MacMath v. United States

Supreme Court

MacMath v. United States

248 U.S. 151, 39 S. Ct. 31, 63 L. Ed. 177, 1918 U.S. LEXIS 1702

CourtSupreme Court of the United States

DecidedDecember 9, 1918

Docket79

StatusPublished

Cited by18 cases

This text of 248 U.S. 151 (MacMath v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of the United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

MacMath v. United States, 248 U.S. 151, 39 S. Ct. 31, 63 L. Ed. 177, 1918 U.S. LEXIS 1702 (1918).

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Opinion

Mr. Justice Brandéis

delivered the opinion of the court. .

When an office with, a fixed salary has been created by statute, and a person duly appointed to it 'has qualified and entered upon the discharge of his duties, he is entitled, during his incumbency, to be paid the salary prescribed by statute; and effect will not be given to any attempt to deprive him of the right thereto, whether it be by unauthorized agreement, by condition, or otherwise. United States v. Andrews, 240 U. S. 90; Glavey. v. United States, 182 U. S. 595.

Section ;3 of the Act of July 26, 1866, c. 269, 14 Stat. 289, provides, that weighers at the port of New York shall receive an annual salary of $2,500. Section 2621 of the Revised Statutes authorizes collectors to employ, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, weighers at the several ports; and it does not prescribe their number. Section 2634 authorizes the Secretary of .the Treasury tp fix.the number and compensation of clerks to be employed by any collector. The statutes "appear to have made no specific provision for the appointment of assistant or acting United States weighers. On May 12, 1909, plaintiff’s intestate (who had been appointed on August 1,1896, “assistant weigher of customs” at a salary, “when, employed,” of $3 per diem and had later received a' like appointment at $4 per diem) was appointed by the collector “clerk, class 3, new office, to act as acting U. S. weigher’’ with'compensation at the rate; *153 of $1,600 per annum. On August 18, 1911, he received a like appointment as clerk, class 4, at the rate of $1,800 per annum. He continued to perform the duties assigned and was paid the salary named until his death, October 8, 1913. In February, 1915, his administratrix filed with the Auditor of the Treasury a claim for salary of her intestate as "United States weigher of customs” at the' rate of $2,500 per annum, from May 12, 1909, to and including October 7, Í913. Upon disallowance of the claim she brought this suit in the Court of Claims for the amount, namely, $11,013.89. The court found for the defendant and entered judgment dismissing the petition. The case comes here on appeal.

There is a fundamental objection to the allowance of the claim or any part thereof. MacMath was never appointed weigher and never held office as such. His only appointment was that of clerk; his oath of office being-as "clerk and acting U. S. weigher, class 3.” The Secretary of the Treasury clearly had the right to create and the collector- to make appointment to the position of clerk and to designate duties of the appointee. The fact that the incumbent performed also some or all the duties of a weigher does not operate to promote him automatically to the- statutory office of weigher. And the fact that his appointment as clerk in 1909 was made as a part of a reorganization of the service, whereby, four of the five positions of United States weigher were abolished, is immaterial; except as shewing even more clearly that it was the intention not to appoint him weigher. No contention is, or could successfully be, made that the weighing should be paid for as an extra service, even if it was not a duty attaching to his position as clerk. See United States v. Garlinger, 169 U. S. 316.

We have, therefore, no occasion to consider whether, effect should be given to the agreement by the intestate not to make claim to compensation as acting weigher, or *154 to his acceptance of, the lower compensation without^ protest during the entire term of his service; nor need we consider the effect, of '§-2 of the Act of July 31, 1894, c. 174, 28 Stat. 162, 205,. which provides that “no person ‘who holds an office the salary or annual compensation attached to which amounts to "the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars shall ,be appointed to or hold any other office to Which compensation is attached unless specially heretofore or hereafter specially authorized thereto by law.”'

The judgment of the Court of Claims is

Affirmed.'

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Mr. Justice Brandéis

delivered the opinion of the court. .

When an office with, a fixed salary has been created by statute, and a person duly appointed to it 'has qualified and entered upon the discharge of his duties, he is entitled, during his incumbency, to be paid the salary prescribed by statute; and effect will not be given to any attempt to deprive him of the right thereto, whether it be by unauthorized agreement, by condition, or otherwise. United States v. Andrews, 240 U. S. 90; Glavey. v. United States, 182 U. S. 595.

Section ;3 of the Act of July 26, 1866, c. 269, 14 Stat. 289, provides, that weighers at the port of New York shall receive an annual salary of $2,500. Section 2621 of the Revised Statutes authorizes collectors to employ, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, weighers at the several ports; and it does not prescribe their number. Section 2634 authorizes the Secretary of .the Treasury tp fix.the number and compensation of clerks to be employed by any collector. The statutes "appear to have made no specific provision for the appointment of assistant or acting United States weighers. On May 12, 1909, plaintiff’s intestate (who had been appointed on August 1,1896, “assistant weigher of customs” at a salary, “when, employed,” of $3 per diem and had later received a' like appointment at $4 per diem) was appointed by the collector “clerk, class 3, new office, to act as acting U. S. weigher’’ with'compensation at the rate; *153 of $1,600 per annum. On August 18, 1911, he received a like appointment as clerk, class 4, at the rate of $1,800 per annum. He continued to perform the duties assigned and was paid the salary named until his death, October 8, 1913. In February, 1915, his administratrix filed with the Auditor of the Treasury a claim for salary of her intestate as "United States weigher of customs” at the' rate of $2,500 per annum, from May 12, 1909, to and including October 7, Í913. Upon disallowance of the claim she brought this suit in the Court of Claims for the amount, namely, $11,013.89. The court found for the defendant and entered judgment dismissing the petition. The case comes here on appeal.

There is a fundamental objection to the allowance of the claim or any part thereof. MacMath was never appointed weigher and never held office as such. His only appointment was that of clerk; his oath of office being-as "clerk and acting U. S. weigher, class 3.” The Secretary of the Treasury clearly had the right to create and the collector- to make appointment to the position of clerk and to designate duties of the appointee. The fact that the incumbent performed also some or all the duties of a weigher does not operate to promote him automatically to the- statutory office of weigher. And the fact that his appointment as clerk in 1909 was made as a part of a reorganization of the service, whereby, four of the five positions of United States weigher were abolished, is immaterial; except as shewing even more clearly that it was the intention not to appoint him weigher. No contention is, or could successfully be, made that the weighing should be paid for as an extra service, even if it was not a duty attaching to his position as clerk. See United States v. Garlinger, 169 U. S. 316.

We have, therefore, no occasion to consider whether, effect should be given to the agreement by the intestate not to make claim to compensation as acting weigher, or *154 to his acceptance of, the lower compensation without^ protest during the entire term of his service; nor need we consider the effect, of '§-2 of the Act of July 31, 1894, c. 174, 28 Stat. 162, 205,. which provides that “no person ‘who holds an office the salary or annual compensation attached to which amounts to "the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars shall ,be appointed to or hold any other office to Which compensation is attached unless specially heretofore or hereafter specially authorized thereto by law.”'

The judgment of the Court of Claims is

Affirmed.'

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248 U.S. 151, 39 S. Ct. 31, 63 L. Ed. 177, 1918 U.S. LEXIS 1702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/macmath-v-united-states-scotus-1918.

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