308. Balances of disbursing offibers' accounts remaining unchanged for three years. The amounts, except such as are provided for in section three hundred and six, of the accounts of every kind of disbursing officer, which shall have remained unchanged, or which shall not have been increased by any new deposit thereto, nor decreased by drafts drawn thereon, for the space of three years, shall in like manner be covered into the Treasury, to the proper appropriation to which they belong; and the amounts thereof shall, on the certificate of the Treasurer that such amount has been deposited in the Treasury, be credited by the proper accounting officer of the Department of the Treasury on the books of the Department, to the officer in whose name it had stood on the books of any agency of the Treasury, if it appears that he is entitled to such credit. R. S. 309.

309. Annual reports as to balances unchanged for three years.-The Treasurer, each assistant treasurer, and each designated depositary of the United States, and the cashier of each of the national banks designated as such depositaries, shall, at the close of business on every thirtieth day of June, report to the Secretary of the Treasury the condition of every account standing, as in the preceding section specified, on the books of their respective offices, stating the name of each depositor, with his official designation, the total amount remaining on deposit to his credit, and the dates, respectively, of the last credit and the last debit made to each account. And each disbursing officer shall make a like return of all checks issued by him, and which may then have been outstanding and unpaid for three years and more, stating fully in such report the name of the payee, for what purpose each check was given, the office on which drawn, the number of the voucher received therefor, the date, number, and amount for which it was drawn, and, when known, the residence of the payee. R. S. 310.

310. Annual reports by auditors as to outstanding checks.-That hereafter at the termination of each fiscal year each Auditor of the Treasury shall report to the Secretary of the Treasury all checks issued by any disbursing officer of the Government as shown by his accounts rendered to such auditor, which shall then have been outstanding and unpaid for three years or more, stating fully in such report the name of the payee, for what purpose each check was given, the office on which drawn, the number of the voucher received therefor, the date, the number, and the amount for which it was drawn, and, when known, the residence of the payee. And such reports shall be in lieu of the returns required of disbursing officers by section three hundred and ten of the Revised Statutes. Sec. 5, act of July 1, 1916 (39 Stat. 336), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses.

311. Duties of the Auditor for the War Department.-The Auditors charged with the examination of the accounts of the Departments of War and of the Navy shall keep all accounts of the receipts and expenditures of the public money in regard to those Departments, and of all debts due to the United States on moneys advanced relative to those Departments; shall receive from the Second Comptroller the accounts which shall have been finally adjusted, and shall preserve such accounts, with their vouchers and certificates, and record all requisitions drawn by the Secretaries of those Departments, the examination of the accounts of which has been assigned to them. They shall annually, on the first Monday in November, severally report to the Secretary of the Treasury the application of the money appropriated for the Department of War and the Department of the Navy, and they shall make such reports on the

business assigned to them as the Secretaries of those Departments may deem necessary and require. R. S. 283.

So much of this section as required these accounts to be kept by the auditors was repealed by sec. 10, act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 208), which established the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, and provided for keeping on the books of that division, all accounts of receipts and expenditures of public money except those relating to postal revenues and expenditures therefrom.

The office of Second Comptroller, mentioned in this section, was abolished, and its duties were transferred to the office of Comptroller, by sec. 4, act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 208).

Notes of Decisions.

Final adjustment of account.--When an account has been examined, passed on, and the balance certified it is " adjusted" with

in the meaning of this section. U. S. v. Pinson (1880), 102 U. S. 548, 551, 26 L. Ed. 226,

312. Examination of accounts by the Auditor for the War Department.—Accounts shall be examined by the Auditors as follows:

*

Second. The Auditor for the War Department shall receive and examine all accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Secretary of War and all bureaus and offices under his direction, all accounts relating to the military establishment, armories and arsenals, national cemeteries, fortifications, public buildings and grounds under the Chief of Engineers, rivers and harbors, the Military Academy, and to all other business within the jurisdiction of the Department of War, and certify the balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, and send forthwith a copy of each certificate to the Secretary of War. Sec. 7, act of July 31, 1894 (28

Stat. 206).

* *

The Auditor for the War Department was to audit the accounts for the Isthmian Canal Commission, by a provision of act Feb. 3, 1905, sec. 1 (33 Stat. 647). And the accounts of the Panama Canal under act Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 560), were to continue to be audited by him, by a provision of act Oct. 22, 1913.

Payment of final judgments and awards rendered against the United States by the Court of Claims, and of final judgments rendered against the United States by the cir cuit and district courts, under appropriations by Congress, is to be made on settlements by the auditor for the department or branch of the public service having jurisdiction over the subject matter out of which the claims arose, by a provision of act Feb. 18, 1904 (33 Stat. 41).

The accounts of individual paymasters in the Army were required to be analyzed under the several heads of the appropriation, and recorded in detail by the Paymaster-General, before they were forwarded to the Treasury Department for final audit, by a provision of act Mar. 2, 1905, post, 1594.

The settlement of accounts of deceased officers and enlisted men of the Army, and allowance of the amount found due, without administration, to the decedent's widow or heirs, were authorized by a provision of act June 30, 1906, sec. 1, post, 1833. See also A. W. 12, chap. 52, post.

The mode of stating balances to be certified for arrears of pay or for bounty to volunteers, and for commutation of rations to prisoners of war and to soldiers on furlough, was prescribed by a provision of act Mar. 4, 1907.

313. Access by the Auditor for the War Department to records.-All books, papers, and other matters relating to the office or accounts of disbursing officers of the Executive Departments, and commissions, boards, and establishments of the Government in the District of Columbia shall at all times be subject to inspection and examination by the Comptroller of the Treasury and the Auditor of the Treasury authorized to settle such accounts, or by the duly authorized agents of either of said officials. Act of Feb. 19, 1897 (29 Stat. 550), making appropriations for legislative, executive and judicial expenses.

314. Access to financial records in the District of Columbia.-All books, papers, and other matters relating to the accounts of officers of the Government in the District of Columbia shall at all times be subject to inspection and examination by the Comptroller of the Treasury and the Auditor of the Treasury authorized to settle such accounts, or by the duly authorized agents of either of said officials. Sec. 5, act of Mar. 15, 1898 (30 Stat. 316), making appropriations for legislative, executive and judicial expenses.

315. Balancing accounts.-The balances which may from time to time be certified by the Auditors to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, or to the Postmaster-General, upon the settlements of public accounts, shall be final and conclusive upon the Executive Branch of the Government, except that any person whose accounts may have been settled, the head of an Executive Department, or of the board, commission, or establishment not under the jurisdiction of an Executive Department, to which the account pertains, or the Comptroller of the Treasury, may, within a year, obtain a revision of the said account by the Comptroller of the Treasury, whose decision upon such revision shall be final and conclusive upon the Executive Branch of the Government: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury may, when in his judgment the interests of the Government require it, suspend payment and direct the reexamination of any account. Sec. 8, act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 207).

Notes of Decisions.

Conclusiveness of decisions of Comptroller on revision of accounts. The provision of this section that the finding of the comptroller on claims against the United States shall be final and conclusive as to the executive branch of the Government, does not render such finding conclusive on the courts, but leaves the merits open for judicial determination. U. S. v. Gillmore (C. C. 1911), 189 Fed. 761.

A settlement having been made in 1996, it was too late to reopen it for a revision by the Comptroller of the Treasury upon application made several years thereafter. Hinkley & Powers v. U. S. (1913), 49 Ct. CI. 148.

Claims to which applicable.-Where the claim of an Army officer for the loss of private property in the service, filed under act Mar. 3, 1885, was audited, allowed, and paid in the usual manner, the Government can not reclaim the money without showing that it was obtained by fraud or paid under a mistake of fact. This act does not authorize the comptroller to take up a claim and revise it of his own mo tion, ex parte, after it has been paid in the regular course of business, and thereby create a legal demand against the claimant for repayment of the money received, but applies only to claims which are unpaid, and therefore still pending. U. S. v. Olmsted (1902), 118 Fed. 433, 55 C. C. A. 249. Decisions of comptroller on questions in

volving payments to be made. This section makes it obligatory upon the Comptroller of the Treasury to render a deci sion upon any question involving a payment to be made by or under the head of any executive department, and contemplates the construction by him of statutes. (1895) 21 Op. Atty. Gen. 178, 181..

The Comptroller of the Treasury is charged with the duty of rendering decisions upon questions involving payments to be made by or under the head of an executive department, and his decision is final as to all executive officers. (1899), 22 Op. Atty. Gen. 581; (1901), 23 Op. Atty. Gen. 468.

The decision of the comptroller as to whether a retired Army officer advanced in rank and pay under the act of Apr. 23, 1904. may be paid at the advanced rate before the Senate has consented to the advancement, is conclusive. (1904), 25 Op. Atty. Gen. 185.

The authority conferred upon the Comptroller of the Treasury by this section to decide questions involving payments to be made from the Treasury is complete; but that act does not establish a rule which is universal and without exception. Congress did not, by that enactment, intend to shorten the reach of R. S. secs. 354, 356, post, 385, 386, or to repeal pro tanto those sections. (1904), 25 Op. Atty. Gen. 301.

316. Preservation of accounts.- ** * The Auditors shall, under the direction of the Comptroller of the Treasury, preserve, with their vouchers and

certificates, all accounts which have been finally adjusted. of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 207).

Sec. 8, act

* All decisions by Audi

317. Construction of statutes by auditors.-tors making an original construction or modifying an existing construction of statutes shall be forthwith reported to the Comptroller of the Treasury, and items in any account affected by such decisions shall be suspended and payment thereof withheld until the Comptroller of the Treasury shall approve, disapprove, or modify such decisions and certify his actions to the Auditor. All decisions made by the Comptroller of the Treasury under this act shall be forthwith transmitted to the Auditor or Auditors whose duties are affected thereby. Sec. 8, act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 207).

318. Vacant.

319. Audit made away from the seat of Government during the World War.— That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized during the war, whenever it shall appear that the public interests require that any of the accounts of the Military Establishment be audited at any place other than the seat of Government, to direct the Comptroller of the Treasury and the Auditor for the War Department to exercise, either in person or through assistants, the powers and perform the duties of their offices at any place or places away from the seat of Government in the manner that is or may be required by law at the seat of Government and in accordance with the provisions of this section. Sec. 12, act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 293).

*

That the authority granted under this section shall terminate six months after the close of the war or at such earlier date as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, and it shall be the duty of the comptroller and auditor to make such reports as the Secretary of the Treasury may require of the expenditures made and work done pursuant to this section, and such reports shall be transmitted to the Congress at such time as he may decide to be compatible with the public interest. Sec. 12 (k), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 295).

That for the purposes of this Act the date of the termination of the war between the United States and the Imperial German Government shall be fixed by proclamation of the President of the United States. Sec. 13, act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 295).

320. Audit performed abroad in like manner as at the seat of Government.That when the Secretary of the Treasury shall exercise the authority herein referred to, the powers and duties of the said comptroller and auditor, under and pursuant to the provisions of the Act of July thirty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and all other laws conferring jurisdiction upon those officers, shall be exercised and performed in the same manner as nearly as practicable and with the same effect away from the seat of Government as they are now exercised and performed and have effect at the seat of Government, and decisions authorized by law to be rendered by the comptroller at the request of disbursing officers may be rendered with the same effect by such assistants as may be authorized by him to perform that duty. Sec. 12 (a), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 293).

321. Balances of accounts audited abroad.--That when pursuant to this section the said comptroller and auditor shall perform their duties at a place in a foreign country, the balances arising upon the settlement of accounts and claims of the Military Establishment shall be certified by the auditor to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants of the Treasury Department as now provided for the certification of balances by said auditor in Washington, and the balances so found due shall be final and conclusive upon all branches of the Government,

except that any person whose account has been settled or the commanding officer of the Army abroad, or the comptroller may obtain a revision of such settlement by the comptroller upon application therefor within three months, the decision to be likewise final and conclusive and the differences arising upon such revision to be certified to and stated by the auditor as now provided by law: * * Sec. 12 (b), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 293). 322. Payment of certificates of balances abroad.Provided, That certificates of balances due may be transmitted to and paid by the proper disbursing officer abroad instead of by warrant: Sec. 12 (b), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 293).

* *

Pro

323. Reopening and review of a settlement made abroad.vided further, That any person whose account has been settled, or the Secretary of War, may obtain a reopening and review of any settlement made pursuant to this section upon application to the Comptroller of the Treasury in Washington within one year after the close of the war, and the action of the comptroller thereon shall be final and conclusive in the same manner as herein provided in the case of a balance found due by the auditor. Sec. 12 (b), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 293).

324. Preservation of accounts, etc., prepared abroad.—That the comptroller and auditor shall preserve the accounts, and the vouchers and papers connected therewith, and the files of their offices in the foreign country and transmit them to Washington within six months after the close of the war and at such earlier time as may be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury as to any or all accounts, vouchers, papers, and files. Se? (c), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 293).

325. Examination of accounts abroad.-That it shall be the duty of all contracting, purchasing, and disbursing officers to allow any representative of the comptroller or auditor to examine all books, records, and papers in any way connected with the receipt, disbursement, or disposal of public money, and to render such accounts and at such times as may be required by the comptroller. No administrative examination by the War Department shall be required of accounts rendered and settled abroad, and the time within which these accounts shall be rendered by disbursing officers shall be prescribed by the comptroller, who shall have power to waive any delinquency as to time or form in the rendition of these accounts. * * Sec. 12 (e), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat.

294).

326. Filing contracts settled abroad.* All contracts connected with accounts to be settled by the auditor abroad shall be filed in his office there. Sec. 12 (e), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 294.)

327. Assistant comptroller and assistant auditor to serve abroad. That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to appoint an assistant comptroller and an assistant auditor and to fix their compensation, and to designate from among the persons to be employed hereunder one or more to act in the absence or disability of such assistant comptroller and assistant auditor. *** The assistant comptroller and assistant auditor shall have full power to perform in a foreign country all the duties with reference to the settlement there of the accounts of the Military Establishment that the comptroller and auditor now have at the seat of Government and in foreign countries under the provisions of this section, and shall perform such duties in accordance with the instructions received from and rules and regulations made by the comptroller and auditor.

Sec. 12 (d), act of Sept. 24, 1917 (40 Stat. 294).