The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1905-10-11
GOVERNMENT WANTS MORE
BIDS FROM LOCAL PEOPLE
Star Routes Have Found Their Way
Into Contractors Hands, and
the Service Suffers.


Assistant Superintendent Of the
Railway Mail Service F. M. Burr
spent few days in the city last week
while looking up matters pertaining
to the star routes in this and Ben
ton counties. He says the govern
ment Is encouraging to a larger ex-
tent the bidding by local people for
contracts for carrying mail upon the
different routes, and discouraging as
far as possible all efforts by profess
sional contractors to secure fat con-
tracts, and then sublet them. In the
latter case, the service is not as eff
cient as 1t would be were the con-
tracts secured first-hand by local
men. For the information of pros
pective bidders the following infor-
nation is given:
Proposals will be received at the
office of the second assistant post
master general, postofflce depart
ment, until 4:30 p. m. of December
5, 1905, for carrying the mails of the
United States on the routes in the
state of Washington from July l.,
1906, to June 80, 1910. Decisions
on or before February /,
1906. Contracts to be executed and
filed IN the department within sixty
days after acceptance of bids.
No bid submitted under this ad-
vertisement will be considered un-
less the bidder shall agree in his bid
that in the event of the service being
awarded to him he will give his per-
sonal supervision to the performance
of the same, and will reside on or
contiguous to the route. The
words con or contiguous to the
route" as used in this section, are to
be construed as meaning within the
territory regularly served by post
Office on the route.
A contractor who shall fail to give
his personal supervision to the per-
Torrance of the service, or to reside
on or contiguous to his route, as
agreed, may expect to be declared a
falling contractor, and thaC the
service will be re-let, and he and his
sureties held liable for any damage
that may be suffered thereby.
All persons are cautioned not to
allow their names to be used as bid
ders unless they intend to personally
perform or supervise the service.
Every bidder is required to make
oath that the bid is made in good
faith and with the intention to enter
into contract to perform service in
case said bid shall be accepted" A
person subscribing to such oath, but
not intending to enter into the bust
ness of carrying the mail, either in
person or by an employee, is guilty
of perjury and is subject to the penal
ties prescribed for such offense.
No contract for carrying the mail
will be made with any person who
has entered or proposed to enter into
any combination to prevent the max
ing of any bid for carrying the mail,
or who has made any agreement, or
given or performed, or promised to
give or perform, any consideration
whatever to induce any other person
not to bid for any such contract.
In addition to carrying the mails
to the various postoffices on the star
routes covered by this advertisement,
the carrier on each route Except
where otherwise specifically stately
will be also required to deliver mail
into all boxes and hang small bags
or satchels containing mail on cranes
or posts that may be erected along
the route, and to collect mail from
satchels from the cranes or posts,
under the following conditions:
Any person living on or near any
star route herein described, and not
within the corporate limits of any
town, or within so rods of any post
Office, who desires his mail deposited
at a given point on the line of the
route by the carrier on said route
may provide and erect suitable box
or crane on the roadside, located in
such manner as to be reached as con-
veniently as practicable by the car
rier without dismounting from the
vehicle or horse. and such person
shall file with the postmaster at the
postoffice to which his mail is ad-
dressed (which shall be one Cor
both, of the two postoffices on the
route on either side of and next
to the box or crane) request in
writing for the delivery of his mail
to the carrier on the route for de-
post at the designated point, at the
risk Of the addressee. The mail bag
or satchel above mentioned, as well
as the box or crane, must be provided
by the person for whose use 1t is in
tended, without expense to the de-
partment.
The carrier on the star route will
be required to receive from any post
master on the route any mail matter
or private mail satchel that may be
intrusted to him, outside of the usual
mail bag, and shall carry such mail
matter or private mail satchel to and
deposit it into the proper mail box
or hang it on the proper mail crane
placed on the line of the route for
this purpose; also to collect the mail
from the boxes (when a signal is dis
played to indicate that a box con-
tains mail to be taken) and tn de-