| OCR Text |
Show ~XXX FIFTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF veated with equity powers to finally adjudicate upon the facts set forth in such claims. Neither this nor any other action that has been taken by Congress on the subject during the last three years has made provision for the pay-ment of these claims, hut it has stimulated holders of elaims to greater interest and activity in their prosecution, and has thus increased the correspondence and other work of the office in relation to such claims. Within a reasonable time after these claims originated and were presented payments thereof might hare been made out of treaty funds of the Indians without seriousl~e mbarrassing the financial condition of the respective tribes ; bnt now, since the claims hare assumed such large proportions, except in the case of the Five Civilized Tribes and of theosages, the payment of these claims out of tribal funds would reduce the tribes to a condition of greater dependence upon the C-overnment. GENERAL REMARKS. PURCHASE OF INDLlN SUPPLIES. Remembering various unfavorable reports and intimations in refer-ence to what is known as t.he contract Rystem of purchasing supplies for the Iudian Bureau, and having in mind certain annoying difficulties recently experienced by this oEcc in the purchase of blankets, I shall briefly describe the method of purchasing supplies, and suggest what, in my opinion, would be improvements thereof. The process by which goods, supplies, eto., are now obtained for the Indian service is as follows : (1) Authority is obtaiuet! by the Commissiorler from the Secretary to n~alred ue advertisement invit,ing proposals to furnish annuity goods, supplies, etc., the quantities thereof required having been preriously determined upon estimates 'submitted to the Indian Office by the sev-eral Indian agents. (2) Sealed proposals, accon~p;uliecbl y s;lmples df the articles proposed to be furnished, are received. (3) At the specified time tile bids' are opelled in the presence of the Oommissioner, a represrl~tiltiveoE the Secretary, and of the Board of 1ndian Commi$sioners, aud are read in the preseuce of the bidders, and are then numbered, recorded, and abstracted. For the names of the bidders rruo~berv are sobstituted on hot11 abstracts and samples. (4) With the abstract of bids, and with the saml~leso f goods before them, the Commissioner, the S~qretary'a represeutatire, and the Board of Indian Oommissio~lersa, ssisted by the judgment of expert inspectors of the respeciive articles, award the contracts. (5) Uuder these contracts deliveries are made, arld the articles de-livered areexamined and compared with the sarnples by expert illSpedt0rS appointed by the Oo~omissiouer. Articles which are by the inspection determined to be equnl to the sample are accepted, and those d~t~rmined |
