Item. Supplies or service. Purpose for which supplied. Incidental expenses of. Including escaped military prisoners, and the expenses incident to their pursuit, and no greater sum than fifty dollars for each deserter or escaped military prisoner shall, in the discretion of the Secretary of War, be paid to any civil officer or citizen for such services and expenses. To each dishonorably discharged prisoner upon his release from confinement, under court-martial sentence involving dishonorable discharge. For (the following expenditures required for) the several regiments of cavalry, the batteries of light artillery, and such commands of infantry and scouts as may be mounted, the authorized number of officers' horses, and for trains. Such as are necessary and authorized by law in the movements and operations of the Army, and at military posts, and not expressly assigned to any other Department. For the cavalry, artillery and engineers, service school and staff colleges, and for the Indian scouts, and for such infantry and members of the Hospital Corps in the field campaigns as may be required to be mounted, and the expenses incident thereto. Purchase to be under contract, unless otherwise directed by the Secretary of War. When practicable horses shall be purchased in open market at all military posts or stations, when needed, at a maximum price to be fixed by the Secretary of War. For troops, other than seacoast artillery For the safe-keeping of military stores. To provide such furniture for the public rooms of officers' messes. For officers' quarters at military posts as may be approved by the Secretary of War. Hire of for summer cantonments. At frontier stations. Public buildings at established posts. Of enlisted men employed on same, viz, construction and repairing public buildings. "Provided, further, That section nine of an act approved June seventeenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight (Twentieth Statutes at Large, page one hundred and fifty-one), be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: That at all posts and stations where there are public quarters belonging to the United States officers may be furnished with quarters in kind in such public quarters, and not elsewhere, by the Quartermaster's Department, assigning to the officers of each grade, respectively, such number of rooms as is stated in the following table, namely: Second lieutenants, two rooms; first lieutenants, three rooms; captains, four rooms; majors, five rooms; lieutenant-colonels, six rooms; colonels, seven rooms; brigadier-generals, eight rooms; major-generals, nine rooms; lieutenant-generals, ten rooms: Provided further, That at places where there are no public quarters commutation therefor may be paid by the Pay Department to the officer entitled to the same at a rate not exceeding twelve dollars per month per room."" The number of and total sum paid for civilian employees in the Q. M. Dept., including those paid from funds appropriated for Regular Supplies, Incidental Expenses, Barracks & Quarters, Army Transportation, Clothing, and Camp and Garrison Equipage, shall be limited to the actual requirements of the service, and that no employee paid therefrom shall receive more than $150 per month, except upon approval of the Secretary of War. For the acquisition of land, near or adjoining Fort Taylor, at Key West, Fla. 147 tion. 148 Boats for the seacoast artillery service. Of the Army. The expenses of sailing of public transports on the various rivers, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For procuring and introducing same to buildings at such posts as from their situation require it to be brought from à distance. For the disposal of. For the disposal of. For the construction of. For the construction of. Payment for army transporta- For the payment of army transportation lawfully due such land-grant railroads as have not received aid in Government bonds, etc., as provided by law. Item. Supplies or service. Purpose for which supplied. APPROPRIATION "BARRACKS AND 149 Shelter and protection of officers Continuing the work of providing for the proper and enlisted men. of the For the Army, for issue and for sale at cost price, according to Army Regulations. Clothing when necessary. For purchase of. Expenses of. To cost not exceeding $10, to be issued upon release from confinement to each prisoner who has been confined under a court-martial sentence involving a dishonorable discharge. To officers and men of the Army for clothing and bedding, etc., destroyed since April 22, 1898, by order of medical officers of the Army for sanitary reasons. Of hospitals at military posts already established and occupied. Employed on same (construction and repair of hospitals at military posts, etc.). Required at Army and Navy Hospital at Hot Springs, Ark. Of general hospitals. Incident thereto (construction and repair of general hospitals). The erection and completion of, as per appropriation act. For hospital stewards at military posts already established and occupied. Of enlisted men employed on same. The first item is care and protection of regular supplies, second is stoves, the third is heating apparatus, and so on, picking out the items as indicated in the appropriation act. Under each item I prepared an estimate for its particular purpose. Those were consolidated and revised, and the result of the revision is the estimate which was submitted to the Secretary of War. This estimate is based on the supply of the Army, consisting of 4,085 officers, -4,733 enlisted men, and 32,700 animals. The troops and animals are stationed at 153 posts in the United States, and at 62 posts in the Philippines. They are quartered in or are using a large number of different buildings. The total number of owned buildings occupied in the United States is 9,632, nearly 10,000 structures, including wharves, etc., at 153 different stations, posts, or depots, not including rented buildings. At 101 of these posts, the principal buildings are heated by steam or hot-water plants, or by furnaces. The others are heated by stoves; 80 posts are lighted by electricity or gas, and the others by mineral oil. The cost for forage, heating, and light are the principal items in this estimate under the appropriation, regular supplies. I have a summary of estimates under this appropriation and also the details of each item. Under item 1, for care and protection of regular supplies, we have estimated for $155,917. This is based on the cost for previous years of articles and materials required for this purpose, such as drainage, paulins, cargo covers, lime, borax, lumber for temporary shelter, etc.; $65,000 is for this class of supplies; $35,000 is for the construction of fences for the protection of regular supplies and other things that need protection; $55,700 is for employees. That makes up the total of item No. 1. We can not get employees for any less than we pay them now. Since making this estimate there has been an order issued by the President in reference to the eight-hour law which will require additional funds for the payment of watchmen and other employees. Mr. HAY. What order was that? General ALESHIRE. Here is a copy of the President's letter to the War Department. Later the question arose as to whether the order applied to certain employees of the Quartermaster's Department, and the matter was referred to the Judge-Advocate-General for opinion. Mr. HAY. Those employees heretofore were paid for overtime? General ALESHIRE. No, sir. During the fiscal year we had several requests for additional employees which could not be met because of lack of funds. This effects also the appropriation for incidental expenses and transportation of the Army, extra watchmen, etc. Mr. STEVENS. It is not held by the Judge-Advocate-General that watchmen were covered by the eight-hour law? Did not the Comptroller make a decision in reference to that? I think the decision says "mechanics and laborers." General ALESHIRE. The Judge-Advocate-General's decision even includes teamsters, and we are guided by his opinion in legal matters. Mr. STEVENS. They would be laborers. General ALESHIRE. I have a list here of such employees as we should provide on account of this order. I can take it up now or later in connection with one of the other appropriations. Mr. PRINCE. You can take that matter up as you go along. General ALESHIRE. I have no funds in the estimate for it. In answer to Mr. Stevens, I have here a list which includes watchmen, teamsters, stablemen, laborers, messengers, firemen, and engineers. Mr. YOUNG. How many watchmen are there? General ALESHIRE. There are 20. Mr. PRINCE. Those are a class of employees under the civil-service act to which that eight-hour ruling applies? General ALESHIRE. Yes; in accordance with the decision of the Judge-Advocate-General. Mr. PRINCE. Based upon that rule you are asking General ALESHIRE. I have not asked for it. This came up after the estimates were prepared. Mr. STEVENS. You make reference to the opinions of the JudgeAdvocate-General. Have you a copy of that? General ALESHIRE. Yes, sir; I will submit it. [Official copy furnished to the Quartermaster-General, United States Army.] To the WAR DEPARTMENT: OYSTER BAY, N. Y., September 11, 1907. WHITE HOUSE, Washington, September 12, 1907. I have just seen the draft of the regulations to carry out the provisions of the eighthour act as regards the third class of exceptions from the operation of the rule. I direct that all persons employed as watchmen, lock tenders, and lock employees be considered as covered by the eight-hour law, and that exceptions only be made by the Secretary himself on the case being reported to him by his subordinates. I wish the number of such exceptions reported to me. I desire that this go into effect immediately, and in particular that all watchmen employed at St. Louis be immediately treated as under the eight-hour law. GENERAL ORDERS, THEODORE ROOSEVELT. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, September 14, 1907. I. Paragraph 734, Army Regulations, is amended to read as follows: 734. Eight hours shall constitute a day's work for all mechanics, laborers, and workmen employed by the several staff departments. The service of mechanics and laborers employed by contractors in the execution of public works, including the construction of barracks, quarters, or other buildings on military reservations, is also limited and restricted to eight hours in each calendar day, and no officer or contractor shall require or permit any such laborer or mechanic to work more than eight hours in any calendar day except in cases of extraordinary emergency. There are excepted from the operation of this rule: (1) The officers and crews of vessels; (2) teamsters, packers, and other employees belonging to wagon and pack trains when engaged in field service or in the prosecution of military operations; (3) persons employed as cooks and cooks' helpers, overseers of labor of prisoners, and others who, owing to the nature of their employment being peculiar, may be decided by the Secretary of War, upon the facts being reported to him, to be neither laborers nor mechanics within the meaning of the eight-hour law. All exceptions on the ground of extraordinary emergency will be promptly reported to the Secretary of War. All contracts for the execution of public works, including the erection of buildings for the use of the military establishment, will contain a stipulation restricting the service of mechanics and laborers to eight hours per day, and officers charged with the supervision and execution of such contracts will report all violations of such stipulation to the head of the bureau charged with the prosecution of the work. [1267829, A. G. O.] |