(3) Officers in charge of departments shall keep themselves informed of the needs of the service in their respective departments, and give timely notice thereof to the captain, who shall, from time to time, require from the several departments of the vessel under his command a statement of the probable needs of the service within such prospective periods as he may designate.

(4) Under no circumstances shall supplies be purchased when time will permit them to be obtained from a storeship or naval station.

Duty of pay 1386. Under the direction of the captain the pay officer shall, officer before immediately on arrival in a port where supplies are to be purchased, purchases are or bills of exchange negotiated, obtain, by personal inquiry on shore, made. full and complete information as to the current rate of exchange, the quality and prices of naval supplies, the names of persons and firms regularly dealing therein, and the commercial standing of such dealers. He shall also visit the resident consul, or commercial or consular agent of the United States, if there be one, and ascertain from him the current rate of exchange, the ruling market prices at the place, and the names of local firms dealing in naval supplies. 1387. Medical supplies, surgical instruments, and "instruments and medical sup- of precision" shall be selected by officers representing the departments requiring them.

Instruments

plies to be selected.

Clothing and small stores.

Provisions.

Reception and

1388. When necessary to purchase clothing or small stores, the articles shall be as nearly as possible of the description and quality furnished by the United States, and no more shall be purchased than sufficient to meet an exigency.

1389. When one or more kinds of equivalent articles of provisions are on board ships, or are obtainable from Government supplies, they must be taken and used, and the purchase of other varieties of the same class of articles is forbidden until the supplies at hand are exhausted, or unless they are insufficient in quantity for an intended cruise.

SECTION 6.-INSPECTIONS AFLOAT.

1390. (1) All articles purchased are to be delivered subject to inspection of inspection and approval, as to quality and quantity, by the head of supplies. the department requiring the articles; in the case of fresh provi sions by the officer of the deck.

(2) All inspections of supplies shall be made by the officers of the ship to which they are delivered.

(3) Should the decision of an inspecting officer be questioned, the captain shall order a board of at least three competent officers to inspect the supplies in question. The report of this board, if unanimous, shall determine the acceptance or rejection of the supplies, but if not unanimous, the final decision shall rest with the captain. (4) Each delivery of stores should be accompanied by a list of the articles.

SECTION 7.-PUBLIC BILLS AFLOAT.

1391. (1) Public bills for supplies shall be prepared in triplicate. They shall bear the approval of the captain of the ship and a certifi cate by the head of department for which the supplies were purchased that the articles were inspected as to quality and quantity, and received into his custody.

(2) No public bill shall represent purchases for more than one ship.

Vouchers, how

(3) In the preparation of public bills the latest classified schedule shall be adhered to in the arrangement of items. They shall prepared. embrace supplies pertaining to but one bureau and but one appropriation, show the aggregate of each class separately, and show the trade name of the coal purchased.

(4) They must show the number of the requisition and date of approval.

(5) The date of each purchase and the name, number, price, etc., of each article must be distinctly specified in the account. All receipts of payments of money must express the amount paid in words legibly written at full length.

Final disposi

1392. (1) The first of public bills shall have attached to it the original requisition and the merchant's bill, and be forwarded to the tion of bills and requisitions. Auditor for the Navy Department with the quarterly accounts of the pay officer.

(2) The second shall be forwarded to the Paymaster General with the monthly summary statement for transmission to the bureau concerned.

(3) The third shall be retained by the pay officer for his files.

(4) The pay officer shall furnish heads of departments with certified copies of public bills pertaining to their departments, in lieu of invoices.

1393. Public bills of torpedo boats and other vessels not having Public bills of pay officers on board, shall be paid by the pay officer of a flag or torpedo boats. other ship with which they may be in company, if practicable; otherwise, by the pay officer having their pay accounts.

SECTION 8.-CLOTHING AND SMALL STORES AFLOAT.

1394. The pay officer shall issue clothing and small stores to Issues of clothpetty officers and persons of inferior ratings, and to marines, only in ing and small such quantities and at such times as shall be directed in writing by stores, how made. the captain, and each issue must be made in the presence of an officer who shall attest the same by affixing his signature.

tices.

1395. An outfit of clothing not exceeding in value the sum of Outfit of clothforty-five dollars shall be furnished to apprentices. Such portions ing for apprenas may be necessary for health and comfort shall be issued when they are first received on board ship, and the remainder after their arrival at a training station. If discharged during minority, by request (and not by purchase, see article 893) the value of this outfit must be refunded.

Divisional

1396. Requisitions for clothing and small stores in accordance with the prescribed form, shall be prepared and signed by the officer requisitions. in charge of the division requiring the articles, and submitted to the captain. After approving the same, the captain shall forward them to the pay officer, who shall enter the aggregate value of the articles required by each person. But one copy of each requisition shall be required and on it the witnessing officer shall certify to the delivery of the articles. The clothing and small stores requisitions shall be retained by the pay officer, for transmittal to the Auditor for the Navy Department, if required.

Issues to super

1397. (1) For issues of clothing and small stores to supernumeraries entitled to pay, requisitions in duplicate shall be required. numeraries. Invoices of the articles, in duplicate, shall be made out and, with

To torpedo boats.

Percentage

prices.

one copy of the approved and certified requisition, sent to the pay
officer having the accounts of the men, in order that the cost may
be charged against them. The articles shall be taken up on his
books and a receipted invoice returned to the pay officer with whom
it originated.

(2) Clothing and small stores may, when necessary, be issued to
the enlisted men of the Navy serving in a torpedo boat or other ves-
sel having no paymaster on board, by any pay officer, and such issues
shall be treated as prescribed in paragraph 1 of this article, when
the pay officer making the issue is not the one having the accounts
of such men.

1398. An advance of ten per cent on the invoice price shall be added to invoice charged by pay officers on all issues and expenditures of clothing and small stores, except those by transfer to other pay officers. 1399. Pay officers shall be present and personally superintend be present at all all issues of clothing and small stores, except when prevented by an exigency of the service, to be determined by the captain.

Pay officers to

issues.

Revaluation of damaged articles.

ble.

1400. Articles of clothing and small stores found by survey to be damaged but fit for issue, may be revalued by survey and issued, at the reduced prices fixed, in the same manner as other clothing and small stores.

SECTION 9.-RATIONS.

Allowance ta- 1401. (1) The allowance table of the navy ration shows the constituted parts of the ration, their legal combinations, the substitutes allowed under the law, and the possibilities of variation in the use thereof.

Issuing tables.

Same articles issued.

Issue of fresh provisions.

Provisions al

for issue.

(2) The table governing the daily and other issues of the ration shall be strictly conformed to by all officers. No other variations than those provided for in this table shall be ordered by captains, except in cases of necessity, which shall be fully entered in the logbook, and written orders given to the pay officer specifying the exact changes to be made.

(3) The same articles shall be issued to all the ship's messes.

1402. When in port, the captain may cause fresh meat and vegetables to be issued to the crew, not oftener than four days in the week, unless he deems a more frequent issue advisable.

1403. If any of the crew object to the quality of the provisions leged to be unfit issued to them, the pay officer shall at once request a survey. If, in the judgment of the surveying officer the provisions are of proper quality, they shall be issued, notwithstanding objections, unless the captain shall direct otherwise. If, however, the provisions are not approved, others of a better quality shall, if on board, be at once issued in their stead.

Supplies of perishable articles.

Issues to officers' messes.

1404. Perishable articles, such as fresh meat and vegetables, ham, bacon, etc., shall not be procured in greater quantities than will be reasonably certain to be used before spoiling.

1405. (1) Such provisions as, in the opinion of the pay officer of the ship, can be spared from the supply on board, without unduly reducing the quantities for regular issue, may, with the approval of the captain, be sold to officers' and other messes at their average cost price, to be delivered to them only at the regular times and places of issue; but no person or mess shall be permitted to purchase a full allowance of any article while the crew is upon short allowance of that article.

(2) Pay officers shall keep regular accounts of provisions so issued, entering the same separately in the quarterly returns, and shall receive payment for them monthly, crediting the Government under the head of "Provisions" with the amount so received.

(3) At the end of the quarter an invoice, in duplicate, shall be made, showing the total quantity and value of each article issued, and the aggregate value, which the pay officer shall receipt, and one copy shall be forwarded with his quarterly returns to the Paymaster General.

tions.

1406. In case the necessity arises for putting a crew upon short Commutation allowance, the estimated commutation value of the different articles for reduced raof the ration, as given in the table, shall constitute the scale of prices by which the crew shall be paid for the diminution ordered under section 1582, R. S.

1407. Persons entitled to rations shall not be permitted to leave Rations must the whole or any part thereof with the ship's provisions, to be drawn be drawn or at any future time. If unclaimed at the time of issue, such provisions shall be considered as abandoned.

1408. The ration is not a part of the pay, but is a limited allowance by the Government, under certain conditions defined by law, to officers and the men of the naval service, as a military necessity. Commutation of rations by the enlisted men is not a right, but an allowance granted only by executive authority.

abandoned.

The ration de

fined.

Issue of rations

1409. In order that wastefulness and loss from deterioration of food supplies by age shall be avoided, and that the naval service in kind. shall at all times be prepared to utilize the ration, it is important that the rations provided by the law shall be issued in kind whenever practicable.

1410. (1) Rations stopped for the comfort and benefit of enlisted Commutation persons of the Navy and Marine Corps shall be commuted for the of rations and actual period of time during which they are not drawn.

(2) Commuted ration money shall be paid to the individuals whose rations have been commuted, or to the caterers of their messes in cases of death or desertion, but not oftener than once a month.

(3) On board vessels commissioned for sea service, except torpedo boats, the number of rations commuted, exclusive of those of chief petty officers, bandsmen, and officers' messmen, shall not exceed one-fourth of the total number of all other enlisted persons on board. The number of rations to be commuted for chief petty officers, bandsmen, and officers' messmen is left to the discretion of the captain.

(4) On board torpedo boats all rations shall be commuted, and any provisions drawn from the supply which may be put on board shall be treated as provisions sold to messes for cash.

payment thereof.

1411. Honorably discharged men electing homes on board receiv- Men electing ing ships are entitled to one ration per day. This ration can not be homes on board commuted, but shall be issued in kind.

receiving ships.

1412. The rations to crew and marines shall be issued only at the regular time and place prescribed by the captain.

Time and place of issue.

Issues of tea

1413. Tea and sugar shall be issued semimonthly, in advance. When the ration of any man is stopped by reason of his transfer, and sugar. desertion, sickness, absence, or any other cause, the quantity of tea

Rations of ab

and sugar overdrawn on his account may be retained by the mess to which he belonged, and an equal amount deducted from the quantity issued to the mess at the next serving.

1414. When enlisted men are absent from their ships or stations sentees to be without leave, the pay officer in charge shall be notified of the fact stopped. at once, and in all cases the issue of rations or commutation therefor shall cease during such unauthorized absence.

Supplies furnished to mer

chant vessels in distress.

Destitute

American

meu.

sea

Supplies fur

ships of war.

1415. Merchant vessels in distress or remote from supplies may be furnished with such supplies as can be spared, but receipts in triplicate shall be taken, the original of which shall be retained by the officer from whose department the stores have been furnished, and the duplicate and triplicate forwarded by different conveyances to the Navy Department for the Paymaster General of the Navy. Cash payments may be received, if practicable, and accounted for by the pay officer; if otherwise, a bill of exchange shall be obtained, to be drawn by the master on the owners, payable to the order of the Secretary of the Navy, and its first and second forwarded by different conveyances; the address of the owner shall be stated, and the value of the supplies calculated at the average price. In the case of clothing and small stores ten per cent shall be added to the average price. In cases of extreme distress gratuitous assistance may be furnished.

1416. Destitute American seamen received on board are supernumeraries not entitled to pay and rations; and when issues are made to them the written order of the captain, with invoices of the same, should be sent to the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, and separate entries made on the appropriate quarterly return, in order that the Bureau may have the cost refunded to it from the proper appropriation by the Treasury Department. The name of the vessel to which the men belong, and, if taken on board at the request of a United States consul, the name and station of the latter shall be stated in the order and in the invoice.

1417. Supplies shall be furnished to foreign ships of war when nished to foreign requested, so far as can be spared, proper receipts being taken from the commander of the foreign ship and forwarded as directed in article 1415. In any such case the captain of the ship shall give a written order to the officer from whose department the supplies are to be issued.