Postmaster-General might prescribe, the bidder would enter into an obligation, with good and sufficient sureties, to perform the service proposed.

R. S. § 3946, required that each bid for carrying the mail should have affixed to it the oath of the bidder, taken before an officer qualified to administer oaths, to the effect that he was able to fulfill his obligations, that the bid was made in good faith and with the intention to enter into contract and perform the service in case the bid should be accepted, and that the signatures of his guarantors were genuine, and that he believed them pecuniarily responsible for and able to pay the damages due to the failure of the bidder to perform his obligations.

These sections were superseded by Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, and Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260, amending Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, §§ 245, 246, which were incorporated into these sections of the Revised Statutes, to read as set forth post, §§ 7433, 7434.

§ 7433. (Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 245, as amended, Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12.) Bond of bidder accompanying proposal; approval of sureties; condition of bond; recovery.

Every proposal for carrying the mail shall be accompanied by the bond of the bidder, with sureties approved by a postmaster, and in cases where the amount of the bond exceeds five thousand dollars, by a postmaster of the first, second, or third class, in a sum to be designated by the Postmaster-General in the advertisement of each route; to which bond a condition shall be annexed, that if the said bidder shall, within such time after his bid is accepted as the Postmaster-General shall prescribe, enter into a contract with the United States of America, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the Postmaster-General, to perform the service proposed in his said bid, and, further, that he shall perform the said service according to his contract, then the said obligation to be void, otherwise to be in full force and obligation in law; and in case of failure of any bidder to enter into such contract to perform the service, or, having executed a contract, in case of failure to perform the service, according to his contract, he and his sureties shall be liable for the amount of said bond as liquidated damages, to be recovered in an action of debt on the said bond. No proposal shall be considered unless it shall be accompanied by such bond, and there shall have been affixed to said proposal the oath of the bidder, taken before an officer qualified to administer oaths, that he has the ability, pecuniarily, to fulfill his obligations, and that the bid is made in good faith, and with the intention to enter into contract and perform the service in case his bid is accepted. (17 Stat. 313. 18 Stat. 235.)

This section as originally enacted was incorporated into R. S. § 3945. It was amended by Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, cited above to read as set forth here, and this amendment superseded R. S. § 3945. See note under R. S. §§ 3945, 3946, ante.

The execution by a surety company of any bond conditioned upon the faithful performance of any duty, etc., was authorized by Act Aug. 13, 1894, c. 282, § 1, ante, § 3293.

§ 7434. (Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 246, as amended, Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, and Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260.) Justification of sureties on bidder's bond; false oath; penalty.

Before the bond of a bidder, provided for in the aforesaid section, is approved, there shall be indorsed thereon the oaths of the

sureties therein, taken before an officer qualified to administer oaths, that they are owners of real estate worth in the aggregate a sum double the amount of said bond, over and above all debts due and owing by them, and all judgments, mortgages, and executions against them, after allowing all exemptions of every character whatever. Accompanying said bond and as a part thereof, there shall be a series of interrogatories, in print or writing, to be prescribed by the Postmaster-General, and answered by the sureties. under oath showing the amount of real estate owned by them, a brief description thereof, and its probable value, where it is situated, in what county and State the record evidence of their title exists. And if any surety shall knowingly and willfully swear falsely to any statement made under the provisions of this section he shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and, on conviction thereof, be punished as is provided by law for commission of the crime of perjury. (17 Stat. 313. 18 Stat. 235. 19 Stat. 129.)

This section as originally enacted was incorporated into R. S. § 3946. It was amended by Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, cited above, by providing that the sureties on the bidder's bond should justify in double the amount of the bond. It was further amended by Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260, cited above, to read as set forth here, and these amendments superseded R. S. § 3946. See note under R. S. §§ 3945, 3946, ante.

(R. S. § 3947. Repealed.)

R. S. § 3947, provided that the postmaster or other officer of the Post-Office Department who affixed his signature to the certificate of sufficiency of guarantors or sureties before the guaranty or contract was signed by the guarantors or sureties should be dismissed from office and be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine or imprisonment. This section was superseded by Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, 18 Stat. 235, amending Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 247, which was incorporated into this section, by adding thereto provisions making punishable the approval by a postmaster of a bond with insufficient sureties or the making of a false or fraudulent certificate. Said provision of Act June 23, 1874, § 12, was incorporated into the Criminal Code in section 222 thereof, post, § 10392, and it and R. S. § 3947, were repealed by section 341 of said Code, post, § 10515.

§ 7435. (R. S. § 3948, as amended, Act June 13, 1898, c. 446, § 2.) Recording and preserving bids; disposition of unaccepted bids and of reports of arrivals, etc., of mails.

The Postmaster-General shall have recorded, in a book to be kept for that purpose, a true and faithful abstract of all proposals made to him for carrying the mail, giving the name of the party offering, the terms of the offer, the sum to be paid, and the time the contract is to continue; and he shall put on file and preserve the originals. of all such proposals until the end of the contract term to which they relate, after which the proposals that were not accepted may be destroyed or disposed of as waste paper. The reports of the arrivals and departures of the mails on mail routes made and sent by postmasters to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, on which no fines or deductions from the pay of contractors for carrying the mails have been based, and the certificates of oaths taken by carriers on mail routes may be disposed of as waste paper after the ex

piration of one year from the end of the contract term to which they relate.

Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 248, 17 Stat. 313. Act June 13, 1898, c. 446, § 2, 30 Stat. 444.

This section was amended by Act June 13, 1898, c. 446, § 2, cited above, by adding, at the end of the section as originally enacted, the provisions beginning with the words "until the end of the contract term to which they relate," etc., to the end of the section, as set forth here.

The disposition of useless papers accumulating in the Post-Office Department was provided for by Act March 3, 1881, c. 130, § 1, ante, § 607.

§ 7436. (R. S. § 3949.) Contracts to lowest bidder.

All contracts for carrying the mail shall be in the name of the United States, and shall be awarded to the lowest bidder tendering sufficient guarantees for faithful performance, without other reference to the mode of transportation than may be necessary to provide for the due celerity, certainty, and security thereof; but the Postmaster-General shall not be bound to consider the bid of any person who has willfully or negligently failed to perform a former

contract.

Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 249, 17 Stat. 313.

§ 7437. (R. S. § 3950.) Combinations to prevent bids.

No contract for carrying the mail shall be made with any person who has entered, or proposed to enter, into any combination to prevent the making 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; and if any person so offending is a contractor for carrying the mail, his contract may be annulled; and for the first offense the person so offending shall be disqualified to contract for carrying the mail for five years, and for the second offense shall be forever disqualified.

Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 250, 17 Stat. 314.

(R. S. § 3951. Superseded.)

This section provided that after any regular bidder or contractor for the transportation of the mail should have failed to enter into contract, and commence the performance thereof, the Postmaster-General should proceed to contract with the next lowest bidder who would enter into a contract and perform the same, unless the Postmaster-General should consider the bid too high, in which case he should readvertise. All regular contracts might be continued beyond their terms for a period not more than six months, until a new contract should be made. The Postmaster-General might contract, without advertisement, for a period not more than twelve months, during the time necessarily elapsing between the failure of either of the accepted bidders to enter into a new contract and the time when the next accepted bidder under the old or a new advertisement should enter upon his contract, and the difference between the price proposed in the accepted bid and that paid for intermediate service should be charged to the failing bidders, and recovered in the name of the United States in an action on the case; and when the contract should be made and concluded the difference between the accepted bid of the failing bidders and the amount payable under the contract for the service of two years should be forthwith charged against the failing bidders and recovered in an action, and both causes of action mentioned in the section might be joined in one suit. It was superseded by Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, and Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260, expressly

amending Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 251, which was incorporated into this section, and which, as so amended, is set forth post, § 7438.

§ 7438. (Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 251, as amended, Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, and Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260.) Failure of bidder to enter into contract; proceedings.

That after any regular bidder whose bid has been accepted shall fail to enter into contract for the transportation of the mails according to his proposals, or having entered into contract, shall fail to commence the performance of the service stipulated in his or their contract as therein provided, the Postmaster-General shall proceed to contract with the next lowest bidder or bidders in the order of their bids, for the same service, who will enter into a contract for the performance thereof, unless the Postmaster-General shall consider such bid or bids too high, and in case each of said bids shall be considered too high, then the Postmaster-General shall be authorized to enter into contract, at a price less than that named in said bids, with any person, whether a bidder or not, who will enter into contract to perform the service in accordance with the terms and provisions prescribed for the execution of other contracts for similar service; and in case no satisfactory contract can be thus obtained, he shall re-advertise such route. And if any bidder whose bid has been accepted, and who has entered into a contract to perform the service according to his proposal, and in pursuance of his contract has entered upon the performance of the service, to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General, shall subsequently fail or refuse to perform the service according to his contract, the Postmaster General shall proceed to contract with the next lowest bidder for such service, under the advertisement thereof, (unless the PostmasterGeneral shall consider such bid too high) who will enter into contract and give bond, with sureties, to be approved by the PostmasterGeneral, for the faithful performance thereof, in the same penalty and with the same terms and conditions thereto annexed as were stated and contained in the bond which accompanied his bid; and in case said next lowest bidder shall decline to enter into contract for the performance of such service, then the Postmaster-General may award the service to, and enter into contract with, any person, whether a bidder on said route or not, who will enter into contract to perform the service and execute a bond of like tenor and effect as that required of bidders, in a penalty to be prescribed, and with sureties to be approved by the Postmaster-General, for the performance of the service contracted to be performed at a price not exceeding that named in the bid of the said next lowest bidder; and if no contract can be secured at the price named in said next lowest bid, then the Postmaster-General shall proceed to secure a contract, at a price not considered too high, with any person who will execute such contract in accordance with the law applicable thereto, giving in all cases, the preference to the regular bidders on the list. whose bids do not exceed the price at which others will contract therefor; and if no satisfactory contract can be thus secured, the route shall be re-advertised. Whenever an accepted bidder shall

fail to enter into contract, or a contractor on any mail-route shall fail or refuse to perform the service on said route according to his contract, or when a new route shall be established or new service required, or when, from any other cause, there shall not be a contractor legally bound or required to perform such service, the Postmaster-General may make a temporary contract for carrying the mail on such route, without advertisement, for such period as may be necessary, not in any case exceeding six months, until the service shall have commenced under a contract made according to law: Provided, however, That the Postmaster-General shall not employ temporary service on any route at a higher price than that paid to the contractor who shall have performed the service during the last preceeding contract term. "And in all cases of regular contracts hereafter made, the contract may, in the discretion of the Postmaster-General, be continued in force beyond its express terms for a period not exceeding six months, until a new contract with the same or other contractors shall be made by the Postmaster-General."

Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 251, 17 Stat. 314. Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, 18 Stat. 235. Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260, 19 Stat. 129.

This section, as originally enacted, was incorporated into R. S. § 3951. It was amended by Act June 23, 1874, c. 456, § 12, cited above, and was further amended by Act Aug. 11, 1876, c. 260, also cited above, to read as set forth here. These amendments superseded R. S. § 3951. See note under that section, ante.

The provision authorizing the Postmaster-General to enter into contract for a temporary service on the accepted bidder failing to enter into contract, or on a contractor failing to perform the service, etc., was modified by Act June 12, 1879, c. 20, post, § 7439.

A contractor failing to perform his contract is chargeable with the cost of the temporary service by Act Aug. 3, 1882, c. 379, § 2, ante, § 7426. 7439. (Act June 12, 1879, c. 20.) Contract for temporary service. Whenever an accepted bidder shall fail to enter into contract, or a contractor on any mail-route shall fail or refuse to perform the service on said route according to his contract, or when a new route shall be established or new service required, or when, from any other cause, there shall not be a contractor legally bound or required to perform such service, the Postmaster-General may make a temporary contract for carrying the mail on such route, without advertisement, for such period as may be necessary, not in any case exceeding one year, until the service shall have commenced under a contract made according to law. And any provision of statute in conflict. with this provision is hereby repealed. (21 Stat. 11.)

This provision was part of an act entitled "An act to extend the time of special postal service until service can be obtained by advertisement." The preceding provisions of said act authorizing the extension of special service already placed on new routes until such time as service could be obtained by advertisement, not exceeding one year, are omitted, as temporary merely.

This section modified a provision on the same subject of Act June 8, 1872, c. 335, § 251, as amended 1874, 1876, ante, § 7438.

(R. S. §§ 3952, 3953. Repealed.)

R. S. § 3952, provided that no bidder for carrying the mail should be released from his bid, notwithstanding an award made to a lower bidder,