Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1835-01-28

the mana cement of its concerns"
The Report then proceeds to the examina-
ton Of the practice Of the Department la ma
king contracts, in manner contrary 10 law,
and equally unauthorized by regard TO equity
and TO the public interest. The account oil the
TmDrored Bids, which have had such an unfor-
tunate agency in the present insolvency OF the
Post Office. will be new to many of our readers.
We therefore copy it:
"a practice has of late prevailed extensively
& in this Department of advertising proposals
{ for carrying the mail on the prnclpai man
routes in different manner from tnat In wl'. e
il is in fact to be Giving oids ioi
{ carving it in different manner from that III
: which il is advertised. which are called nm
Drored bidsn-ot accepting the BIDS as mace
6 aliogether. and entering their acceptance as
applicable to that part Of the bid when con-
forms 10 the advertisement, and immeu'ate'y
changing them to the Improved 0'd, ana So eA
ecuting the contract thus IN eHect ieuins Vi
making the contract without advertisement
This is a violation OF law, and has gwen rise
to, and is made the apology .Ior, other Vioi"-
,ions of law and official duty"
The Report then goes on 10 shew that IN re-
gard to all this class of :" Improved BIDS, "hlch
have been made the ground OF Extra ahowah-
ces. there are important discrepancies between
The Renorts of the Postmaster General and the
Blue Book 1.-THE printed list of contracts ana al
lowances) and between the Blue Book ana the
actual contracts; and that none oil them are 10
be relied upon. The practice OF allowing tnese
Improved bids and making these extra al
lowances," the Committee say, throws tne uUo l'
wide open to uniairness favorltlsm, anu 0on ,
sion. And the Report, on the same suDlect, co''-
tnueS thus: - 80.
The public know nothing oil the purposes: y.
the wishes of the Department ds TO the tiuie
and manner Of transporting the mans, eAGep'
through the medium of the puohc auVeiu VS.
ma
ment And the honest business man. w'o
would wish to seek a contract, through ialr
competition. would naturally suppose that
bid. pursuant to the advertisement, would ne
the one and the only one, by which he coula
nrocure such contract And he would further
Is suppose that he would be bound by such bid
/ With the public at large, this prooapiy mas
been the case: it appears to nave Deeh SO witn
the smaH contractors generally. But IL mas
been far otherwise with a class OF large con-
tractors. who appear to be on terms OF lntlma.
CIV and confidence with some of the officers OF
the General Post Office and whose attdlrS are
Intimately blended with the fiscal concerns oil
that Department For example, In LOOKING
over the bids of the Fall of 1881, 1t VIII be
found that several individuals who obtained
contracts upon the great mail routes, or great
number of the small routes united, included IN
their bids, not only proposition to carry the
mail according to the advertisement, out win
calculations, that the bidder would bind him
self to carry the mail in a different mnnner, at
different price. Of the favored contractors,
the bids to carry the mail, pursuant 10 lhe au-
yertisement, are generally rery ioW, so as 10
enable the Department TO award them the con-
tract: while their Improved bid, in pursuance
of which the contract is at last executed, is re-
RI high so as to ensure to the contractor an
enormous profit. The acceptance is marked
on the Proposal Book, opposite the sum which
was bid for carrying the mail, pursuant to the
IL nd no ri bidders
once on an inspection Of this book, that they
are snoierbd But the contracts are executed
according to the improved Did, which is often
twice or three times the sum at winch II Is en-
! tered on The Proposal Book laid open to the IN
inspection Of the public"
OF the general effect of this mode OF dlstribu-
ting, at pleasure, the public money to favored
contractors, the Report speaks thus
"U were tedious to ennmerate the cases In
which this difference exists between the bid
made pursuant to advertisement and accepted,
and the contract executed. Your committee
have caused to be prepared by their Secretary,
and they exhibit herewith, table complied
from books and papers in the Department. from
the Blue Book from the letter OF the PoStmas-
ter General Of the Sd of March, 1881, in reply
to call of the Senate and from his report OF
The 18th Of April, 1882, which shows, in each
individual case in the contracts OF 1881, the
difference between the Did, as entered on the
bid book, and the contract executed. Ii SHOWS,
also the cases in which no difference exists
The same paper shows in another column, OPP
posite the name Of each contractor what ex-
ira allowances have been made him over and
above his contract as executed, from which 1t
s will be seen:
Ist That the whole amount of the bids &C
'cepted, pursuant to the advertisements in Oc-
.tober 1881, was $340626 81
Amounts of contracts as executed
for same division (by the Blue
Book 4Ss,2o9 AZ
Making difference of Sl47,632 Sc
"And it will be seen that this whole difference,
amounting to the enormous sum above shown,
is made in favor OF not more than - con-
tractors, or companies of contractors, most OF
whom your committee will find it their duty
to notice hereafter in this report. as the re-
'cipients of other pecunary favors from the
: Department"
single case out Of many is quoted to shew
the anomalous character of the contracts, and
the unjustifiable waste Of the public money in
the practice of accepting these improred bids:
"Take, for example, the route from Phadel
phia to Plttsbure, which was first accepted dali
L - h,,tb ,, III raI