sections in the insanity law and to an extent modify them, they are here quoted in full:

***“No municipality of the state shall have power to modify or change plans or specifications for the erection, alteration or improvement of state buildings, or the construction, plumbing, heating, lighting or other mechanical branch of work necessary to complete the work in question, nor to require that any person, firm or corporation employed on any such work shall perform said work in any other or different manner than that provided by said contract and specifications, nor to obtain any other or additional authority or permit from such municipality, department or person as a condition of doing such work, nor shall any condition whatever be imposed by any such municipality in relation to the work under the supervision of the state architect, but such work shall be under the sole control of the state architect in accordance with the drawings, plans, specifications and contracts in relation thereto; and the doing of any such work for the state by any person, firm or corporation in accordance with the terms of such contract, plans or specifications shall not subject said person, firm or corporation to any liability or penalty, civil or criminal, other than as may be stated in such contract and specifications or incidental to the proper enforcement thereof. He shall prepare necessary forms of contracts, to be approved by the attorney-general, which shall be used in all work let by contract and no payment shall be made on any such contract except upon his official certificate after audit by the comptroller.

§ 13. Inspection of work by department interested. The provisions of section eight shall not be construed to prohibit any board, department or officer of any institution, department or office of the state from entering upon any work in progress or done in or upon any public building in such institution, department or office for the purpose of inspecting such work and otherwise determining whether the work has been done faithfully according to the terms of contract therefor.

§ 14. Contracts. It shall be the duty of the state architect, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, to prepare specifications and drawings for all work and materials to be contracted for upon and in connection with the erection of new

buildings for the state and of additions, alterations and improvements thereto, and such specifications and drawings shall be a part of each such contract. Such specifications and drawings when prepared shall be filed in the office of the department of architecture, and in the office of the board, department commission or officer having jurisdiction over such work, and in the office of the state comptroller; and shall at all times be open to public inspection. The state may reject all bids submitted if the lowest bid is excessive or may reject the bid of the contractor who is shown to be irresponsible or has been guilty of defective or fraudulent work upon state or other contracts. The public notice of the letting of contracts shall be a notice describing the work and materials to be contracted for; shall refer to the specifications and drawings therefor and to the filing of such specifications and drawings in the office of the state architect; and shall state the time when and the place where the bids invited upon such specifications will be received. Such notice shall be printed in a newspaper published in the city of Albany. and in such other newspaper as will be most likely to give adequate notice of the letting of such contracts, for such time and in such manner as shall be prescribed in the rules and regulations to be made by the state architect. The specifications and drawings for such work and materials to be contracted for must be set forth in such detail as will adequately inform proposing bidders of the nature, kind, quality and quantity of such work and materials. No bids shall be withdrawn or cancelled until after the contract shall have been awarded; but the state may reject any bids which do not conform to rules and regulations and may reject all bids and again advertise for bids in the manner herein provided, if the interests of the state will be promoted thereby. Every bid received must be a sealed bid and enclosed therewith the bidder shall deposit with the board, department, commissioner or officer receiving the bids a certified check drawn upon some legally incorporated bank in this state, or money, for five per centum of the amount of his bid as a guaranty that he will enter into the contract if it be awarded to him. Notice of the requirement of such deposit with the bid shall be embodied in the public notice for such letting and such notice shall also require and each contract shall provide for the giving of

a bond in such amount as the state architect shall prescribe conditioned for the faithful performance of the contract. All contracts in excess of five hundred dollars must be let by public bidding to the lowest reputable and reliable bidder. The contract when awarded shall be executed in quintuplicate. One quintuplicate original thereof shall be forthwith filed in the office of the department of architecture; one, together with the bond accompanying such contract, in the office of the state comptroller; one furnished to the contractor, and one filed in the office of the board, department, commission or officer having jurisdiction over the work.

§ 15. Approval by comptroller. Before any contract for the erection of or for additions, alterations or improvements to state buildings under the supervision of the state architect shall become executory, it shall be approved by the state comptroller and a certificate issued by him certifying that appropriations are available sufficient to meet the obligation.

§ 16. Payments. No payments shall be made upon any work done or materials furnished for the erection of or for additions, alterations or improvements to state buildings under the supervision of the state architect until the bills or estimates presented for such payment shall have been duly certified by the state architect and the board, department, commission or officer in charge of the institution, department or office for which the work has been done to be correct and until, thereafter, the comptroller shall have audited and approved such bills and estimates. The comptroller shall have and is hereby given full power to pass upon all bills and estimates presented for payment for such work or materials, and for the purpose of passing upon and auditing the same, he shall have full power to make investigation thereof and to determine whether or not he shall approve and audit the same and allow the same to be paid.

§ 17. Change in contracts. Any change, addition or deduction. made in any contract by reduction in price, by addition in price or otherwise must be done by an order on contract. This order shall specifically set forth conditions of the change and shall be approved by the board, department, commission or officer having jurisdiction. After having been approved by him the order shall be forthwith filed in the office of the state comptroller.

§ 18. Manner of doing work or acquiring material. The work of erection, alteration, repair or improvement of any building or plant may be done by the employment of inmate or outside labor or both and by the purchase of materials in the open market whenever in the opinion of the state architect such a course shall be deemed advantageous to the state, and only upon plans and specifications prepared by him, but no compensation shall be allowed for the employment of inmate labor.

§ 19. Work done by special order. The state architect shall determine when minor construction work may be done by special order. Special orders for such work shall be short-form contracts approved by the attorney-general. No work shall be done by special order in an amount in excess of five hundred dollars and neither a bond or advertising shall be required for special orders, provided payment shall be made only after the work shall have been completed and accepted. All payments on special orders shall be made on the certificate of the state architect and audited and approved by the state comptroller.

§ 19-b. When appropriations are available; limitation of liability of state; appropriations for two or more objects. No item of an appropriation made for the performance of such work shall be available, except for advertising or expenses incurred in the preparation of plans and specifications, engineering work or superintendence, unless one or more contracts or special orders shall first have been made for the completion of such work within the appropriation therefor. All contracts for the erection, alteration, repair or improvement of state institutions shall contain a clause that the contract shall only be deemed executory to the extent of the moneys available and no liability shall be incurred by the state beyond the moneys available for the purpose. If an appropriation be made for the erection, alteration, repair or improvement of buildings or plant in an appropriation act specifying two or more objects for which the appropriation is made and any one of such objects shall have been accomplished for a sum less than the amount specified in the act, the unexpended balance shall be applicable to any other work specified in the act."

With the engagement by the Commissioner of Efficiency and Economy of a special advisor in hospital and technical work, some

promise is held out for specdier progress in the extension of the buildings at Binghamton, Kings Park, Central Islip and Manhattan, funds for which have been made available by the legislature of 1912 and 1913, and which when completed will grant at least partial relief to the existing congestion.

THE BOYLAN DRUG ACT

Senator Boylan's bill (chapter 363, Laws of 1914), while highly meritorious in its aim, i. e., to lessen the number of victims of the drug habit, contains a provision against which the Commission finds it necessary to enter a protest, viz., that permitting the commitment of drug victims by a magistrate "to a city, county or State hospital or institution licensed under the State Lunacy Commission."

The natural tendency of magistrates under this statute would be to relieve the local community at once of the burden of supporting and treating the unfortunate drug habitué, and this was manifested directly it became operative on the 1st of July. Foreseeing the admission into the already crowded wards of the State hospitals of a new and extremely undesirable element and apprehending a severe drain upon the resources of the maintenance fund, unless energetic action was taken at once, the Commission addressed the State Comptroller as to the legality of the expenditure of any funds appropriated expressly for the maintenance of the insane, for the care and treatment of this class in the State hospitals. In reply to this inquiry, the following letter was received on the 25th of July:

"STATE OF NEW YORK-COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE,

STATE HOSPITAL COMMISSION,

Albany, N. Y.

ALBANY, July 24, 1914.

Gentlemen. In reply to your inquiry in regard to funds for the maintenance of persons committed to State Hospitals under the so-called Boylan act, who have become victims of the drug habit, this department cannot make any rule until the specific case is presented to it, but the invariable rule of the Comptroller has been that where an act of the Legislature provides a