New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-02-20

OF passengers or Tor beng concerned IN setilhg
UP or running an express, conveying Intelligence
in advance Of the mail, quarter pay may be
deducted.
6. Fines will be imposed. unless the delIn
quency be promptly and satisfactorily explained
BY certificates of postmssters, or the afidavlts
Of other credible persons, for failing to arrive in
contract time; for neglecting TO take the mail
from or deliver it into q post Office; for suit
fering it to be wet, injured, destroyed, robbed,
or lost and for refusing, after demand, to con-
yey the mail as frequently as the contractor runs,
or is concerned in running coach, car, or
steamboat on 4 route.
7 The Postmaster General may snnul the
contract for repeated failures TO ran agreesbly
to contract for violating the post office laws,
disobeying the instructions of the Department:
for refusing to discharge a carrier when required
| by the Department to do so for running an
{ press as aforesaid, or for Transporting persons
| or packages conveying mailsble matter out OF
/ the mail.
| s. The Postmaster General msy order an in
crease of service on a route by allowing therefor
pro rata increase on the contract pay. He
may change schedules of departures and arrivals
| in all cases, and particularly to make them con
/ form to connections with railroads, without in
crease Of pay, provided the running time be not
abridged The Postmaster General may also
discontinue or curtail the service in whole or in
part, in order to place on the route superior ser
vice or whenever the public interest, in his
/ Judgment, shall require such dtscontinuance or
curtailment for any other cause he allowing as
| full indemnity to contractor one month extra
pay on the amount of service dispensed with,
| and pro rata compensation Tor the amount OF
service retained and continued.
9. Payments will be made by collections from,
or drafts on, postmasters or otherWise. after the
| expiration of each 'qnarter-say IN November
February. May. and August-proylded that re-
quired evidence of service has been received.
10. The distances given are believed to be
substantially correct; but no increased pay will
be allowed should they be greater than sdver
tsed, if the points to he supplied are correctly
| stated Bidders must inform themselves on this
point and also in reference to the weight of the
mail, the condition of hills, roads, streams, &c,
and all toll bridges turnpikes, plank roads, fer.
ries, or distractions of any kind by which eX
pense nav be incurred. No claim for additional
pay, based on such ground, can be considered,
nor for alleged mistakes or misrepresentation as
to the degree of service nor for bridges de.
stroyed. ferries discontinued. or other obstruc-
tons causing or increasing distance or expense
occurring during the contract term. Offices es
tablshed after this advertisement is issued, and
also during the contract term, are TO be visited
without extra pay, il the distance be not in
creased.
IL. Bidders are cautioned to mail their prOpo-
sails in time to reach the Department by the day
and hour named, g p. m, March 3, ls73,) for
bids received alter that time tci nor Oc cbIStdeFeI
in competition with bids, of reasonable amount,
received in time. Neither can bids be consd-
cred which are without the guarantee required by
law, and a certificate of the sutfciency OF such
guarantee and the oath of the bidder, according
to section 2iG, act of June s, 1872.
H. Bidders should first propose for service
strictly according to the advertisement, and then,
fthey DESIRE separately for different service; and
if the regular bid be the lowest offered for adver
tised service the other proposition may be con-
sidered.
49, There should be bat one route bid for in a
proposal. Consolidated or combination bids
("proposing one sum TOR two or more routes }
cannot be considered.
H. The route, the service, the yearly pay, the
name and residence Of the bidder, THAT IS, his
usual post office address, and the name Of each
member of firm, where company offers,
should be distinctly stated.
-. Bidders are requested to use, as far as
practicable, the printed proposals furnished by
the Department, to write out in full the sum OF
their bids, and to retain copies of them.
Altered bids should not be submitted nor
should bids once submitted be Withdrawn. No
withdrawal of bidder or guarantor will be al
lowed unless the withdrawal is received twenty
fours hours previous to the time fixed for open.
ing the proposals.
Each bid must be guaranteed by two response
BILE persons. The bid and guarantee should be
signed plainly with the full name of each person.
The Postmaster General reserves the right 10
reject any bid which may be deemed extravag
CANT and also to disregard the bids Of failin,
contractors and bidders. Act Of June s, 1872,
section 249.)
l6. The bid should be sealed, superscribed
snail Proposals, State of -" addressed
"Second Assistant Postmaster General, Contract
Office and sent by mail, not by or TO agent.
Bids Of $4,000 per annum and upward must be
accompanied by certified check or draft on
: some solvent national bank, equal to per cent
of the amount. (See law Of Congress of June
8, 1922
Il. The contracts are to be executed and re-
turned 10 the Department byOr before the LIST daJ
Of June, 1873, otherwise the accepted bjdder ,cil
be considered as harjng yfailsd, and tie P9stnas.
ter General may proceed 10 contract for The ser
rice Nth other parties, according to lar.
Transfers Of contracts Of interest in con
tracts, forbidden by law, and consequently
cannot be allowed. Neither can bids, or inter
est in bids, be transferred or assigned to other
parties Bidders will therefore take notice that
they will be expected to perform the service
awarded to them through the whole contract
term.
10. Section 2I9~ Of the act of June 3, 1872
provides that contracts for the trans portaion Of
the mail shall be awarded to the lowest bidder
rendering sufficient guarantees for faithful per
Torrance, without other reference to the mode
of such transportation than may be necessary %
provide for the due CELEBRITY, certainty, and Sc
! curly iHereOl' inns la" Blus thdt pro
pose to transport the mails with 'celerjfy, Ger
tainty, and security" haring been decifed 10 be
the only legal bids, are construed as prOriding for
the entire mail, hoperer large, and chatscer lgqy
be the mode Of cOnreg dnce necessary to insure its
"ceterity, certainty, and security and hare the
preference oreT all Others, and no others are con-
sidered, except for steamboat routes.
49, A modification of bid in any Of lis es
sential terms is tantamount to a new bid, and
cannot be received. so a. 10 interfere with regu-
lar competition. Making new bid, with guar
antee and certificate, is the only way to modify
a previous bid.
20. Postmasters are to be careful not to certify
TO the sutficiency of guarantors without knowing
that they persons of sufficient responsibility
(See section 247 act Of June 8, 1872 They
must not sign the certificate until the sum Of the
bid is inserted, and the bid and guarantee are
signed by the bidder and (two) guarantors a
disregard Of this instruction By pOstmdsters uiH
subject them TO immediate remOral and 10 secere
penalties.
Postmasters are also liable to dismissal from
Office for acting as agents of contractors or bid
ders, with or without compensation, in any
| business matter, or thing, relating to the mail
| service. They the trusted agents Of the De
| partment, and cannot consistently act in both
capacities.
Il. All bidders, guarantors. and sureties are
distinctly notified that On a failure 10 enter into
or perform the contracts for the service proposed