INTERNAL RELATIONS. 63 



made as they are by mechanics, and abounding in technical terms. 

 So the deciphering of these entries falls, as does the statement 

 of work done and the cost of the fabricated product, upon the 

 foreman, again burdening him with work which he is not fitted 

 for, and interfering with the free exercise of his proper functions. 



Here his frequent inexpertness with figures comes in to make 

 the result uncertain ; or he may be so interested in keeping the 

 cost of a certain work within a given estimate, that his report 

 will be misleading. Meanwhile there is a hurrying between the 

 shops and the office, with inquiries, statements and explanations 

 so thick, that for a few days after the first of the month life is a 

 burden to all concerned. 



So it happens that when any special estimate or report is 

 demanded, unless perfect confidence be had in the intuitive 

 knowledge of expenditures, both past and contemplated* which 

 foremen, by virtue of their office, seem often expected to pos- 

 sess, the whole ground has to be gone over anew; and from 

 the beginning every time have these piles of manuscript to' be 

 deciphered in the light of memory alone. 



In spite of appeals to the memory of the workmen, who, to 

 meet them, often keep little books of their own, what wonder is 

 it that such work is most wearing in the performance, and most 

 unsatisfactory in the result? 



Then suppose that fragmentary information should be required : 

 for example, the gross cost of an order having been reported, 

 including the drawings, patterns, tools, modifications of machinery 

 and the time always wasted in the experimental working of new 

 devices, one may be, and often is, required to ascertain the cost 

 of duplicating the product of the first order, the plant required 

 being on hand. 



It may be also required, knowing the cost of work done by a 

 high grade of labor necessarily employed in experimental efforts 

 of a tentative nature, to estimate what it would cost to repeat the 

 work on a larger scale by the aid of cheaper labor. In the 

 ordinary case the future need for such information is not pro- 

 vided for ; the workman does well if he even charges his time in 



