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55 897. A.G.O. General E. D. Townsend, Adjutant General, U.S.A. Washington, D. C. General:

                   I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the letter of the Q. M. General to the Adjutant General of the Army, dated Aug. 20, 1872, in reference to Capt. N. D. A. Sawyer, Mil. Storekeeper, and which was referred to me for report.
         At the time, Capt. Sawyer made his application to be relieved from the Department, there was nothing but suspicion, [underline] that his administration at the Victoria Depot, was irregular and possibly corrupt; and the question of his integrity did not in the least influence my endorsement, approving his application.  I approved for reasons, I will now give.
         The Depot Quartermaster at San Antonio has charge of the Clothing there, and has no more employe's, in connection therewith, than the Mil. Storekeeper would have; and its arrangement does not interfere with the official performance of his other duties.
         A Military Storekeeper there, is simply an Officer in excess of what is necessary, and at an Expense of his fuel and quarters.  I have made it a point too, independently of the question of expense, to reduce the number of Officers at Department headquarters to the lowest possible number.  I think it advisable for many reasons, which need not be stated.
          Such were my reasons for saying that "Capt. Sawyer's services as Military Storekeeper were not necessary in this Department".  If he remained in this Department, it would be of course to go as Quartermaster to some post.  At every post, so far as I know, a Lieutenant can be selected, who will perform all the duties of the Q. M. Department at the Post, quite as efficiently as any Captain, Q. M., and less of inconvenience to the garrison, where there is always a limited allowance of Quarters.
         The Quartermaster General remarks that: "The frontier of Texas has many Posts at which a good, bonded officer would be useful as an Actg. Asst. Quartermaster, in charge of military property and Expenditures".  So far as I am aware, and I think the records of the Q. M. General's Office will show, that every case of alleged fraud and corruption at the frontier, and other posts in Texas, has occurred with the same "bonded Officers", and not one in the care of a Lieutenant, acting as Quartermaster.  There has been but a single instance, since my coming here, of a Post Commander asking for a regular Q. M. at his post, but repeated instances, where I have been asked not to send one