Naval Storekeepers.

of Ordnance, Navigation, Medicine and Surgery, and Provisions and Clothing, as may be received into the yard for the public service, and confided to him, and be held responsible for the expenditure of the same, conformably to the general instructions of the service, or to the special orders of the Navy Department.

943....He will, under the direction of the Commanding Officer of the yard, have charge of the keys of all storehouses and buildings containing articles for which he is responsible. They must never be taken out of the yard, and when not in use must be kept hung up in some safe and accessible place.

944....Whenever he may be directed by the Commanding Officer, he shall make requisitions upon the purchasing agents for open purchases, or upon contractors, when the required articles are deliverable under contract, for all articles which may be wanted, and present the same to him for his approval. Such requisitions must always specify the appropriation and class, and, when practicable, the particular object for which the articles are required; and separate requisitions must be made under each appropriation for which articles may be wanted. Requisitions for articles purchased at the expense of contractors must be made in the form given in section 20 of this article.

945....He shall not give a receipt for any articles delivered in the yard, whether purchased by purchasing agents or delivered by contractors, until he shall have been furnished with an invoice or bill stating the particular articles, their cost, and the object or appropriation for which they were purchased, nor until they shall have been certified to be of proper quality by the inspecting officers, unless directed by written order of the Commanding Officer.

946....All articles which may be received into the yard for public service, or which may be placed in the Storekeeper's charge by the orders of the Commanding Officer, shall be immediately entered by the Storekeeper in his books under the respective appropriations to which they belong.

947....He shall not deliver articles for any other object or appro. priation than that for which they were originally received, except by a written order of, or upon a requisition approved by, the Commanding

Naval Storekeepers.

Officer of the yard, which order or requisition he must produce as the authority for such transfer or loan.

948... He will issue no articles (timber, timber materials, and coal excepted) but by the previous written order of, or upon requisitions duly approved by, the Commanding Officer of the yard. These requisitions or orders must specify the appropriation, and the object for which the articles are wanted; and when they are to be drawn from an appropriation different from that for which they are wanted, it must be distinctly stated on the face of the requisition. Requisitions for timber, timber materials, and coal can be made semi-monthly to cover the quantities which may have been used, condemned, or transferred during the preceding half month.

949....He will deliver articles to vessels in commission upon requisitions when signed by the Commanding Officer of the vessel, approved by the senior officer present in command of such vessels and by the Commanding Officer of the yard, taking receipts, as directed in the next following paragraph.

950....He will take receipts for all articles delivered upon the requisitions themselves, and preserve them as vouchers for his expenditures, and also upon invoices prepared in triplicate, one of which he will leave for the use and government of the officer receipting for the He shall give credit to the proper objects, and charge himself on the books with all surplus stores that may have been required for any object and returned to him again as not having been wanted.

same.

951.... He shall examine all accounts rendered for supplies furnishedwhich shall have been duly certified to have passed inspection, and, on being satisfied of their accuracy and the reasonableness of the prices charged, shall receipt the same and send them immediately to the Commanding Officer for approval; but if he shall believe any article to be overcharged, or shall discover any defect or deficiency, he shall call the attention of the Commanding Officer to such charge, defect, or deficiency before receipting for the same.

952....After survey shall have been held upon stores returned from a ship, he shall receive them on store account, excepting such as shall have been condemned. When articles recommended for repairs are repaired, he will credit the vessel with their original value, less the

Naval Storekeepers.

cost of repairs. The articles so received may be issued to other vessels, by order of the Commandant of the yard, when it can be advantageously done; and these second handed articles must be entered and expended on separate lines from other articles.

953....He will notify the Commanding Officer whenever any article of stores may be so nearly expended as to require replenishing, and when any additional measures may be necessary for the proper preservation of articles in his charge.

954....When there are any articles in store which may be used without impairing efficiency, though not of the precise dimensions, form, or quality named in a requisition upon the Naval Storekeeper, they are to be supplied in place of those required, to prevent the necessity of open purchases, unless otherwise specially directed by the Commandant of the yard.

955....He shall be responsible for the shipment of all stores under his charge from the yard at which he is stationed to other places by such conveyances as may be furnished by the purchasing agent or other duly authorized person, and conformably to such orders as he may receive upon the subject. Particular attention must be paid by him to have all the articles thus to be transported delivered by the bills of lading at the precise place to which they may have been ordered, and that they are in good shipping order. The price, rate, or amount of freight to be paid must be specifically inserted in all bills of lading, and not left to the phrase, "according to usage."

956...All articles forwarded from the navy yard must be accompanied by a bill or invoice stating the particular contents of each package, the cost of the separate articles, and the appropriation to which they belong."

957....He shall keep his books and make his returns in such manner and at such times as may be prescribed by the Navy Department.

958. Whenever articles contracted for are, in consequence of the failure of the contractor to furnish them, purchased in open market, he will receipt for them accordingly, keeping a record of the same, and make a quarterly return to the proper bureau of the excess of cost over that of the contract price.

Clerk of the Yard.... Mustering Workmen and Check Officers.

959

SECTION 18.

Clerk of the Yard.

The Clerk of the yard is responsible for the proper mustering of the men, and for making correct returns of their time and the pay allowed them.

960. He is to get his orders from the Commanding Officer with regard to the times and manner of mustering the workmen, and he must be present, duly prepared, precisely at the times prescribed, and then commence the musters. He is to make out, semi-monthly, the pay-rolls by which the workmen are to be paid the wages they have earned, and these, containing the names of the workmen, the number of days' work each has performed, the class to which each belongs, the rate of pay established by the Commandant for each class, the amount due to each individual, the whole amount chargeable to each appropriation, and marginal notes of all extra work performed, are to be certified by him as correct in every particular. He is also to make out monthly a copy or transcript of the last two semi-monthly pay-rolls, which is to be signed by himself, and then approved and forwarded by the Commandant to the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks.

SECTION 19.

Mustering Workmen and Check Officers.

961...It is of the utmost importance to the public interest that no more of the working day should be absorbed in conducting the necessary musters than can be avoided, and therefore, whenever practicable, the mechanics and laborers employed at a navy yard are to be divided as equally as needs be into mustering gangs, no one of which to exceed six hundred in number, and each to be designated by a letter of the alphabet, so as to repair, for the purpose of being mustered at the prescribed times, to the mustering office or station exhibiting a corresponding letter. As fast as the men are mustered they are to go promptly and quietly to the work assigned them.

Mustering Workmen and Check Officers.. -Purchasing Agents at Shore Stations. 962....A Check Officer, who is to be either a lieutenant, master, or ensign, whenever arrangements will permit, is to be present at each mustering office or station whenever a muster takes place, and, with a verified copy of the roll used thereat, furnished under the responsibility of the clerk of the yard by the mustering clerk, he is to note, as the roll is called, the presence or absence of each individual, and to enter the name of any new man, not already on the roll, presenting himself to be received by due authority. Immediately after the muster has ended he is to compare his roll with that of the mustering clerk, and if any disagreement should be found an investigation must take place without delay, to ascertain the cause of the discrepancy and correct the error. The rolls kept by Check Officers, when filled, are to be returned by them to the Commandant's office, and there filed for reference. In case of a deficiency of officers to serve as just mentioned, the Commandant is to direct as many of the clerks or writers already employed in the yard as may be necessary to act in their stead, and they are to do so in addition to the ordinary duties exacted of them. The clerk of the yard is to select, with the approval of the Commandant, suitable persons to perform the duties of mustering cleiks, and to be allowed one to an average of every six hundred workmen employed, he himself mustering, &c., one of the gangs, and being regarded, therefore, so far, as one of those clerks. The mustering clerks are to assist the clerk of the yard in computing and preparing the rolls for the inspection and government of the disbursing officer in paying the men off, and by this arrangement it is expected that the clerk of the yard will never fail to make his rolls and returns as promptly as required.

SECTION 20.

Purchasing Agents at Shore Stations.

963....All requisitions for stores will be approved by the Commandant of the navy yard; and those for articles not under contract will be made upon the Purchasing Agent, who will procure them and be responsible that they are forthcoming, at the lowest market price,