The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-21
LIlTAUER GLOVES FOR INDIANS
SELLERS, VINO GOT CONTRACTS,
HALLS FROM us BROADWAY.
That's Llttauer's PiRce-Date OF Last Con-
tract with United states. june q, n90B
Chairman OF House Committee ON

tract with United states, June q, zoos
Chairman OF House Committee ON
Indian Affairs, James O. sherman.
In fulfilment Of treaty obligations, the
United States Government buys gloves
for the Indians. The gloves are bought
! on contracts awarded to the lowest re-
| sponsible bidder. Bids for one OF these
| contracts were opened at the Unit ed States
Indian Warehouse, l18 Wooster street, on
May 10, 1908 There were present, among
| others, when the bids were opened the
following persons:
William A. Jones of Wisconsin, Indian
Commissioner, and the following mem-
bers Of the Indian Commission, Of which
Darwin r. James Of Brooklyn is the chair
man: Archbishop Ryan OF Philadelphia.
Joseph #. Jacobs OF Detroit. Mich; Albert
X. Smiley, Phillip C. Garrett Of Philadel-
phia and Charles j. Bonaparte Of Baltimore,
who was recently appointed by President
Roosevelt special counsel to prosecute in
dicted Post Office officials.
Bids were invited for SOTO pairs OF boys
buck gloves, No. 1, standard quality, or
obtained sheep or goat and s,025 mems
buck gloves, No. 1, standard quality, or
obtained sheep or goat" The bids were
| opened in the presence of thel rsons named
above and others, and the contract was
awarded to Charles B. Sellers. who gave his
| address as 7t5 Broadway, N. Y.
, In compliance with the specifications, the
! bid of Mr.. Sellers was accompanied by
certified check for spsr cent, OF the amount
Of supplies proposed to be furnished, the
check to be forfeitable to the United States
in case the bidder shall fail to execute
promptly a contract, with good and suf-
| ficient sureties, according to the terms Of
the bid
! The contract between the United States
! Government and Charles B. Sellers was
! executed on June 2, 1908. The name Of
| Charles B. Sellers does not appear in the
| New York city directory or on the directory
| OF the building at IT'S Broadway. On the
| first floor of that building, however, is the
| New York office Of Littauer Bros, manu-
facturers Of gloves at Gloversvile, N. Y.
! The senior member Of this firm is the Hon.
Lucius Nathan Littauer, Representative
| in Congress from the Twenty-second New
! York district
| One Of those who were present when the
bids on this contract were opened was asked
| by a Sun reporter yesterday who Charles
| B. Sellers was He replied:
"Oh, he is an old-time bidder for glove
contracts, and has always been regarded
as the representative of Lttauer Bros.
The address attached to his latest bid is
| us Broadway. where Iittauer Bros.
have their New York Office. A contract
similar to this was awarded to him by the
T. -, I'D Ha
| was underhid in 1902 by Marshall Field
& Co, but that firm had to buy the gloves
of Littauer Bros, because Lttauer
Bros. are the only firm in the country
that turn out that kind Of glove at any
where near the price bid.
The reporter went to the Office of Littauer
Bros at us Broadway and asked to
see Mr.. Sellers. Representative Lucius
N. Littauer was in the place at the time.
The man who met the reporter asked;
who wants to see Mr. Sellers2'
Il do" said THE SUN man.
well, was the reply, she isn't in. He'll
be here in a day or two"
-Out on the road?" asked the reporter.
"Yes, he's on the road
The amount OF Mr.. Sellers's contract was.
according to his bids. $S,02875 Article
of the contract which MIR. Sellers signed
provides that neither this agreement
nor any interest therein shall be transferred
to any other party or parties, and that
any such transfer shall cause the annul-
ment of the agreement, 40 far az the United
| States are concerned" Article II provides
that the contract is made subject to the
approval Of the Secretary of the Interior
| and Article reads
That it is further agreed by and between
the parties hereto that no member OF or
delegate TO Congress. officer. agent, OF en-
ployee of the Government shall be admit ed
| TO any share or part in this agreement. or
derive my benefit to arise therefrom.
The Revised Statutes OF the United States
provide that any Representative in Congress-
who shall be directly or indirectly inte-
terested in a Government contract shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
| fined 5000. The Government may also
recover any money paid on such con-
tract. The statute of limitations does
| not prevent a prosecution under this Sec
ton unless three years have elapsed since
the offence.
The chairman OF the House Committee
on Indian Affairs is the Hon. James School
croft Sherman Of Utica. Representative
from the Twenty -ffth Congress District.
On July Congressman Sherman called at
the War Department in Washington. Fail
ing to see the Secretary Of War, who had
already ordered an investigation Of Repre-
sentative Littauers connection with CON-
tracts for army gloves, Mr.. Sherman called
on the Judge Acknowledgement OF the Army
and discussed various features of the
Littauer case. At that time, as Wash
ington despatch TO TIVE SUN said, "Mr.
Sherman was of the opinion that Repre-
sentative Lttauer's interest in the glove
contracts was only that Of a manufacturer
selling to jobber, and that he had not
violated the spirit OF the law"
Possibly Mr.. Sherman knew nothing at
that time of the Indian glove contract of
Charles b. Sellers OF 7i5 Broadway. New
York, at which address ia the New York
office Of Congressman Littauer's glove
firm.