisted or served under assumed names in the Army or Navy during the war of the Rebellion, or during any war between the United States and any other nation or people, were made by Act April 14, 1890, c. 80, and Act Aug. 22, 1912, c. 329, post, §§ 325, 326.

Provisions for the return to officers and enlisted men of their evidence of honorable discharge, filed to secure the settlement of their accounts, were made by R. S. § 282, post, § 452.

§ 324. (Act July 1, 1902, c. 1353.) Certificate of discharge in lieu of lost or destroyed certificate.

Whenever satisfactory proof shall be furnished to the War Department that any officer or enlisted man who has been or shall hereafter be honorably discharged from the military service of the United States 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 to such officer or enlisted man, or to the widow of such officer or enlisted man, a certificate of such discharge, to be indelibly marked, so that it may be known as a certificate in lieu of a lost or destroyed discharge: Provided, That 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. (32 Stat. 629.) This act was entitled "An act to authorize the Secretary of War to furnish certificates in lieu of lost or destroyed discharges."

§325. (Act April 14, 1890, c. 80, as amended, Act June 25, 1910, C. 393.) Certificates of discharge and orders of acceptance of resignation in true names of persons who enlisted or served under assumed names in Army or Navy during war of the Rebellion, war with Spain, or Philippine insurrection.

The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy be, and they are hereby, authorized and required to issue certificates of discharge or orders of acceptance of resignation, upon application and Proof of identity, in the true name of such persons as enlisted or served under assumed names, while minors or otherwise, in the army and navy during the war of the rebellion, the war with Spain, or the Philippine insurrection, and were honorably discharged therefrom. Applications for said certificates of discharge or amended orders of acceptance of resignation may be made by, or on behalf of, persons. entitled to them; but no such certificate or order shall be issued where a name was assumed to cover a crime or to avoid its consequence. (26 Stat. 55. 36 Stat. 824.)

This act, as originally enacted, was entitled "An act for the relief of soldiers and sailors who enlisted or served under assumed names, while minors or otherwise, in the Army or Navy during the war of the Rebellion," and its

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