These expense accounts must be made out and sworn to in duplicate. Therefore the oath thereto is more than the corporal oath administered to an ordinary witness as to attendance and travel. It, with the account to which it is appended, is a voucher to the disbursing officer's accounts, while all that is necessary to the payment of an ordinary witness is the order of the commissioner directing the marshal to pay his mileage and attendance fees. But however this may be it seems clear to me that the fees here in question do not fall under the clause of the fee bill last above quoted, but under the clause first quoted, because they are not for administering oaths to these witnesses "as to attendance and travel," for they (the witnesses) are entitled to neither, but for administering oaths to them, on affidavits to their expense accounts; therefore claimant is entitled to 10 cents for administering each of these oaths. The action of the Auditor is overruled, and the amount disallowed by him, 15 cents, will be allowed on this revision. APPROPRIATION FOR THE GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE. The appropriation made in the act of April 27, 1904, for support, clothing, and treatment of the insane in the Government Hospital for the Insane is not applicable to the purchase of iron pipes, etc., for use in connecting the boiler house and new central heating and lighting plant at said hospital. (Decision by Assistant Comptroller Mitchell, November 28, 1904.) The Auditor for the Interior Department submits for approval, disapproval, or modification the following decision: 66 "I forward herewith, in pursuance of the requirements of law, for your approval, disapproval, or modification my decision involving an original construction of section 11 of the act of June 7, 1897 (30 Stat., 93), providing that hereafter where funds appropriated in specific terms for a particular object are not sufficient for the object named any other appropriation, general in its terms, which otherwise would be available may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be used to accomplish the object for which the specific appropriation was made. (Supp. Rev. Stat., vol. 2, p. 632.) "This decision is made in the matter of the claim of E. G. Schafer & Co. for certain iron pipes, boiler fixtures, and other such supplies furnished the Government Hospital for the Insane under the authority of a letter of the Secretary of the Interior of June 29, 1904, addressed to the superintendent of the hospital. It appears from this letter and a letter of the superintendent of the hospital of the 16th instant that these iron pipes, etc., were purchased to be used in establishing connections between the old boiler house and the new central heating and lighting plant, which plant was constructed under an appropriation made by the sundry civil act of June 28, 1902. More specific provision is made by this appropriation for a heating and lighting plant' for the payment of claims of this character than is found in either of the appropriations now under consideration. In the absence, however, of such appropriation this claim would be properly payable, in my judgment, from the appropriation made by the sundry civil act of March 3, 1903, for general repairs and improvements of the buildings and grounds of the hospital. It appears that the two appropriations found in the act of June 28, 1902, for the construction of a central heating and lighting plant and in the act of March 3, 1903, for general repairs and improvements of the buildings and grounds of the hospital were insufficient for the purposes for which made. "I decide that section 11 of the act of June 7, 1897, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to use any general appropriation that would otherwise be available for the accomplishment of the objects for which a specific appropriation was made, where such specific appropriation is insufficient for the purpose, was general legislation, and that the Secretary of.the Interior was authorized, under the conditions existing on June 29, 1904, to direct the purchase of the supplies in question and the payment therefor out of any unexpended balance of the appropriations made by the sundry civil act of March 3, 1903, and the deficiency act of April 27, 1904, for current expenses of the Government Hospital for the Insane. "While the law conferring this power upon the Secretary of the Interior is found in an Indian appropriation act and may have been enacted to meet some emergency arising in that service, the purpose of the Congress to restrict the exercise of the power granted to any particular class of appropriations does not anywhere appear. On the contrary, the authority is conferred by a section that is in itself complete and independent; the words employed are free from ambiguity and no reference to any other part of the act is indicated or suggested as necessary to a full and correct comprehension of the purpose of the legislation. The compilers of the Revised Statutes appear to have considered this section of the act as general and permanent legislation. (Supp. Rev. Stat., vol. 2, p. 632.) "The appropriation for current expenses of the Government Hospital for the Insane for the last fiscal year was made in substantially the same language as that found in appropriations made for the same purpose for the past ten or fifteen years. This appropriation has always been construed by the administrative officers and held by the accounting officers in the absence of specific appropriations as available for any expenditures necessary to the maintenance of the hospital, and I therefore now decide that the claim of E. G. Schafer & Co. should be paid out of the appropriation Government Hospital for the Insane, 1904,' and it is approved for payment under that appropriation." The act of June 28, 1902 (32 Stat., 457), entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1903, and for other purposes," contains, among other things, the following: * "Government Hospital for the Insane: For current expenses of the Government Hospital for the Insane: For support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane * * two hundred and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars; and not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars of this sum may be expended in defraying the expense of the removal of patients to their friends; not exceeding one thousand dollars may be expended in the purchase of such books, periodicals, and papers as may be required for the purposes of the hospital, and not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the apprehension and return to the hospital of escaped patients. "For the buildings and grounds of the Government Hospital for the Insane, as follows: "For general repairs and improvements, twenty-five thousand dollars. "For new gas plant, two thousand five hundred dollars. "For office and administration building, one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. "For central heating and lighting plant for entire hospital, including not exceeding ten thousand dollars for sewers, two hundred and sixty thousand dollars. "For enlarging kitchen for Toner group of buildings, twenty thousand dollars." The act of March 3, 1903 (32 Stat., 1120), entitled “An act making appropriation for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, and for other purposes," contains, among other things, the following: "Government Hospital for the Insane: For current expenses of the Government Hospital for the Insane: For sup * * * port, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane two hundred and ninetyfour thousand seven hundred and twenty dollars; and not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars of this sum may he expended in defraying the expense of the removal of patients to their friends; not exceeding one thousand dollars may be expended in the purchase of such books, periodicals, and papers as may be required for the purposes of the hospital, and not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the apprehension and return to the hospital of escaped patients. "For the building and grounds of the Government Hospital for the Insane, as follows: "For general repairs and improvements, twenty-five thousand dollars." The act of April 27, 1904 (33 Stat., 409), entitled "An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, and for prior years, and for other purposes," contains, among other things, the following: "For current expenses of the Government Hospital for the Insane: For support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane thousand dollars." * * * forty The question presented by the Auditor is whether the claim of E. G. Schafer & Co., of $1,960 described in said decision, and which is for certain iron pipes, boiler and fixtures, and other supplies furnished the Government Hospital for the Insane, to be used in establishing connections between the old boiler house and the new central heating and lighting plant, which plant was provided for in the appropriation made by the act of June 28, 1902, supra, can be paid from the appropriation made by the act of April 24, 1904, supra, “for support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane," etc. The Auditor decides that the claim can be so paid. In the solution of the question presented the acts of June 28, 1902, March 3, 1903, and April 27, 1904, supra, should all be considered. By the act of June 28, 1902, supra, Congress appropriated certain stated amounts for separate and distinct purposes, as follows: 1. "For support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane * * * 2. "For the buildings and grounds of the Government Hospital for the Insane, as follows: (a) "For general repairs and improvements (b)"For new gas plant * * * (c) "For office and administration buildings * * * (d) "For central heating and lighting plant for the entire hospital, including not exceeding ten thousand dollars for sewers * * * (e) "For enlarging kitchen for Toner group of buildings * * * " By the act of March 3, 1903, supra, Congress appropriated certain stated amounts for separate and distinct purposes, as follows: 1. "For support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane. 2. "For the buildings and grounds of the Government Hospital for the Insane, as follows: (a) "For general repairs and improvements (b)"For furniture for new buildings 66 (c) "For subway under Nichols avenue. * * * * * * (d) "For railway trestle to new boiler house, etc." By the act of April 27, 1904, supra, Congress made certain appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, and for prior years, and for other purposes, among which was $40,000 for "support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane." If the expense in question had arisen while there was money available under the appropriation "for the buildings and grounds of the Government Hospital for the Insane," made by said acts of June 28, 1902, and March 3, 1903, I do not think it would have been contended that said claim should have been paid from the appropriations made in said acts “for support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane," and if this is true it is difficult to see how said claim can be paid out of the appropriation made by said act of April 27, 1904, to supply deficiencies in appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, and for prior years "for support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of the insane," which latter appropriation is applicable only to the same objects for which the appropriations were made "for support, clothing, and treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane of |