440 FIFTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 1759. 1904. mfjg*;*,§_¤”** ¤“l°S‘°¤‘ For pay of letter carriers and clerks in charge of substations of rural " free-delivery service, twenty million one hundred and eighty thousand ry-amos. dollars: Provided, That not exceeding twelve thousand five hundred L""" M °l"kS‘ dollars of the amount hereby appropriated may be used for compensa- C*¤"‘m ”l°'i°*· tion of clerks in charge of substations. On and after July iirst, nine- - teen hundred and four, letter carriers of the rural free—delivery service _ shall receive a salary not exceeding seven hundred and twenty dollars per annum, and no other or further allowance or salary shall be made Resrrimious. to said carriers; and on and after said date said carriers shall not solicit business or receive orders of any kind for any person, iirm, or corporation, and shall not, during their hours of employment, carry any Cmyiug permitted. merchandise for hire: Provided, That said carriers may carry merchandise for hire for and upon the request of patrons residing upon their respective routes, whenever the same shall not interfere with the proper discharge of their official duties, and under such regulations as the Postmaster-General may prescribe. ` 1¤¤i·1¤¤¤=1¢¤v¤¤¤¤¤- For incidental expenses, including letter boxes, furniture, satchels, straps, badges, and the making of maps for use in the rural freedelivery service, and so forth, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. bggglsgggsiggrm Sec. 2. That hereafter, under such regulations as the Postmasterclass matter without General may establish for the collection of the lawful revenue and for °"““*"· facilitating the handling of such matter in the mails, it shall be lawful to accept for transmission in the mails quantities of not less than two thousand identical ieces of third or fourth class matter without postgg¤¤{·G e age stamps ailixedri Pro/mfded, That postage shall be fully prepaid P8 l 8thereon, at the rate re uired by law for a single piece of such matter. §¤¤=l;*:—l$gn¤;H$?¤:;· Sec. 3. That there sihall be appointed by the President, by and with pw ’the advice and consent of the Senate, a purchasing agent for the Post- Oflice Department, who shall hold office for four years unless sooner removed by the President, and who shall receive an annual salary of B°”d· four thousand dollars, give bond to the United States in such sum as the Postmaster—General may determine, and report (l.ll'€Ct to the Post- D““°* master-General; and who shall, under such regulations, not inconsistent with existing law, as the Postmaster—General shall prescribe, and subject to his direction and control, have supervision of the purchase of all supplies for the postal service. P¤r¤¤¤¤i¤s¤¤1>r¤<->¤· The purchasing agent, in making urchases for supplies necessary for the Post—Office Department, shall advertise, as now provided by law, and award contracts for such sup lies to the lowest responsible swam Omar. bidder in pursuance of existing law. The purchasing agent shall have recorded in a book to be kept for that purpose a true and faithful abstract of all bids made for furnishing supplies to the Post—Otlicc Department, giving the name of the party bidding, the terms of the offer, the sum to be paid, and he shal keep on iile and preservcall such bids until the end of the contract term to which they relate. mspection vfbids. Each bidder shall have the right to be present, either in person or by attorney, when the bids are opened, and shall have the right to examine mggrcmnggduzq dc and inspect all bids. Al}Hpurchases, advertisements, and contracts for sw, ° p °l°°S’ supplies for the Post—() ce Department shall be made by the purchasing agent in the name of the Postmaster-General subject to his approval, and in purchasing such supplies preference shall be given to articles of domestic {production and manufacture, conditions of price Pr<>p·>==¤1¤· and quality being equa . There shall be se arate proposals and separate miggvrgagg be ·>p<=¤ contracts for each class of material furnished. These records shall be `pe ‘ open at all times for the inspection of Congress, and for the inspection of those who may be interested in such contracts made, or to be made, to furnish supplies to the Post-Otlice Department. régctgem chnrges Sec. 4. That on and after July first, nineteen hundred and four, all ` officers and employees of the Post-Office Department who are entitled
