ABSENCES:

See Leaves of absence.

ACCOUNTS:

Census Bureau-statistical work-moneys
received therefor prior to May 27, 1935,
must be deposited to credit of Miscel
laneous Receipts and cost charged against
current appropriation. After that date,
and in accordance with act of that date,
Pub. 74, payment for such services may
be made from funds deposited therefor...
Federal Emergency Relief Administration:
Vouchers submitted must show the actual
appropriation or appropriations charge-
able with the expenditure involved, and
where the wrong appropriation has been
charged it is the duty of the General
Accounting Office in auditing the
accounts to question the expenditure
and require a satisfactory explanation
or adjustment of the matter before
credit may be allowed....
When an obligation is chargeable to more
than one appropriation it is proper to
show on the voucher all applicable ap-
propriations and to draw one check to
the payee in payment..
While the General Accounting Office may
effect adjustments between appropria-
tions when, under a mistake of law or
fact, a voucher has been charged to the
wrong appropriation and it clearly ap-
pears another appropriation is avail-
able, an administrative officer may not,
for the sake of an administrative expe-
diency, deliberately charge the wrong
appropriation with the expectation of
obtaining subsequently an adjustment
by transfer of applicable appropriations.
Postmasters-reopening not authorized on
basis of claim made by or on behalf of
receiver of bank on theory that return to
postmaster of public funds on deposit in
bank when business was suspended was
erroneous, where former postmaster has
accounted for all moneys belonging to the
United States and his accounts closed....
Virgin Islands Company-appropriated
moneys are not available for services of
certified public accountants in providing
for a system of general accounts and a
cost system....

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103

103

103

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617

ADJUSTED COMPENSATION:
See Veterans' Administration.
ADVERTISING:

Bidders:

Combinations-bids should not be re-
ceived from two corporations, one of
which is owned and controlled by the
other, where corporate identities are
retaired merely for trade purposes....
Debarment-fact that bidder in previous
transaction furnished supplies not in
accordance with specifications is not
alone valid reason for continued refusa!
to give consideration to bids; but upon
reasonable showing that interests of the
United States require debarment, ad-
ministrative action will not be ques-
tioned provided length of debarment is
definitely stated and not unreasonable.
Deposits-set-off-amount deposited by
unsuccessful bidder in connection with
bid for lease of grazing lands from the
United States may be set off against
indebtedness to the United States.....
Experience-United States is not required
to accept low bid for performance of
important construction work where
bidder has had no experience in con-
nection with similar work.
Indebtedness to the United States-no
legal authority for giving preference to
highest bidder merely because of in-
debtedness to United States, growing
out of loan from Reconstruction Finance
Corporation...
Protests-bidder whose products are
normally offered in competition with
products admitted under specifica-
tions has sufficient basis for protest
against mechanical details, as dis-
tinguished from actual needs of the
service, illegally included in advertised
specifications, even though he has re-
fused to submit a bid...
Qualifications-bidders may be required
to show certain qualifications as con-
dition precedent to letting contract
where work is of such magnitude or in-
volves technical requirements that
interests of United States would not
adequately be protected by giving of
performance bond....

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168

313

430

305

21

671

78

ADVERTISING-Continued.
Bidders-Continued.

Responsibility-fact that subcontractors
from which contractor proposes to pur-
chase materials or to sublet a portion of
construction are reported to be not re-
sponsible is not sufficient to authorize
low bid to be disregarded or for holding
that bidder is not responsible...

Bids:

Acceptance of highest-office space-no
legal authority for giving preference to
highest bidder merely because of in-
debtedness to United States, growing
out of loan from Reconstruction Fi-
nance Corporation................
Acceptance of other than lowest:
Cement--if notice of withdrawal of low-
est bid for noncompliance with appli-
cable code was not received by the
Government officer prior to accept-
ance of bid, and award was later re-
quired to be made to next lowest
bidder, any difference in cost is
chargeable to lowest bidder.......
Trucks:

No legal justification for specifica-
tion that spare tire be mounted in
fender well, and where contract
awarded to higher bidder because of
failure of lowest bid to meet such
stipulation, payment may not
exceed lowest price bid...
Rejection of low bid, otherwise cor-
rect, because engine in truck offered
by low bidder had piston displace-
ment of 331.4 cubic inches, instead
of not less than 358 cubic inches as
called for in specifications, and
award of contract to higher bidder,
not justified where specifications
did not notify bidders of special
service conditions under which
truck was to be operated------
Acceptance-time limit-where time
specified for acceptance of bid is not
sufficient to permit final determina-
tion of claim of mistake before expira-
tion thereof, and bidder refuses to
extend time limit pending such de-
termination, bidder should be notified
before expiration of time and before
forwarding matter to General Ac-
counting Office for determination,
that bid is accepted subject to final
action by said office on pending claim
of mistake...
Competitive-bids should not be received
from two corporations, one of which
is owned and controlled by the other,
where corporate identities are retained
merely for trade purposes-------
Evaluation:

Automobiles-specifications stipulating
minimum requirements for weight
and wheel base are not proper factors
for evaluating bids.....

ADVERTISING-Continued.

Bids-Continued.

Evaluation-Continued.

Tractors--no legal objection to evalua-
tion of bids on basis stated in specifica-
tions of initial cost of tractor plus fuel
consumption during stated period...
Informalities:
Failure of low bidder to accompany bid
with required bid bond may be
waived if in public interest, and since
bid bond has been subsequently
furnished and bidder appears. other-
wise qualified, appropriated moneys
are not available for the work in any
amount in excess of low bid......
Whether technical failure to submit
bid bond with bid may be waived in
public interest, where bond was
furnished shortly after bids were
opened, is controlled by circum-
stances surrounding said failure, the
responsibility of bidder, and the
saving of public moneys to be made.
Multiple-bids should not be received
from two corporations, one of which is
owned and controlled by the other,
where corporate identities are retained
merely for trade purposes.
Not required:

Experiments--no objection to purchase
without advertising of one mortar
motor carriage for experimental pur-
poses, except that contract should
reserve to United States, or obtain for
the Government, right to use design
or patent for vehicle in event it
should prove to be a success and quan-
tity purchases should be desirable...
Personal services-exception of personal
services from requirements of adver-
tising under sec. 3709, R. S., is
identified with and attaches to the
individual and means that the
personal element predominates and
necessitates a selection of the person
and that the contracting be directly
with and binding on that person.
It is not an authority to contract for
an individual's services through
another agency--

Qualified dental gold-where bidder
proposed to furnish at specified price
per ounce and attempted to qualify bid
to provide for variation in price to
correspond with depreciation of gold
purchasing power of American dollar,
and bid was accepted on basis of price
stated, such qualification was, in effect,
an attempt to make contract price
payable in gold, or its equivalent, and
void. Payment authorized only of
contract price.....................
Rejection:

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208-

305

599

168

118

909

119

ADVERTISING-Continued..

Bids-Continued.

Rejection-Continued.

violator of some provision of act
Feb. 22, 1935, superseding sec. 9,
National Industrial Recovery Act,
declared - unconstitutional by U. S.
Supreme Court...
Where specifications did not notify
bidders of special service conditions
under which truck was to be operated,
rejection of low and otherwise correct
bid was not justified on the basis of a
lower piston displacement than
called for by the specifications...
Required:

Airplanes-under sec. 10 (t), act July 2,
1926, quantity purchases of airplanes
for Army and Navy may be made
only as result of advertising...............
Automobile repairs and parts-con-
tracts for repairs and parts for auto-
mobiles in use by the Civilian Con-
servation Corps should be awarded
after advertising for bids in the com-
munities where such work is to be
done......
Leases-general rule is that there must
be advertising for bids for leasing of
premises for use of various Govern-
ment activities. While clearance
may be obtained from Procurement
Division, Treasury Department,
such clearance does not relieve
administrative office from complying
with sec. 3709, R. S...
Character of:

Any method of advertisement that gives
all available competition under circum-
stances of particular case, generally,
will be accepted by General Accounting
Office as compliance with sec. 3709,
R. S......

Where only form of advertisement for bids
was insertion in local newspaper, and
only one response was received out of 20
persons or firms in the locality, adver-
tisement not adequate...
Experiments-mortar carriage no objec-
tion to purchase without advertising of
one mortar motor carriage for experimen-
tal purposes, except that contract should
reserve to United States, or obtain for the
Government, right to use design or pat-
ent for vehicle in event it should prove to
be a success and quantity purchases
should be desirable.

Readvertisement:

Codes of fair competition:

Kids submitted in arsv er to advertised
specification stipulating code com-
pliance opened after May 27, 1935,
date of decision by U. S. Supreme
Court holding unconstitutional pro-
visions of National Industrial Re-
covery Act relative to codes and code
compliance, should be rejected and

Page

.912

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17

859

769

364

364

118

ADVERTISING-Continued.
Readvertisement-Continued.

Codes of fair competition-Continued.
readvertisement had on basis of spec-
ifications eliminating such require-
ment.

Where lowest bidder not determined
after two months since opening of
bids, and in the meantime the Su-
preme Court of the United States
declared the code provisions of the
National Industrial Recovery. Act
unconstitutional and the requirement
for code compliance was suspended,
it is in the interests of the United
States to reject all bids based on code
compliance and to readvertise elimi-
nating requirement that bidder sub-
mit certificate of code compliance....
Notice while there is no legal require-
ment that former bidders be notified of
readvertisement, in order to stimulate
competition it would clearly be in inter-
ests of United States to notify them....
AGENTS:

Authority-general rule stated, where a
person has held out another as his agent
authorized to act for him in a given capac-
ity...

AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT AD-
MINISTRATION:

Cotton pool sales-where contract fixes
definitely obligation of contractor, ex-
penditures which may be reimbursed, and
compensation to be paid, there is no au-
thority for payment of additional amount
to cover brokers' commissions expended
in effecting sale of cotton..
Employees' classification--

For periods on and after July 1, 1934,
credit allowed for salary payments only
at minimum salary rate of grade in
which position allocated by Civil Serv-
ice Commission, if positions are in Dis-
trict of Columbia, and only at mini-
mum salary rate of grade in which posi-
tion administratively placed or allo-
cated, if in the field, unless there is
showing that personnel funds are avail-
able on annual basis for difference
between minimum rate and higher rate
in grade at which paid on basis of
administrative promotion....
Temporary employees subject to classi-
fication act as amended are authorized
to be paid only at minimum salary rate
of grade in which temporary positions
properly placed or allocated, whether
in departmertal or field service, and
promotion above minimum salary
rate of grade not authorized...........
Wheat purchases-

No authority in Secretary of Agriculture
or his designated agent to direct or
authorize purchase of salvaged fire-
damaged, smoke-odor wheat for export.