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Sub Voucher No.

Voucher No...

to

Abstract of

Disbursements, pertaining to

Account Current of 1st Lieut.

The rate of pay to Civilian Employees does not exceed $60.00 per month, the circumstances of their service make issue of rations uecessary, and the terms of their engagement provide for such issue.

(Remark on abstract of Issues to Civilian Employees.)

JUNE 12 1906

(For marking on boxes or packages date of receipt of stores.)

In addition to the above, a stamp of the name of the commissary and a set of month stamps, on a band similar to a dater.

CHAPTER IX

THE POST RECRUITING OFFICER

(See corresponding chapter in SUPPLEMENT for additional matter and changes, if any.)

The proper performance of the duty of RECRUITING OFFICER, like the proper performance of any other duty, requires work and attention to business.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS

In nearly all departments it is customary for the Recruiting Officer to communicate direct with the Adjutant General on matters of a purely recruiting nature. For instance, a man can not be enlisted for an organization at another post without first getting authority from the Adjutant General of the Department, which is done by wire, direct. Thus:

ADJUTANT General,

Army Building,

St. Paul, Minn.

Authority requested enlistment John A. Morris for Twenty-fourth Infantry.

SMITH,

Recruiting Officer.

The answer would be sent to the post commander, who is the one to issue the necessary transportation order.

Blank Forms to be kept on hand, and Reports and Returns to be made; War Dept. orders and Army Regulation Pars. affecting Recruiting officers. Sup., Chap. IX, Par. 80-1-2.

CHAPTER X

THE POST EXCHANGE OFFICER'

(See corresponding chapter in SUPPLEMENT for additional matter and changes, if any.)

The proper performance of the duty of POST EXCHANGE OFFICER, like the proper performance of any other duty, requires work and attention to business.

Special attention should be paid to the details of stock, accounts, sales, and collections.

The success of an exchange depends on the business instinct of, and the care and intelligence exercised by, the officer in charge, and also upon the absolute honesty of all employees. If dividends are to be declared, the exchange as constituted to-day must be run as a business proposition, pure and simple, on strictly commercial lines. As the officer in charge can not be present at all times, he must be certain that his representative, the exchange steward, is honest, trustworthy, industrious and devoted to making the exchange a success.

The following suggestions are based upon experience in conducting an exchange, both at a frontier post and at one near a city:

A bookkeeper is indispensable if the exchange is a large one with several departments, but the exchange officer should understand thoroughly the system of bookkeeping used.

Exercise great care and pains in the selection and purchase of stock, both as to quality and quantity. Endeavor to find out what will sell before making large purchases. What will sell well at one post will prove to be deadstock at another. It is a safe rule to handle staples and then only the best.

Be careful about not overbuying-seductive offers of slightly reduced prices on "deals" are apt to catch the unwary. However, good deals on nonperishable staple articles are good investments.

Get rid of shelf worn and old stock-"shelf stickers"-at a sacrifice, if necessary. The money received is of more value than the old stock. Mark them down and run them off as "Special." Sell them at below cost, if necessary, as even 75% of the cost price turned over profitably will pay for the balance lost.

1 In starting a new exchange it is a good plan for organizations to "buy in" in shares equal to their maximum authorized strength, each share to cost one or more dollars, and the dividends to be declared so much per share.

Do not assume because the exchange is an established thing that everybody knows all about the line of goods handled. Occasional circulars and price lists properly distributed will increase patronage surprisingly.

Require all credit sales to be made on a written order, same to be returned with the bill at the end of the month. This will prevent many unpleasant disputes. Send a bill with every credit sale on delivery. On the market there are duplicating or triplicating devices that permit this without any trouble. The retained bill can be used to enter the charge on the proper books.

Require parties making special orders for things not in stock, to bear expense of return, if found unsatisfactory, as the exchange makes nothing on those orders as a general thing.

Be obliging. If you do not keep an article in stock, let it be known that you operate a mail order department and that you will be glad to handle orders of any kind. The profits on this class of goods may be small but the residents of the post will learn to rely on the exchange.

Get catalogues from well-known concerns of their goods and allow them to be used by customers. Remember that the majority of persons that look through a catalogue see something that they need. You thereby increase your sales.

Arrange the stock neatly. A well-appearing exchange will induce buyers. Sell articles at a less price than in the neighboring stores and market places for you thereby increase your sales in number and value and the stock is turned over quickly.

Keep a private account of all cash received and paid out. A memorandum book, which should be kept with the cash, will do. Balance this book and count your cash daily, if possible. If not, it should be done at least twice a week. Compare the amount shown with the amount called for by the regular cash book. This will save you paying out money to make up losses either due to your or the bookkeeper's failure to record the transaction. Besides it is a good

check.

The amount of cash kept in the exchange should be reduced to a minimum. If possible, there should be two safes-one for the steward's exclusive use for till change, jewelry, papers, etc.,—the other for the exclusive use of the Exchange Officer, who, alone, should know the combination. The combination of the steward's safe should be in the possession of no one but the steward.

If necessary, write to several Exchange Officers for sets of blank forms which they may be using and from these select those which suit your conditions best.

An inventory of stock in the amusement room and restaurant should be taken each night by the steward, as the amount of stock handled is usually small.

Take a careful inventory of all departments on the last of the month and compare same with amount shown on stock book.

Accept deposits of money.

trouble of handling it.

Its use will more than offset the

Discount all bills that allow same. It is a source of profit and amounts to a good deal in the course of a year.

Study some simple treatise on double-entry bookkeeping unless the same is in operation in the exchange. If the latter is the case, you can easily learn the system by taking some previous month's accounts and studying what is done with the various entries in the journal. The double entry is the best system for an exchange. It permits one to tell at any time what the various departments are doing, and the gain or loss at the end of month.

The following books are usually kept-journal, cash book ledger, stock book, invoice book.

The journal, or day book, contains a record of all the transactions of the exchange, all sales, purchases, cash received and disbursed. From it these transactions are transferred or posted to the ledger or cash book, as the case may be, and as each entry in the former requires. two in either of the latter, it is usual to note for reference the pages to which transferred in the latter, in the margin in red ink as follows:

144, the top figure, refers to the debtor.

215, the bottom figure, the creditor.

The page of the journal is noted opposite the entry made in the cash book or ledger.

The cash book contains all transactions where cash is paid out or received. This book should be made so as to have separate columns on both the debtor and creditor sides, for billiards, lunch counter or restaurant, merchandise and deposits and a total column at the end. The sum of the various columns check the total column. This form is suggested as it is a great help in making out the monthly and semi-annual reports. It will have to be ordered made.

The ledger contains the accounts of every person dealing with the exchange, for each department, for bills receivable and bills payable, fixtures, loss and gain, and the capital or stock account. The only kind of bills receivable handled usually by an exchange are the orders issued by the company commanders to the men.

Bills payable are the brass checks issued in exchange for the former. The first is an asset and the latter a liability.

1Some of the larger Exchanges use a printed, autograph due bill or trade check instead of the brass check, as experience has shown that brass checks are very easily counterfeited. At Fort Riley, Kans., and Fort Leavenworth, Kans., coupon books are used, which, it is claimed, completely preclude all possibility of counterfeiting.