123. Any department or officer authorized to use the penalty envelopes may inclose them with return address to any person or persons from or through whom official information is desired, the same to be used only to cover such official information and indorsements relating thereto.-Act of July 5, 1884 (23 Stat., 158).

124. Any letter or packet to be registered by either of the executive departments or bureaus thereof, or by the Agricultural Department or by the Public Printer, may be registered without the payment of any registry fee; and any part-paid letter or packet addressed to either of said departments or bureaus may be delivered free; but where there is good reason to believe the omission to prepay the full postage thereon was intentional such letter or packet shall be returned to the sender.-Sec. 3, ibid.

CONTRACTS AND PURCHASES.

BY ADVERTISEMENT AND IN OPEN MARKET.

125. Hereafter, except in cases of emergency or where it is impracticable to secure competition, the purchase of all supplies for the use of the various departments and posts of the Army and of the branches of the Army service shall only be made after advertisement and shall be purchased where the same can be purchased the cheapest, quality and cost of transportation and the interests of the Government considered; but every open-market emergency purchase made in the manner common among business men which exceeds in amount two hundred dollars shall be reported for approval to the Secretary of War under such regulations as he may prescribe.Act of Mar. 2, 1901 (31 Stat., 905). Act of Apr. 23, 1904 (33 Stat., 268). (Amended by Par. 126).

126. Hereafter the purchase of supplies and the procurement of services for all branches of the Army service may be made in open market, in the manner common among business men, when the aggregate of the amount required does not exceed five hundred dollars; but every such purchase exceeding one hundred dollars shall be promptly reported to the Secretary of War for approval under such regulations as he may prescribed.-Act of June 12, 1906 (34 Stat., 258).

127. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for the military and naval service shall be made by or under the direction of the chief officers of the Departments of War and of the Navy, respectively. (And all agents or contractors for supplies or services aforesaid shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper department for which such supplies or services are required, subject, nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury in the manner before prescribed.)-Sec. 3714, R. S.

128. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services, in any of the departments of the Government, except for personal services, shall be made by advertisement a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the same, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery of the articles or performance of the service. When immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or contract, at the places and in the manner in which such articles are usually bought and sold, or such services engaged between individuals.-Sec. 3709, R. S.

129. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed, when making purchases for the military posts or service on or near Indian reservations, to purchase in open market, from the Indians as far as practicable, at fair and reasonable rates, not to exceed the market prices in the localities, any cattle, grain, hay, fuel, or other produce or merchandise they may have for sale and which may be required for the military service-Act of Jan. 19, 1891 (26 Stat., 721).

130. Hereafter exceptional articles of subsistence stores for officers and enlisted men, which are to be paid for by them, regardless of condition upon arrival at posts, may, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of War, be obtained by open purchase without advertising.-Act of Feb. 12, 1895 (28 Stat., 658).

131. That hereafter all purchases of regular and miscellaneous supplies for the Army furnished by the Quartermaster's Department and by the Commissary Department for immediate use shall be made by the officers of such Department, under direction of the Secretary of War, at the places nearest the points where they are needed, the conditions of cost and quality being equal: Provided also, That all purchases of said supplies, except in cases of emergency, which must be at once reported to the Secretary of War for his approval, shall be made by contract after public notice of not less than ten days for small amounts for immediate use, and of not less than from thirty to sixty days whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, the circumstances of the case and conditions of the service shall warrant such extension of time. The award in every case shall be made to the lowest responsible bidder for the best and most suitable article, the right being reserved to reject any and all bids.—Act of July 5, 1884 (23 Stat., 109). (See Supplement Revised Statutes, vol. 1, 2d edition, 456.)

SUPPLIES FOR THE ARMY.

132. The Secretary of War shall from time to time define and prescribe the kinds as well as the amount of supplies to be purchased by the Subsistence and Quartermaster Departments of the Army, and the duties and powers thereof respecting such purchases; and shall prescribe general regulations for the transportation of the articles of supply from the places of purchase to the several armies, garrisons, posts, and recruiting places, for the safe-keeping of such articles, and for the distribution of an adequate and timely supply of the same to the regimental headquarters, and to such other officers as may by virtue of such regulations be intrusted with the same; and shall fix and make reasonable allowances for the store-rent and storage necessary for the safe-keeping of all military stores and supplies.-Sec. 219, R. S.

133. The Quartermaster's Department of the Army, in obtaining supplies for the military service, shall state in all advertisements for bids for contracts that a preference shall be given to articles of domestic production and manufacture, conditions of price and quality being equal, and that such preference shall be given to articles of American production and manufacture produced on the Pacific coast, to the extent of the consumption required by the public service there. In advertising for Army supplies the Quartermaster's Department shall require all articles which are to be used in the States and Territories of the Pacific coast to be delivered and inspected at points designated in those States and Territories; and the advertisements for such supplies shall be published in newspapers of the cities of San Francisco, California, and Portland, in Oregon.-Sec. 3716, R. S.

134. Contracts for subsistence supplies for the Army, made by the Commissary General, on public notice, shall provide for a complete delivery of such articles, on inspection, at such places as shall be stipulated.—Sec. 3715, R. S.

135. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States shall be made, unless the same is authorized by law, or is under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, transportation, or medical and hospital supplies, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year.-Act of June 12, 1906 (34 Stat., 255).

136. In every such contract or agreement to be made or entered into or accepted by or on behalf of the United States, there shall be inserted an express condition that

no Member of (or Delegate to) Congress shall be admitted to any share or part of such contract or agreement, or to any benefit to arise thereupon.--Sec. 3741, R. S.

137. No contract or order, or any interest therein, shall be transferred by the party to whom such contract or order is given to any other party, and any such transfer shall cause the annulment of the contract or order transferred, so far as the United States are concerned. All rights of action, however, for any breach of such contract by the contracting parties, are reserved to the United States.-Sec. 3737, R. S.

138. No act of Congress hereafter passed shall be construed to make an appropriation out of the Treasury of the United States, or to authorize the execution of a contract involving the payment of money in excess of appropriations made by law, unless such act shall in specific terms declare an appropriation to be made or that a contract may be executed.--Act of June 30, 1906 (34 Stat., 764).

SUPPLIES FOR EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS.

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139. The advertisement for such proposals shall be made by all the executive departments, including the * superintendent of the State, War, and Navy Building * * *. Such proposals shall be opened in the usual way and schedules thereof duly prepared and, together with the statement of the proposed action of each department and Government establishment thereon, shall be submitted to a board, consisting of one of the Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury and Interior Departments and one of the Assistant Postmasters General, who shall be designated by the heads of said departments and the Postmaster General respectively, at a meeting to be called by the official of the Treasury Department, who shall be chairman thereof, and said board shall carefully examine and compare all the proposals so submitted and recommend the acceptance or rejection of any or all of said proposals. And if any or all of such proposals shall be rejected, advertisements for proposals shall again be invited and proceeded with in the same manner.-Sec. 3709 as amended by Act of Jan. 27, 1894 (28 Stat., 33).

140. The act entitled “An act to amend section thirty-seven hundred and nine of the Revised Statutes relating to contracts for supplies in the departments at Washington," approved January twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, be, and the same is hereby, so amended that the provisions thereof shall apply only to advertisements for proposals for fuel, ice, stationery, and other miscellaneous supplies to be purchased at Washington for the use of the executive departments and other Government establishments therein named; and no advertisements made or contracts awarded or to be awarded thereon since January twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, in accordance with the laws in force prior to said date, shall be declared to be illegal or invalid for noncompliance with said law of January twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four.-Act of Apr. 21, 1894 (28 Stat., 62).

111. Hereafter all supplies of fuel, ice, stationery, and other miscellaneous supplies for the executive departments and other Government establishments in Washington, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery of the articles, shall be advertised and contracted for by the Secretary of the Treasury, instead of by the several departments and establishments, upon such days as he may designate. There shall be a general supply committee in lieu of the board provided for in section thirty-seven hundred and nine of the Revised Statutes as amended, composed of officers, one from each such department, designated by the head thereof, the duties of which committee shall be to make, under the direction of the said secretary, an annual schedule of required miscellaneous supplies, to standardize such supplies, eliminating all unnecessary grades and varieties, and to aid said Secretary in soliciting bids based

upon formulas and specifications drawn up by such experts in the service of the Government as the committee may see fit to call upon, who shall render whatever assistance they may require. The committee shall aid said Secretary in securing the proper fulfillment of the contracts for such supplies, for which purpose the said Secretary shall prescribe, and all departments comply with, rules providing for such examination and tests of the articles received as may be necessary for such purpose; in making additions to the said schedule; in opening and considering the bids, and shall perform such other similar duties as he may assign to them: Provided, That the articles intended to be purchased in this manner are those in common use by or suitable to the ordinary needs of two or more such departments or establishments; but the said Secretary shall have discretion to amend the annual common supply schedule from time to time as to any article that, in his judgment, can as well be thus purchased. In all cases only one bond for the proper performance of each contract shall be required, notwithstanding that supplies for more than one department or Government establishment are included in such contract. Every purchase or drawing of such supplies from the contractor shall be immediately reported to said committee. No disbursing officer shall be a member of such committee. No department or establishment shall purchase or draw supplies from the common schedule through more than one office or bureau, except in case of detached bureaus or offices having field or outlying service, which may purchase directly from the contractor with the permission of the head of their department: And provided further, That telephone service, electric light, and power service purchased or contracted for from companies or individuals shall be so obtained by him.-Act of June 17, 1910 (36 Stat., 531).

142. It shall not be lawful for any of the executive departments to make contracts for stationery or other supplies for a longer term than one year from the time the contract is made.-Sec. 3735, R. S.

OFFICERS NOT TO BE INTERESTED IN PURCHASE OR SALE.

143. No officer belonging to the Subsistence Department or doing the duty of a subsistence officer shall be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any article entering into the composition of the ration allowed to troops in the service of the United States, or of any article designated by the inspectors general of the Army and furnished for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, or of tobacco furnished for sale to enlisted men, except on account of the United States, nor shall any such officer take or apply to his own use any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business connected with the duties of his office other than that which may be allowed by law.-Sec. 1150, R. S.

144. It shall be the duty of the officers of the Subsistence Department, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to purchase and issue to the Army such supplies as enter into the composition of the ration.-Sec. 1141, R. S.

145. It shall be the duty of the officers of the Quartermaster's Department under the direction of the Secretary of War, to purchase and distribute to the Army all military stores and supplies requisite for its use which other corps are not directed by law to provide; to furnish means of transportation for the Army, its military stores and supplies, and to provide for and pay all incidental expenses of the military service which other corps are not directed to provide for and pay.-Sec. 1133, R. S.

146. No officer belonging to the Quartermaster's Department, or doing the duty of a quartermaster or assistant quartermaster shall be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any article intended for or appertaining to said department of service, except on account of the United States; nor shall any such officer take or

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apply to his own use any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business connected with the duties of his office other than that which may be allowed by law. Sec. 1138, R. S.

OPENING OF BIDS-BIDDERS' BONDS.

147. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to prescribe rules and regulations to be observed in the preparation and submission and opening of bids for contracts under the War Department.-Act of Apr. 10, 1878 (20 Stat., 36).

148. He may require every bid to be accompanied by a written guaranty, signed by one or more responsible persons, to the effect that he or they undertake that the bidder, if his bid is accepted, will, at such time as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War or the officer authorized to make a contract in the premises, give bond with good and sufficient sureties to furnish the supplies proposed or to perform the service required. If after the acceptance of a bid and a notification thereof to the bidder he fails within the time prescribed by the Secretary of War or other duly authorized officer to enter into a contract and furnish a bond with good and sufficient security for the proper fulfillment of its terms, the Secretary or other authorized officer shall proceed to contract with some other person to furnish the supplies or perform the service required, and shall forthwith cause the difference between the amount specified by the bidder in default in the proposal and the amount for which he may have contracted with another party to furnish the supplies or perform the service for the whole period of the proposal to be charged up against the bidder and his guarantor or guarantors, and the sum may be immediately recovered by the United States for the use of the War Department in an action of debt against either or all of such persons.-Act of Mar. 3, 1883 (22 Stat., 488).

149. Whenever proposals for supplies have been solicited, the parties responding to such solicitation shall be duly notified of the time and place of opening of bids and be permitted to be present either in person or by attorney, and a record of each bid shall then and there be made.-Sec. 3710, R. S.

PREPARATION AND EXECUTION OF CONTRACTS.
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150. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of War to cause and require every contract made on behalf of the Government, or by officers under them appointed to make such contracts, to be reduced to writing and signed by the contracting parties with their names at the end thereof, a copy of which shall be filed by the officer making and signing the contract in the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior, as soon after the contract is made possible, and within thirty days, together with all bids, offers, and proposals to him made by persons to obtain the same, and with a copy of any advertisement he may have published inviting bids, offers, or proposals for the same. All the copies and papers in relation to each contract shall be attached together by a ribbon and seal and marked by numbers in regular order, according to the number of papers composing the whole return.-Sec. 3744, R. S.

151. It shall be the further duty of the officer before making his return according to the preceding section to affix to the same his affidavit in the following form, sworn to before some magistrate having authority to administer oaths: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the copy of contract hereto annexed is an exact copy of a contract made by me personally with -; that I made the same fairly without any benefit or advantage to myself or allowing any such benefit or advantage corruptly to the said or any other person; and that the papers accompanying include all those relating to the said contract, as required by the statute in such case made and provided.”—Sec. 3745, R. S.

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