bakery, if they prefer the ration of flour to the ration of bread issued therefrom, but they will not be entitled to any share of the bakery profits. The savings of flour by troops in the field will be credited to the company fund.-A. R., 327.

PROCEEDS OF SALES.

657. Proceeds of sales of subsistence supplies are immediately available for the purchase of fresh supplies.-A. R., 696, as amended by G. O. No. 28, A. G. O., 1902. Vide Mil. Laws U. S., par. 613, note 1.

658. From the proceeds of sales of condemned subsistence stores, before being carried to the credit of the appropriations to which such proceeds belong, there may be paid the expenses of such sales. -Act of June 8, 1896 (29 Stat., 268) Vide G. O. No. 46, A. G. O., 1896.

659. Accounts of sales of subsistence stores and property will be made up separately, in quadruplicate (Form 44), one copy to be forwarded with the account current, one with the return of subsistence stores or subsistence property, as the case may be; and the other copies will be filed with the retained copies of those papers.-Regs. Subs. Dept.

660. The transfer of public property from one bureau or Department to another is not regarded as a sale. If money is received therefor, it may be used to replace such stores and will be reported accordingly.—A. R., 698. Vide A. R., 753.

PROPOSALS.

661. Information in regard to supplies or services for which proposals have been invited will be furnished on application to all persons desiring it, but no person belonging to, or employed in, the military service will render assistance in the preparation of proposals.—A. R., 603.

662. Bidders for supplies will be informed of the kind, quantity and quality of articles required, the place, time, and rate of delivery, and conditions of payment. They will be furnished with such specifications as have been adopted, and will be permitted to examine the standard samples at the places where deposited.-A. R., 604.

663. Bidders for labor will be informed of the nature and extent of the services required, where they are to be performed, and the time allowed for performance; and in general will be furnished with any information needed to enable them to act understandingly.—A. R., 605.

664. No person will be informed, directly or indirectly, of the name of any one intending to bid, or not to bid, or to whom information in respect to proposals has been given.-A. R., 606.

665. Blank forms of proposals, if prepared by purchasing officers for distribution, should refer to the advertisement or circular by date and to the specifications, if any, in such terms as to leave no doubt as to the condition under which the proposal is to be made (which should be with special reference to the specifications applicable to the articles offered by a bidder), and should provide for the insertion of the price of each article stated in terms of established units of quantity.-Regs. Subs. Dept.

666. Proposals must be made in duplicate (or in triplicate if required, or when a formal written contract is to be made), on blank forms furnished for the purpose, and prepared in strict accordance with the requirements contained in the advertisement, specifications, and conditions.-A. R., C07.

667. Articles should be entered on the proposal in the order in which they are named in the advertisement and specifications; and where articles are called for by the pound, can, box, jar, etc., the price should be quoted accordingly in the proposal, and not per barrel, gross, dozen, or case.-Regs. Subs. Dept.

668. In proposals, numbers and prices will be written in words, as well as expressed in figures; but when a great variety of articles, such as stationery, hardware, etc., is required, quantities and prices may, if the amounts involved are inconsiderable and the forms of proposals so indicate, be expressed in figures only.-A. R., 609.

669. The net price asked for each article must be stated; and no conditional bid will be considered; such, for example, as where the bid stipulates that a certain percentage will be deducted by the bidder if payment is made in a stated time, or in anyway specifies conditions as to quality, delivery, or payment, otherwise than provided in the advertisement, specifications, or conditions.-Regs. Subs. Dept. Vide Decisions, O. C. G., May 4, 1886.

670. Proposals for the whole or any part of the quantity of an article advertised for will be entertained.—Regs. Subs. Dept.

671. Where articles of other kinds or qualities than those named in the specifications are bid for, it must be so stated in the proposal, or otherwise contractors will be required to furnish the precise articles called for in the specifications.— Regs. Subs. Dept.

672. Alterations, by erasure or otherwise, must be noted and explained in the proposal over a separate signature of the bidder.—A. R., 610.

673. Each proposal should be signed by the bidder with his usual signature in full, and should give his place of business and post-office address, with county, district, State, or Territory.-A. R., 607.

674. A proposal by a person who affixes to his signature the word "president," "secretary," "agent," or other designation, without disclosing his principal, is the proposal of the individual. Proposals by a corporation should be signed with the name of the corporation, followed by the signature of the president, secretary, or other person authorized to bind it in the matter, who should file evidence of his authority to do so. Proposals by a firm should be signed with the firm name by one of the members of the firm. If the signature to a proposal is that of an officer, attorney, or agent of the corporation, or of an attorney or agent of a firm or individual, and his authority to act on behalf of his principal is not a matter of general notoriety in the locality where the proposals are opened, the officer who opens such proposals should, before considering the same, satisfy himself that the signer is vested with sufficient authority to represent his principal in the transaction.-A. R., C08.

675. Guaranties, signed by two responsible parties, or by a qualified surety company, will be required to accompany proposals whenever, in the opinion of the officer authorized to make the contract, they are necessary to protect the public interests, and when so required, no proposal unaccompanied by a guaranty, made in manner and form as directed in the advertisement or specifications, will be considered.-A. R., 611.

676. The guaranty will be in duplicate, or in triplicate if required, and will be made out and executed with the necessary justification, in accordance with blank forms (Form 29) furnished by chiefs of bureaus. The certificate of sufficiency of guarantors will be executed in the manner prescribed in paragraph 642, Army Regulations.-A. R., 612.

677. A copy of the advertisement, specifications, and instructions to bidders should be attached to the proposal and form part of it; but it will be sufficient if specifications are referred to and are declared to form part of the proposal.— A. R., 607. Vide A. R., 609.

678. When an advertisement calls for proposals to furnish supplies at more than one place, a separate proposal will be made for performance at each place, but all may be submitted in the same envelope.-A. R., C14.

679. Proposals with their guaranties received prior to the time of opening will be securely kept; and the officer whose duty it is to open them, at the place and hour mentioned in the advertisement, will decide when that time has arrived, and no proposal thereafter will be received. Proposals already in his possession will then be opened and read aloud in the presence of attending bidders. No responsibility will attach to an officer for the premature opening of any proposal not so indorsed as to clearly show its character. —A. R., 613, 615. 680. Before the time for opening, any bidder may, without prejudice, withdraw from competition by giving written notice of his decision to the officer holding his bid, and when his bid is reached at the opening it will be returned to him or his authorized agent unread.-A. R., 616.

681. Proposals will be opened and read aloud at the time and place appointed for the opening (bidders having the right to be present), and each proposal will then and there be numbered and entered on an abstract of proposals (Form 31 or 32).-A. R., 617.

682. A proposal received after the time set in the advertisement for the opening of proposals will not be considered; and if it is offered by a bidder or his representative in person, the proposal will not be received; but if received through the mail, it will be opened and entered in red ink, in the usual manner, on the abstract of proposals to which it pertains, with a statement in the column of "Remarks" that the proposal was received (state time and date) after the hour set for the opening of proposals thereunder and was, in consequence, not considered. This statement will be written on the back of each copy of the proposal and on the envelope in which received, and will then be signed by the officer who takes the action. The envelope and the delayed proposal will be filed with the retained abstract of the officer.-Regs. Subs. Dept.

683. Proposals will be separately folded and numbered as vouchers to the abstract of proposals. They will not be fastened together or to contracts, except to the copy required to be sent to the Returns Office.—A. R., 618.

684. The right is reserved to reject, in whole or in part, any or all proposals. Slight failures on the part of a bidder to comply strictly with the terms of an advertisement should not necessarily lead to the rejection of his bid, but the interest of the Government will be fully considered.-A. R., 622.

685. When the lowest proposal for furnishing an article is above the market price at the place of purchase, all proposals will be rejected.—Regs. Subs. Dept. 686. Proposals, accompanied by guaranties when they are required, will be submitted in envelopes securely sealed and distinctly addressed, as indicated in the advertisement, and have indorsed on the face of the envelope: "Proposals for Subsistence Supplies to be opened 19-."-Regs. Subs. Dept.

687. When proposals are received at a post, unless by an officer authorized to make the award, as in cases involving small expenditures, they and the abstract of proposals will be forwarded to department headquarters, with the recommendations of the receiving officer and the post commander as to the person to whom the award should be made. When a purchasing officer, acting under the direct supervision of the Commissary General, has invited and received proposals, he will make the award and execute the necessary papers, unless otherwise directed by the Commissary General.—A. R., 619.

PURCHASES AND SERVICES.

688. The Secretary of War shall from time to time define and prescribe the kinds as well as the amounts of supplies to be purchased by the Subsistence Department, and the duties and powers thereof respecting such purchases.— Rev. Stat., 219.

689. It is the duty of the officers of the Subsistence Department to make the purchases of necessary subsistence supplies for supplying the military service, and directing others to do so should be sparingly resorted to.-Regs. Subs. Dept. Vide Rev. Stat., 1141; A. R., 1352, as amended by G. O. No. 165, A. G. O., 1901.

NOTE. For the kinds and sizes of packages in which subsistence stores are to be purchased, vide "Packages." For the purchase of savings, vide "Savings." For information as to the duty of officers of the Subsistence Department to purchase such supplies as enter into the composition of the ration, vide Rev. Stat., 1141.

690. Subsistence officers will not purchase supplies for the Government from any other person in the military service; nor make any Government purchase in which such person shall be admitted to share or receive benefit.-A. R.,671. NOTE. For the necessary instructions regarding advertising when a chief commissary authorizes a commissary at a post to make a purchase of supplies, vide "Advertising."

691. No malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors will be purchased by the Subsistence Department for any purpose. Supplies thereof needed in medical or hospital practice for use in the diet of soldiers too sick to use the Army ration will be provided by the Medical Department.-G. O. No. 82, A. G. O., 1901.

692. Transport commissaries will not purchase subsistence stores except in case of absolute emergency arising in ports where no officer of the Subsistence Department is on duty, and the necessity for such purchase will be immediately reported to the subsistence superintendent. Where a purchase exceeds $200 in amount, the voucher, prepared on Form 8, will be accompanied by a report on Form 9.-Regs. A. T. S. 139; Cir. Letter, O. C. G., Apr. 14, 1900.

693. The medical officer in charge of a general, post, or camp hospital, hospital ship, or transport carrying patients is authorized to purchase, in conformity with the requirements of Article LVI, A. R., such articles of food, both solid and liquid, not carried in stock by the subsistence officer who issues rations to the hospital, as, in the judgment of the medical officer, are required for the diet of enlisted patients under his charge who are too sick to be subsisted on the ration ordinarily issued. Or he may request the subsistence officer to make such purchases, provided the total combined money value of the stores purchased by the medical officer, or upon his request, and the stores issued to him by the subsistence officer do not exceed the rate of 40 cents per man per day for the patients actually requiring special diet (vide Form 69). But ice can not be purchased from the fund of 40 cents per diem appropriated for special diet to enlisted patients in hospitals who are too sick to be subsisted on the Army ration. If purchases are made by the medical officer, he will prepare certified vouchers on Form 8, and state thereon that the stores will be accounted for "On Form 69, to be filed with the account current of —, for the month of 190-" (accompanied by a report rendered on Form 9 when the amount of the purchase exceeds $200), and submit the vouchers to the subsistence officer for payment. The subsistence officer who pays for purchases of articles of special diet hereunder will enter in a group on his abstract of disbursements (Form 5 or 6) all such payments made in the month, and will enter the articles as "hospitalsupplies" in the column headed “On what account.”—A. R., 1392, 1394, 1396, as amended by G. O. No. 130, A. G. O., 1901; Cir. No. 43, A. G. O., 1901. .

694. Purchases of cattle, hay, grain, fuel, or other produce or merchandise which Indians may have for sale and which may be required for the military service, may, with the approval of the Secretary of War, be made from Indians in open market, at fair and reasonable prices, but not exceeding the market prices in the localities where such purchases are made.-A. R., 557. Vide A. R., 647.

695. Open purchases for the military service on or near an Indian reservation will be made as far as practicable from the Indians, under the conditions

set forth in A. R., 557, when fair and reasonable rates, not exceeding the market prices in the locality, can be obtained.—A. R., 647.

696. A recruiting officer stationed elsewhere than at a military post is authorized to purchase such of the following articles as may be necessary for the use of all the recruits at his station, at an expense not exceeding 70 cents per month, namely, shoeblacking, whisk brooms, blacking brushes, hairbrushes, coarse horn combs, toilet paper, unbleached toweling. If the officer is supplied with subsistence funds he will pay the vouchers made out on Form 8, the certificate thereon being properly modified. If not supplied with funds he will send the duly certified vouchers for payment to the chief commissary of the department in which the recruiting station is located.-A. R., 14045, as contained in G. O. No. 130, A. G. O., 1901.

697. Under the provisions of the Revised Statutes, 3739-3742, an officer of the Subsistence Department can not legally purchase for the United States subsistence stores from a member of, or a delegate to, Congress or from a firm or association other than an incorporated company of which such a member or delegate is a member, or in which he is pecuniarily interested.-2595 A, 1879. Vide "Contracts."

698. Articles of the established ration purchased with company funds will be purchased from the commissary if practicable.—A. R., 331.

699. Articles of foreign production or manufacture for the service of the United States will not be purchased abroad for importation without special authority from the Secretary of War.-A. R., 595.

700. When purchases are made, articles of domestic production or manufacture will be preferred to those of foreign origin, cost and quality being equal.— A. R., 623.

NOTE. For action required where articles of the ration become unexpectedly exhausted at a post, vide "Chief Commissaries."

701. In order to insure the best quality of stores at the most reasonable prices, purchases will be made, as far as practicable, from first hands.-Regs. Subs. Dept. (Cir. No. 4, O. C. G., 1901).

NOTE. For necessary requirements in regard to the copy of the contract intended for the Auditor for the War Department when purchases are made by an officer of the Subsistence Department after public notice of ten days or more, vide A. R., 636.

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702. No purchase on behalf of the United States shall be made unless the same is authorized by law, or is under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except for * subsistence, * * which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. (R. S., 3732.) No officer of the United States shall accept voluntary service for the Government or employ personal service in excess of that authorized by law, except in case of emergency involving loss of life or destruction of property (act approved May 1, 1884).A. R., 593. Vide A. R., 658.

703. Supplies, and services not personal, required in the various departments and posts of the Army, will be procured where they can be purchased the cheapest, quality and cost of transportation and the interests of the Government in the case of supplies being considered:

1. After public notice inviting proposals for thirty days or more, or for ten days or more but less than thirty days, or for less than ten days, according to the needs of the service.

2. Without public notice.

Personal services are such as the individual employed or contracted with must perform in person directly under the control and supervision of an officer or agent of the Government, as distinguished from services the performance of which may be delegated by the contractor to others. Bills rendered for such