it appears by necessary implication from the nature and words of the statute that a retrospective effect was intended. 5 Comp. Gen. 381 and cases therein cited.

In decision B-9607, dated April 25, 1940, 19 Comp. Gen. 898, it was held, quoting from the syllabus:

A Navy officer retired under section 12 (f) of the act of June 23, 1938, 52 Stat. 950, with the rank of captain but in the pay grade of a commander, is entitled, on return to active duty, only to the active duty pay and allowances of commander even though he served for a time prior to retirement in the higher rank.

The basis for the holding in that case, citing 19 Comp. Gen. 433, was that a promotion coincident with retirement with provision for retired pay based upon the grade from which promoted was merely honorary and did not carry with it active duty pay and allowances in the promoted grade when called to active duty subsequent to retirement. There is nothing in the amendment of October 14, 1940, either expressly or impliedly, to suggest that a retroactive operation thereof was intended so as to include within its provisions those officers who were retired prior to its date under the provisions of the original section 12 (f) of the act of June 23, 1938. Since the officer in the present case was promoted and retired with retired pay of the grade from which promoted, under the provisions of the original section 12 (f), his status for pay purposes as then provided became fixed and the performance of active duty after retirement, either before or after the amendment of October 14, 1940, would constitute no sound legal basis for computing his retired pay after October 14, 1940, on the rank to which promoted in the absence of a statute which clearly authorizes a change in his pay grade on the retired list as fixed in the law under which he was retired. The fact that the amendment of October 14, 1940, made more generous provision for officers in the identical situation thereafter retired does not change the pay grade of officers retired prior thereto.

(B-23984)

COMPENSATION-PAYMENT PROCEDURE-TRANSFERS AND SEPARATIONS FROM SERVICE SUBSEQUENT TO WITHIN-GRADE PROMOTIONS

Amounts representing within-grade salary advancements under the act of August 1, 1941, due employees who transferred to other Government agencies, or who were separated from the service, before actual payment of the increases to which they became eligible on October 1, 1941, should be certified for payment by the administrative office in which the employee was employed prior to his transfer or separation, and such amounts may be paid by the disbursing officer except in cases where payment cannot be accomplished within 3 months after the close of the fiscal year, in which event the matter should be forwarded to this office for settlement.

Comptroller General Warren to the Postmaster General, March 18, 1942: Reference is made to your undated letter, received here February 20, 1942, as follows:

Because the "Third Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Act, 1942," carrying funds needed for payment of the salary increases provided by the Act of August 1, 1941, Public Law 200, 77th Congress, was not approved until December 17, 1941, a number of changes in status of employees eligible for promotion on October 1, 1941, occurred before payment of the increases could be made, transfers to and from other Departments or Agencies, resignations, retirements and deaths. Accordingly, certain questions have arisen which are respectfully submitted for your decision, as follows:

1. Do Personnel Officers have the authority, and is it their duty, to certify pay rolls carrying these increases in salary for persons no longer connected with their respective Departments or Agencies?

2. If a distinction is to be made between the case of an employee transferred to another Department or Agency, and one separated from the Government service, is it the responsibility of Personnel Officers to trace an employee who has transferred to ascertain whether he is still in the Government service?

3. If the first question is answered in the affirmative, the case of an employee transferred to this Department after October 1, 1941, but before receiving the increase in salary to which he might have been entitled under the Act referred to, will presumably be taken care of in due course by amended certification from the transferring Department or Agency, as to salary rate paid. However, if the answer should be in the negative, what is the duty of this Department with respect to ascertaining the employee's right to an increased rate of pay from the date of his transfer, and as to the date of his eligibility for subsequent within-grade promotion?

4. If the question numbered (1) is answered in the affirmative without distinction as to transfers or separations, is it the duty of Disbursing Officers to make every reasonable effort to effect payment, or should they await receipt from the General Accounting Office of approved claims? If the answer to the first question is only partially in the affirmative, it is presumed the answer to this question will be qualified accordingly.

It is understood from your answer, in letter to The Honorable, The Secretary of the Interior, dated October 27, 1941 (B-20925), to his seventh question, that promotions in the cases referred to should be made a matter of record, and the foregoing questions relate only to certification and payment of amounts due. Likewise, in the case of deceased employees, the procedure for payment of balances of salary due is understood, and the questions herein presented relate only to the inclusion in the amount due of any increase to which the employee might have been entitled under the so-called Ramspeck Act, but had not received.

The salary rate, including the periodic within-grade salary advancement properly payable beginning October 1, 1941, was the only regular salary rate payable to employees for periods on and after October 1, 1941-21 Comp. Gen. 335-and there is thus required a retroactive adjustment in the salary rates of such employees who continued in the service of the Government after October 1, 1941, regardless of whether they have since left the service, or have since been transferred to another agency. See answer to the fifth question, decision of October 27, 1941, 21 Comp. Gen. 369, 376, and question and answer numbered 5, decision of February 21, 1942, B-23577, 21 Comp. Gen. 791. Accordingly, question 1 is answered in the affirmative, making it unnecessary to answer question 2.

Referring to question 3, the presumption stated in the first part thereof is correct. That is to say, each department or agency of the

Government should adjust the salary rate of employees under the provisions of the act of August 1, 1941, Public Law 200, 55 Stat. 613, and the President's regulations thereunder, for the period prior to the effective date of transfer. The above makes unnecessary any answer to the last portion of this question.

In connection with question 4, attention is invited to decision of July 16, 1924, 4 Comp. Gen. 56, in which it was held as follows:

As a general rule payments by a disbursing officer chargeable against annual appropriations should not be made after three months from the close of the fiscal year in which the obligation was incurred, unexpended disbursing balances of annual appropriations being required to be deposited within that time.

Payments against appropriations, other than annual appropriations, should be made by a disbursing officer only when for current obligations for fixed salaries, bills for supplies purchased and approved, and other similar demands which do not require the weighing of evidence or the determination of questions of law or fact for the ascertainment of their validity. Any doubt on the part of a disbursing officer as to his authority to pay a voucher should be resolved in favor of submitting it for direct settlement.

See, also, 7 Comp. Gen. 751; Paragraph 1, General Regulations No. 50, 5 id. 1058. Subject to the requirements of the above-quoted decision, the payments in question may be effected, if possible, through the administrative office and the disbursing officer. The amount of compensation due any employce whose whereabouts can not be ascertained within three months after the close of the fiscal year should not be paid by the disbursing officer, but the matter should be forwarded here for settlement.

(B-24128)

WILDLIFE REFUGES-DISPOSITION OF OIL, ETC., ROYALTY

RECEIPTS

Any moneys received by the United States pursuant to a deed, under which the Government acquired land for a wildlife refuge, providing for the payment of a royalty to the United States for all oil, gas, sulphur, or other minerals removed and saved from the land by the grantor are not receipts "from the sale or other disposition of * * * spontaneous products of the soil" on wildlife refuges 25 percent of which is required by section 401 of the act of June 15, 1935, to be distributed to the county or counties in which the refuge is located, but are receipts inuring to the benefit of the United States and are for handling accordingly.

Comptroller General Warren to the Secretary of the Interior, March 18, 1942: I have your letter of February 23, 1942, as follows:

Attention is directed to the clause in the enclosed photostatic copy of deed dated November 18, 1937, from The San Antonio Loan and Trust Company to the United States of America under which the Government acquired title to certain lands in Aransas and Refugio Counties, Texas, now a part of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge which is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of this Department as follows:

"The grantor reserves for itself, its successors and assigns, the right to prospect for, mine, or remove oil, gas, or other minerals from the lands for a period of thirty years from the date of this deed, and as long thereafter as oil, gas, sulphur, or other mineral is produced from said lands, or so long thereafter as

grantor, its successors or assigns, shall conduct drilling or reworking operations thereon with no cessation of more than sixty consecutive days until production results, and if production results, so long as such mineral is produced. The grantor reserves unto itself, its successors and assigns, the right of ingress and egress over the said lands in pursuance of the reservations set forth above, but in the event of oil, gas, or other minerals being discovered and developed, the grantor covenants and agrees that forty percent (40%) of one-eighth (%) royalty of all oil, gas, sulphur, or other mineral so removed and saved shall be paid to the United States of America until the total royalties so paid to the United States shall equal the purchase price of said land, to wit: Four Hundred Fifty-Five Thousand, Nine Hundred Sixty-Nine and 80/100 Dollars ($455,969.SO).” A producing well has been drilled on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and remittances representing forty percent of one-eighth of the royalty on oil produced are being received in accordance with the foregoing clause. Producing wells are in operation now and it is expected that additional ones will be in production in the near future on lands comprising other national wildlife refuges the deeds for which contain similar clauses.

The act of June 15, 1935, 49 Stat. 383, provides that 25 per centum of all money received during each fiscal year from the sale or other disposition of surplus wildlife, or of timber, hay, grass, or other spontaneous products of the soil, shell, sand. or gravel, and from other privileges on refuges administered by the Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture (now the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939 and the President's Reorganization Plans II and III) shall be paid to the county or counties in which the refuges are located to be expended for the benefit of the public schools and roads. Moneys received under the provisions of this act are deposited to the special funds receipt account 146019, Receipts under Migratory Bird Conservation Act (name of refuge), from which account they are distributed at the end of each fiscal year, 75 percent to general fund receipts and 25 percent to counties.

It will be appreciated if you will advise whether payments received for royalties under the clause of the deed above quoted should be deposited to 146019, Receipts under Migratory Bird Conservation Act (name of refuge), and later distributed in accordance with the act of June 15, 1935. If it is your opinion that they should not, please advise the symbol and title of the account to which they should be deposited. The funds will be held in the special deposits account pending receipt of your reply.

Section 401, title IV, of the act (49 Stat. 383) cited in your letter provides as follows:

That 25 per centum of all money received during each fiscal year from the sale or other disposition of surplus wildlife, or of timber, hay, grass, or other spontaneous products of the soil, shell, sand, or gravel, and from other privileges on refuges established under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929, or under any other law, proclamation, or Executive order, administered by the Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture, shall be paid at the end of such year by the Secretary of the Treasury to the county or counties in which such refuge is situated, to be expended for the benefit of the public schools and roads in the county or counties in which such refuge is situated: Provided, That when any such refuge is in more than one State or Territory or county or subdivision, the distributive share to each from the proceeds of such refuge shall be proportional to its area therein: Provided further, That the disposition or sale of surplus animals, and products, and the grant of privileges on said wildlife refuges may be made upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine to be for the best interests of Government or for the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of information regarding the conservation of wildlife, including sale in the open market, exchange for animals of the same or other kinds, and gifts or loans to public or private institutions for exhibition or propagation: And provided further, That out of any moneys received from the grant, sale, or disposi tion of such animals, products, or privileges, or as a bonus upon the exchange of such animals the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to pay any necessary

expenses incurred in connection with and for the purpose of effecting the removal, grant, disposition, sale, or exchange of such animals, products, or privileges; and in all cases such expenditures shall be deducted from the gross receipts of the refuge before the Secretary of the Treasury shall distribute the 25 per centum thereof to the States as hereinbefore provided.

Section 301 of said act (49 Stat. 381) provides that:

the acquisition of such areas by the United States shall in no case be defeated because of rights-of-way, easements, and reservations which from their nature will in the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture in no manner interfere with the use of the areas so encumbered for the purposes of this act; but such rights-of-way, easements, and reservations retained by the grantor or lessor from whom the United States receives title under this or any other act for the acquisition by the Secretary of Agriculture of areas for wildlife refuges shall be subject to rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture for the occupation, use, operation, protection, and administration of such areas as inviolate sanctuaries for migratory birds or as refuges for wildlife; and it shall be expressed in the deed or lease that the use, occupation, and operation of such rights-of-way, easements, and reservations shall be subordinate to and subject to such rules and regulations as are set out in such deed or lease or, if deemed necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture, to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by him from time to time.

In addition to the paragraph quoted in your letter the deed under which the United States acquired title to the tract here under consideration provides:

This provision for payment of forty percent (40%) of the one-eighth (%) royalty to the United States of America until it equals said sum, shall apply to royalties reserved in the leases now existing on said land hereinafter referred to, as well as to any leases hereafter executed by grantor, its successors or assigns, under the said reservation hereinabove set out, and the bonuses, rentals, and the remaining sixty percent (60%) of the one-eighth (%) royalty thereunder shall be payable to grantor, its successors and assigns.

The land is now subject to the oil and gas leases in favor of the Continental Oil Company, a Delaware Corporation, as per leases of record in the office of the County Clerk of Aransas County, Texas, pages 404 and 412 of Block One, and the conveyance is subject to the rights of the lessee in said leases. Except for the rights granted to the lessee in said leases, the mineral reservations made by the grantor herein in favor of itself, its successors and assigns, shall be subject to the following stipulations, and any leases made by grantor, its successors or assigns, after the expiration of the said leases to the Continental Oil Company shall contain the following stipulations for the protection of the grantee.

Sections 12.17 and 12.17e, title 50, Code of Federal Regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to the provision of said act provide, respectively, as follows:

Within the limitations of the act of June 15, 1935 (49 Stat. 383; 16 U. S. C., Sup. 715s), the following conditions and requirements are prescribed governing the sale or other disposition of wildlife, including long-horned cattle, wild burros, and wild horses, and hay, timber, grass, or other spontaneous products of the oil that may become surplus to refuge needs or requirements.

Hay, grass, timber, or other spontaneous products of the soil produced on any refuge surplus to refuge needs and requirements may be sold by the Chief of Bureau, preference being given to local residents of the county or counties in which the refuge is situated, at prevailing market prices for such products in the locality where produced.

Whenever in the opinion of the Chief or Bureau of the regional director it shall be advantageous to the United States, he may, in his discretion, enter into