fore made are hereby revoked, but may be renewed as provided herein. Sec. 166, R. S., as amended by sec. 3, act of May 28, 1896 (29 Stat. 179).

This section, as enacted in the Revised Statutes, authorized each head of a department to alter the distribution, among the bureaus and offices of his department, of the clerks allowed by law, "as he may find it necessary and proper to do."

Notes of Decisions.

Power of head of department as dependent on appropriations. It is competent for a head of a department to alter the disposition among the various bureaus and offices of his department of the clerks allowed by law, as he may find it necessary and proper to do, taking care that in no case shali any

such clerk be paid from any appropriation made for contingent expenses, or for any specific or general purpose, unless such payment is specifically provided for in the law granting the appropriation. (1894) 20 Op. Atty. Gen. 750.

* Hereafter no em

44. Details from the Government Printing Office.-* ployee of the Government Printing Office shall be detailed to duties not pertaining to the work of public printing and binding in any executive department or other government establishment unless expressly authorized by law. Sec. 1, act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 770), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses.

Provided,

45. Detail of civilian employees to the executive office.That employees of the executive departments and other establishments of the executive branch of the Government may be detailed from time to time to the office of the President of the United States for such temporary assistance as may be necessary. Act of May 29, 1920 (41 Stat. 640), making appropriations for legislative, executive and judicial expenses.

Similar provision appears in previous appropriation acts.

46. Detail of employees to administer oaths.-The Secretary of War is authorized to detail one or more of the employees of the War Department for the purpose of administering the oaths required by law in the settlement of officers' accounts for clothing, camp and garrison equipage, quartermaster's stores, and ordnance, which oaths shall be administered without expense to the parties taking them. R. S. 225.

Provisions applicable to all the departments, as to administration of oaths by officers and clerks, were made by R. S. 183, and the statutes referred to under that section, post, 97. 47. Distribution of employees who care for buildings. The Superintendent of the State, War, and Navy Department Building may from time to time alter the distribution among the various office buildings under his direction and control of the employees allowed by law as he may find it necessary and proper to do. Act of July 8, 1918 (40 Stat. 831).

48. Transfers between departments.-It shall not be lawful hereafter for any clerk or other employee in the classified service in any of the Executive Departments to be transferred from one Department to another Department until such clerk or other employee shall have served for a term of three years in the Department from which he desires to be transferred. Sec. 5, act of June 22, 1906 (34 Stat. 449), making appropriations for legislative, executive, and judicial expenses.

Notes of Decisions.

Departments, offices, clerks, etc., within provision.-This provision was not intended to apply to the entire classified service, for, if it were, the words in any of the executive departments" would be altogether superfluous. Only the subordi

nates of the several departments enumerated in R. S. 158, were to be included. (1907) 26 Op. Atty. Gen. 209.

It is lawful therefore for the Civil Service Commission to consent to the transfer

of a classified employee from an inde

The "field force" of an executive department-that is, its classified employees under its immediate control, as inspectors, examiners, and agents. though employed usually or invariably away from the seat of Government-are governed by this provision with regard to transfers. Id.

The provision is not applicable to the Philippine Commission or to the Isthmian Canal Commission. Id.

The three-year limitation as to transfers in the executive departments, prescribed by this section, does not apply to employees and subordinates in post offices, pension agencies, customhouses, ordnance establishments, subtreasuries, navy yards, and quartermaster's establishments. (1907) 26 Op. Atty. Gen. 254.

The language of that provision imports that the persons to which it applies are actually "in" the departments at the seat of Government, or that the performance of duties away from such departments is by direct orders from and under supervision by those departments. Id.

Where a branch of the civil service of the Government under the supervision of an executive department may properly be regarded as a distinct and independent office, it is not in the department within the meaning of this statute; but clerks and employees not in any such independent offices, and under the immediate control of the

several departments, are covered by the statute, although usually or invariably away from the seat of Government. (1909) 27 Op. Atty. Gen. 421, 425.

The rule laid down by Attorney General Devens in (1877) 15 Op. Atty. Gen. 262, 267, as to what bureaus and offices may be deemed bureaus and offices in any of the executive departments, approved and heid applicable. (1907) 26 Op. Atty. Gen. 254.

Classified employees on the rolls of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, in Washington, are required by this section to serve three years before their transfer to other departments is permissible. (1909) 27 Op. Atty. Gen. 421. And see (1908) 27 Op. Atty. Gen. 100.

Extension of requirement to remainder of classified services.-The requirement of three years' service before transfer from one department to another was extended by the President, by Civil Service Rule X, sec. 8, clause (a), to transfers within the remainder of the classified service, with the proviso that in the case of a transfer not between one executive department and another at Washington, the Civil Service Commission may waive the three-year limit of time. under certain given conditions. (1908) 27 Op. Atty. Gen. 100.

Time when transfer becomes effective.The transfer of a clerk's name from the roll of the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, in Washington, to that of the field force of the same service, is effective from the date of the transfer, notwithstanding such employee may not actually have entered upon the discharge of her duties as a member of that force. (1908) 27 Op. Atty. Gen. 100.

49. Transfer of employees between executive departments and independent establishments.-That section five of the Act of June twenty-second, nineteen hundred and six, prohibiting the transfer of employees from one executive department to another, shall apply with equal force and effect to the transfer of employees from executive departments to independent establishments and vice versa and to the transfer of employees from one independent establishment to another: Provided, That the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation shall be considered a Government establishment for the purposes of this section. Sec. 6, act of Oct. 6, 1917 (40 Stat. 383).

50. Promotions, reductions, or removals, according to efficiency ratings. The Civil Service Commission shall, subject to the approval of the President, establish a system of efficiency ratings for the classified service in the several executive departments in the District of Columbia based upon records kept in each department and independent establishment with such frequency as to make them as nearly as possible records of fact. Such system shall provide a minimum rating of efficiency which must be attained by an employee before he may be promoted; it shall also provide a rating below which no employee may fall without being demoted; it shall further provide for a rating below which no employee may fall without being dismissed for inefficiency. All promotions,

demotions, or dismissals shall be governed by provisions of the civil service rules. Copies of all records of efficiency shall be furnished by the departments and independent establishments to the Civil Service Commission for record in accordance with the provisions of this section: Provided, That in the event of reductions being made in the force in any of the executive departments no honorably discharged soldier or sailor whose record in said department is rated good shall be discharged or dropped, or reduced in rank or salary.

Any person knowingly violating the provisions of this section shall be summarily removed from office, and may also upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year. Sec. 4, act of Aug. 23, 1912 (37 Stat. 413), making appropriations for legislative, executive and judicial expenses.

Reports as to the establishment and maintenance of the system were required to be made by the Commission by provisions of sec. 1, act Mar. 4, 1913.

The operation of the executive order of Mar. 28, 1912, for the annual submission to the Civil Service Commission of an outline of the organization of the Government, was suspended until otherwise provided by law, by a provision of sec. 1, act July 16, 1914. A Division of Efficiency, with a chief therefor, was created by a provision of act Mar. 4, 1915, sec. 1; and said Division of Efficiency was made an independent establishment, to be known as the Bureau of Efficiency, by a provision of act Feb. 28, 1916, sec. 1, and the duties imposed upon the Civil Service Commission by this section were transferred to said Bureau of Efficiency by a further provision of said act, post, 53, 54,

Appropriations are not to be used to pay accountants or other experts for inaugurating new methods of transacting public business, unless specific provisions are made therefor, by sec. 5, act Apr. 6, 1914, post, 176.

See R. S. 158; and par. 3, sec. 6, act of Jan. 16, 1883 (22 Stat. 405).

Notes of Decisions.

Scope. The above section does not prohibit the head of a department from conforming the salary of honorably discharged soldiers and sailors to the grade

or character of work they may be called upon to perform. (1913) 30 Op. Atty. Gen. 167.

Provided, That in making

51. Retention of former soldiers, etc.-* any reduction of force in any of the executive departments, the head of such department shall retain those persons who may be equally qualified who have been honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the United States, and the widows and orphans of deceased soldiers and sailors. Sec. 3, act of Aug. 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 169), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses.

Notes of Decisions.

Preference of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, etc.-The preference of honorably discharged soldiers and sailors for appointments to civil offices under this section and the civil service act of Jan. 16, 1883, sec. 7, ante, 18, is limited to cases in which such persons are "equally qualified " and does not authorize the appointment of incompetent clerks. Keim v. U. S. (1900), 20 Sup. Ct. 574, 575, 177 U. S. 290, 44 L. Ed. 744; Id. (1898), 33 Ct. Cl. 174; Medkirk v. U. S. (1909), 44 Ct. Cl. 469.

The preference of ex-soldiers or ex-sailors, or the widows and orphans of deceased soldiers and sailors, given by R. S. sec. 1754, ante, 22, and extended by this section and by the civil service act of Jan. 16, 1883, sec. 7, ante, 18, does not entitle them to preference over other persons, when reductions in salary and rank are to be made, even though their qualifications are equal. (1909) 27 Op. Atty. Gen. 490.

52. Removal on charges.-That no person in the classified civil service of the United States shall be removed therefrom except for such cause as will promote the efficiency of said service and for reasons given in writing, and the

person whose removal is sought shall have notice of the same and of any charges preferred against him, and be furnished with a copy thereof, and also be allowed a reasonable time for personally answering the same in writing; and affidavits in support thereof; but no examination of witnesses nor any trial or hearing shall be required except in the discretion of the officer making the removal; and copies of charges, notice of hearing, answer, reasons for removal, and of the order of removal shall be made a part of the records of the proper department or office, as shall also the reasons for reduction in rank or compensation; and copies of the same shall be furnished to the person affected upon request, and the Civil Service Commission also shall, upon request, be furnished copies of the same: * The right of persons employed in the civil service of the United States, either individually or collectively, to petition Congress, or any Member thereof, or to furnish information to either House of Congress, or to any committee or member thereof, shall not be denied or interfered with. Sec. 6, act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 555).

Notes of Decisions.

Regulation restricting removal.-The order of the President of July 27, 1897, prohibiting removals from positions subject to competitive examination except upon written charges and notice, is an administrative order, regulating the conduct of the President's subordinates; but it has not the force of law, and confers upon an incumbent no right to hold office indefinitely, and no right of which a court of equity can take cognizance. Carr v. Gordon (C. C. 1897), 82 Fed. 373.

Civil-service rules promulgated by the Executive, so far as they deal with the executive right of removal, are but the expression of the will of the President, and are regulations imposed by him on his own action, or that of heads of departments appointed by him. They do not give employees within the classified service such tenure as to confer on them a property right in the office or place. Morgan r. Nunn (C. C. 1898), 84 Fed. 551, Amendment or repeal.-The rules regulating the power of removal may be repealed, altered, or amended at the pleasure of the President: (1907) 26 Op. Atty. Gen. 363.

Suspension. A regular and duly qualified employee in the classified civil service

of the United States is entitled to the compensation attached by law to his position during the period of his wrongful suspension by a subordinate officer. U. S. v. Wickersham (1906), 26 Sup. Ct. 469, 472, 201 U. S. 390, 50 L. Ed. 798.

Suspension without pay is to give the officer an opportunity to make a defense to the charge, instead of being subjected to immediate dismissal. Ruggles v. U. S. (1910), 45 Ct. Cl. 86.

An officer wrongfully suspended by one having no authority to do so is entitled to the compensation provided by law during the period of suspension, but where he was removed by one authorized to do so he can not claim his pay, though he was thereafter reinstated by the Civil Service Commission. Miller . U. S. (1910), 45 Ct, Cl. 509.

Power of removal.A person in the classified civil service can not be deprived of his status in the service except by removal as provided in the above section, and it is for the head of a department, and not the Civil Service Commission, to determine when there exists proper cause for removal. (1913) 30 Op. Atty.

Gen. 79.

*

*

Provided, That hereafter the

53. Bureau of Efficiency established.Division of Efficiency of the Civil Service Commission shall be an independent establishment and shall be known as the Bureau of Efficiency;

of Feb. 28, 1916 (39 Stat. 15).

Act

The Division of Efficiency, mentioned in this section was established by a provision of act Mar 4, 1915, sec. 1. See notes to 50, ante.

* *

54. Duties of the Bureau of Efficiency.-* And provided further, That the duties relating to efficiency ratings imposed upon the Civil Service Commission by section four of the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation

Act approved August twenty-third, nineteen hundred and twelve, and the duty of investigating the administrative needs of the service relating to personnel in the several executive departments and independent establishments, imposed on the Civil Service Commission by the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation Act approved March fourth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, are transferred to the Bureau of Efficiency. Act of Feb. 28, 1916 (39 Stat. 15).

To enable the Bureau of Efficiency, authorized by the Urgent Deficiency Appropriation Act approved February 28, 1916, to establish and maintain a system of efficiency ratings, to investigate administrative needs of the service relating to personnel in the several executive departments and independent establishments, required by the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Appropriation Acts for the fiscal years 1913 and 1914, respectively, and to investigate duplication of statistical and other work and methods of business in the various branches of the Government service; Act of Mar. 1, 1919

(40 Stat. 1223).

Not later than June 30, 1919, all books, records, and papers relating to the investigations of duplication of statistical and other work and to the work of the statistical clearing house of the Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics shall be transferred to the Bureau of Efficiency. Act of July 11, 1919 (41 Stat. 36), making appropriations to supply deficiencies.

The Bureau of Efficiency has been required by the act of Mar. 3, 1917 (39 Stat. 10801081), making appropriations for legislative, executive, and judicial expenses, to investigate (1) methods of auditing claims and accounting for receipts and disbursements, (2) methods of the Civil Service Commission, (3) rates of pay of employees of State and municipal governments and commercial institutions, (4) classification, salary, and efficiency of employees of the Government in the District of Columbia.

By sec. 3, act of Nov. 4, 1919 (41 Stat. 343), "the Bureau of Efficiency is directed to investigate the scope and character of statistics needed by the Government, and the methods of collecting, compiling, and presenting statistical information by the several executive departments and independent Government establishments and submit to Congress a report of its findings together with such recommendations as it deems proper."

55. Investigation of duplication of work. The Bureau of Efficiency shall investigate duplication of service in the various executive departments and establishments of the Government, including bureaus and divisions, and make a report to the President thereon, and the President is hereby authorized, after such report shall have been made to him, wherever he finds such duplications to exist to abolish the same. Report of the action taken hereunder shall be made to Congress at its next regular session. Sec. 8, act of Mar. 3, 1917 (39 Stat. 1122).

56. Access to records of departments by the Bureau of Efficiency:-Officers and employees of the executive departments and other establishments shall furnish authorized representatives of the Bureau of Efficiency with all information that the bureau may require for the performance of the duties imposed on it by law, and shall give such representatives access to all records and papers that may be needed for that purpose. Act of Mar. 3, 1917 (39 Stat. 1081), making appropriations for legislative, executive and judicial expenses.

57. Time study. That no part of the appropriations made in this bill shall be available for the salary or pay of any officer, manager, superintendent, foreman, or other person having charge of the work of any employee of the United States Government while making or causing to be made with a stop watch, or other time-measuring device, a time study of any job of any such employee between the starting and completion thereof, or of the movements of any such