United States v. Sweet, 189 U.S. 471 (1903)

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United States v. Sweet

No. 236

Argued and submitted April 15, 1903
Decided April 27, 1903
189 U.S. 471

APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF CLAIMS

Syllabus

An officer of volunteers in the United States Army who tenders his resignation and is honorably discharged is not entitled to travel pay and commutation of subsistence, under Rev.Stat. § 1289, as amended by the Act of February 27, 1877, c. 69, 19 Stat. 243, from the place of his discharge to where he was mustered in.

This decision is in accord with the settled practice of the War Department and the Treasury, which has been to deny these allowances when the officer or soldier is discharged at his own request for his own pleasure or convenience. The weight of a contemporaneous and long continued construction of a statute by those charged with its execution is well recognized in cases open to reasonable doubt.

The case is stated in the opinion.