In the light of the foregoing, it is not open to question that the restrictive provisions of the subject of title III of the act were intended to apply to section 303 appearing in that title, and that members of the Fleet Reserve are not entitled to an issue of uniforms, etc., upon first reporting for active duty in time of war or national emergency.

Your submission is answered accordingly.

(B-20698)

QUARTERS-RENTAL ALLOWANCE-DETERMINATION AS TO
OCCUPANCY OF PUBLIC QUARTERS

Quarters which were originally constructed by the War Department for housing military personnel and which have been transferred to the Interior Department, leased by it to the Welfare and Recreational Association of Public Buildings and Grounds, Inc., and then leased by such corporation to an Army officer, are not "public quarters" within the meaning of section 6 of the act of June 10, 1922, as amended, and the officer is not precluded by reason of the occupancy of such quarters from receiving payment of the rental allowance provided in said section.

Assistant Comptroller General Elliott to Col. W. M. Dixon, U. S. Army, October 23, 1941:

There has been received by first indorsement dated September 18, 1941, your request for decision dated August 18, 1941, as to whether you are authorized to make payment on a voucher transmitted therewith in favor of First Lt. Leonard Donald Mitchell, QMC-Res., United States Army, covering rental allowance for the period July 17 to 31, 1941, while the officer was on active duty in accordance with paragraph 134, Special Orders No. 154, War Department, dated July 3, 1941.

It is reported that during the above period the officer occupied house No. 59, located at Fort Washington, Md., and your question is whether he is entitled to an allowance for quarters during such period. Attached to your request for decision is a letter dated August 8, 1941, signed by F. W. Hoover, General Manager, Welfare and Recreational Association of Public Buildings and Grounds, Inc., 1135 Twenty-first Street, NW., Washington, D. C., as follows:

You are hereby advised that Lieutenant Leonard D. Mitchell, U. S. A., is occupying house No. 59, located at Fort Washington, Maryland, under the provisions of a rental schedule developed by this association.

You are further advised that the War Department has relinquished all its interest in Fort Washington and this association was requested by the Department of the Interior to maintain and rent the residences located there under an agreement dated March 13, 1941. All this property was transferred to the Department of the Interior; however, so long as this association is responsible for its maintenance, no department of the Government has a right to assign or allocate quarters to any of its personnel in lieu of commutation of quarters. The role of this association is that of a rental agency which operates and maintains a certain area of Fort Washington under policies formulated by it. All rents are due and payable to the Association.

Lieutenant L. D. Mitchell rented house No. 59 under the provisions of a lease at a rental of twenty dollars per month, plus the cost of heating, lighting, and water. His status as a tenant is the same as any civilian employe of the Government living in the fort.

Section 6 of the act of June 10, 1922, as amended by section 2 of the act of May 31, 1924, 43 Stat. 250, provides in part:

No rental allowance shall accrue to an officer, having no dependents, while he is on field or sea duty, nor while an officer with or without dependents is assigned as quarters at his permanent station the number of rooms provided by law for an officer of his rank or a less number of rooms in any particular case wherein, in the judgment of competent superior authority of the service concerned, a less number of rooms would be adequate for the occupancy of the officer and his dependents.

Section 3 of the act of May 29, 1930, 46 Stat. 484, provides:

Whenever the use of the Forts Washington, Foote, and Hunt, or either of them, is no longer deemed necessary for military purposes they shall be turned over to the Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, without cost, for administration and maintenance as a part of the said George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Section 2 of the act of December 22, 1928, 45 Stat. 1070, 40 U. S. C. 72b, provides as follows:

The Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital is authorized, subject to the approval of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, to lease, for a term not exceeding five years, and to renew such lease, subject to such approval, for an additional term not exceeding five years, pending need for their immediate use in other ways by the public, and on such terms as the director shall determine, land or any existing building or structure on land acquired for park, parkway, or playground purposes.

While it is not stated in your request for decision this office has been advised informally that Fort Washington, Md., was transferred to the Department of the Interior on August 12, 1940. From records. available here it is disclosed that certain buildings at Fort Washington, including building No. 59, apparently the house occupied by Lieutenant Mitchell, were leased by the Department of the Interior to the Welfare and Recreational Association of Public Buildings and Grounds, Inc., designated in the lease as the operator. The agreement was entered into March 13, 1941, and authorizes the Operator during the term of 5 years from January 1, 1941, with the option of renewal for 5 years under certain circumstances

(a) To establish and operate in the Government-owned buildings and/or in such buildings as may be constructed by the operator and on any other assigned areas in the Fort Washington Area, Md., the facilities for housing on an appropriate rental or other basis, the sale of meals, lunches, groceries, magazines, books, postcards, photographs, souvenirs, confectionery, ice cream, drinks, cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, and such other items or services as are necessary in the judgment of the Secretary for the convenience of the visitors.

In article III of the agreement the operator agrees:

(b) That it will assume responsibility for the maintenance of the buildings and grounds turned over to it, the water pumping plant, the electrical layout within the area in which the buildings leased are located (particularly excluding the maintenance or replacement of the cables carrying current under the Potomac River) and the removal from the buildings covered by the lease of 470350m-42-25

trash, garbage and ashes. It is understood and agreed that the operator will be responsible for all maintenance within the area shown on hatched lines on Plan No. 117.8-56, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. (c) That it will pay for the current used in lighting the roadways of the reservation and in pumping water to the reserve tanks.

(d) That it will pay or cause to be paid to the Secretary at his office in the City of Washington, D. C., or to such person and at such place as he may designate, within ninety days after the 31st day of December of each year during the term of this contract, the sum of one hundred dollars ($100), which shall be regarded as an expense for the year for which it is due, and a further sum to be ascertained as follows:

1. The operator shall be allowed, and it is hereby granted annually, a priority of net profits amounting to six percent (6%) of the value of its investment (as hereinafter defined).

If the amount of said annual priority shall not have been earned in any year through the net profits, the amount of the unearned priority shall be cumulative and shall be applied against the net profits of succeeding years, but neither the earned priority nor the unearned priority shall bear interest.

2. In any calendar year of the term of this contract in which the annual net profits for such year (as herein defined) shall exceed said six percent (6%) priority to the operator, plus all accumulations of unearned priority for prior years, if any, the operator shall pay to the Secretary fifty per centum (50%) of such excess; such payment to the Secretary to be made within 90 days after the 31st day of December of each year.

(f) That no charges or rents shall be demanded or received from any person by or on behalf of the operator for any accommodation or service furnished or rendered by it or for any thing or article sold by it, except in accordance with a tariff or schedule approved by the Secretary, who shall have the power, from time to time, to make such alterations and modifications in such schedule or tariff as he may see fit, not inconsistent with a reasonable profit on the investment of the operator.

(j) That upon the termination of this lease it will vacate the premises and return them to the Secretary together with any and all Government equipment used by it in substantially the same condition in which they were received, ordinary wear and tear and damage by the elements excepted.

Although the quarters occupied by Lieutenant Mitchell were undoubtedly constructed with public funds for the purpose of housing military personnel, it is evident from the foregoing that the Congress has authorized the Secretary of War to transfer such quarters to the Department of the Interior, that the Department of the Interior is authorized by law to lease such quarters, and that pursuant to such authority the quarters were leased to a corporation. By the terms of the lease the corporation is authorized to lease the quarters covered thereby to other parties for a rental approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and it is from such corporation that Lieutenant Mitchell has obtained the quarters occupied by him. The relationship between the officer and the corporation appears to be a landlord-tenant relationship. In view of all these facts the officer did not occupy public quarters within the meaning of section 6 of the act of June 10, 1922, supra, during the period covered by the voucher and you are authorized to make payment thereon if otherwise correct. The voucher is returned herewith.

(B-20906)

GRATUITIES-SIX MONTHS' DEATH-ARMY ENLISTED MEN-INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL PAY UNDER ACT AUGUST 18, 1941

In the case of an enlisted man of the Regular Army who dies after the effective date of the act of August 18, 1941, the additional $10 per month which is payable under section 8 (a) of the said act to an enlisted man when his total military service exceeds twelve months should be included in the computation of the 6 months' death gratuity pay authorized by the act of December 17, 1919.

Assistant Comptroller General Elliott to Col. W. M. Dixon, U. S. Army, October 23, 1941:

There has been received by indorsement of October 1, 1941, your letter of September 27, 1941, requesting decision whether you are authorized to pay a voucher submitted therewith in favor of Gladys Zarling, wife of Julius Zarling, No. R-1015180, deceased, late master sergeant, Field Artillery School Detachment (W), United States Army, for $1,005, represented as equal to the pay of the deceased for six months, act of December 17, 1919, 41 Stat. 367.

You state that the amount shown in the computation of the six months' gratuity on the voucher includes $10 additional per month under the act of August 18, 1941, 55 Stat. 626, Public Law 213, 77th Congress; that you are in doubt as to whether the $10 additional pay is authorized to be included in the computation of the six months' gratuity.

The act of December 17, 1919, provides:

That hereafter, immediately upon official notification of the death from wounds or disease, not the result of his own misconduct, of any officer or enlisted man on the active list of the Regular Army or on the retired list when on active duty, the Quartermaster General of the Army shall cause to be paid to the widow, and if there be no widow to the child or children, and if there be no widow or child to any other dependent relative of such officer or enlisted man previously designated by him, an amount equal to six months' pay at the rate received by such officer or enlisted man at the date of his death. The Secretary of War shall establish regulations requiring each officer and enlisted man having no wife or child to designate the proper dependent relative to whom this amount shall be paid in case of his death. Said amount shall be paid from funds appropriated for the pay of the Army. [Italics supplied.]

The act of August 18, 1941, 55 Stat. 627, provides:

SEC. 8(a) Any person inducted into the land or naval forces of the United States for active training and service, under section 3(b) of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 shall, in addition to the amounts otherwise payable to such person with respect to such training and service, be entitled to receive the sum of $10 for each month of such training and service in excess of twelve. The provisions of this section shall also apply (1) to any enlisted personnel of the National Guard of the United States or of any other reserve component of the Army of the United States ordered into the active military service under the authority of Public Resolution, Numbered 96, approved August 27, 1940, or section 37a of the National Defense Act of 1916, as amended, for any such service so rendered by any such personnel in excess of twelve months, and (2) to any enlisted personnel of the Regular Army for each month of military service rendered by him after the date of enactment of this joint

resolution, and after his total military service (rendered before or after such date) exceeds twelve months.

(b) The provisions of this section shall be applicable only during the period of the unlimited emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941.

The act of December 17, 1919, provides that the widow of an enlisted man on the active list of the Regular Army whose death from wounds or disease is not the result of his own misconduct shall receive an amount equal to 6 months' pay at the rate he was receiving at the time of his death. Section 8 (a) of the act of August 18, 1941, states specifically that the provision for payment of the sum of $10 is in addition to the amounts otherwise payable and shall apply to any enlisted personnel of the Regular Army for each month of military service rendered by him after the date of enactment of the act and after his total military service (rendered before or after such date) exceeds 12 months.

Mr. Healey stated in the House of Representatives August 12, 1941, in explanation of an amendment offered by him to House Joint Resolution No. 222, which was finally enacted as paragraph 8 (a) of the act of August 18, 1941, as follows:

In simple language, the amendment provides that every man in the Army, after he has completed 12 months' service, from there on during this emergency will have added to his pay $10 a month. It is uniform and affects every enlisted man in the Army, National Guard, selectees, Reservists, and Regular Army alike. It is uniform as to all. (Volume 16, page 7221, Congressional Record, 77th Congress, 1st Session.)

The additional sum of $10 per month authorized by the statute is an item of pay additional to the amounts otherwise payable, and should therefore be included in the computation of the six months' death gratuity pay in the case of an enlisted man of the Regular Army who dies on or after August 19, 1941, the other requirements of the statute having been met. 14 Comp. Dec. 851; 21 id. 848. The voucher, which is returned herewith, may be paid by you, if otherwise

correct.

(B-21190)

BIDS-MISTAKES-EXTENT OF RELIEF

Where a bidder, through bona fide error which should have been apparent to the contracting officer, reversed its intended bid prices on items 2 and 3 of the invitation, resulting in the acceptance of its bid on item 3 and the rejection of its bid on item 2, payment may be made on the accepted bid for item 3 in the amount of the next lowest correct bid, but there should be deducted from such payment the difference between the bidder's intended bid price on item 2-which would have been accepted but for the errorand the slightly higher price paid under the accepted bid on that item. Comptroller General Warren to the Secretary of the Treasury, October 24, 1941: I have your letter of October 10, 1941, as follows:

Reference is made to Contract No. T22cg-1747 with Swift & Co., Baltimore, Md. The contractor claims that an error occurred in submitting its bid of $.1510 per pound on item 3 alleging that it intended to bid $.2285 per pound on this