in words, not in figures), that no part thereof has been paid, and that the voucher is issued in duplicate only, in accordance with instructions from the Indian Office dated 476. Certified vouchers will be issued in duplicate only, one copy to be given to the claimant and the other to be forwarded to the Office of Indian Affairs. Settlement will not be made nor payment recommended until both copies are in possession of the Indian Office. CLAIMS. 477. Claims for supplies furnished and services rendered, for which the agent is not authorized to pay, must be submitted to the Indian Office, in duplicate, for administrative action and transmission to the Auditor for the Interior Department. 478. Claims or invoices for goods and supplies purchased for delivery at Indian warehouses must be supported by an inspector's certificate as to quality and quantity, and a receipt showing delivery to the proper agent of the Department or some responsible common carrier. The dates of requisition for and receipt of supplies purchased under contract must be shown on the face of the invoice. 479. Claims for supplies purchased for delivery at an agency under contract must consist of a contract receipt (Form 5-210 or 5-212a), signed by the agent; a weigher's return (Form 5-176), signed by some person appointed for the purpose and certified by the agent, and a certificate of inspection (Form 5-134 or 5-135), signed by the person duly authorized to make the inspection. 480. Claims for supplies purchased in open market, when payment is to be made through the Indian Office, must be prepared on the blank provided for certified open-market purchase vouchers (Form 5–3406), and supported by weigher's returns and certificates of inspection, as required by the preceding section. 481. Claims for shares of annuity or other payments (Form 5-172) must show the date of payment, the tribe or tribes to which original payment was made, amount due, number of claimant on roll, and his post-office address. Claimant must sign the application exactly as his name appears on the roll. Such applications must be accompanied by the certificate of a bonded officer of the United States or the affidavits of two or more other persons that the claimant is the identical person he represents himself to be and that they have no interest in the claim; also by a certificate of the agent that the agency records show the sum claimed to be due and not paid. 482. If a claim of the kind referred to in the preceding section is made by a person other than the original beneficiary he must furnish indisputable evidence that he is entitled to the money; if by an administrator or guardian, certified copies of letters of administration or guardianship must be furnished. 483. Claims for passenger transportation must be accompanied by the Government request or order upon which the railroad or other ticket was issued. 484. Claims for tuition of pupils, if under contract, must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the terms of the contract; otherwise, the dates of service, as well as rate of compensation, must be shown and sworn to by the claimant. A copy of the letter authorizing the service must accompany the claim or the date of such letter must be given. 485. Claims for advertising must be prepared on blanks provided for the purpose (Form 1–325), and accompanied by the letter authorizing the publication and an affidavit as to the rates charged. A copy of each issue of the paper containing the advertisement must also be furnished. Should it be impossible to furnish a copy of each paper without destroying the office files an affidavit to that effect, with a statement that the advertisement was published as ordered during the time for which payment is claimed, must be furnished and have a copy of the advertisement attached thereto. 486. Claims for services of inspectors, superintendents of construction, and others irregularly employed must show the nature and dates of service, rate of compensation, and amount due. A copy of the letter authorizing the service must be furnished or the date of such letter given. The claim must also be accompanied by a certificate of approval from the officer under whom the service was rendered, or, in lieu of such certificate, by the affidavit of the claimant that the services were actually rendered as stated and that payment therefor has not been made. 487. Claims for reimbursement for traveling and other expenses must state the nature of the services on account of which the expenses were incurred; show in detail the expenditures actually made, with date of each item, and be accompanied by or show the date of the letter of authority therefor. A receipt or subvoucher for each expenditure of $1 or more, is required. The claim must also be supported by an affidavit, as prescribed by section 305. 488. Claims for construction of buildings, water and sewer systems, heating and lighting plants, etc., must describe the buildings erected or work performed; give the name of contractor and date of contract, and show in detail the value of material and labor expended to the time payment is claimed. They must be accompanied by the certificates of the agent and superintendent of construction that the work has been carefully inspected and found to be actually in place and of the value represented; that it has been done in a workmanlike manner; that the stipulations of the contract have been fully complied with, and that the amount claimed is actually due, no part thereof having been paid. 489. Every claim, of whatever character, submitted for payment through the Indian Office, must show the post-office address and, when in favor of an individual, the Christian or given name as well as the surname of the claimant. OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 490. All communications to the Indian Office will be addressed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. White paper of ordinary letter size, and none but black ink (unless typewritten) will be used. Only one side of the sheet should be written upon. 491. Letters will be folded in three equal folds, running parallel with the lines of writing, and an indorsement placed on the first fold of the last sheet, leaving blank spaces of about 2 inches at both top and bottom. Loose sheets or jackets for indorsements will not be used. 492. The indorsement will contain (1) the name of the agency, its location and the date of the letter; (2) the name and official title of the writer, and (3) a clear and concise brief of the contents of the letter. 493. Only one subject should be embraced in a letter, but when two or more communications are sent by the same mail, they may all be placed in the same envelope. Telegrams may include more than one subject. 494. All inclosures to communications, except quarterly accounts, will be briefed and numbered in the order in which they are to be read, and the total number thereof noted at the bottom of the indorsement. The several pages of a letter are not regarded as inclosures. 495. All official letters will be press-copied in books provided for that purpose, special care being taken to guard against blurring or indistinctness. Private correspondence of agents and others will not be copied in these books, which are a part of the permanent records of the agency and not to be removed therefrom. 496. In replying to communications from the Indian Office, reference should always be made to the date as well as to the name of division and numbers in the upper left-hand corner thereof. 497. The acknowledgment of the receipt of office letters when the subject-matter thereof does not call for reply is unnecessary. 498. All correspondence between employees and the Indian Office must be conducted through the agent. When an employee addresses a communication to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, it is the duty of the agent to forward the same, whether it meets with his approval or not, with such remarks and recommendations indorsed thereon as he may think proper to make. 499. In the event that the agent declines for any reason to forward such a communication, it may be sent by the employee directly to the Indian Office, with a full explanation of the reasons for so doing. 500. Officers and employees of the Indian Service are forbidden to communicate with any other department, or bureau thereof, upon matters of business pertaining to their offices, except through the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and any known violation of this rule may subject the offender to summary dismissal: Provided, however, That nothing in this section shall be construed as debarring disbursing officers from corresponding directly with depositories where funds are to their credit, in regard to routine matters affecting their accounts with such depositories, or to interfere with their right to appeal or submit any question touching the disbursement of money to the Comptroller of the Treasury for decision. (Circs. I. O. Nov. 8, 1901, Feb. 10, 1903, and Apr. 6, 1903.) 501. Penalty envelopes are provided for the use of Government officers in transmitting letters and other official papers and documents through the mails. Officers authorized to use such envelopes may inclose them, with return address, to any person or persons from whom official information is desired, for use in mailing the reply and any papers connected therewith. The sending of such envelopes with orders for merchandise, so that the goods may be transmitted by mail, free of postage, is forbidden by law. (Circ. I. O. Nòv. 29, 1901.) STATIONERY AND BLANKS. 502. Stationery and blanks will not be purchased by agents, everything needful in that line being furnished by the Department upon requisition therefor. 503. Requisitions for stationery (Form 5-279) should be forwarded on or about the 1st of each April for a supply sufficient for the ensuing fiscal year. 504. Requisitions for blanks (Form 5-276) are to be made on the 1st of January and 1st of July of each year for supplies sufficient to last six months. 505. All requisitions must be made in duplicate and upon the blanks provided for that purpose. 506. The following list of blanks furnished by the Department is published for the guidance of agents when in doubt as to the form that should be used in any particular instance: 5-305 5-307 5-310a 5-3106 5-310c Quarterly statement of receipts and disbursements. Voucher-Abstract D, property return, Form No. 1 Voucher-Abstract D, property return, Form No. 2. Voucher-Abstract D, property return, Form No. 3. 5-310d Voucher-Abstract D, property return, Form No. 4. 5-311 Voucher-Abstract D, property return. Abstract of issues. 5-315a 5-315b 5-316 |