Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-10

had dragged along for seven or eight
months But that was not the end Of il,
after- aal.-< The engineerL.in charge gave
the trustees q check for the rent 1t
amounted to SIG. at the rate of s. month
for eight months. They got 1t cashed at
the bank and turned the proceeds into
the treasury Of the lodge. But when the
accounts Of the engineer reached the treas
ury they were disallowed. The auditor
ruled that the payment was irregular and
ILLEGAL. because the lease was not dated
until several months after the day upon
which the engineer claims to have taken
possession. and therefore did not cover the
time for which the check was issued Then
foiowed another long and tedious exchange
OF correspondence and the officials Of the
reclamation service finally had to go to
the Secretary of the Interior and get spec
ing time
the government of the United States Is q
great business institution.
Even More Ridiculous.
But there is another story even more
ridiculous. party of hydraulic engineers
from the geological survey were engaged
last summer in making tests of the artesfan
basin along the valley of the Arkansas
river in Kansas When they comnleted
their work they left lot of old iron pines.
which they had used in drilling wells in
charge OF the postmaster of a little village
i,ear Garaen Slty to keep until they came
down again In the spring, and paid him So
for his trouble This disbursement was
dlsaliowed, on the ground that no ADVERTISE
ment for proposals had been published and
.ne contract for storing the pipe had not
been awarded 10 the lowest bidder
1t was not intended as a Joke lint was In
.ous earnest When the engineers ex-
planned that there was nobody in that To-
CAVITY but the postmaster who could have
Of 10
would have cost them SIS to haul it to the
nearest place of storage the officials still
objected because no evidence had been sub
mitted to show that the custodian was a
man OF good character or financial re-
sponsloiiity, The engineers were compelled
10 FURNISH that evidence at the cost of con-
siderable time, labor and expense
has been digging irrgating bitches and
building dams, lot CT worn-out too,s.
wheelbarrows and other junk was left over
when they finished The engineers could
They did not think it worth while to ship
1t anywhere. because the freight charges
would be more than 1t was worth; and
they could not burn 1t up or l4.row It awav
because they would be held responsible for
It's safe-keeplng as government property
Therefore they induced the section boss on
the Southern Pacific railway to let them
store 1t in an old shed and agreed to pay
iifh 30 iionth Tor rental. That transact
ton was disapproved on the usual grounds
The regulations had been violated and the
whole proceeding was unlawful. There had
been no advertisement for bids and no COM
petition-not even a contract or lease-and
when papers were drawn in proper form
and sent out to the section boss for his
signature, they were disapproved because
he signed his initials only and not his full
name and the contract was not accom-
panied by evidence showing his authority
to lease the shed in the name of the rail-
road company. The matter had to be re-
ferred to the president, general manager
and board OF directors of the Southern Pa
cif1c railway company, who finally took
action. The evidence was then presented
in satisfactory manner, but the contract
was again rejected and sent back for re-
vision because the section boss had signed
his initials and not his full name and the
poor man had not attached a seal, when
he probably had never seen one.