In reference to General Orders No. 53, current series, concerning "the execution of forfeitures of pay adjudged by sentences of courts-martial," it is calculated to render definite the practice, and to secure what I consider important rights to enlisted men of the Army. It was with great pleasure that I issued circular No. 99 of Paymaster-General's Office, dated October 24, 1873; and General Orders No. 53 is but the proper execution and interpretation of said circular. When a sentence was silent as to the date of commencement of forfeiture of pay, it had been the custom (from my earliest service in the line of the Army) arbitrarily to cause the forfeiture to operate against pay for time previous to the promulgation of the sentence. This made the payment of the forfeiture depend upon the mere accident whether the soldier had or had not been paid. And the custom frustrated the merciful interposition of higher authority and rendered nugatory in many instances an order of remission, by the ruling that the sentence had already been satisfied, although the mode of its execution had been to make the stoppage against pay due before the trial, or even before the commission of the offense. In the discharge of the critical and onerous duties devolved upon this office, it is but just to refer to the able and laborious assistance I have received from officers on duty in this office. In reference to the Pay Department throughout the Army, and on the frontier, I think it will be found that the most faithful service has been performed. The journeys of paymasters have often been made in very dangerous regions, threatened not only by hostile Indians, but also by highwaymen. In the testimony before the Military Committee of the House (p. 242, Doc. 56), an officer with the Yellowstone Expedition, when asked by the chairman if any paymaster was with the command, replied: "There were no paymasters with the commands, but they were sent out when the troops returned to their posts." A paymaster was sent to that department, expecting he would be stationed at one of the new posts on the Upper Yellowstone, but the department commander stationed him at the mouth of the Yellowstone, at Fort Buford, perhaps, because there funds could more easily be obtained. This is an example of the fact that I have always aimed to have paymasters accessible to troops in the remotest regions, as in Montana and Arizona. The number of desertions in the Army during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, was 1,672, which is less than the number in any fiscal year since the war. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, the number was 1,832; for that ending June 30, 1,877, 2,581. I agree with General Townsend, Adjutant-General, in his conclusion in his annual report of 1877, that this large increase in that fiscal year (which was mainly in the cavalry) was doubtless due to the fact that when 2,500 men were specially added, per act of August 15, 1876, to the cavalry regiments, the "usual precautions to avoid enlisting any but good men had to be relaxed." General Orders No. 84, of 1876, suspended General Orders No. 126, of 1874, so far as the Division of the Missouri was concerned. The same causes, still continuing to operate, have no doubt caused the number of desertions in the cavalry to be in excess of the same in other regiments of the Army. But it is gratifying to see that the number in the whole Army is reduced to 1,672; whereas with a maximum of enlisted men of 30,000 the desertions in the year ending June 30, 1871, were 8,800. The number of deposits made by soldiers, under the act of May 15, 1872, during the last fiscal year, was 5,524, amounting to $346,243.94. The number is about the same as in the previous year, but the average amount of each deposit was $62.68. This is a larger average by $11 than the average of all deposits in the six years since the law passed. Total amount deposited to June 30, 1878 (since the passage of the act). $1,992, 457 41 Total amount repaid to June 30, 1878 Total amount of interest paid to June 30, 1878.... Balance to credit of fund $1, 179, 286 65 59, 044 40 1,238, 331 05 754, 126 36 Believing that the effect of the act of May 15, 1872, has been to diminish desertions, and has been salutary upon the morale and character of the enlisted men, I continue to give these statistics in my reports. The title of the act was "An act to prevent desertion, and to elevate the condition of the rank and file of the Army"; and therefore it may be incumbent upon me to make known such amelioration, if evidence of the same should be manifest. If the captains and company commanders of the Army should make an effort, I doubt not the number of those making deposits could be largely increased. I witnessed, in the Department of the Platte, in 1870 and 1871, the salutary effects of such efforts in one regiment, the Fourth Infantry. But this was done under the unsatisfactory operations of paragraph 1385 of the Regulations, which had been considered almost obsolete, and has been replaced by a definite enactment, giving the soldier interest for his deposits. In closing this report, I wish to refer to a report made by Bvt. Maj. Gen. E. Upton to General Sherman, dated March 12, 1878, giving the pay of foreign armies-those of Austria, France, Germany, and Russia. It is full of interesting and valuable statistics and comparisons. In his travels he had excellent opportunities of obtaining information. He closes with saying, "Whoever will compare our pay-table with the pay and allowances of officers in Europe, will find that our officers are not nearly so well paid, grade for grade, as those of other armies." Respectfully submitted. The Hon. SECRETARY Of War. BENJ. ALVORD, Paymaster-General U. S. A. Disbursing-officers. Statement showing the amount in the hands of each of the disbursing-officers of the Pay the Treasury, or turned over by other agents during the fiscal year ending 30th June, 1878; placements in the Treasury, and the balance remaining in the hands of paymasters to be Department and unaccounted for on the 1st of July, 1877; the amount remitted to each from the amount accounted for by accounts and vouchers of expenditures, or by transfers or reaccounted for in the next fiscal year. $6,343 80 $10,476 15 $749, 709 80 $1,758, 224 08 $88, 683 48 $2, 524, 753 83 18,640 73 506 18 81,386 57 97, 355 39 978, 815 46 2, 940 13 67, 871 79 1,079, 348 94 673, 836 39 163, 514 17 306, 715 01 505, 795 14 1,958, 054 79 552,983 97 220,921 12 160, 739 73 173, 763 33 451, 406 29 1,275,346 24 287,646 93 280, 220 78 291,508 84 55, 521 33 234, 560 04 140, 319 06 508,350 25 254,651 70 347, 160 81 385,887 30 869, 269 41 118,376 69 124,926 56 245, 821 72 310,492 28 233, 500 51 412, 145 89 209, 397 04 432,496 03 116,392 35 96, 661 76 203, 274 11 231,254 93 346, 213 02 171,228 67 199, 369 54 519, 712 24 252,447 26 827,866 60 89,390 78 126, 163 72 340, 306 26 23, 384, 933 52 54 25 75 34 6, 723 24 86, 985 21 77,887 32 24, 449 44 313, 427 53 1, 165, 129 25 6,533 84 6,075 47 10,599 57 10, 123 93 4,000 46 2,997 01 88,908 36 111,951 55 274, 507 81 353,906 76 350, 828 07 254,829 56 1,421,286 79 112,991 65 230,983 16 26, 393 99 104, 052 15 39, 724 80 50, 800 83 271,249 46 375,921 57 2,858 27 2,225 61 7,583 52 28,385 25 6,194 05 43, 186 20 7,300 87 261, 172 88 825,816 12 1,316, 070 87 232,062 78 441, 414 40 542,656 64 98,354 72 120, 327 97 299, 414 14 479, 401 15 1,854, 002 64 17, 724 24 7,375 15 140, 265 57 9, 630 38 3, 468 63 13, 988 24 513, 259 17 203, 196 88 157, 271 10. 159, 775 09 31, 924 53 781, 444 84 1,346 87 95, 675 89 92,700 00 6,375 42 59 88 2,974 64 71, 529 18 103, 333 34 45,984 16 23,878 37 29, 431 21 5,360 23 63, 739 82 379, 877 11 1, 172, 012 90 241, 662 77 256, 342 41 262,077 63 50, 161 10 170,820 22 137, 341 46 508,350 25 254, 651 70 341, 596 98 383, 839 16 826,934 86 117,084 39 124,926 56 12, 512 48 44, 057 91 11, 977 52 31,030 17 233, 309 24 266, 434 37 221,522 99 381, 115 72 12,620 70 196, 776 34 80, 958 06 351, 537 97 114, 926 00 346,213 02 9,661 89 161, 212 23 94 4, 499 47 57, 175 28 11, 575, 903 78 7,484 17 84,474 76 121, 948 91 269,568 90 9, 143, 991 51 1,529, 339 78 21, 855, 598 74 BENJ. ALVORD, Paymaster-General U. S. A. 72,950 14 47,600 76 38, 690 92 4,916 02 4, 214 81 70, 737 36 446,762 10 204,846 50 789, 175 68 Total amount ac |