The herald., 1898-11-16
FAIR WARNING GIVEN
TO PEOPLE BIDDING ON MAIL
CONTRACTS
THE NATION NEEDS REVENUE
All Bids and Bonds Must Be Filed and
Revenue Stamps Must Be
Used
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
| WASHINGTON, Nov. l5-The postoffice
department has discovered the existence OF
q combine among circulative mail contract
| bidders looking to the control OF the bids
and evasion Of the fifty cent tax imposed on
their contract bonds. Some weeks ago the
department was approached with view to
| ascertaining its attitude on such organiza-
tions and prompt notice was given that it
would be regarded as illegitimate. Not
withstanding this a considerable number OF
these bidders or agents have formed an
arrangement for opening their own bids, Sc.
lecting ostensibly the lowest for filing with
the department, suppressing the others and
thus also saving the revenue accruing to the
government from the large number of COM
petitive bids submitted. Some idea of the
interests involved may be gained by the fact
that under contracts to be let under the
general advertisement of September 18th
last, to which the organization of these bid
ders Immediately looks, over 200, 900 bids or
dinarily would be submitted for contracts
for carrying mails on routes in Ohio, Indi-
ana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Mime
sofa, iowa and Missouri. The contracts are
to be for four years from July l, 1899.
The following official warning, being to
bidders generally, was issued today:
To bidders for mail service: 1t has come
to the knowledge of this office that a number
Of persons known as Speculative bidders,"
for mail contracts have entered into an ar
rangement among themselves which con-
Templates that they shall make out pro-
posals for carrying the mail on routes speci-
fed in the advertisement issued by the post
mastergeneral, dated September Is, 1893.
instead of filing their bonds in the Office of
the second assistant postmastergeneral as
required by the terms of the advertisement,
it is proposed to have the bids of these sew
eral bidders examined at meeting of the
bidders, or by committee appointed by
them, for the purpose of selecting part of
said proposals, aifixing revenue stamps
thereto and filing the same in the depart
ment, while the remainder of the proposals.
not selected, to be suppressed and not filed
in the department.
Therefore, this office hereby warns all par
ties interested that in its opinion such action
would be in violation of the statute which
provides that mo contract for carrying the
mail shall be made with any person who has
entered or proposed to enter, into any COM
bination to prevent the making of any bid
for carrying the mail or who assumed any
agreement or given or performed, or prom
ised to give or perform, for any considera-
tion whatever to induce any other person
not to bid for such contract"
The provisions of this law will be strictly
enforced.
Furthermore, one of the purposes of the
proposed arrangement admittedly is to de.
feat the object of the act Of June 49, 1903.
which requires a revenue stamp to be
affixed to each bond accompanying a pro-
posal for mail service.
w. S. STIALLENBERGER,
Second Assistant Postmaster General.
1t is possible the bidders may contest the
case in the courts.