The Secretary of War Accountants Office Sir July 5^th 1798 A copy of your letter dated the 30 Ult^o to the Sec^y of the Treasury on the subject of the distribution of the money — allowed by Law for the compensation of Clerks in the War Dep^t was only handed to me late on the 2^d Inst^o or should have communicated with you on the subject before — I observe for that in appropriating the amount for this Office you have disallowed the sum I refe[r to as neces-] sary to pay an additional Clerk which I employed on the 10 Ult^o in consequence of the accumulated business in my Office — I had hoped from the representation I made to you verbally as well as in the report to the Committee of Congress through you on the subject that no difficulty would have arisen in obtaining some of the sixteen hundred dollars appropriated by Congress for an additional Clerk here as would have paid his salary. — If the deduction is insisted on I have no alternative left but that of discharging him & thereby injure the Public Service, or retain him — and deducting the other Clerks the Salary they have been long accustomed to receive, and in consequence occasion a discontent which will be extremely disagreeable & likely be the cause of my losing some of the best Clerks in my Office, particularly as the salary of those in your Office has been lately considerably encreased — I therefore hope that on a reconsideration of the subject you will grant an additional allowance so as to enable me to compensate the additional Clerk as set in my statement — I have not yet rendered my Salary account, owing to this circumstance, I shall now await your answer, and trust it will be favorable — Sam &c. W. Simmons