and, if so, the nearest place where it can be obtained; also whether the wound or disease incapacitates the officer from all duty, or whether he can perform special duty, and, if so, the kind that he may undertake without endangering his ultimate cure.

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58. Leaves of absence will be granted in terms of months and days, as one month," one month and ten days." A leave of absence commences on the day following that on which the officer departs from his proper station. The day of departure, whatever the hour, is counted as a day of duty; the day of return as a day of absence.

Leave for one month, commencing on the first day of a calendar month, will expire with the last day of the month, whatever its number of days. Commencing on an intermediate day, the leave will expire the day preceding the same day of the next month.

The expiration of his leave, whether granted on account of sickness or not, must find an officer at his station, except as indicated in paragraphs 60 and 1313.

59. A leave of absence granted an officer in the field or on special duty will take effect on the termination of the campaign or on the completion of such duty, unless his services can sooner be spared. In all other cases an officer is expected to avail himself of a leave as soon as proper facilities offer, unless a specific date is stated in the order, and if unable to do so he will report the fact to the authority granting the leave.

60. Leaves of absence which may be granted to officers of the Army serving in Alaska, or without the limits of the United States, for the purpose of returning thereto, shall be regarded as taking effect on the dates upon which such officers reach the United States, and as terminating on the dates of their respective departure from the United States in returning to their commands. The officers will be regarded as being on detached service while en route to and from the United States, but only for the time necessary to perform the journey in the most direct way customary.

61. Officers will not leave the United States to go beyond the sea without permission from the War Department.

62. An officer of the Army visiting foreign countries, whether on duty or leave, will avail himself of all proper opportunities to obtain military information, especially such as pertains to his branch of the service. He will report the results of his observations to The Adjutant-General on his return to duty, or sooner if practicable.

63. The Department of State issues special passports for the use of officers of the Army traveling abroad, either on duty or leave of absence, but only on the request of the War Department, and never on the direct request of the officers themselves. Applications of officers for special passports will be addressed to The Adjutant-General of the Army, will set forth the use to be made of them, and must, in all cases, be accompanied by the fee of $1, which is required by law to be collected for every citizen's passport issued.

64. An officer granted leave of absence for more than ten days will, upon taking advantage thereof, report to his post and regimental or corps commander and to The Adjutant-General of the Army the date of his departure and his new address, and thereafter he will immediately report any change in his address and the date of return to duty to the same officers. Verbal permits for less than twenty-four hours are not counted as leaves of absence, but every other absence, of whatever duration, with date of departure and return, will be noted on the rolls and returns.

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65. Permission to hunt will not be considered as a leave of absence if the officer on his return to the station forwards to department headquarters, through his commanding officer, a certificate that his time while absent was employed solely in hunting, and furnishes a report giving as complete a description as possible of the country traversed by him.

66. Permission to hunt may be granted by division, department, or post commanders for periods not exceeding ten days.

67. All applications for extensions of leaves of absence or for delays, and all correspondence regarding them, will pass through military channels.

ARTICLE X.

OFFICERS TRAVELING ON DUTY.

68. When an officer is ordered without troops from one post of duty to another, he will proceed by the shortest usually traveled route, without unnecessary delay. Upon his arrival at his new post, he will immediately report to the commanding officer the date of his departure from his former station, and submit a copy of his order, noting thereon the date he received it. If he shall appear to have made unnecessary delay en route, he will be required to explain the cause thereof in writing. If the post commander deem the explanation unsatisfactory, he will forward the same, with a statement of the facts in the case, to the department commander. If the officer be superior in rank to the post commander, the required report will be made by the officer himself to the department commander.

69. Orders detaching an officer for a specific duty will direct him to return to his proper station on the completion of the duty assigned him when it is intended that he shall do so.

70. Delays in obeying orders, in reporting for duty, or in returning to duty from leave can not be authorized except by the War Department. Such delays will be regarded as leaves of absence, unless it be stated in the order granting them that they are in the interest of the public service.

71. Orders contemplating the payment of mileage must state the specific duty enjoined, and that the travel directed is necessary in the military service. They will not direct travel beyond the limits of the command of the officer who issues them, except that the commander of the Philippines Division may order officers of his command to return to the United States in cases of emergency, in which the travel directed is manifestly for the public interest or is necessary to save life. When a general officer is ordered on duty beyond the limits of his command, he may order an officer of his staff to accompany him; if ordered to change station, he may order the necessary change of station of his personal staff.

72. Staff officers not serving under division or department commanders will apply to the War Department for orders directing necessary travel on public business.

73. When urgent public duty has compelled travel, without authority previously obtained, the case will be immediately reported to the proper superior officer, whose approval in subsequent orders will be accepted as though previously issued.

74. Orders directing officers to visit Washington for the settlement of their accounts will be issued only by the War Department.

75. Officers and enlisted men reporting as witnesses before a civil court should receive from the civil authorities the necessary expenses incurred in travel and attendance; neither mileage nor travel allowances will be paid in

such cases by the War Department. If, however, it is absolutely necessary to furnish them transportation in kind to enable them to appear, as witnesses for the Government, before a civil court of the United States, an account of such expenditure, together with the evidence that they were properly subpoenaed and did attend the court, will be forwarded to the War Department for presentation to the Department of Justice. Officers providing such transportation will notify the court, or the marshal thereof, that it was furnished to enable the witnesses to perform the requisite journeys in obedience to the summons.

ARTICLE XI.

RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS.

76. When an officer becomes disabled for the performance of duty by reason of wounds, sickness, or improper habits, his immediate commander will report the facts to the department commander for the action of the War Department. The report in each case will contain specific statements and the names of witnesses by whom they can be substantiated.

77. Habitual intemperance, gambling, or other vices that tend to corrupt an officer and lower the professional standard will be regarded as proper subjects for the consideration and report of a retiring board.

78. When ample testimony establishes the fact that an officer has through vicious indulgence slighted or neglected his duties to such a degree as to make it unsafe to intrust him with a command, or with responsibility that properly belongs to his grade, and when it is shown that such habits have continued for such length of time as to render permanent reformation improbable, this fact, rather than his condition when he appears before the board, shall weigh in its finding as to his incapacity for active duty.

ARTICLE XII.

RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS.

79. A resignation tendered by an officer will be forwarded by his commanding officer, through prescribed channels, to the War Department for the decision of the President. Until duly accepted, the officer will not be considered as out of the service.

80. A resignation tendered under charges will be forwarded, accompanied by a report of the case, and, if practicable, by a copy of the charges. All correspondence with the War Department, on the part of the officer who tenders the resignation, will be conducted through prescribed channels.

81. Leave of absence will not be granted on tender of resignation unless the resignation be unconditional and immediate. When leave is requested, the officer's address will accompany the resignation.

82. An officer of the Army on the active list who accepts or exercises the functions of a civil office contrary to law thereby ceases to be an officer of the Army. An officer on the active list can not lawfully accept or hold any office created by State or municipal authority, whether in State military organizations or otherwise.

ARTICLE XIII.

DECEASED OFFICERS.

83. The death of an officer, with place, cause, day, and hour, will be reported without delay, by telegraph, by his immediate commander directly to The Adjutant-General of the Army, and also to the department commander. In case

of the death of a retired officer, or of an officer on the active list who has no immediate commander, the medical officer, if one be present, or any officer having cognizance of the fact, will make the report to The Adjutant-General of the Army.

84. Inventories in duplicate of the effects of deceased officers, as required by the one hundred and twenty-fifth article of war, will be transmitted to The Adjutant-General of the Army. If legal representatives take possession of the effects, the fact will be stated in the inventory.

85. If there be no legal representatives present to receive the effects, a list of them will be sent to the nearest relative of the deceased. If not claimed within a reasonable time, they will be sold at auction and accounted for as in the case of deceased soldiers. Swords, watches, personal papers, trinkets, and similar articles will be labeled with the name, rank, regiment, and date of death of the owner and sent directly to The Adjutant-General of the Army to be forwarded to the Auditor for the War Department for the benefit of those legally entitled to them. The accounts of deceased officers will be settled as provided for in paragraph 164.

86. On the death of an officer in charge of public property or funds, his commanding officer will appoint a board of officers, three when practicable, which will inventory the same and make the customary returns therefor, stating accurately amounts and condition. These the commanding officer will forward to the chiefs of the bureaus to which the property or funds pertain, and he will designate an officer to take charge of such property or funds until orders in the case are received from the proper authority. Cash on hand may be invoiced by the board to the deceased officer's successor, but balances to his credit with the Treasurer, an assistant treasurer, a designated depositary, or a fiscal agent of the United States, over and above his outstanding checks, will be deposited to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States by the chiefs of bureaus when the board has reported to the bureaus the balances over and above such checks. The action herein prescribed will also be taken in the case of an officer in charge of public funds or property who becomes insane.

(87. The remains of officers who die while on duty will be inclosed in coffins and, if the death occurred while on duty within the continental limits of the United States, will be transported to the nearest post or national cemetery for burial. The cost of such transportation is payable from the appropriation for army transportation. The remains of officers who are killed in action, or who die at military camps or in the field or hospital in Alaska or at places outside the continental limits of the United States, or while on voyage at sea, will, if desired by relatives or friends, be transported to their homes for interment. The cost of transportation in these cases is payable from funds specially appropriated for that purpose. Other expenses of burial are limited to $75, and will be restricted to the cost of the casket, hire of hearse, and the reasonable and necessary expenses of preparing the remains for burial. If buried at the place of death the fact will be reported to The Adjutant-General of the Army,

ARTICLE XIV.

VETERINARIANS, CAVALRY AND FIELD ARTILLERY.

88. Veterinarians are appointed by the Secretary of War, subject to competitive examinations as to eligibility, capacity, and fitness. The scope and conditions of such examinations will be announced in orders from time to time by the War Department.

89. A veterinarian has the pay of a second lieutenant, mounted, and is entitled to the same allowances in kind, of quarters, fuel, and lights.

90. It shall be the duty of the veterinarian to visit at least daily all sick or injured animals at his station, and to recommend such treatment as he may deem proper. He will have access to the stables at all times. Upon request he will attend such authorized private horses of mounted officers as may need his services.

91. The veterinarian will instruct company farriers in the proper care of the horse. In this he will give especial importance to the anatomy and pathology of the foot, showing the nature and uses of all its parts, illustrating the subject by dissections and specimens. He will also teach the principles and practice of horseshoeing. For the purpose indicated he will make such visits of instruction to companies of the regiment not at his station as may be deemed necessary by the regimental commander.

92. Wherever four or more troops of cavalry or three or more batteries of field artillery are stationed, a suitable building may be set apart as a veterinary hospital.

ARTICLE XV.

POST AND GENERAL NONCOMMISSIONED STAFF.

POST NONCOMMISSIONED STAFF.

93. The post noncommissioned staff consists of ordnance, post commissary, and post quartermaster sergeants. They are appointed by the Secretary of War, after due examination, as follows: Ordnance sergeants from sergeants of the line who have served at least eight years in the Army, including four years as noncommissioned officers, and who are less than 45 years of age; post commissary-sergeants from sergeants of the line who have served five years in the Army, including three years as noncommissioned officers; post quartermastersergeants from sergeants of the line who have served four years in the Army. 94. An application for appointment to the post noncommissioned staff must be in the handwriting of the applicant, and will briefly state the length and nature of his military service, and for what time and in what organizations he has served as a noncommissioned officer. The company commander will indorse thereon the character of the applicant and his opinion as to his intelligence and fitness for the position. The application so indorsed will be submitted to the regimental or artillery district commander, who will forward the same, with his remarks as to the merits of the applicant, to The Adjutant-General of the Army.

95. While the law contemplates in these appointments the better preservation of public property at the several posts, there is also a further consideration— that of offering a reward to faithful and well-tried sergeants, thus giving encouragement to deserving soldiers to hope for substantial promotion. Commanding officers can not be too particular in investigating and reporting upon the character and qualifications of applicants.

96. Regulations for the examination of applicants for appointment as post noncommissioned staff officers will be published from time to time in orders by the War Department.

97. A post noncommissioned staff officer will assist the officer of his department, and will not be detailed upon any service not pertaining to his proper position, unless the necessities of the service require such detail, in which case the post commander will note the fact, with reasons therefor, on the sergeant's personal report.