CHAPTER VIII.

CONTRACTS AND OTHER METHODS OF PURCHASE.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

239. Obligations not to be incurred in excess of Congres sional authority.-No Department of the Government shall expend in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress for that fiscal year or involve the Government in any contract or obligation for the future payment of money in excess of such appropriations unless such contract or obligation is authorized by law. Nor shall any Department or officer of the Government accept voluntary service for the Government or employ personal service in excess of that authorized by law, except in cases of sudden emergency involving the loss of human life or the destruction of property. All appropriations made for contingent expenses or other general purposes except appropriations made for the fulfillment of contract obligations expressly authorized by law, or for objects required or authorized by law without reference to the amounts annually appropriated therefor, shall, on or before the beginning of each fiscal year, be so apportioned by monthly or other allotments as to prevent undue expenditures in one portion of the year that may require deficiency or additional appropriations to complete the service of the fiscal year; and all such apportionments shall be adhered to except when waived or modified in specific cases by the written order of the head of the Executive Department or other Government establishment having control of the expenditure, but this provision shall not apply to the contingent appropriations of the Senate or House of Representatives; and all such waivers and modifications, together with the

reasons therefor, shall be communicated to Congress in connection with estimates for any additional appropriations required on account thereof. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be summarily removed from office, and may also be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not less than one month.

(R. S., 3679, amended by deficiency appropriation act approved March 3, 1905-33 Stats., 1257-published in Cir. 8, C. of E., 1905.)

(a) Citation: Generally, the authority of the accounting officers to certify a balance in favor of a person depends upon the validity of the contract under which the claim arose. If the contract transcends the law, it is illegal to that extent. When the authority to enter into a contract depends wholly upon an appropriation for that purpose, no officer can create a liability therefor beyond the amount appropriated. (4 Comp. Dec., 314.)

240. Contracts for labor of convicts of the United States forbidden:

AN ACT to prohibit any officer, agent, or servant of the Government of the United States of America to hire or contract out the labor of prisoners incarcerated for violating the laws of the Government of the United States of America.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall not be lawful for any officer, agent, or servant of the Government of the United States to contract with any person or corporation, or permit any warden, agent, or official of any State prison, penitentiary, jail, or house of correction where criminals of the United States may be incarcerated to hire or contract out the labor of said criminals or any part of them who may hereafter be confined in any prison, jail, or other place of incarceration for violation of any laws of the Government of the United States of America.

SEC. 2. That any person who shall offend against the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for a term not less than one year nor more than three years, at the discretion of the court, or shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each offense.

SEC. 3. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed; and this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, February 23, 1887.

(Cir. 6, C. of E., 1887; 24 Stats., 411.)

241. Contracts for labor of convicts of States, etc., forbid den. Whereas, By an act of Congress which received Executive approval on February 23, 1887, all officers or agents of the United States were as a matter of public policy forbidden, under appropriate penalties, to hire or contract out the labor of any criminals who might thereafter be confined in any prison, jail, or other place of incarceration for the violation of any laws of the Government of the United States of America;

It is hereby ordered, That all contracts which shall herafter be entered into by officers or agents of the United States involving the employment of labor in the States composing the Union, or the Territories of the United States contiguous thereto, shall, unless otherwise provided by law, contain a stipulation forbidding, in the performance of such contracts, the employment of persons undergoing sentences of imprisonment at hard labor which have been imposed by courts of the several States, Territories, or municipalities having criminal jurisdiction.

(Executive Order of May 18, 1905, published in Par. II, G. O. 78, W. D., 1905.)

242. Rent of offices, etc.-Hire of rooms and buildings and leases of land, vessels, etc., must be covered by a written agreement in the form contemplated by R. S., 3744, (Cir. 10, C. of E., 1905.) Citations and cross reference:

(a) Contracts for lease or hire not to be filed with vouchers; the copies of such contracts to be treated like those of all other contracts. (Cir. 43, C. of E., 1905,-§ 294.)

(b) Where the rent to be paid by the Government for leased premises is derived from an annual appropriation a lease for a period longer than the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made would be in derogation of the existing law. Where it is desired to occupy the premises for a longer term

than one year the lease should be taken to the end of the current fiscal year at a certain rent, and a new lease be then entered into for the next fiscal year, and so on, a lease de novo being necessary for each fiscal year, though the successive leases be mere repetitions and extensions of the original lease, and though it be expressly stipulated in the original lease that the United States shall have the privilege of such extensions if desired. (Dig. Op., J. A. G., 886.)

(c) R. S. 3477, 3737, which prohibit the transfer or assignment of claims against, or contracts with, the United States, have no application to the payment of rent by the Government to a lessor who is the agent of the owner of the leased premises. (9 Comp. Dec., 611.)

(d) Where a lease made to the United States, of land to be used for public purposes, contained no stipulation other than one for the payment of certain rent, such lease was not annulled by transfer under R. S. 3737, but was legally assignable. (Dig. Op., J. A. G., 1587.)

(e) The laying of conduits and wires in premises occupied by the United States under a lease from the owner is an improvement of the premises, and unless provision has been made in the lease for the making of such an improvement by the United States as a consideration, in whole or in part, for the use thereof, payment of the cost of such an improvement is not authorized. (6 Comp. Dec., 943.)

(f) Under an agreement in a lease that the Government would deliver the property on expiration of the lease in as good condition as when received, ordinary wear and tear excepted, the Government is liable for unnecessary injury to the property during its occupancy. (9 Comp. Dec., 488.)

(g) For decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury regarding notice to vacate leased premises, see 7 Comp. Dec., 342; 9 do., 366; 11 do., 784.

243. Envelopes.-The Postmaster-General shall contract for all envelopes, stamped or otherwise, designed for sale to the public, or for use by his own or other Departments, and may contract for them to be plain or with such printed matter as may be prescribed by the Department making requisition therefor: Provided, That no

envelope furnished by the Government shall contain any business address or advertisement. (Sec. 96, act of Jan. 12, 1895; 28 Stats., 624, or 2 Sup. R. S., 364.)

Schedules of contracts entered into by the Postmaster-General for supplying the Executive Departments of the Government with envelopes are published annually in general orders from The Military Secretary's Office.

244. Citations:

(a) For general provisions regarding the purchase of supplies and engagement of services, see A. R. 514-519, 548-552.

(b) All executory contracts under the War Department must be in writing and signed at the end thereof by both parties. (Comptroller's Decision, Dec. 8, 1904, published in Cir. 54, W. D., 1904.)

(c) In the absence of clear proof, a contract will not be construed as having been made with reference to a local custom in conflict with the general law of bailments. (5 Comp. Dec., 15.)

(d) R. S. 3744, which requires that all contracts made by the Secretaries of War, the Navy, and the Interior shall be "reduced to writing and signed by the contracting parties with their names at the end thereof," is mandatory, and a written order by the Secretary of War for the purchase of arms and cartridges does not constitute a valid executory contract which can be enforced. (6 Comp. Dec., 880; see also Cir. 44, A. G. O., 1900.)

(e) For certain decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury regarding claims for demurrage, see 2 Comp. Dec., 179; 3 do., 337; and 5 do., 305.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT REGARDING CONTRACTS FOR SUPPLIES FOR THE ARMY.

(The following provisions affect the work of the Engineer Department, except in so far as they are inconsistent with special legislation governing work under appropriations for fortifications or river and harbor improvements.)