nected with chemical warfare and its material; and chemical projectile filling plants and proving grounds; the supervision of the training of the Army in chemical warfare, both offensive and defensive, including the necessary schools of instruction; the organization, equipment, training, and operation of special gas troops, and such other duties as the President may from time to time prescribe. Sec. 12a, added to the act of June 2, 1916, by sec. 12, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 768).

701. Vacant.

Quartermaster's Department.-The Quartermaster's Department was authorized by R. S., sec. 1094, and its organization was prescribed by R. S., sec. 1132. The latter section was amended, by the addition of other provisions, by act Feb. 27, 1877 (19 Stat. 242); but its original provisions had been superseded, previous to that amendment, by act Mar. 3, 1875 (18 Stat. 338), and the department was continued, as then constituted, by act Mar. 2, 1899, sec. 7 (30 Stat. 979). All these provisions were superseded by provi sions of act Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 16 (31 Stat. 751), which provided that the Quartermaster's Department should consist of 1 Quartermaster General with the rank of brigadier general, 6 assistant quartermasters general with the rank of colonel, 9 deputy quartermasters general with the rank of lieutenant colonel, 20 quartermasters with the rank of major, 60 quartermasters with the rank of captain mounted, and 150 post quartermaster sergeants, which said provisions were superseded by sec. 9 of the national defense act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 170). Said act of Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 16, also contained a provision, omitted here, which included in the department "the military storekeeper now provided for by law." Military storekeepers, not exceeding 16, with the rank of captain of Cavalry, were authorized by R. S., sec. 1132; but act Mar. 3, 1875, sec. 2 (18 Stat. 338), provided that no more appointments should be made in the grade, and that it should cease as soon as it should become vacant. The appointment of a military storekeeper in the department was authorized by act July 1, 1898 (30 Stat. 571), but the office was to cease, on the occurrence of a vacancy therein, by act Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 1 (34 Stat. 748). A proviso annexed to said act Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 16, providing for filling vacancies created or caused by this act is omitted as temporary merely. A further proviso, annexed to said sec. 16, authorizing the continuance in service, during emergency, for duty in the Philippine Islands and on transports, of certain officers of volunteers, is also omitted as temporary merely.

The number of officers in the department was increased by 2 colonels, 3 lieutenant colonels, 7 majors, and 18 captains, the vacancies thus created to be filled by promotion and detail in accordance with act Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 26 (31 Stat. 755), by a provision of act Mar. 3, 1911 (36 Stat. 1045), which provision was superseded by sec. 9 of the national defense act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 170), providing that the commissioned personnel of the Quartermaster Corps should consist of 1 Quartermaster General (major general), 2 assistants to the Quartermaster General (brigadier generals), 21 colonels, 24 lieutenant colonels, 68 majors, and 180 captains. The section further provided that the pay clerks then in active service should have the rank, pay, and allowances of second lieutenant and that they might be commissioned second lieutenants in the Quartermaster Corps. The strength of the enlisted personnel and the number in each grade was to be fixed by the President, under certain limitations set forth in said section. This section was superseded by 702, post.

Sec. 4, act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 593), provided for the replacement of certain grades of civilian employees by enlisted men, 713, post.

Pay Department.-The Pay Department, eo nomine, was first organized by the act of Apr. 24, 1816 (3 Stat. 297), but a Paymaster for the Army, "to reside near the head

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quarters of the troops of the United States," had been authorized by sec. 3, act of May 8. 1792 (1 Stat. 280).

The earliest legislation creating a Pay Department is the resolution of the Continental Congress of June 16, 1775, which provided for a Paymaster General and a deputy under him, in a separate department. The two offices of Paymaster General and commissioner for settling the accounts of the Army were continued in the same person down to May, 1792, when a Paymaster of the Army was appointed under the act above named.

The personnel of the department was increased, after 1816, by various acts, in 1821, 1836, and 1838. In 1842, the number of majors was reduced. The acts of Mar. 3, 1847 (9 Stat. 184), and July 28, 1866 (14 Stat. 335), provided for reorganization after the Mexican and Civil Wars, respectively. No more appointments or promotions were to be made in the department by the act of Mar. 3, 1869 (15 Stat. 318), but the act of June 4, 1872 (17 Stat. 219), provided for a Paymaster General, with the rank of colonel, and Joint Resolution No. 7 of Mar. 2, 1875 (18 Stat. 524), fixed the number of paymasters at not more than 50. The act of July 22, 1876 (19 Stat. 95), restored the rank of brigadier general to the office of Paymaster General and the restriction established by the act of Mar. 3, 1869, was finally removed by the act of Mar. 3, 1877 (19 Stat. 270). A gradual reduction in personnel was provided for by the acts of Mar. 3, 1883 (22 Stat. 451), July 5, 1884 (23 Stat. 108), July 16, 1892 (27 Stat. 175), and Feb. 12, 1895 (28 Stat. 655). By sec. 21, act of Feb. 2, 1901 (31 Stat. 754), the permanent strength of the depart ment was fixed at 1 Paymaster General with the rank of brigadier general, 3 assistant paymasters general with the rank of colonel, 4 deputy paymasters general with the rank of lieutenant colonel, 20 paymasters with the rank of major, and 25 paymasters with the rank of captain, mounted. A system of details was also established by the operation of which the permanent commissioned personnel was to be replaced, as vacancies occurred, by officers detailed from the line of the Army for duty in the Pay Department.

The Pay Department was merged into the Quartermaster Corps by sec. 3, act of Aug. 24, 1912, post, 703.

Subsistence Department.-The earliest legislation relative to the subsistence of the Army is found in the resolution of the Continental Congress of July 19, 1775, creating the office of Commissary General of Stores and Provisions. On June 10, 1777, Congress instituted a new system, creating two great branches, one under a Commissary General of Purchases and the other under a Commissary General of Issues. On Nov. 25, 1779, these two offices were placed under the supervision of the Board of War. On July 10, 1871, Congress directed the Superintendent of Finance to procure on contract all supplies necessary for the Army, and under this resolution the commissariat system of subsisting the Army was discontinued.

The next legislation was under the Constitution. The act of Mar. 8, 1792, placed the duty for purchasing all subsistence supplies for the Army on the Treasury Department. This act was repealed by the act of July 16, 1798, requiring all purchases and contracts for supplies to be made under the direction of the Secretary of War.

The act of Apr. 14, 1818 (3 Stat. 426), first created the office of Commissary General, with provision for as many assistant commissaries as the service might require. By the act of Mar. 2, 1821 (3 Stat. 615), the organization of the department was somewhat modified, the number of assistant commissaries being limited to 50.

The personnel of the department was increased by acts of 1838, 1846, 1850, 1861, and 1863. After the Civil War the peace strength of the department was fixed by sec. 16, act of July 28, 1866 (14 Stat. 334). Acts of 1869, 1874, and 1895 limited and reduced the strength of the personnel. The act of July 7, 1898 (30 Stat. 715), increased the

strength for the Spanish War.

By sec. 17, act of Feb. 2, 1901 (31 Stat, 752), the permanent strength of the department was fixed at 1 Commissary General with the rank of brigadier general, 3 assistant commissary generals with the rank of colonel, 4 deputy commissary generals with the rank of lieutenant colonel, 9 commissaries with the rank of major, and 27 commissaries with the rank of captain, mounted; promotions were to be by seniority. A system of details was also established by the operation of which the permanent commissioned personnel was to be replaced, as vacancies occurred, by officers detailed from the line of the Army for duty in the Subsistence Department.

The Subsistence Department was merged into the Quartermaster Corps by sec. 3, act of Aug. 24, 1912, post, 703.

Motor Transport Corps.-During the World War, under authority of section 1, act of May 18, 1917 (40 Stat. 76), the President established a Motor Transport Corps, the functions of which were defined by General Order 75, War Department, 1918. In the spring of 1920, these functions were transferred to the Quartermaster Corps.

Construction Division.-The Adjutant General of the Army, by order of the Secretary of War, on Mar. 13, 1918, wrote to the officer in charge of cantonment construction as follows:

"Under authority granted in section 1, of the act of Congress to authorize the President to increase temporarily the Military Establishment of the United States,' approved May 18, 1917, the President directs that the Cantonment Division of the Quartermaster Corps (including as a part thereof the Construction and Repair Division of the Quartermaster Corps), now operating as a part of the office of the Chief of Staff, shall be hereafter called the Construction Division and shall be temporarily increased during the present emergency, so as to consist of" one brigadier general, 1,406 other officers, and 1,138 civilian employees.

"In view of existing orders of the Secretary of War that all building and construction rendered necessary in the United States by the present emergency shall be executed by the Construction Division unless especially excepted by the Secretary of War, all commissioned and civilian personnel of the Ordnance Department and Signal Corps heretofore employed exclusively on construction work and no longer needed in those corps and departments, will be considered available for assignment to the Construction Division as a part of the personnel herein authorized, upon the request of the officer in charge of the Construction Division, but no officer of the line of the Regular Army, who may be detailed in any of these corps and departments shall be assigned to the Construction Division under this authority."

Sec. 7-b, G. O. 80, W. D. 1918, directs that the chief of the Construction Division will operate under the direct supervision of the Chief of Staff, in so far as pertains to purely military matters, will be responsible for the efficiency and preparedness for service of personnel and matériel, and shall communicate directly with the Director of Operations in all matters with which the latter is charged which require the action of the Chief of Staff.

The Construction Division was continued to June 30, 1920, by act of July 11, 1919 (41 Stat. 129), but no provision for continuing it as a separate entity being made in subsequent legislation, the functions formerly exercised by the Construction Division are now exercised by the Construction Service, Quartermaster Corps. See 719, post.

702. Composition.-The Quartermaster Corps shall consist of one Quartermaster General with the rank of major general, three assistants with the rank of brigadier general, one thousand and fifty officers in grades from colonel to second lieutenant, inclusive, and twenty thousand enlisted men. Sec. 9, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 170), as amended by sec. 9, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 766).

*

703. Consolidation of obsolete departments.-That the office establishments of the Quartermaster General, the Commissary General, and the Paymaster General of the Army are hereby consolidated and shall hereafter constitute a single bureau of the War Department, which shall be known as the Quartermaster Corps, and of which the Chief of the Quartermaster Corps created by this Act shall be the head. The Quartermaster's Subsistence, and Pay Depart ments of the Army are hereby consolidated into and shall hereafter be known as the Quartermaster Corps of the Army. The officers of said departments shall hereafter be known as officers of said corps and by the titles of the rank held by them therein, and, except as hereinafter specifically provided to the contrary, the provisions of sections twenty-six and twenty-seven of the Act of Congress approved February second, nineteen hundred and one, entitled "An Act to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the United States," are hereby extended so as to apply to the Quartermaster Corps in the manner and to the extent to which they now apply to the Quartermaster's, Subsistence, and Pay Departments, and the provision of said sections of said act relative to chiefs of staff corps and departments shall, so far as they are applicable, apply to all offices and officers of the Quartermaster Corps with rank above that of colonel. The officers now holding commissions as officers of the said departments shall hereafter have the same tenure of commission in the Quartermaster Corps, and as officers of said corps shall have rank of

the same grades and dates as that now held by them, and, for the purpose of filling vacancies among them, shall constitute one list, on which they shall be arranged according to rank. So long as any officers shall remain on said list any vacancy occurring therein shall be filled, if possible, from among such officers, by selection if the vacancy occurs in a grade above that of colonel, and, if the vacancy occurs in a grade not above that of colonel, by the promotion of an officer who would have been entitled to promotion to that particular vacancy if the consolidation of departments hereby prescribed had never occurred: * And provided further, That for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this section the President is hereby authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the Chief of the Quartermaster Corps herein provided for immediately upon the passage of this Act, and it shall be the duty of the said chief, under the direction of the President and the Secretary of War, to put into effect the provisions of this section not less than sixty days after the passage of this Act. Sec. 3, act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 591, 593), making appropriations for the support of the Army.

The requirements of the above have been fulfilled, but it is inserted here as being of possible value to officers of the corps.

704. Promotions.-* * * Provided, That on and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seventeen, any vacancies occurring among officers of the Quartermaster Corps with rank above that of colonel may, in the discretion of the President, be filled by selection from among officers who shall have served by detail in said corps for not less than four years: Sec. 3, act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 591), making appropriations for the support of the Army.

* The board convened upon the

705. Promotion of second lieutenants.passage of this Act shall also report the names of those second lieutenants of the Quartermaster Corps who were commissioned under the provisions of section 9 of the Act of June 3, 1916, who are not qualified for further promotion. The officers so reported shall continue in the grade of second lieutenant for the remainder of their service and the others shall be placed upon the promotion list according to their commissioned service, as hereinbefore provided. Sec. 24b, added to the act of June 3, 1916, by sec. 24, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 774).

As to the board mentioned in this section, see post, 2280.

By a provision of sec. 9, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 170), pay clerks were to be commissioned second lieutenants.

*

Provided, That here

706. Quartermaster General of the Army.—* after the title of the Chief of the Quartermaster Corps shall be Quartermaster General of the Army. Act of Apr. 27, 1914 (38 Stat. 356), making appropriations for the support of the Army.

But see 702, ante.

707. Rank of the Quartermaster General.* Provided further, That there shall be a Chief of the Quartermaster Corps, who shall have the rank of major general while so serving, and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the officers of said corps and in accordance with the requirements of section twenty-six of the Act of Congress approved February second, nineteen hundred and one, hereinbefore cited: * Sec. 3, act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 593).

For sec. 26, above, see 2424 and 2341, post. See also 702, ante.