334 agricultural appropriatiox biix, 1924, 



Wednesday, November 22. 1922. 



DIVISION OF ACCOUNTS AND DISBURSEMENTS. 



STATEMENT OF MR. A. ZAPPONE, CHIEF OF DIVISION AND 



DISBURSING CLERK. 



Mr. Anderson. You have an item for salaries for \vhich you are 

 asking S50,42(), and you have some increases in this roll. 



Mr. Zappone. Mr. Chairman, before taking that up, I have a 

 brief statement here in regard to the work of the division which I 

 would like to put into the record. 



Mr. Anderson. You may read it. I 



i 



general statement of work. ^ 



Mr. Zappone. The Division of Accounts and Disbursements, in 

 accordance with law and regulation, pays accounts submitted by the 

 various bureaus, divisions, and services of the department. Ac- 

 counts are examined to ascertain that approvals are genuine, that 

 extensions and additions are correct, and that there are appropria- 

 tions out of which they are legally payable. 



A cashbook record is maintained of all individual payments, and 

 ledger records are kept of disbursing and appropriation debits and 

 credits of all funds of the department. Through the use of a card 

 index duplicate payments are prevented and a ready reference to 



ftaj'ments is avadable. The division also supervises the placing of 

 unds to the official credit of temporary special disbursing agents 

 and other fiscal officers of the department, and after making a record 

 thereof transmits their accounts to the General Accounting Office. 

 It receives and accounts for all moneys due the department from 

 various sources; makes advances of public funds to employees for 

 the payment of their expenses while traveling on official business; 

 maintains a record of liabilities and disbursements in connection 

 with purchases of lands under the Weeks forestry law; keeps the 

 departmental record of amounts withheld from employees' salaries 

 under the provisions of the retirement act of May 22, 1920, and. 

 under the direction of the Budget officer, assists in compiling the 

 annual estimates of appropriations. Miscellaneous financial reports 

 are prepared from time to time as required. During the fiscal year 

 1922 this office also received and deposited in the Treasury all the 

 (U)llections of farmers' seed grain loans, and maintained the file of 

 notes and mortgages and a dctiiilcd record of tlu> repa^'ments tliere- 

 under. 



salaries. 



There is an increase in the estimates of .?.'i,()0() to provide for three 

 additional em|)loyees at $1,200 each. The salary roll has increased 

 unlv .S9, (■).')() (luring (lu> nine-year period from 1915 to 192;i, inclusive, 

 with ai| increase in the nundier of employees from ;^2 to 38, most of 

 which increase was allowed by this conimittee during the last two 

 yeai^s. Duritig I lie smnc period the npj)r()priations of the dcjinrtment 

 (•arried by the agri<-Mlluriil net have increased from S;20,0()().()()0 to 

 nppro.ximately .S.'JC). ()()<),()()(). In addition there have been large ap- 



