fill in dates, payee's name, or the amounts of checks issued in payment of the public creditors.

149. Deposits to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States on account of repayment of disbursing funds must be made with the office or bank in which such funds are to the credit of the disbursing officer. Disbursing officers are not authorized to transfer funds standing to their credit with one depositary to their credit with another depositary; such transfers will be made by the Secretary of the Treasury upon the request of the heads of the departments under which the officers are serving.

150. No allowance will be made to any disbursing officer for expenses charged for collecting money on checks.

151. Whenever any disbursing officer shall cease to act in that capacity he will at once inform the Secretary of the Treasury whether he has any public funds to his credit in any office or bank, and if so, what checks, if any, he has drawn against the same, which are still outstanding and unpaid. Until satisfactory information of this character shall have been furnished, the whole amount of such moneys will be held to meet the payment of his checks properly payable therefrom.

152. In case of the death, resignation, or removal from active service of any disbursing officer, checks previously drawn by him will be paid from the funds to his credit, unless such checks have been drawn for more than four months before their presentation, or reasons exist for suspecting fraud. Any check previously drawn by him and not presented for payment within four months of its date will not be paid until its correctness shall have been attested by the Comptroller of the Treasury or his chief clerk.

153. For every deposit made by a disbursing officer to his official credit a receipt shall be given setting forth its serial number and the place and date of issue.

154. Any disbursing officer of the Signal Corps who closes his money accountability for any reason should arrange for inspection of his accounts as prescribed in A. R., 909.

PURCHASES AND PAYMENTS.

155. Purchases are made by any of the following methods: Contracts; proposals received in response to advertisements; written proposals and written acceptance; in the open market.

156. Under the provisions of paragraph 556, Army Regulations, and Signal Office order No. 13, July 1, 1907, disbursing officers of the Signal Corps will make contracts for purchases, Form No. 13, on which the time of delivery is over thirty days and the consideration exceeds $2,000.00 which will require the approval of the Chief Signal

Officer of the Army after being duly signed by the contracting parties. The provisions of paragraphs 548 to 563, Army Regulations, will be observed in the matter of contracts.

157. Contracts should be made in quintuplicate and forwarded to the office of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army for approval. Only two copies will be returned to the contracting officer, one of which should be furnished to the contractor. Of the three copies retained in the office of the Chief Signal Officer, one is forwarded to the Auditor for the War Department and one to the returns office, Department of the Interior.

158. The copy for file with the Auditor for the War Department should be an original copy and there should be attached thereto a copy of the advertisement, a copy of each proposal received, a certificate as to the time and manner of publication, and a certificate that the award was made to the lowest responsible bidder for the best and most suitable article, a copy of the order, a copy of the specifications, if any, and where a bond is required a copy of the bond.

159. The copy to be forwarded to the returns office, Department of the Interior, should be sealed with sealing wax or a press seal, and the affidavit on Form No. 13 executed in the presence of a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths. This copy should be accompanied by a copy of the order, a copy of the advertisement, a copy of all proposals received, and a copy of the specifications, if any.

160. The copy for the files of the office of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army should have attached a copy of the order and specifications, if any, and an abstract of proposals.

161. Attached to the contracting officer's copy of the contract there should be a copy of the order, a copy of the advertisement, a copy of all proposals received, a copy of the specifications, if any, an abstract of proposals, and, if bond be required, a copy of it.

162. Bonds for the faithful performance of contracts for supplies or services will be required when the consideration is $5,000 or more and the contract can not be fully performed within sixty days from its date.

163. The penal sum in a contractor's bond will be fixed by the contracting officer and will usually be from ten to twenty per cent of the total consideration, although the total consideration may be made the total amount of the bond.

164. The rental of all buildings and grounds should in every case be covered by a lease, which should be forwarded to the office of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army in the manner provided for contracts.

165. Careful investigation will be made of the financial status of individual bondsmen offering themselves as sureties on contractors'

bonds, and no bonds of individuals will be accepted until it is conclusively shown to the satisfaction of the contracting officer that such bonds afford ample security to the United States for the fulfillment of the contract in question in accordance with A. R. 576.

166. Contracts once executed will be strictly construed, and no variation from standards or specifications will be permitted or authorized. If it be demonstrated that contract requirements are unreasonable, or that the prescribed tests are not practical, or that for any reason the stipulation can not be rigidly applied or enforced, such contract must not be modified, but may be annulled, with the approval of the Secretary of War, if for the best interests of the Government, and after again inviting competition from bidders who are fully informed of the changed requirements, a new award and contract can be entered into. To sanction variation, or to relax stringency in any particular, of an existing contract is irregular and is likely to give the contractor an advantage which would be unfair to competitors whose proposals were based on the expectation of being held to the strictest observance of the published requirements. 167. Vouchers in payment for supplies or services other than personal made under contract will state, on their face, under the form of agreement, the date of the contract, thus:

168. Vouchers for purchases or services other than personal will make reference to the method of advertisement in the place provided therefor on the face of the vouchers (Form No. 28) by number, as follows:

1. After advertising in newspapers.

2. After advertising by circular letters sent to

dealers.

3. Without advertising under any exigency of the service which existed prior to the order and would not admit of the delay incident to advertising.

4. Without advertising, it being impracticable to secure competition because of (state reason).

169. The first voucher rendered in payment for a purchase of supplies or engagement of services other than personal under a proposal will be accompanied by a copy of the advertisement, the proposal, and the letter of acceptance. Subsequent vouchers under this proposal will make reference to this voucher by number under the form of agreement, thus:

Proposal of (date) attached to voucher No.

(month)

190-.

170. A voucher for the purchase of supplies or engagement of services other than personal under a written proposal and written accept

ance will be accompanied by the proposal and letter of acceptance. Subsequent vouchers will make reference thereto as indicated in the previous paragraph.

171. Vouchers for purchases will be rendered in quadruplicate on Forms No. 28 and 29. When first received by the disbursing officer, the four bills will be checked and examined and given a serial number. The two on Form No. 28 will be held as the original and memorandum voucher for settlement. The other two on Form No. 29 will be forwarded to the consignee, one of which he will sign and return as a receipt to the disbursing officer whose name appears in the brief thereon, retaining the other for file with his retained-property return. When the receipted copy of Form No. 29 is received back by the disbursing officer from the consignee it will be checked against the disbursing officer's abstract of articles purchased and the property return of the consignee when it is received. The consignee will enter on his property return against all items so received the serial number given by the disbursing officer on Form No. 29.

172. When a disbursing officer purchases articles which remain in his possession he will enter his own name in the abstract of articles purchased and paid for (Form No. 9) as the person to whom said articles have been issued and will account for the same on his property return.

173. Vouchers for services other than personal will be rendered on Form No. 28. Vouchers for personal services will be rendered on Form 12 or 22.

174. When articles or services are procured under proposals, and the actual requirements of the United States can not be determined in advance, the right should be reserved to the Government of placing orders at the prices at which awards may be made for additional supplies, provided that the additional orders shall not exceed twice the quantity advertised for.

175. Advertisements for supplies should contain the instruction to bidders who are not manufacturers of the goods called for to submit the name of the manufacturer from whom such goods are to be obtained, unless it is manifestly impracticable to furnish this information.

176. Lack of commercial standing on the part of the bidder or inadequate facilities or plant on the part of the manufacturer will constitute good and sufficient grounds for the rejection of the bids. Abnormally low bids should be subjected to the strictest scrutiny and comparison with prevailing market rates.

177. All proposals received from contractors who have failed unjustifiably to fill former contracts with the Government shall be rejected.

178. Creditors will be required to render bills against the United States on account of the Signal Corps promptly upon delivery of goods or termination of services.

179. Signal Corps purchases must always be taken up immediately upon receipt and be accounted for by the consignee on the property return for the period in which received.

180. The practice of requiring public creditors to receipt for moneys in advance of actual payment will be discontinued. No payments made shall be evidenced by a receipt, except where receipts are required either by law or contract, unless such payments are made in cash, that is, currency.

181. Disbursing officers shall make cash payments only in cases authorized, and then only in those cases where the payment is made by the disbursing officer in person, or by his deputy, and the exchange of money and the receipt thereof is simultaneous.

182. When payments are made in cash, that is, currency, on Form 12 or 28, they must be evidenced by a statement of such fact in the receipt and in substantially the following form:

in person, or by his deputy, and in cash, the sum cents, in full payment of voucher No.

183. Blank vouchers (Forms 28 and 29) should be furnished to creditors at the time purchase is made.

184. Vouchers should be numbered consecutively. Such numbers should not be repeated during any fiscal year.

185. Only one copy of a voucher, the original, should contain signed certifications, approvals, and receipts. The memorandum form will be retained by the paying officer as his record of the transaction.

186. All vouchers for payment by disbursing officers, except those required by law to be verified by affidavit, and the expense accounts of the civilian officers, employees, and agents of the Government, which shall be verified by affidavit as heretofore, shall be certified by the claimant as correct and just, except that vouchers for personal compensation for services rendered under the personal supervision of some administrative officer and so certified by him need not be certified by the claimant, provided the voucher describes specifically the position, the rate of compensation, and the period covered.

187. Vouchers for services, Form No. 12, must show the rate of pay per hour, day, or month. The time and rate of pay should be stated, and the total carried out in the proper place. Persons employed by the day or hour will be paid for the actual time.