REPORT

OF THE

INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF THE ARMY.

WAR DEPARTMENT,
INSPECTOR-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, D. C., October 1, 1896.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of this Department during the past year:

The service of the inspection districts established under the provisions of General Orders, No. 18, Headquarters of the Army, 1895, has now been in operation sufficiently long to place it beyond the experimental stage and to admit a fair judgment of its merits. The severe tests to which it has been subjected during the past year, and the results attained, should dispel any doubts that may still be entertained by the most conservative as to its efficiency and economy; the high character and ability of the officers, and the thoroughness and impartiality with which they have performed their duties, are a sufficient guaranty that their best efforts will be directed toward a continued successful operation and further development of whatever may be the adopted system; everything that was definitely assigned to them this year has received faithful and thorough attention.

Detailed reports of inspection of the military establishment, including posts, depots, armories, and arsenals, of the accounts of disbursing officers, of national cemeteries, and of military departments of civil institutions of learning have been made from time to time and brought to the attention of the proper authorities, whose interest and orders in the premises have given so much of its effectiveness to the work. The criticisms of the inspectors and the defects disclosed have, as a rule, received prompt remedial action wherever possible; and the reports indicate that the discipline, instruction, and efficiency of our Army receive untiring attention from all of every rank, and are maintained in an enviable state of excellence; and there can be no question as to whatever further improvement and progress may be necessary to keep our little Army well up in the advanced demands of the times.

DISBURSEMENTS.

A summary of the reports of inspections of the accounts of disbursing officers of the Army, and others required by law, under the supervision of the Secretary of War, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896, shows the following:

Balances taken up

Receipts from Treasury

Receipts from sales and other sources

Transfers from other officers...

Total to be accounted for..

WAR 96-VOL I—14

$48, 550, 860. 44
2,410, 685. 16

$5, 001, 312.93

50, 961, 545.60 16, 135, 510.00

72,098, 368.53 209

Of the $78,135.63 reported as cash on hand, the sum of $60,654.88, consisting of $58,300 in State bonds and $2,354.88 cash in safe-deposit vault, was held by one of the officers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and $413.78 by the Treasurer of the United States Soldiers' Home, leaving only the sum of $17,066.97 cash in the hands of the disbursing officers of the Army at the close of the fiscal year. It is submitted that it is habitually better Army administration to keep the balance on hand, both cash and on deposit, thus close down to a minimum in amount and a minimum in the time kept, either on hand or in transit to the debtor.

In one instance various sums, ultimately aggregating over $100,000, were held for various periods without being receipted for or placed on deposit, and then a portion of the funds were returned through a local bank not a Government depository.

The method of sending such considerable sums, or indeed any public money, to the individual instead of direct to the Government depos itary has long ago been abandoned elsewhere, and the official language prescribing the present method is: "Public funds will in general be transferred as follows: The officer making the transfer will draw his check directing the depositary to place a stated amount to the official credit of the officer named therein. The check will be sent to the depos itary and not to the officer in whose favor it is drawn." (A. R., 594.) The disbursements during the fiscal years 1895 and 1896 may be grouped as follows:

The above statement shows a decrease of $6,331,196.58 from the amount inspected during the preceding year, arising as follows:

The relation during the past four fiscal years between the total amount involved and the disbursements, transfers, deposits in the Treasury, and balances on hand may be stated as follows:

This shows a general lack of improvement this year from the showing made last year, and especially is it noticeable in the matter of transfers between officers. Last year an improvement of about 1 per cent was shown in transfers, as compared with 1894, but this year the amount of transfers, as compared with the total amount involved, increased nearly 5 per cent.

The average monthly disbursements of officers of the Army for the year was $3,739,198.85, and their final balances represented 114 per cent of this average, as against 103 per cent in 1895 and 89 per cent in 1894.

The following table shows the variation of these percentages in the principal disbursing departments during five fiscal years, and it can be seen where the idle deposits and cash are kept within the most reasonable bounds:

The proportion of balances kept in personal possession by disbursing officers of the Army was about 0.003 of the total amount, while for the two preceding years it approximated 0.007, showing a very marked improvement in this respect.

The total number of inspections made, including statements made under Army Regulations 877 of 1895, verified by the inspector, was as follows:

Of the 881 inspections, involving $72,098,368.53, it appears from the following tabulation that 757 inspections (including 212 accounts of post officers), involving $68,679,406.83, were made by officers of this Department, and 16 inspections (including 1 account of a staff officer), involving $39,340.15, were made by other officers:

How best to guard against having money scattered in useless petty. sums and lying idle, in amounts aggregating thousands of dollars, and to avoid an unnecessary number of entries and needless handlings of the same sum and reporting it over and over again before it reaches the creditor, has received some, and deserves more, attention. It is easy to point out how much more direct, simple, and expeditious the remittances are managed, and how much more immediate the control and less the temptations, in some departments than others. The improvement that has been effected indicates periods of most careful administration, which will doubtless have permanent effects.