90 Journal or the Mitchell Society \_Nov. 



A superintendent's value is dependent upon how success- 

 fully he can follow the instructions of the engineer and 

 *iandle his construction and maintenance forces, and this lat- 

 ter will depend largely on how wisely the superintendent has 

 selected his foreman, who is in actual charge of the laborers. 

 It is practical for the engineer to keep in close touch with all 

 construction work so that hy means of system of "cost ac- 

 counting" he will know accurately the value of each foreman 

 and if a certain foreman is not obtaining similar results in 

 the same kind of work and with similar equipment as the 

 other foreman, then he is not the man for the place. I could 

 cite instances where counties have saved thousands of dollars 

 from the fact that the engineer was able to know what his 

 superintendent and forman were worth to him; and, on the 

 other hand, we have instances where counties have, undoubt- 

 edly, lost as much as fifteen thousand dollars and more of the 

 value of a two hundred thousand dollar bond issue, by not 

 keeping an accurate cost account. 



These men, realizing that their employment is dependent 

 upon themselves and that, if they make good, their employ- 

 ment is practically continuous, will give better and better 

 results the longer they continue in the service of the engineer 

 and consequently are of more value to him. Are they not, 

 therefore, worth more money to him? And is he not war- 

 ranted in paying them higher salaries ? 



In my ovm state, ISTorth Carolina, we are inaugurating 

 a system by which our better superintendents and foremen 

 are kept constantly at work by transferring them from county 

 to county and we are now in a position where we can com- 

 mand the services of the best of these men, 



Chapei, Hilf,, N. C. 



