ARTICLE II.

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

389. The terms referred to herein are defined as follows:

(1) Appropriations, as referred to, are the various amounts authorized by Congress in the annual act making appropriation for the support of the Army, to be expended for the purposes indicated by the title and context thereof by the Quartermaster Corps in accordance with law and regulations.

(2) An item of an Army appropriation act is the distinct authority in such appropriation act under which supplies and services furnished by the Quartermaster Corps are procured and by which the appropriation from which payment is made therefor is determined. The wording of the act is divided or itemized, and each item numbered serially, as shown in the analysis of the appropriation act, to serve as a guide and for reference.

The following are items of the appropriation act pertaining to the Quartermaster Corps for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 1917:

"Pay, etc., of the Army."

"Mileage to officers and contract surgeons."

"Supplies, services, and transportation, Quartermaster Corps."

"Horses, for Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, etc."

"Barracks and quarters."

"Roads, walks, wharves, and drainage."

"Military post exchanges."

"Construction and repair of hospitals."

"Quarters for hospital stewards."

"Shooting galleries and ranges."

"Maintenance, Army War College."

"Rent of buildings, Quartermaster Corps."

"Barracks and quarters, Philippine Islands.”

The above lists may be changed by appropriation acts for subsequent fiscal years.

(3) Apportionments.-Distributions of the appropriations made by the Quartermaster General, with the approval of the Secretary of War, and in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the act of February 27, 1906, Army Regulations and general orders of the War Department, to department quartermasters and quartermasters of independent stations.

(4) Advice of apportionment.-A notice from the office of the Quartermaster General that the amounts stated have been apportioned to the officer to whom or office to which addressed, for the procurement of supplies and services, or for pay of the Army, for periods and purposes specified therein. (Q. M. C. Form 72.)

(5) Apportionment account.—A statement or record of the amount or amounts received as an apportionment, with their debit and credit transactions. (Q. M. C. Form 74.)

(6) Allotments.-Distributions of the apportionments made by department or other quartermasters in accordance with the Army Regulations, general orders of the War Department, requirements of this manual, and instructions of the Quartermaster General, to post and other subordinate quartermasters. The term "allotment" is also used in connection with allotments of pay made by enlisted men.

(7) Advice of allotment.-A notice from a department or other quartermaster to whom an apportionment has been made that the amounts stated have been allotted to the officer to whom or office to which addressed for the procurement of supplies and services, or for pay of the Army, for periods and purposes specified therein. (Q. M. C. Form 72.)

(8) Allotment account.-A statement or record of the amount or amounts allotted, or received as allotments, with their debit and credit transactions. (Q. M. C. Form 74.)

(9) Reserve. A percentage or proportion of an apportionment withheld for use in increasing allotments to provide for necessities which could not be anticipated in the original allotment or to meet exigencies. (10) Savings.-The differences between the amounts allotted to any post or station for supplies or services, or for pay of the Army, for a definite period, purpose, or job, and the actual costs thereof. They will be disposed of as hereinafter provided.

(11) Independent stations, as referred to herein, applies to depots, offices, posts, or stations not under the control of territorial department commanders.

(12) Additions to stock.-Purchases of supplies made with a view to increasing the stock at the depots of the Quartermaster Corps. Made only on authority of the Quartermaster General from funds apportioned for this purpose.

(13) Replenishment of stock.-The bringing up of the stock of a depot, by purchases, within the quantities fixed as a maximum and minimum stock for the depot. The purchases to be made from funds accruing to the credit of a depot as shown by invoices transferring supplies issued on requisitions by which the stock was depleted. Supplies so purchased need not be of the same kind as those issued.

(14) Working balance.—A designation given the funds provided to department, depot, and other quartermasters, when necessary, for immediate use in transacting and facilitating the business of their respective offices.

390. The general policy of decentralizing the duties of the Quartermaster Corps as approved by the Secretary of War, August 15, 1907, with reference to supplies, and April 23, 1908, with reference to services, will be the policy of the Quartermaster Corps.

391. The fundamental principle of the system of decentralization is to provide funds to department and other quartermasters with which to conduct the business of the Quartermaster Corps for which they are responsible. This, however, must be done in compliance with the law which prohibits the expenditure in any one fiscal year of any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress for that fiscal year, or involving the Government in any contract or other obligation for the future payment of money in excess of such appropriations, unless such contract or obligation is authorized by law.

The exceptions to this statutory prohibition are given in paragraph 515, Army Regulations, 1913, as follows: "No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States will be made unless it is authorized by law, or is made under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, transportation, or medical and hospital supplies, which, however, will not exceed the necessities of the current year. No officer of the United States will accept voluntary service for the Government or employ personal service in excess of that authorized by law, except in case of sudden emergency involving loss of human life or the destruction of property."

These exceptions are of such a nature that it is only remotely possible that action thereon can become necessary without the authority of the War Department.

392. All supplies and services furnished the Army by the Quartermaster Corps are procured from funds appropriated therefor annually by acts of Congress. The cost of all supplies and services is charged to the appropriation or appropriations indicated by the wording of the acts considering the purpose for which the article or the service is required.

393. The appropriation "Army War College" is disbursed by the Quartermaster Corps by reason of the fact that such appropriation was first incorporated under Pay Department items in the act of May 26, 1900, which created the Army War College.

In practice these accounts are paid by the depot quartermaster, Washington, D. C.

394. In time of peace the appropriations are definite as to amounts, period, and purpose for which appropriated, hence it is imperatively necessary to so disburse the funds as to avoid excessive expenditures and consequent deficiencies. To this end apportionments and allotments of definite amounts for specified periods and purposes are made to department and other quartermasters concerned, based upon which, and within the limits of the apportionments and allotments so made, funds, supplies, and services are procured on estimates and requisitions in conformity with regulations and instructions. It therefore becomes the duty of quartermasters to whom apportionments and allotments are made to so manage the business of the Quartermaster Corps as not to exceed them "except upon the happening of some extraordinary emergency or unusual circumstance which could not be anticipated at the time of making such apportionment."

395. The items of the several appropriations under which supplies and services must be furnished and therefore charged are shown in an analysis of so much of the Army appropriation act as pertains to the Quartermaster Corps. The analysis of the appropriation act for the fiscal year 1916 is given in Circular 10, Quartermaster General's Office, 1915, and will be republished by the Quartermaster General from time to time as may be necessary.

396. In time of war, by the very nature of things, the limitation as to appropriations is necessarily removed, and the necessity for the cost keeping required where appropriations are definite as to amount and purposes, as in time of peace, will not exist; but the fundamental principle of providing funds to department and other quartermasters with which to conduct the business remains the same, and funds when required will be furnished upon estimates by an actual transfer of money to be applied directly to the purpose for which required. The sums so transferred would be in lieu of the apportionments and allotments above referred to.

397. The accounting and cost keeping provided for is necessary to prevent deficiencies in appropriations; that the department and other quartermasters may know the status of their apportionments and allotments, and thereby avoid exceeding the amounts apportioned; to enable the Quartermaster General to prepare and submit to the Secretary of War, for transmission to Congress, estimates for future appropriations and to intelligently explain to Congress the needs of the Army under the various items for which funds are estimated.

398. The following methods of numbering are used for the purpose of easy reference and for indicating on estimates, requisitions, and money vouchers the purpose for which supplies are intended or for which they have been used.

(1) Acts of Congress making appropriations pertaining to the Quartermaster Corps are analyzed, all items being numbered from 1 forward, as shown in "List of item and subitem numbers of appropriations for support of the Army, disbursed by the Quartermaster Corps."

(2) Headquarters of departments and of posts under the jurisdiction of department commanders are numbered by assigning a block of 100 numbers to each department. To headquarters of departments are assigned the initial numbers, and to posts and stations (in alphabetical sequence) the consecutive numbers of their respective block so far as necessary. These assignments are as follows: Eastern Depart

ment, 100 to 199; Southern Department, 200 to 299; Central Department, 300 to 399; Western Department, 400 to 499; Hawaiian Department, 500 to 599; Philippine Department, 700 to 799.

(3) Depots of the Quartermaster Corps, other points of supply, remount depots, arsenals, and armories of the Ordnance Department, medical supply depots, mine planters and cable steamers, and miscellaneous independent stations, 600 to 699.

(4) Offices of constructing quartermasters not located at posts or stations to which a number has been assigned are assigned numbers between 1 and 99, preceded by the letter "C," thus: C. 10. Offices of constructing quartermasters located at posts are assigned the number of the post, preceded by the letter "C," thus: C. 125.

(5) Recruiting offices are assigned numbers between 1 and 99, preceded by the letter "R," thus: R. 25. (6) The numbers assigned under (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) are as follows:

THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT.

THE WESTERN DEPARTMENT.

629. Field medical supply depot, Washington, D. C. 631. Medical supply depot, St. Louis, Mo. 630. Field medical supply depot, San Francisco,

With approval of the Secretary of War, dated June 7, 1911, requisitions for Class "A" supplies and services of Classes I and II, and vouchers covering accounts pertaining to recruiting stations, will be forwarded to the offices indicated below: