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Office of Director of the Mint____

Secret Service Division

Office of Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

General Supply Committee_

$149.99

412. 78

4, 531. 48 549.98

4, 468. 38

Independent Treasury Service__

Mints and assay offices.

Coast Guard

Public Health Service--

Custodians of public buildings_.

1, 087. 72

3, 716. 31

2, 883. 69

Superintendents of construction of public buildings.

Customs Service_____.

1, 542. 37

575. 10

36, 255. 66

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The appropriation for the fiscal year 1917 for postage to prepay matter addressed to Postal Union countries and for postage for the Treasury Department was $1,000, of which $995.81 was expended, leaving a balance of $4.19.

Materials for bookbinder.

The appropriation for the fiscal year 1917 for materials for the Treasury Department bookbinder was $250. Of this amount $248.53 was expended, leaving a balance of $1.47.

Department advertising.

There was expended for Treasury Department advertising during the fiscal year 1917, $8,593, against $10,455 for the fiscal year 1916, a decrease of $1,862. During the year 1,700 authorizations were issued, a decrease of 982 over the previous year. This reduction was caused by the Office of the Supervising Architect advertising for

supplies for public buildings by means of notices posted in lobbies of the public buildings, excluding newspaper advertising in these instances.

OFFICE OF THE DISBURSING CLERK.

In the report of this office for last year it was stated that there had been for several years an average yearly increase of 10 per cent in the work as compared with the preceding year. For the year just closed the increase was much greater than 10 per cent, for not only was there the usual annual addition of about 10,000 vouchers paid, due to the fact that about 100 new public buildings are completed and occupied each year, but there was also an important increase due to the enlarged activities of the Public Health Service, the Coast Guard, the Internal-Revenue Service, and the Bureau of War-Risk Insurance. There were further large increases due to the fact that the salaries and expenses of national-bank examiners and of the Federal Farm Loan Board are now paid through this office, the former since June, 1916, and the latter since the organization of the Farm Loan Board in August, 1916. Payment of the expenses of the Liberty loan also began in the latter part of the year.

In addition to the increase of the regular work the office began during the year to pay claims for redemption of internalrevenue stamps under the act of September 8, 1916. Formerly such claims, after examination and approval in the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, were sent to the Auditor for the Treasury Department for settlement. After settlement the auditor would certify his findings on each claim to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants and a Treasury warrant would be issued, which was signed and recorded in the offices of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller of the Treasury, and the Treasurer of the United States before it was sent to the payee. This method of paying public creditors is long, tedious, and expensive. So many claims for redemption of stamps were filed that it was found impracticable to pay them in the ordinary way, and a more expeditious method was devised. The claims are now examined, scheduled, and certified in the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, after which they are sent to this office, where a check is issued and mailed to each claimant. This work was begun on December 13, 1916, and during the remainder of the fiscal year 41,832 checks were issued in payment of 42,000 claims, amounting to $1,903,619.56. The enormous saving of work effected in the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants and in the offices of the Auditor for the Treasury Department, the Comptroller of the Treasury, and the Treasurer of the United States may be realized when it is considered that during the entire fiscal year 1917 only 70,075 Treasury settlement warrants of all classes were issued.

During the year under a separate designation and in a separate account the disbursing clerk continued to make disbursements under the appropriation "Relief, protection, and transportation of American citizens in Europe."

In April, 1917, the United States Tariff Commission was organized. At that time the commission requested that the disbursing clerk of this department disburse for them until a permanent disbursing clerk could be selected. This additional work is being performed by the disbursing clerk without compensation other than his regular salary in the Treasury Department, and he has been required to pay from his personal funds the premium on his official bond as disbursing clerk, United States Tariff Commission.

On December 11, 1916, the disbursing clerk renewed his bond. The accounts under his former bonds have been examined and settled by the Auditor for the Treasury Department, and all moneys coming into his hands during his six years' service as disbursing clerk, amounting to $140,147,440.45, have been properly accounted for without loss to the United States. On June 30, 1917, his accounts under his current bond had been settled by the Auditor to March 31, 1917.

The following is a detailed statement of the amount of work performed in connection with each account of the disbursing clerk, a summary of the four accounts, and a comparison with the fiscal year 1911 (the first year of the present organization):

Regular account.

Amount disbursed by check....

Amount disbursed in cash (salaries).

Total disbursed

Number of checks issued_.

Number of salary payments made in cash__

Total number of payments_.

Number of vouchers paid-----

Number of collections made on account of rents, sales, etc., and deposited in the Treasury as revenues or as repayments to appropriations_‒‒‒‒

$22, 913. 145, 55

4,247, 154. 74

27, 160, 300. 29

227, 317

86, 732

314, 049

196, 557

3,964

Amount of said collections___.

$580, 644.87

Number of appropriations under which disbursements were made____

795

Relief, protection, and transportation of American citizens in Europe.

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Moneys withheld on account of income tax.

Amount withheld from individuals_.

Amount refunded to individuals___.

Number of individuals from whom withheld.

Number of checks drawn____

United States Tariff Commission (Apr. 11 to June 30, 1917).

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$864. 04 $12.83 63

3

$33, 691. 26

331

87

1911

$27, 197, 619.56
581, 508.91

$14,334, 888.37 21,356.47

27,779, 128.47

14,356, 244.84

227,737
86, 732

117,926

83,752

314,469

201,678

196,677

97, 510

4,027

304

798

610

Number of appropriations under which disbursements were made..

The present organization of the office was effected on July 1, 1910. For the first year a force of 11 clerks was provided, but for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1914, the force was reduced to 10 and has remained at that number ever since. The increase in the volume of work from year to year has until recently been offset by improvements in office methods and by the elimination of useless work. No important saving in work has been found possible recently, however, so that for the past two years the regular force has been unable to handle all of the work, necessitating details from time to time. During practically all of the past year two clerks were detailed to the office.

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