PORTO RICO-VALIDITY OF BOND ISSUE The proposed issue of bonds for the Government of Porto Rico in the sum of $500,000, the proceeds from the sale of which are to be used in paying the obligations contracted by the Workmen's Relief Commission, etc., being authorized by Congress and by Joint Resolution No. 60 of the Legislature of Porto Rico of May 5, 1930, and all the statutory requirements concerning the issuance of these bonds having been complied with, said bonds will, when issued in the amount and form proposed and sold by the Secretary of War with the concurrent approval of the Governor and the Treasurer of Porto Rico, constitute valid and binding obligations of the People of Porto Rico. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, November 10, 1930. SIR: I have the honor to comply with your request of October 16, 1930, for my opinion concerning the validity of a proposed issue of bonds, for the Government of Porto Rico, of the face value of $500,000, in the form and denomination and for the purposes hereinafter indicated. Section 3 of the Act of Congress approved March 2, 1917, entitled "An Act to provide a civil Government for Porto Rico and for other purposes," as amended by the Act of March 4, 1927 (c. 145, 39 Stat. 951, 953; c. 503, 44 Stat. 1418; U. S. C. Title 48, sec. 741, 745), provides: ** and when necessary to anticipate taxes and revenues, bonds and other obligations may be issued by Porto Rico or any municipal government therein as may be provided by law, and to protect the public credit: Provided, however, That no public indebtedness of Porto Rico and the municipalities of San Juan and Ponce shall be allowed in excess of 10 per centum of the aggregate tax valuation of its property * * *. In computing the indebtedness of the people of Porto Rico, municipal bonds for the payment of interest and principal of which the good faith of the people of Porto Rico has heretofore been pledged and bonds issued by the people of Porto Rico secured by bonds to an equivalent amount of bonds of municipal corporations or school boards of Porto Rico shall not be counted, but all bonds hereafter issued by any municipality or subdivision * for which the good faith of the people of Porto Rico is pledged shall be counted." The documents submitted with your letter show that the aggregate assessed valuation of real and personal property in Porto Rico on June 30, 1930, amounted to $330,274,020; that on the same date there were outstanding bonds of the Government of Porto Rico of the face value of $28,898,000, that since the amendatory Act of March 4, 1927, the good faith of the people of Porto Rico has been pledged to the payment of principal and interest on municipal bonds aggregating $1,361,500, which must be added to the foregoing, making a total of $30,259,500 to be considered when ascertaining the total bonded indebtedness which the Government of Porto Rico is authorized to incur. Therefore, it is apparent that the proposed issue will not increase the bonded indebtedness of the Government of Porto Rico beyond ten per centum of the aggregate assessed valuation, the maximum permitted by law. The proposed issued is authorized by Joint Resolution No. 60 of the Legislature of Porto Rico, approved May 5, 1930 (Laws, 1930, p. 744, 750), which declares the existence of an emergency, was passed by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house of the Legislature, and therefore became effective immediately after its approval as directed by section 12 thereof, in accordance with section 34 of the Act of Congress of March 2, 1917, supra (U. S. C., Title 48, sec. 827). The Resolution provides generally for liquidation by the Industrial Commission of Porto Rico of the Workmen's Relief Trust Fund of the extinct Workmen's Relief Commission, including the collection of premiums due the said fund by employers; and section 6, authorizing the issuance of bonds, reads as follows: "SECTION 6.-The Governor of Porto Rico, upon recommendation of the Industrial Commission, is hereby authorized to borrow money from the banks of Porto Rico or of continental United States, and to issue and sign negotiable promissory notes in the name of The People of Porto Rico, or to direct the Treasurer of Porto Rico to issue bonds of The People of Porto Rico, which shall also bear the signature of the Governor, up to the sum of five hundred thousand (500,000) dollars, and to pledge the good faith of The People of Porto Rico. In either case, the rate of interest shall not exceed six per cent (6%) per annum payable semiannually on January 1 and July 1 of each year. The amount so borrowed shall be payable partially in annual instalments of twenty-five thousand (25,000) dollars, with interest, until the total amount of the indebtedness has been wholly paid. The interest and the principal maturing each year shall be included in the general budget of expenses of The People of Porto Rico; Provided, That the Governor of Porto Rico may borrow said money and direct the issue of bonds in partial amounts and he is hereby authorized to prescribe the form, date and amount to be borrowed. "The money so borrowed shall be covered by the Treasurer of Porto Rico into the Workmen's Relief Trust Fund of the extinct Workmen's Relief Commission, and the same shall be used in paying the obligations contracted by the Workmen's Relief Commission, in accordance with such provision as the Industrial Commission may make. * * * "" It has been judicially determined that the Act of February 25, 1918, creating the Workmen's Relief Commission, represented a valid exercise of power delegated by Congress to the Legislature of Porto Rico. Camunas v. Porto Rico Ry., Light and Power Co., 272 Fed. 924, 928. Therefore, obligations incurred in accordance with that Act must be deemed proper public ones for the liquidation of which bonds may be issued. The Governor, upon recommendation duly adopted by the Industrial Commission, has directed the Treasurer to issue bonds in the total amount of $500,000, in twenty separate series of $25,000 each, to be dated July 1, 1930, and to mature respectively on July 1st of each year, 1931 to 1950, inclusive, to be in coupon form of the denomination of $1,000 each, to bear interest at the rate of 42 per centum per annum, payable semiannually on January 1 and July 1 of each year, both principal and interest to be payable at the office of the Treasurer of the United States in lawful money of the United States; and you have been requested to arrange for sale of the bonds as near the date of issue as possible, the sale to be made on public call for bids and award to be made to the best bidder. 141183°-32-VOL 36 24 I have examined the proposed form of bond submitted with you. letter and find that it accords with the directions of the Legislature and the determinations of the Governor. It properly recites that "under the provisions of section 3 of the Act of Congress, approved March 2, 1917, as amended by the Act of March 4, 1927, this bond is exempt from taxation by the Government of the United States, or by the Government of Porto Rico or of any political or municipal subdivision thereof, or by any State, Territory, or possession, or by any county, municipality, or other municipal subdivision of any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or by the District of Columbia." I must advise, however, that when the bonds are offered for sale no bid should be rejected or award made without the approval of the Governor and the Treasurer of Porto Rico. Possibly it was contemplated by the Legislature that the bonds would be sold by the Secretary of War, as had been done under prior statutes which expressly conferred the authority, but the Act here involved expressly confers authority in connection with the issuance of these bonds. only upon the Governor and the Treasurer. A public officer so authorized to issue bonds may not delegate any part of his authority, although he may designate another to perform in his behalf acts not involving the exercise of discretion. Blair v. City of Waco, 75 Fed. 800, 802; Brown v. Newburyport, 209 Mass. 259, 268; Jones v. Veltmann, 171 S. W. 287, 289; Theis v. Board of County Commissioners of Beaver County, 22 Okla. 333, 342, 344. It is my opinion that all the statutory requirements concerning the issuance of the bonds have been complied with and that they will, when issued in the amount and form proposed and sold by the Secretary of War with the concurrent approval of the Governor and the Treasurer of Porto Rico, constitute valid and binding obligations of the People of Porto Rico. Respectfully, To the SECRETARY OF WAR. WILLIAM D. MITCHELL. ASSIGNMENT OF RUNNING MATE TO COMMANDER CHARLES E. PARSONS, SUPPLY CORPS, U. S. NAVY Commander Charles E. Parsons, Supply Corps, U. S. Navy, who as lieutenant commander was assigned a line running mate of the rank of commander under the Act of June 10, 1926 (44 Stat. 717), is entitled, after his advancement to commander, to retain the running mate previously assigned to him; the Act, supra, did not require or authorize the assignment to Commander Parsons of a new running mate. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, December 5, 1930. SIR: I have the honor to refer to your letter of June 2, 1930, requesting my opinion whether Commander Charles E. Parsons, Supply Corps, U. S. Navy, has been assigned the correct line running mate under the Act of June 10, 1926, c. 529, 44 Stat. 717 (U. S. C. Title 34, Supp. III, sections 348348t), since his promotion to the rank of commander on February 14, 1928. The running mate assigned him by the Navy Department is of the rank of commander. A bill (H. R. 4940) directing that he be assigned a new running mate of the rank of captain has been favorably reported by the House Committee on Naval Affairs (H. Rept. 2017, 71st Cong. 2nd Sess.) and, if enacted, would make the question moot. Another pending bill (H. R. 11004) would direct like action for two other Supply Corps officers. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Committee has urged you to reconsider the action taken in Commander Parsons' case and has reported to Congress (H. Rept. 2017) the Committee's view that it does not accord with the law. I understand that you have undertaken such reconsideration and desire my opinion in connection therewith. The Act of June 10, 1926, is entitled, "An Act to provide for the equalization of promotion of officers of the staff corps of the Navy with officers of the line." Advancement in some branches of the service had been more rapid than in others. With respect to officers commissioned as ensigns on the same day some years earlier, one perhaps would have attained the rank of commander in the line, another lieutenant commander in a staff corps, a third captain in another staff corps-not because of differences personal to themselves, |