Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-06-18


posal. should be subject for future considera-
non. There is on the files of the Department,
a paper which appears to have been written al
ter the service commenced, of which the follow
ing is copy.
& Mr.. Reside says that the bid was put in by
mistake, as will appear from the small sum-
He intended to have made it $ 400, and to run
daily. and so marked with his pencil; but the
clerk who copied it for him, mstook his pencil
mark supposng the was belonging to his dol
lar sign and the O at the RIG ht hand he over
looked or considered it merely point. The
Postmaster General gave him verbal order to
run daily, and reserved for consideration the
correction of the error. He has run, from the
beginning Of the year, daily. Shall he be al
lowed to correct the error, and receive Sl4OO!
His distance is increased 10 miles. No other
bid"
On this statement is written, in the handwrit-
ing of the Postmaster General &C Granted."-
Such are the facts in this case. 1t is stated by
the Postmaster General, that the increase OF
distance was occasoned by his going by way OF
Green Castle, five miles each way, which in
creased his daily travel ten miles. That the
words no other bid, are erroneous; and that
the error must have arisen from the clrcum-
stances, that three other proposals OF MT Ree-
side were written on the same paper with this,
TO neither of which was there any other bid
than his and that it must have been under the
impression that this was one of them, that this
part of the note was made. The allowance OF
$14OO was made him for running daily, with the
increased distance of five miles each way, TIL
the close of the last year, when it was reduced
to a tri-weekly mail and the compensation re-
duced to $500 This is $3.50 year more than
the lowest bid but with an increase of five
miles distance each way, and to be performed
in the same time that would have been allowed
with the increased distance. The Postmaster
General further states, that as soon as he dlscov-
cred the fact (Which was not until this nvestiga-
ton commenced) that there were other bids on
the route, he informed the contractor that the
amount of the allowance would be a subject of
reconsideration; and that it would be regulated
according to the other proposals, and to take
effect from the beginning of the contract
The full amount of allowance is far from what
appears eXtravagant when compared with what
is paid for equal services on the other routes;
and if when compared with the proposals of
other responsible bidders on the same route, the
allowance shall appear to be greater than what
the contractor is fairly entitled to, the Postmas-
ter General has the power, as he has declared
his intention, to reduce it to the proper amount
The contract made by the Department with
DR.. John Il. Temple, for Transporting the mail
between Chicago, Illinois, and Green Bay, in
the Territory of Michigan has also been a sub
ject of investigation. 1t appears that Doctor
Temple was formerly a clerk in the General
Post Office, and that he resigned his situation
as such about the first of March, 1888, to take
effect from the close ofthat month The route
from Chicago to Green Bay was established by
the law of 1882 but in advertising the routes es-
tabshed by that law, this route was omitted,
and one which had not been provided by law,
from Detroit by Mackinac, to Green Bay, was
advertised. This error appears to have arisen
from the circumstance that the person who pre-
pared the advertisement had not the means Of
referring to the law as it finally passed, it hav
ing been necessary to prepare the advertise
ments before the law was published.
The proposals, however, were received by
the Department for Transporting the mail on the
route from Chicago to Green Bay. One by AL
eXander Irwin and John P. Arndt, to carry the
mail once in two weeks for $4,000 year, from
the 1st January, 1885, for the period of three
years. Their proposal is dated Green Bay,
Slavery, of White Pigeon, who was then pre-
sent at the Department, dated 10th November,
1892, proposing to carry the mail once in two
weeks for $4,000 year, from the 1st April, 1888,
to the 31st December, 1885, or, if the Postmas-
ter General should require it to be carried once
a week, he proposed to perform the service for
the additional sum Of $500 year Col. Save
ry was already the contractor ofcarrying themail
from Detroit to Chicago, and his proposal was
accepted to transport the mail between Chca
go and Green Bay, once week, from the lSt
April, 1893, for the yearly compensation of
3oUO dollars. On thel9th or January 1888 Col.
Slavery addressed letter to the Postmaster Ge-
neral, stating, that as the route had not been
advertised, he had not travelled over it prepa-
ratory to making his bid, but had supposed the
distance to be but two hundred miles, over a
prairie country, unobstructed by difficult
streams of water; but he had since learned that
the distance was two hundred and fifty miles,
principally through uninhabited woodlands,
interrupted by several water courses which
would require him TO keep boats to enable him
to perform the service. He, therefore, earnestly
requested the Postmaster General to add
thousand or fifteen hundred dollars to his annu-
al allowance, as a matter of equity. He pro.
posed to submit the subject to Governor Cass,
who he supposed, had travelled over the route.
The matter was. accordingly referred to Go
vernon Cass; but he returned it to the Depart
ment without giving an opinion, having never
travelled over the route. The contract was
made on the 22d Of February with Col. Slavery
for 4500 dollars year, to commence the first
of April following. On the 2Sth of February,
one week after the contract was made, it was
hU SaUerv To hp tbo