shall have the time of such other service included in the computation for his retirement: Provided, That such employee shall contribute to the retirement fund upon reentering such employment within the purview of this act an amount, including interest, equivalent to that which would have been paid if such employee had continued in such employment. Sec. 14, act of July 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 912); U. S. C. 5:704a. 693. Same; duties of the Civil Service Commission.-The Civil Service Commission shall keep a record of appointments, transfers, changes in grade, separations from the service, reinstatements, loss of pay, and such other information concerning individual service as may be deemed essential to a proper determination of rights under this Act; and shall furnish the Commissioner of Pensions such reports therefrom as he shall from time to time request as necessary to the proper adjustment of any claim for annuity hereunder; and shall prepare and keep all needful tables and records required for carrying out the provisions of this Act, including data showing the mortality experience of the employees in the service and the percentage of withdrawals from such service, and any other information that may serve as a guide for future valuations and adjustments of the plan for the retirement of employees under this Act. Sec. 15, act of July 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 912) ; U. S. C. 5: 705a. 694. Same; Board of Actuaries.-The Commissioner of Pensions, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, is hereby authorized and directed to select three actuaries, one of whom shall be the Government actuary, to be known as the Board of Actuaries, whose duty it shall be to annually report upon the actual operations of this Act, with authority to recommend to the Commissioner of Pensions such changes as in their judgment may be deemed necessary to protect the public interest and maintain the system upon a sound financial basis, and they shall make a valuation of the civil-service retirement and disability fund" at intervals of five years, or oftener if deemed necessary by the Commissioner of Pensions; they shall also prepare such tables as may be required by the Commissioner of Pensions for the purpose of computing annuities under this Act. The compensation of the members of the Board of Actuaries, exclusive of the Government actuary, shall be fixed by the Commissioner of Pensions with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 16, act of July 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 912); U. S. C. 5: 706a. 695. Same; administration.-For the purpose of administration, except as otherwise provided herein, the Commissioner of Pensions, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, be, and is hereby, authorized and directed to perform, or cause to be performed, any and all Acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this Act into full force and effect. An appeal to the Secretary of the Interior shall lie from the final action or order of the Commissioner of Pensions affecting the rights or interests of any person or of the United States under this act, the procedure on appeal to be as prescribed by the Commissioner of Pensions, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. The Commissioner of Pensions shall make a detailed comparative report annually showing all receipts and disbursements on account of annuities, refunds, and allowances, together with the total number of persons receiving annuities and the total amounts paid them, and he shall transmit to Congress, through the Secretary of the Interior, the reports and recommendations of the Board of Actuaries. The Secretary of the Interior shall submit annually to the Bureau of the Budget estimates of the appropriations necessary to finance the retirement and disability fund and to continue this Act in full force and effect, Sec. 17, act of July 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 913); U. S. C. 5: 707a. 696. Same; assignment and execution of funds.-None of the moneys mentioned in this Act shall be assignable, either in law or equity, or be subject to execution, levy, or attachment, garnishment, or other legal process. Sec. 18, act of July 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 913); U. S. C. 5: 708a. 697. Rewards for suggestions of improved process or economy.-That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to offer periodically at such of the establishments of the Ordnance Department as he may select a cash reward for the suggestion, or series of suggestions, for an improvement or economy in manufacturing processes or plant, submitted within the period by one or more employees of the establishment which shall be deemed the most valuable of those submitted and adopted for use: Provided, That to obtain this reward the winning suggestion must be one that will clearly effect a material economy in production or increase efficiency or enhance the quality of the product in comparison with its cost and in the opinion of the Secretary shall be so worthy as to entitle the employee making the same to receive the reward: Provided further, That the sums awarded to employees in accordance with this Act shall be paid them in addition to their usual compensation and shall constitute part of the general or shop expense of the establishment: Provided further, That the total amount paid under the provisions of this Act shall not exceed one thousand dollars for any one month: And provided further, That no employee shall be paid a reward under this Act until he has properly executed an agreement to the effect that the use by the United States of the suggestion, or series of suggestions, made by him shall not form the basis of a further claim of any nature upon the United States by him, his heirs, or assigns, and that application for patent has not been made for the invention. Act of July 17, 1912 (37 Stat. 193); U. S. C. 50: 58. 698. Transfers.-That, subject to such rules and regulations as the President may from time to time prescribe, and regardless of the department or independent establishment in which the position is located, an employee may be transferred from a position in one grade to a vacant position within the same grade at the same rate of compensation, or promoted to a vacant position in a higher grade at a higher rate of compensation, in accordance with civil service rules, any provision of existing statutes to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed to authorize or permit the transfer of an employee of the United States to a position under the municipal government of the District of Columbia, or an employee of the municipal government of the District of Columbia to a position under the United States. Sec. 10, act Mar. 4, 1923 (42 Stat. 1491); U. S. C. 5: 670. The transfer of clerks or other employees in the classified service from one department to another was restricted by sec. 5, act of June 22, 1906 (34 Stat. 449), repealed by this section. A prohibition of the detail of clerks or other employees from the executive departments, etc., to the Civil Service Commission, for the performance of duty in the District of Columbia, accompanies the appropriations for the commission in recent appropria tion acts for independent establishments limited, in each such act, to the particular fiscal year. See 619, ante. * * 699. Voluntary service.Nor shall any department or any officer of the Government accept voluntary service for the Government or employ personal service in excess of that authorized by law, except in cases of sudden emergency involving the loss of human life or the destruction of property. R. S. 3679, as amended by sec. 3, act of Feb. 27, 1906 (34 Stat. 49); U. S. C. 31: 665. A similar provision is found in the urgent deficiency appropriation act of May 1, 1884 (23 Stat. 17). Notes of Decisions Purpose. The language here used (referring to the similar provision of the act of May 1, 1884) indicates that the Government shall not, except in the emergencies mentioned, place itself under obligations to anyone. The principle condemned is the same, whether the party rendering the service does so without any eLarge or because paid by other parties. The Government is forbidden to accept the service in either case. U. S. v. San Jacinto Tin Co. (1888), 125 U. S. 273, 305. Retired officer.-A retired Army officer, even though receiving upwards of $2,500 per annum, may be employed as superintendent of an Indian school or agency, where no additional compensation is allowed, without contravening the provisions of this act. (1913) 30 Op. Atty. Gen. 51. The words "voluntary service," as employed in the above act, were not intended to cover services rendered in an official capacity under regular appointment to an office otherwise permitted by law to be nonsalaried. Id. 700. Witnesses before committees of Congress.-Every person who having been summoned as a witness by the authority of either House of Congress to give testimony or to produce papers upon any matter under inquiry before either House, or any committee of either House of Congress, willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars nor less than one hundred dollars, and imprisoned in a common jail for not less than one month nor more than twelve months. R. S. 102; U. S. C. 2: 192. No witness is privileged to refuse to testify to any fact, or to produce any paper, respecting which he shall be examined by either House of Congress, or by any committee of either House, upon the ground that his testimony to such fact or his production of such paper may tend to disgrace him or otherwise render him infamous. R. S. 103; U. S. C. 2: 193. Whenever a witness summoned as mentioned in section one hundred and two fails to testify, and the facts are reported to either House, the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House, as the case may be, shall certify the fact under the seal of the Senate or House to the district attorney for the District of Columbia, whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for their action. R. S. 104; U. S. C. 2: 194. CHAPTER 10 CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES General provisions : Assignments and powers of attorney, 701. Consideration and finality of settlement, 702. Equitable claims to be reported to Congress, 703. Time limit on presentation, 704. Procuring attendance of witnesses, 705. Prosecution by members of the National Set-off, 708. Private property in general; loss or dam age: By operations of the Army, 709. By operations of the Army in Europe, 710. By operation of aircraft, 711. Private property in general, etc.—Con. While in the military service of the Private property of Army personnel; loss Horses and equipment, 716. Private property of civilian employees lost Pay and allowances: National Guard, 720. 701. Assignments and powers of attorney.-All transfers and assignments made of any claim upon the United States, or of any part or share thereof, or interest therein, whether absolute or conditional, and whatever may be the consideration therefor, and all powers of attorney, orders, or other authorities for receiving payment of any such claim, or of any part or share thereof, shall be absolutely null and void, unless they are freely made and executed in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, after the allowance of such a claim, the ascertainment of the amount due, and the issuing of a warrant for the payment thereof. Such transfers, assignments, and powers of attorney must recite the warrant for payment, and must be acknowledged by the person making them, before an officer having authority to take acknowledgments of deeds, and shall be certified by the officer; and it must appear by the certificate that the officer, at the time of the acknowledgment, read and fully explained the transfer, assignment, or warrant of attorney to the person acknowledging the same. R. S. 3477; U. S. C. 31: 203. Notes of Decisions Nature and purpose of act.-The sole object of the statute is to protect the Government, not the claimant, and the statute would utterly fail in its sole obJect if powers of attorney and assignments were irrevocable and enforceable by the courts. Miliken v. Barrow (C. C. 1895), 65 Fed. 888, 892; affirmed (1896), 74 Fed. 612. See also Buffalo Bayou R. R. v. U. S. (1880), 16 Ct. Cl. 238. This section was intended solely for the protection of the Government and its officers during the adjustment of claims, and, after allowance, the protection may be invoked or waived, as such officers in their judgment deem proper. McGowan v. Parish (1915), 237 U. S. 285, 294; Lay v. Lay (1918), 248 U. S. 24. Construction and validity of act.-The provision in that section making void "all powers of attorney, orders, or other authorities for receiving payment" of any claim upon the United States, or any part or share thereof, is not limited to powers |