Executive Order 2135

Establishing Regulations Governing the Accounting to the Treasury of the United States for Panama Canal Collections (Section 5 of the Act of August 1,1914, Public No. 161, p. 79).

By virtue of the authority vested in me, under section 5 of the Act of August 1, 1914, I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing accounting to the Treasury of the United States for moneys received on account of the Panama Canal by the collecting officers:

1. The Collector of the Panama Canal shall render his accounts monthly to the Auditor for the War Department for all moneys received by him, or placed to his official credit from whatever source received, or in whatever manner placed to his official credit, on account of the United States (Panama Canal). These accounts, however, need not include revenues of the Canal Zone Government, money order funds, postal saving bank funds, clubhouse funds, moneys of the Panama Railroad Company, or similar moneys or funds for which the United States can not be held to be a trustee. Said accounts shall be rendered in such detail and be accompanied by such papers, records, and copies thereof relating to such collections as are hereinafter specified and upon forms to be approved by the Comptroller of the Treasury in accordance with these regulations.
   
   
2. The Collector shall give bond to the United States, to be filed with the Secretary of the Treasury, in such sum as may be fixed by the Governor of the Panama Canal, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties of collecting and disbursing all public moneys and honestly accounting without fraud or delay for the same, including moneys of the United States embraced in any special deposit account to be submitted to the Auditor for the War Department.
   
   
3. The monthly accounts current of the Collector, under both his regular account and such special deposit account as he may be authorized by law to keep, rendered on forms prescribed oy the Comptroller of the Treasury for that purpose, shall be accompanied by a schedule of the amounts received by him, which accounts shall be so stated as to show the date each amount was received by him directly, or from his deputies, or from other receiving agents; the number of the Collector's receipt issued therefor, the person from whom received, the source from which received, and, in proper columns, the amounts collected for tolls, the amount to be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, and the amount to be credited to appropriations, and in case of his special deposit account, a schedule of the amount of refunds or repayments made.
   
   
4. The schedule showing the details as provided in section three above, shall be accompanied by signed copies of all formal bills, registered as such in the office of the Auditor of the Panama Canal, on which collection is made, and, where practicable in the judgment of the Governor of the Panama Canal and it can be done without an increase in the clerical force, signed copies of receipts, where there has been no formal bill, will be transmitted to the Auditor for the War Department, together with such other supporting papers as are deemed necessary by the Governor. In addition to the requirements of this section and sections three, five, six and seven hereof, the examination and inspection provided for in section eight hereof, shall be made, and the report of the persons designated thereunder shall be filed with the accounts of the Collector transmitted to the Auditor for the War Department as a part of the record to support such accounts for the period covered by such report. The facts stated in this report shall be certified to by the persons designated to make the inspection and examination. Such inspection and examination shall be made at as early a date as practicable after the expiration of the period which it is to cover; and the report of the persons designated to make it shall be promptly filed. A signed copy of this report shall be furnished to and filed by the Auditor of the Panama Canal and preserved as a part of the files of his office and one copy shall be furnished to the Comptroller of the Treasury for his files.
   
   
5. Immediately following each item of receipt from the deputy collectors or other receiving agents, there shall be scheduled a list of all items collected by them on formal bills, in the same manner as if paid to the Collector direct, and all other collections not covered by formal bills, shall be segregated into items according to the source from which derived, such as hospital service, water rental, etc. Sales slips, memorandum bills for hotel and hospital services, water rentals, rentals for quarters, electric current, corral services, and bills of like character, and other papers relating thereto need not accompany the Collector's account, except in special cases where it would be necessary that they should accompany the account in order to make a complete explanation of the collection.
   
   
6. The Auditor of the Panama Canal shall prepare and forward with the Collector's account, a consolidated statement showing the total amount received by the Collector, classified according to the sources from which derived with as much detail as practicable, whether from sales of material, repairs, rentals, hotel or hospital service, towage, pilotage, etc., and shall specify the amount to be credited to each appropriation or to miscellaneous receipts, and the amount that should appear in the special deposit account.
   
   
7. The Auditor of the Panama Canal will certify to the correctness of the statement above referred to, and, in addition, will certify that he has examined the records and accounts of all officers and agents who have collected moneys for the Panama Canal, and that the statements include all funds received by the Collector from the persona and sources indicated, and that, so far as shown by the records of the Auditor's office, the Collector's account is a full, true and complete account of all public moneys which came into the possession of the Collector during the period covered by the account, and that the special deposit account of the Collector contains a true, correct, and complete account of all moneys received by the Collector or placed to his official credit in his special deposit account, which does not appear in his regular account.
   
   
8. As a part of the detail required by these regulations, two competent persons, one from the office of the Auditor for the War Department designated by the Auditor, and one from the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury designated by the Comptroller, shall be detailed semi-annually at such time as may be designated by the Comptroller, but not oftener than once in six months, to proceed to the Canal Zone and examine the records and accounts of the collections of the Panama Canal for the six mouths just prior to such examinations, in such detail as may be necessary to enable them to verify the correctness of the collections not supported by collection vouchers in detail for such period, as stated in the schedule of collections submitted by the Collector with his accounts. They shall also make such other investigations as the Comptroller may direct. Such persons shall make a report in triplicate, and certify and file the same as provided in section four hereof. If such persons disagree each shall make and file in the same manner as provided for the joint report in section four hereof a separate report as to the items upon which they disagree. Such persons shall be given free access to all records and papers pertaining to the accounts under examination. Such persons shall be furnished free transportation going to and returning from the Isthmus, including meals while on the steamer, and shall be paid a per diem of four ($4.00) dollars from the day of sailing from the United States until return thereto, both dates inclusive, in lieu of subsistence and all other expenses. Such expenses shall be paid out of any appropriation for the Panama Canal that may be designated by the Governor, and which is applicable therefor.
   
   
9. The Collector shall, within twenty days after the close of each month, forward to the Auditor of the Panama Canal for administrative examination, his special deposit and regular accounts for such month. The Auditor of the Panama Canal shall give such accounts an administrative examination, and transmit them to the the Auditor for the War Department within twenty days from the date of their receipt from the Collector.
   
   
10. The gross proceeds of all collections which the Panama Canal Act and section three of the Act of August 1, 1914, or any other Act, authorize to be credited to appropriations, shall be so credited by the Collector and deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the proper appropriation or transferred to the Paymaster of the Panama Canal to be taken up in the Paymaster's accounts for disbursement.
    
    
11. At the close of each fiscal year the Auditor of the Panama Canal shall determine, as nearly as may be practicable from a profit and loss account to be stated by him, the net profits for such fiscal year, and direct that there shall be covered into the Treasury from the proper appropriation to "Miscellaneous Receipts," a sum equal to the net profits shown by such account, and said account shall be transmitted to the Auditor for the War Department for examination and file.
    
    
12. The facts necessary to support such transactions as are not shown by collection vouchers in detail, shall be verified by the certificate of an administrative officer having personal knowledge of such transaction where this is practicable. The certificate above required may be so made, however, that one certificate will cover a number of items of collections of the same class, involving different transactions, such as the collections from the Tivoli Hotel, or the sales in stores, etc., as shown in section five hereof, covering a period of time to be stated in such certificate.
    
    
13. The Governor of the Panama Canal shall prescribe such administrative regulations as he deems necessary to efficiently carry these regulations into full force and effect.
    
    

Woodrow Wilson.

The White House, 4 February, 1915.