ordinate offices and employments. Sec. 2, Act of May 13 1884 (23 Stat. 22). (Paragraph 60 post.) 60. Same.-Whenever any person * * is elected or appointed to any office of honor or trust under the Government of the United States, he shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe in lieu of that oath the following oath:1 “I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. Sec. 1757, R. S., as amended by the Act of June 6, 1898 (30 Stat. 432). 61. Same. The oath of office taken by any person pursuant to the requirements of section seventeen hundred and fifty-six, or of section seventeen hundred and fifty-seven, shall be delivered in by him to be preserved among the files of the House of Congress, Department, or court to which the office in respect to which the oath is made may appertain. Sec. 1759, R. S. (Sec. 1756, R. S., was repealed by the act of May 13, 1884 (23 Stat. 22)). 62. Who may administer oath.-The oath of office required by the preceding section may be taken before any officer who is authorized either by the laws of the United States, or by the local municipal 'The disabilities to hold office under the United States imposed under the authority conferred by section 3 of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution, and which were embodied in section 1218 of the Revised Statutes, as modified by the acts of May 13, 1884 (23 Stat. 21), and March 31, 1896 (29 Stat. 84), were, by the act of June 6, 1898, finally and entirely removed. For definition of office see U. S. v. Germaine, 99 U. S., 508, and Mouat v. U. S., 124 U. S., 303. See, also, note 1 to paragraph 4, ante. Clerks appointed by the head of an Executive Department are officers, and are required by the Constitution to take the oath of office. (1 Comp. Dec., 4.) An employee whose compensation is fixed by the head of an Executive Department is not required to take a new oath of office when his compensation is increased. (Id., 267.) When by law a change is made in the compensation of an office, and in the manner in which such compensation shall be ascertained, the incumbent thereof is entitled from the date of the act to the compensation so fixed and is not required to take a new oath of office. (Id., 313.) Under the act of February 14, 1889 (25 Stat. 670), S. was appointed from civil life to the position of major of engineers in the Army, and thereupon was placed on the retired list of the Army as of that grade; advised, that he must take the oath required by section 1756 of the Revised Statutes, and that this act would be in law a legal acceptance of the office, and, as such, a sufficient formal acceptance. (XIX Opin. Att. Gen., 283.) Section 1757, Revised Statutes, and the act of May 13, 1884 (23 Stat. 22), which require generally that an officer shall take the oath of office prescribed "before entering upon the duties of his office" are directory only (U. S. v. Eaton, 169 U. S., 331), and a deputy clerk of a United States court whose acceptance of office on the same day he was appointed was evidenced by his entrance upon duty, and who subsequently took the oath, is entitled to compensation from that day. (4 Comp. Dec., 496.) law, to administer oaths, in the State, Territory, or district where such oath may be administered. Sec. 1758, R. S. 63. Administration of oaths. In all cases in which under the laws of the United States oaths or acknowledgments may now be taken or made before any justice of the peace of any State or Territory, or in the District of Columbia, they may hereafter be also taken or made by or before any notary public duly appointed in any State, district, or Territory, or any of the commissioners of the circuit courts, and when certified under the hand and official seal of such notary or commissioner, shall have the same force and effect as if taken or made by or before such justice of the peace. Sec. 1778, R. S. 64. Oaths in investigations.—Any officer or clerk of any of the departments lawfully detailed to investigate frauds on, or attempts to defraud, the Government, or any irregularity or misconduct of any officer or agent of the United States, and any officer of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Revenue-Cutter Service detailed to conduct an investigation, and the recorder, and if there be none the presiding officer, of any military, naval, or Revenue-Cutter Service board appointed for such purpose, shall have authority to administer an oath to any witness attending to testify or depose in the course of such investigation. Sec. 183, R. S., as amended by the Act of Feb. 13, 1911 (36 Stat. 898). 65. Oaths to travel accounts.-After June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twelve, postmasters, assistant postmasters, collectors of customs, collectors of internal revenue, chief clerks of the various executive departments and bureaus, or clerks designated by them for the purpose, the superintendent, the acting superintendent, custodian, and principal clerks of the various national parks and other Government reservations, superintendent, acting superintendents, and principal clerks of the different Indian superintendencies or Indian agencies, and chiefs of field parties, are required, empowered, and authorized, when requested, to administer oaths, required by law or otherwise, to accounts for travel or other expenses against the United States, with like force and effect as officers having a seal; for such services when so rendered, or when rendered on demand after said date by notaries public, who at the time are also salaried officers or employees of the United States, no charge shall be made; and on and after July first, nineteen hundred and twelve, no fee or money paid for the services herein described shall be paid or reimbursed by the United States. Sec. 8, Act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 487). 66. Pay during disability-Limit.-When, on or after August first, nineteen hundred and eight, any person employed by the United States as an artisan or laborer in any of its manufacturing establishments, arsenals, or navy-yards, or in the construction of river and harbor or fortification work or in hazardous employment on construction work in the reclamation of arid lands or the management and control of the same, or in hazardous employment under the Isthmian Canal Commission, is injured in the course of such employment, such employee shall be entitled to receive for one year thereafter, unless such employee, in the opinion of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, be sooner able to resume work, the same pay as if he continued to be employed, such payment to be made under such regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe: Provided, That no compensation shall be paid under this Act where the injury is due to the negligence or misconduct of the employee injured, nor unless said injury shall continue for more than fifteen days. All questions of negligence or misconduct shall be determined by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Sec. 1, Act of May 30, 1908 (35 Stat. 556). (See Circular A, War Department, January 12, 1910.) 67. In case of death payable to widow, etc.-If any artisan or laborer so employed shall die during the said year by reason of such injury received in the course of such employment, leaving a widow, or a child or children under sixteen years of age, or a dependent parent, such widow and child or children and dependent parent shall be entitled to receive, in such portions and under such regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe, the same amount, for the remainder of the said year, that said artisan or laborer would be entitled to receive as pay if such employee were alive and continued to be employed: Provided, That if the widow shall die at any time during the said year her portion of said amount shall be added to the amount to be paid to the remaining beneficiaries under the provisions of this section, if there be any. Sec. 2, Id. (See Circular A, War Department, January 12, 1910.) 68. Evidence by beneficiaries.-In the case of any accident which shall result in death, the persons entitled to compensation under this Act or their legal representatives shall, within ninety days after such death, file with the Secretary of Commerce and Labor an affidavit setting forth their relationship to the deceased and the ground of their claim for compensation under the provisions of this Act. This shall be accompanied by the certificate of the attending physician setting forth the fact and cause of death, or the nonproduction of the certificate shall be satisfactorily accounted for. In the case of incapacity for work lasting more than fifteen days, the injured party desiring to take the benefit of this Act shall, within a reasonable period after the expiration of such time, file with his official superior, to be forwarded through regular official channels to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, an affidavit setting forth the grounds of his claim for compensation, to be accompanied by a certificate of the attending physician as to the cause and nature of the injury and probable duration of the incapacity, or the nonproduction of the certificate shall be satisfactorily accounted for. If the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall find from the report and affidavit or other evidence produced by the claimant or his or her legal representatives, or from such additional investigation as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may direct, that a claim for compensation is established under this Act, the compensation to be paid shall be determined as provided under this Act and approved for payment by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Sec. 4, Id. (See Circular A, War Department, January 12, 1910.) 69. Not payable to assignees or creditors.-Payments under this Act are only to be made to the beneficiaries or their legal representatives other than assignees, and shall not be subject to the claims of creditors. Sec. 6, Id. 70. Medical examination.-The employee shall, whenever and as often as required by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, at least once in six months, submit to medical examination, to be provided and paid for under the direction of the Secretary, and if such employee refuses to submit to or obstructs such examination his or her right to compensation shall be lost for the period covered by the continuance of such refusal or obstruction. Sec. 5, Id. 71. Reports regarding accidents.-Whenever an accident occurs to any employee embraced within the terms of the first section of this Act, and which results in death or a probable incapacity for work, it shall be the duty of the official superior of such employee to at once report such accident and the injury resulting therefrom to the head of his Bureau or independent office, and his report shall be immediately communicated through regular official channels to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Such report shall state, first, the time, cause, and nature of the accident and injury and the probable duration of the injury resulting therefrom; second, whether the accident arose out of or in the course of the injured person's employment; third, whether the accident was due to negligence or misconduct on the part of the employee injured; fourth, any other matters required by such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe. The head of each Department or independent office shall have power, however, to charge a special official with the duty of making such reports. Sec. 3, Id. (See Circular A, War Department, January 12, 1910.) 72. Contract for exemption invalid.-The United States shall not exempt itself from liability under this Act by any contract, agreement, rule, or regulation, and any such contract, agreement, rule, or regulation shall be pro tanto void. Sec. 7, Id. CONTINGENT FUNDS. 73. Purchases from contingent fund.-No part of the contingent fund appropriated to any Department, bureau, or office, shall be applied to the purchase of any articles except such as the head of the Department shall deem necessary and proper to carry on the business of the Department, bureau, or office, and shall, by written order, direct to be procured.1 Sec. 3683, R. S. 74. Use for official and clerical compensation.-No moneys appropriated for contingent, incidental, or miscellaneous purposes shall be expended or paid for official or clerical compensation. Sec. 3682, R. S. (Section 3682, Revised Statutes, prohibits, absolutely, the use for official or clerical compensation of any money appropriated for contingent, incidental, or miscellaneous purposes. (I Comp. Dec., 392; Id., 410.) The Revised Statutes (section 3682) forbid money appropriated for contingent, incidental, or miscellaneous purposes being used for official or clerical compensation. The adjectives" contingent," "incidental," and "miscellaneous" have a technical and well-understood meaning; and, where a specific appropriation is made for specific objects, such as clerks, messengers, light, fuel, no disbursement can be made therefor from the appropriation for "miscellaneous expenses." (22 Ct. Cls. 269.) (The words "contingent expenses" as employed in acts making appropriations, means such incidental, casual, and unforeseen expenses as are necessary and appropriate to the execution of duties required by law in connection with the object for which the appropriation was made. There is no discretion conferred upon heads of departments to use such appropriations for other purposes. (IV Comp. Dec., 287).) 75. Apportionment of contingent funds. In addition to the apportionment required by the so-called antideficiency Act, approved February twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and six (Statutes at Large, volume thirty-four, page forty-nine), the head of each executive department shall, on or before the beginning of each fiscal year, apportion to each office or bureau of his department the maximum amount to be expended therefor during the fiscal year out of the contingent fund or funds appropriated for the entire year for the department, and the amounts so apportioned shall not be increased or diminished during the year for which made except upon the written direction of the head of the department, in which there shall be fully expressed his reasons therefor; and hereafter there shall not be purchased out of any other fund any article for use in any office or bureau of any executive department in Washington, District of 1 Section 3683, Revised Statutes, requires that the written order therein mentioned shall be given by the head of the Department before the articles to be paid for from the contingent fund are procured, and a subsequent approval is not sufficient. (II Comp. Dec., 1.) This section applies only to cases where an appropriation is made in a lump sum for "contingent, incidental, or miscellaneous expenses," or under similar words, and where Congress has specifically designated appropriations for enumerated items as being for "contingent, incidental, or miscellaneous expenses." (Id., 42.) When an item is properly payable from an appropriation for contingent expenses, the discretion of the officer charged with the duty of expending said fund is not subject to review by the accounting officers upon any question as to the necessity or advisability of his expenditures. (Id., SO. XVIII Opin. Att. Gen., 424.) 48985°-15- -3 |