229. The officer receiving such a book or any of its unused checks should receipt for it to the official issuing it, and when he ceases to act in the capacity of disbursing officer, he should turn the book over to his successor if it contains unused checks, retain the stubs with his official records, take a receipt in duplicate for the unused checks transferred, describing them by serial numbers, and transmit one receipt to the official by whom the book was issued; or, if there be no successor, remove the stubs and return the book to the office from which issued with a letter giving the numbers of the unused checks, first counting them to see that none are missing.

230. In making payments by check only official checks will be used. 231. Mutilated or spoiled official checks upon the United States Treasurer or assistant treasurers will be forwarded promptly to the office to which they pertain, but mutilated or spoiled checks upon a national-bank depository will be forwarded promptly, for preservation and future reference, to the chief of bureau by whom issued, who will acknowledge the receipt of such checks. In either case a record of the dates of both cancellation and transmission will be entered on the stub.

232. Should any officer make an erasure or alteration of any of his checks, however slight, he will certify to the correctness of such erasure or alteration on the upper margin of such check.

233. Any disbursing officer drawing checks on moneys deposited to his official credit must state on the face or back of each check the object or purpose to which the avails are to be applied. If the object or purpose for which any check of a disbursing officer is drawn is not stated thereon, as required, or if any reason exists for suspecting fraud, the office or bank on which such check is drawn will refuse its payment.

234. Any check drawn by a disbursing officer payable to himself or "order," "to make payment of amounts not exceeding twenty dollars each," must bear indorsed thereon the names of the persons to whom the amount drawn is to be paid, or be accompanied by a list, or schedule, made a part of the check, containing the same information.

235. The object, or purpose, to which the avails are to be applied in case of any check drawn by a disbursing officer for an amount to be retained in his possession by authority of the Secretary of War, must be clearly indicated by a statement on the check that it is to obtain cash to hold in personal possession and date of authority given so to hold funds.

236. Disbursing officers shall identify their official checks with the vouchers upon which they are issued in payment by noting on each check the number of the voucher and the object of the expenditure.

237. A single check may be drawn in payment of more than one .voucher payable from different appropriations.

238. The appropriation and the amount of each voucher should appear on the check stub, but not on the check.

239. The name and official designation of the officer drawing a check should be written or stamped on the stub.

240. Every disbursing officer, when opening his first account, before issuing any checks, will furnish the depositary or assistant treasurer on whom checks are drawn with his official signature duly verified by some officer whose signature is known to the depositary or assistant treasurer.

ACCOUNTS CURRENT.

241. Accounts current will be made in duplicate; one copy will be retained by the officer, and the other, accompanied by the necessary cash account, abstract of expenditures and vouchers, will be forwarded direct, by indorsement, to the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, for administrative examination and reference to the Auditor for the War Department (in the manner prescribed by Treasury Circular No. 51, dated June 22, 1906), within ten days from the end of the month to which they relate. The officer will then be notified by the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, by letter, of the result of such administrative examination and will address any correspondence resulting therefrom direct to the Auditor for the War Department, to whom the accounts will then have been forwarded for settlement, accompanied by a copy of the letter above referred to.

242. Disbursing officers are required to render their accounts monthly, and such accounts shall include all Signal Corps moneys in their possession on account of the United States. These accounts shall be rendered in one consolidated account current irrespective of the number of appropriations. fiscal vears. or other headings of account involved.

243. All transactions coming within the time covered by such account shall be reported therein. No payments or collections not actually made and in the hands of the officer during the period of an account shall be included therein.

244. The balance acknowledged by officers and their analysis thereof must actually represent the state of their business at the close of the last day for which the account is rendered. They must so order their business that they may, when called upon so to do, close their accounts and analyze their acknowledged balances without delay.

245. When officers meet a disallowance in the settlement of their accounts they should, if they so desire, use all due diligence in filing an appeal with the Comptroller of the Treasury, as provided by law.

Unless it be their intention to file such an appeal, or to secure other and appropriate relief, they should promptly concede the disallow- . ance and credit the United States in their account current. Simultaneously with the concession of disallowances small in amount they should deposit the amount thereof with their actual cash and thereafter at convenient and proper times or, in case of conceded disallowances of greater amount, immediately deposit the same to their official credit, subject thereafter to their legitimate payments. Except upon special instruction from competent authority, amounts of conceded disallowances will not be deposited to personal credit to be covered back into the Treasury.

246. Officers will use diligence in insuring prompt replies to and explanation of any suspensions which may be made in the settlement of their accounts by the Auditor for the War Department.

247. It is believed that in most cases the disbursing officer will be able to obtain from his depositary, within the period of ten days above referred to, the necessary information to verify his balance and complete the analysis at the foot of the account current. The account current must nevertheless be forwarded at the proper time, as required by law; and if the information from the depositary is not at hand, that fact should be set forth and the net balance only given in the analysis.

248. Every disbursing officer will, upon receipt of the statement of his disbursing account for the month of June of each year, from the office or bank in which his funds are kept, immediately make a return to the Secretary of the Treasury of all checks drawn by him which have been outstanding and unpaid for three full fiscal years on the 30th of June of that year, stating the number of each check, its date, amount, in whose favor, on what office or bank, and for what purpose drawn; the number of the voucher in payment of which it was drawn, and, if known, the residence of the payee, and inclose in said return all checks described therein which may be in his possession.

Credit entries for funds received in correction of overpayments should show by whom and to whom the overpayments were made and on what vouchers.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS.

249. Whenever feasible, administrative officers will require disbursing officers under them, at the close of business on the last day of periods for which they are required to render accounts, to count and schedule, in the presence of a duly authorized and disinterested witness or witnesses, all items of cash, i. e., currency, memorandum payments, and other items, to appear in their analysis of balances for which vouchers are not to be submitted to the auditors of the Treasury Department with the current account.

Such duly authorized witnesses should verify the counts and schedules provided for by the preceding paragraph and certify to such fact on the account current.

CASH BOOKS.

250. Every disbursing officer shall keep a cash book showing the amount disbursed under each appropriation and total. Such cash book should be balanced monthly and the totals agree with the account current.

The cash book forms part of the station records and shall not be removed from the station, except on its discontinuance. The disbursing officer will see that it is carefully preserved as part of such records; that the entries therein are properly made; and that the book is transferred to his successor.

CASH ACCOUNT.

251. Every disbursing officer will forward with his monthly account current a cash account on Form 10, exhibiting fully all items of cash belonging to the United States in his personal possession during the month. Cash, within the meaning of this requirement, will' be understood to include not only specie and legal tender Treasury notes, but also national bank notes and commercial drafts or checks coming into the disbursing officer's hands in any way.

252. He will debit therein the amount of cash on hand from the preceding month, and separately each item of cash received during the month, indicating fully its date, amount and source, as e. g., proceeds of check drawn to procure cash, designating its number and depositary; cash collected from sales of property; cash refunded by himself or another to correct an erroneous payment, designating the voucher whereon the error was made, etc.

253. He will credit therein severally each cash deposit made by him during the month, designating the depositary, and indicating whether the deposit was to his official credit or to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States. If the latter, he will give also the number of the certificate of deposit. He will credit in a single lump sum the entire amount of cash disbursements made during the month, as shown by receipts filed with the vouchers to his account current. He will credit at the end of the month the amount of cash remaining in his personal possession, which should in every case be verified by actual count, and agree with the cash as shown by the analysis of balance in his account current.

254. If the officer had no cash of the United States in his possession during the month, he should nevertheless sign and forward the cash account with his account current, indicating its negative character by appropriate entry on its face.

(a) The cash account is merely subsidiary to the account current and in no way takes the place of the latter or of any of the entries which should properly appear therein.

(b) Thus a cash deposit to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States must not only be credited in the cash account as pertinent to the record of the officer's cash transactions, but must also be debited in his account current, in order to show and claim a proper reduction in his accountable balance as distinguished from his cash balance. On the other hand, cash deposits to his official credit, as shown by credit entries on his cash account, do not affect his accountable balance, and should not be noted in his account current.

(c) Again, cash debited in the cash account from collections or refundments to correct disbursing errors must be credited in the account current, since it augments the officer's accountable balance; but cash debited from checks drawn on his depositary to procure the same does not affect his accountable balance, and no entry thereof should be made in the account current.

(d) Cash disbursements on vouchers which are credited in a lump sum in the cash account are included in the total disbursements debited in the account current and should not be again separately debited in the latter.

PROCEEDS OF SALES.

256. The proceeds of the sale of condemned stores should be inventoried on Form 214, account of sales rendered on Form 215, and accounted for on the account current, Form 11.

257. The proceeds of the sale of condemned stores or other public property of any kind should be deposited to the credit of the United States as "Miscellaneous receipts on account of proceeds of Government property."

258. The act of June 8, 1896, authorizing the payment of expenses "as approved by the accounting officers of the Treasury" incurred in the sale of old material, etc., from the gross proceeds thereof, and the payment into the Treasury of the net proceeds only, does not require that such expenses shall be so approved before payment, but simply that an itemized account thereof shall be rendered to the accounting officers for settlement as any other item of expenditure of Government funds. (Davis, Par. 616, of 1901.)

259. When necessary to employ a civilian auctioneer for the sale of public property, the officer, when practicable, will determine before employment the amount he shall be paid for the service. This should be reasonable. In case of fees, the percentage should be that usually obtained in that locality, and under this form of payment the auctioneer should bear all the expenses of advertisement.

260. For ordinary sales the services of a clerk or employee should be utilized as auctioneer without expense to the Government.