Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-02
BIDS TO co TO WASHINGTON
Indian Supply Awards Win All Be Made at
One Point This Year
SAMPLES As USUAL TO VARIOUS OtPOTs
New system Adopted IN the Interests
of time and Eeonomy-Bids 60
Ne Opened This Month
and Nest.
Dom . stan correspondentl

CFrom stan Correspondent
WASHINGTON. April i-Cspecial.) 1.-THE
Indian Office Is this year making rome
changes in the manner Of receiving bids
and awarding contracts for Indian service
supplies. Hitherto it has been customary
for the commissioner to visit the ware
houses at New York Chicago. st. Louis,
Omaha and San francisco at different dates
in the spring. open the bids there, examine
the samples furnished with the bids and
make the awards. This has involved a
rather large expense, and the spring let
tings' have come 70 be regarded as a more
or less disturbing factor in the regular
work OF the bureau As he intimated in
his annual report for 1905, the commits
sioner deems the ideal arrangement to be
to take some one warehouse and utilize It
as the point for opening bids and examining
samples although the other warehouses
would still continue to be used for the
storage of supplies and as sources Of ship
ment to the field. The weight and bulk
Of come OF the samples, however, made II
seem impracticable TO send them on long
journeys, and no effective substitute for
the existing sample system has yet been
worked out. The same objection does not
apply to bids They pass through the mails
! freely, like other written communications.
and the work OF opening, announcing and
| tabulating them IL purely a ministerial
formality. II has been decided therefore,
| TO have all the bids opened this year at the
Indian ONCE In Washington, and the adver-
tisements announce that they must be sent
to this city. The samples will be sent, as
usual, to the several warehouses indicated
in the blanks furnished to bidders.
Dates for OpeninE Bids.
The dates for opening the various classes
Of bids are as follows:
! April 5-Clothing and piece goods.
April R-Blankets, dry goods, hats and
caps, Yankee notions, etc.
April 26--Rubber goods, boots and shoes,
hardware, medical supplies.
May Furniture, agricultural imple-
ments, paints, oils, glass. crockery, tim
ware, wagons, harness, leather,\ shoe find
ings saddery, etc, school supplies and
miscellaneous.
May S-Rolled barley, beef, corn, salt.
coffee, sugar, tea, soap. baking powder and
other groceries
The openings will be publicly made and
the bids read aloud at the Indian office
In the presence of any bidders or their
representatives who choose to come, and
the fluctuations viii be made at once The
samples, receipt OF which will be cut short
with the hour OF opening OF the bids, will
be opened at the several warehouses on
teegraphc notice from this office that
the bids have been read, and as soon as
possible thereafter the expert examiners
will get TO work upon them and prepare
their recommendations to the commissioner
The commissioner will then visit each Of
the warehouses in turn on receipt of
notice that the experts there are ready
to report. He win thus be able to con-
dense Into two or three days time at
each warehouse the duty which has for
merry consumed at least, two weeks at
each, and IN The course Of which a great
many hours have been wasted in inaction.
The new system. as has already been
said. will tend to economy OF time and ex-
penditure, and the latter feature will be
appreciated when It is added that almost
If not quite uniformly heretofore the an
preparation for this general purpose has
been exhausted before the work for the
year has been finished. The new order of
things under which a deficit lie forbidden
compelled the office this year to cut down
expenses at the several warehouses 80
violently that worthy employees were
thrown out OF employment for some
months and others, equally or more de-
serving have suffered their pay TO be
cut in two as a consideration OF their
remaining employed. The service has been
greatly crippled by this condition of
things and the employees who have been
retained have had to work extra hard to
keep abreast OF the requirements.
President Crabtree Favor. R,lI
turning funds from the sale OF public
lands into channels enhancing the pro-
auction OF the soil Is now recognized as
one OF the wisest provisions OF the Amer
lean congress. This provision as embodied
In the Hatch and Morrill, acts, has had
tremendous influence In improving meth
DDS OF farming, increasing the WELD OF
crops and In bringing into cultivation
thousands of acres OF semi-arid ana other
waste land. The Hatch fund for experi-
mental stations was the first stem takan
by congress in working out the destiny
OF the west. The Morrill, act providing
for instruction In technical agriculture was
necessary in order to prepare men for get.
ting the results of investigations OF ex-
perimentai stations before even a small
portion OF the people, One more step Is
sun necessary according to teachers In
SAN0i e"oN al enS poOpie may profit from
the results OF the work OF experimental
stations and from the extension work of
the agricultural colleges. namely that az
arranging to teach the youth in the public
schools some Of the more important ele-
mentary facts and principles OF agrioul-
ture such as will increase the desire for
further Information along these lines ana
In measure prepare for a more intenI.
gent use Of bulletins and other Information
OF value coming from agricultural schools
and experimental stations.
The bill now before congress 10 anDro-
pirate a small portion Of Nhe funds coming
from the sale Of public lands TO be used
by state normal schools for instruction IN
elementary agriculture, manual training
ana domestic science, H. according TO \
w. crabtree, president OF the State Nor.
NAL school at Peru. Neb. the most prac-
teal and least expensive method OF indus
trial education in an elementary form he.
fore the youth and before the people.
The surest and quickest way OF imnro,,-
ing citizenship" says Prof Crabtree. a,s
TO improve the character Of instruction An
the public schools. Every argument An |
favor OF the famous Morrill, act apnles
equally well to the Burkett-Pollard bin |
AS has been shown this new bill Is even a