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cases of officers and men held in captivity and such others as may be retained in the service under special authority granted by the Secretary of War.

8. When an organization is under orders to proceed to the United States for muster out, the commanding general. Division of the Philippines, will take the necessary steps to cause the return to it of all absentees except such as may be absolutely unable to join on account of illness or capture by the enemy, and such officers as may be necessary to be retained in the service under authority to be obtained from the Secretary of War. Officers and men unable to join on account of illness will be discharged by the chief mustering officer, Division of the Philippines. on the date of the muster out of their organizations in the United States, which date will be cabled to him by the mustering officer charged with the muster out of the regiment. Officers and enlisted men unable to join their commands on account of being in the hands of the enemy will, after coming under the control of the Government, be discharged on the date of the muster out of their organizations if practicable, or on the date of arrival from captivity at Manila, if the organizations to which they belong have been mustered out. The descriptive lists, with full statement of action taken in the abovementioned cases, will be sent by the chief mustering officer to the Adjutant General of the Army. All descriptive lists must contain a complete history of allotments of enlisted men; their duration, their discontinuance, either voluntary or imposed by court martial forfeitures, their resumption, and any other facts necessary to arrive at a proper settlement on discharge or muster out.

9. In the cases of enlisted merr absent at muster out, either in the Philippines or in the United States, discharge certificates and final statements will be carefully prepared from descriptive lists by officers under whose control they may be at the time, and the physical examination required will be made immediately prior to date of discharge, but when for sufficient reasons the physical examination can not be made prior to date of discharge it will be waived, and notation thereof made on the descriptive lists, as neither officers nor men will be held in service for that purpose.

10. In the cases of officers absent at muster out, discharge certificates will be furnished them by the officers under whom they may be serving after the required physical examination has been made, if such examination is practicable, and they will be notified to apply to the Paymaster General of the Army for settlement of their accounts.

11. Officers and enlisted men absent on leave or furlough in the United States, and not under the immediate control of post or other commanders, will be notified by the mustering officer by letter of the date on which they will be discharged from the service on account of the muster out of their organizations, and the date of such notification will be placed on the muster-out rolls. The mustering officer will cause discharge certificates to be prepared for officers and discharge certifi cates and final statements for the enlisted men, and the final statements must show the place from which travel allowances are due. In the case of officers the necessary notation of the place from which travel allowances are due will be made on the discharge certificates under the head of "Remarks;" in both cases travel allowances will be paid only from the places where the discharge certificates were received by the persons concerned.

The discharge certificates and final statements will be sent to officers and men by registered mail and the receipts therefor will be filed with the muster-out rolls, on which rolls will be entered the date when such papers were registered and mailed.

Soldiers on discharge will be advised to apply in person or by mail to the nearest paymaster (whose station will be given) for final payment, and the paymasters will be notified as required by paragraph 150 of the Regulations. Officers will apply to the Paymaster General of the Army for payment.

12. When Volunteer organizations serving in the Philippine Islands receive orders to proceed to the United States for mus ter out of service, officers and enlisted men of such organizations whose service has been honest and faithful, who desire to remain in those islands, may be discharged by department commanders upon written application approved by company and regimental commanders.

13. Officers honorably discharged in the Philippines will be entitled to travel allowances for the land travel involved from place of their discharge to the place of actual residence at the time of appointment, and enlisted men to places of enlistment. For the sea travel officers are entitled to free transportation and actual expenses, and enlisted men to free transportation and subsistence of the kind furnished enlisted men in the service on any transport leaving the islands for the United States, on presenting their discharge certificates to the chief quartermaster of the division, who will furnish the same and cause the fact that transportation and subsistence have been furnished to be indorsed on said certificates.

The discharge certificates and the final statements in such cases must show clearly the place from which land travel allowances are due, if any, to port of embarkation and from port of debarkation in the United States to the place of residence or enlistment, as the case may be.

14. The physical examination of all officers and enlisted men prior to discharge in the Philippine Islands will be conducted as provided for in paragraph II of this order, under the supervision of the chief mustering officer, who will also be charged with the examination of final statements before they are delivered to the men.

The physical examination of officers and men absent from their commands in the United States will be made in accordance with paragraph II and as directed in General Orders, No. 130, October 25, 1900, from this office.

15. Attention is invited to section 2, act of Congress, approved January 12, 1999 (published in G. O. 13, 1899):

"SEC. 2. That officers who at any time were accountable or responsible for public property shall be required, before final payment is made to them on discharge from the service, to obtain certificates of nonindebtedness to the United States from only such of the bureaus of the War Department to which the property for which they were accountable or responsible pertains, and the certificate from the chief of the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, Treasury Department, and such certificates, accompanied by the affidavits of officers, of nonaccountability or nonresponsibility to other bureaus of the War Department, certified to by the commanding officer of the regiment or independent organization, shall warrant their final payment: Provided, That officers who have not been responsible at any time for public property shall be required to make affidavit of that fact, certified to by their cominanding officers, which shall be accepted as sufficient evidence to warrant their final payment on their discharge from the service: Provided further, That mustering officers are empowered to administer oaths in all matters pertaining to the muster out of volunteers."

16. Officers having in their possession funds of the United States who are ordered discharged or mustered out of the service or relieved from duty will turn over their balances of public funds to an officer of the staff department to which the funds pertain, taking his receipt therefor, or deposit the funds in a U. S. depository to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States, close their accounts and transmit them to the chief of the proper bureau of the War Department without

unnecessary delay, accompanied by the proper vouchers and other papers relating thereto. This will greatly facilitate the final settlement of their accountability. Where funds are on deposit to their credit in a designated depository or in the Treasury of the United States, all unused checks will be turned over and accounted for as required by Army Regulations, 605 and 606, also 607 (as amended by General Orders, No. 181, Adjutant General's Office, 1899), and Circular, No. 51, Adjutant General's Office, October 19, 1899, and by regulations of the Treasury Department as per printed instructions in each book, retaining only the stubs of the checks issued by them.

Officers of the Volunteers who at any time were accountable or responsible for public property will on discharge from the service be paid only the travel allowances due them, and no other payments will be made to them until they shall have satisfactorily accounted for the public property for which they were accountable or responsible. They will not be retained in the service beyond the date of muster out of their organizations for the purpose of completing their accounts and

returns.

17. Mustering officers are hereby designated to act as inspectors of property submitted to them for condemnation for which officers of organizations ordered to be mustered out of the service are responsible, and they are authorized to order, "by direction of the Secretary of War," final disposition to be made of condemned property, except that mentioned in paragraphs 888 and 1463 of the Regulations.

18. Officers of staff departments will be detailed for duty at rendezvous to receive public property and supervise the preparation of all returns and papers relating thereto under special insructions to be given by chiefs of the staff departments of the Army, and the Surgeon General of the Army will designate for detail medical officers to assist in the physical examination of officers and men, to be made as indicated in paragraph II of this order.

19. Officers of the Regular Army holding commissions in Volunteer regiments will on muster out in the United States report by telegraph to the Adjutant General of the Army for further orders.

20. Soldiers of Volunteer organizations who at the time of the muster out of their organizations are in confinement under sentence of a general court-martial which does not provide for dishonorable discharge will be discharged without honor on the muster out of their commands, as provided for by paragraph 151, Army Regulations.

21. On arrival of the paymaster at the rendezvous the mus tering officer will deliver to him the discharge certificates for the purpose indicated in section 6 of this order, and on the day of payment the organization will be paraded and the mus tering officer will cause the names of all officers and enlisted men present and absent to be called out, requiring those present to answer and step briskly five paces in front of the line. As soon as the muster of a company has been completed the mustering officer will direct it to be marched to the pay table for payment and discharge, handing a copy of the muster out roll to the company commander, which immediately after payment will be returned to the mustering officer. On completion of the payment of the organization the mustering officer will send one copy of the muster-out roll to the Adjutant General of the Army and file the remaining copy with the records of the organization.

Mustering officers and their assistants will keep correct records of all correspondence, properly indexed, and upon completion of their duties render to the Adjutant General of the Army full reports of their work with such recommendations as to the solution of the problem involved in the muster out of service of United States Volunteers as their experience may dictate.

22. The Porto Rico Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry, will be mustered out of the service at its station on or before June 30, 1901, under the provisions of this order and such special instructions as may be given from this office.

II. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF OFFICERS AND MEN.-To facilitate the settlement of pension claims that may be made on account of disability incurred in the United States service and to protect the rights of persons who may be entitled to the benefits of the pension laws as well as to guard the interests of the Government, it is ordered that a thorough physical examination be made of all officers and enlisted men of Volunteers, except general officers, officers of the general staff, and officers detached from the Regular Army immediately prior to their muster out of service or discharge. For this purpose a blank form will be supplied by the Adjutant General of the Army.

1. When an organization is about to be mustered out of the service each officer and enlisted man will be required by his company or other commanding officer to answer the questions on the blank form "Declaration of person to be mustered out," which, when completed, will be signed by him and duly witnessed by said officer. This officer will then make the re

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