the Navy Department by providing that the payment and acceptance of the annual premiums on a bond shall be a compliance with the requirement for renewal of bonds.

By eliminating the requirement for renewal of bonds, a large amount of clerical and administrative work can be dispensed with and substantial savings in money and manpower will be effected. This will be accomplished without lessening in any appreciable degree the protection now afforded the Government.

The bill was introduced at the request of the Navy Department and representatives of that Department appeared before the committee and testified in favor of it.

The War Department has requested that the bill be amended to include its bonded personnel and the Treasury Department has requested that it be amended to include all bonded officers and employees of the United States. The Comptroller General has also indicated that he would favor an enlargement of the scope of the bill to include all bonded officers and employees of the United States.

In the Senate, the bill was amended to include Army officers, employees, and enlisted men.

As the bill would be as beneficial to the other Government departments as to the Navy Department the committee recommends the amendment that will make the provisions of the bill applicable to all bonded officers and employees of the United States.

The following letter from the Secretary of the Navy addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and transmitted by him to the Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives sets forth the views and recommendation of the Navy Department on this bill. This letter is hereby made a part of this report.

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, January 14, 1944.

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed bill "to amend the act approved March 2, 1895, as amended."

The purpose of the proposed bill is to amend the act approved March 2, 1895 (6 U. S. C. 3), as amended, so that it will provide that the payment and acceptance of the annual premiums on corporate surety bonds shall be a compliance with the requirement for renewal of such bonds of bonded officers and enlisted men of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. At present the law so provides as to postal officers and employees and the bill would extend the provision to cover bonded officers and enlisted men of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

Under the act of March 2, 1895, every official charged with the approval of official bonds is required to cause all bonds under his cognizance to be renewed every 4 years or oftener if deemed necessary. Treasury Department Circular No. 197 issued December 1, 1898 (5 Comp. Dec. 988) requires that, upon the execution of a new bond, the bonded officer or man must close out his accounts under the old bond and deposit any unexpended balances before any advances are made under the new bond.

Literal compliance with these instructions in a number of cases is impossible and, with the approval of the Comptroller General, they have been modified to permit an officer to deposit funds needed for immediate use with some other proper disbursing officer, if it is not practicable to deposit any unexpended balances. When even this procedure is not feasible, officers outside the United States have retained their unexpended balances but have had such belances verified by two disinterested persons and have supported their accounts current under the old bonds with certificates signed by such persons.

To follow any of the above procedures is impossible in many cases, particularly in time of war and the proposed bill, by eliminating the requirement for formal renewal of bonds every 4 years, would correct such situations.

The amendment to the act of March 2, 1895, by the act of March 8, 1928 (45 Stat. 247) was enacted, apparently at the behest of the Post Office Department following the receipt by that Department of an opinion of the Comptroller General (7 Comp. Gen. 43) to the effect that annual payment of premiums on corporate surety bonds could not be construed as compliance with the provisions of the act of March 2, 1895, requiring renewal of such bonds every 4 years.

In urging a relaxation of the requirement for renewal of bonds, the Postmaster General in a letter to the Comptroller General dated June 16, 1927, invited attention to the large amount of effort and expense incident thereto and the fact that little or nothing was accomplished in protecting the Government's financial interests by having a new document executed every 4 years. These arguments would apply with equal or greater force to the situation now prevailing in the Navy.

The proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would involve no additional expense to the Government.

The Navy Department recommends enactment of the proposed legislation. The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of the proposed legislation to the Congress. Sincerely yours,

FRANK KNOX.

In compliance with clause 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, there follow the provisions of existing law showing the changes which would be made by the proposed legislation (insert the part printed in italic):

ACT OF MARCH 2, 1895 (CH. 177, SEC. J. 28 STAT. 807) AS AMENDED BY ACT OF MARCH 8, 1928), Cн. 148, 45 Stat. 247)

* Provided, That the payment and acceptance of the annual premium on corporate surety bonds furnished by postal officers and employees and bonded officers and enlisted men of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard shall be a compliance with the requirement for the renewal of such bonds within the meaning of Sections 1-3 of this title.

78TH CONGRESS 2d Session

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

REPORT No. 1211

PROVIDING TITLES FOR HEADS OF STAFF DEPARTMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

MARCH 1, 1944.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

Mr. HESS, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1653]

The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1653) to provide titles for heads of staff departments of the United States Marine Corps, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The purpose of the bill is to provide titles for the heads of the staff departments of the United States Marine Corps that will be more descriptive of those offices than are the present titles.

At present the title of the head of the quartermaster's department of the Marine Corps is "the quartermaster" and that of the head of the paymaster's department is "the paymaster." When these titles were adopted they were fairly descriptive of the duties of the offices, but as the Marine Corps has expanded the staff work has increased to such an extent that the titles are no longer appropriate. Also, in the minds of the public the terms "the quartermaster" and "the paymaster" are associated with smaller operating units.

To dispel any misapprehension as to the importance of the offices, and to give such offices titles that will be more descriptive and appropriate to the duties involved, the bill would provide that the head of the Quartermaster Department be given the title "The Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps" and the head of the Paymaster's Department, "The Paymaster General of the Marine Corps."

Similar offices in the Army and Navy have similar titles and, in view of the expansion of the Marine Corps, it is considered entirely fitting that the heads of its staff departments be given these more appropriate titles.

The following letter from the Secretary of the Navy addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and transmitted by him

to the chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives sets forth the views and recommendation of the Navy Department on this bill. This letter is hereby made a part of this report.

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, January 15, 1944.

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed bill to provide titles for heads of staff departments of the United States Marine Corps, and for other purposes.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to clarify the titles of heads of the Paymaster's Department and the Quartermaster's Department of the United States Marine Corps.

The titles "the paymaster" and "the quartermaster" are ambiguous and confusing titles and carry no definite designation commonly associated with the heads of staff departments in the Marine Corps.

The titles "the paymaster" and "the quartermaster" are anachronisms carried over from earlier days. When first established by law "the paymaster" and "the quartermaster" were the only officers of the Marine Corps performing these designated staff duties. Later, other officers were needed for this class of duty and, as they were appointed or detailed, they became assistant paymasters and assistant quartermasters.

The titles "The Paymaster General of the Marine Corps" and "The Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps", would more accurately describe the officers serving as heads of the Paymaster's and Quartermaster's Departments, respectively.

The enactment of the proposed legislation would result in no additional cost to the Government.

The Navy Department recommends enactment of the proposed legislation. The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of the proposed legislation to the Congress.

Sincerely yours,

О

FORRESTAL, Acting.