THE SHOP-ORDER SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS. 345 



For instance, it may be very desirable for each foreman to be 

 able to place his hands at a few minutes' notice on the record 

 of the piece of work last done, similar to that which he is about 

 to do. For those records, of course, he could not afford the 

 delay of sending to the main office, and it would be a very 

 difficult matter, if they were kept there, for him to obtain the 

 information which he desired without going himself and saying 

 just what he wanted. If he, however, has a series of card 

 records kept in his own office, close to where he works, and if 

 those records are arranged, not chronologically, but on loose 

 cards, which can be filed in such a way that the record of each 

 job, as it is finished, will be placed next to that of the job which 

 most nearly resembles it ; if the records are kept on cards 

 instead of books, the foreman can, with great ease, obtain any 

 information about former jobs similar to the one he is about to 

 start on, either in the way of mistakes made, or suggestions 

 as to the best method of accomplishing the work, the cost, the 

 time, or the man who did the work, etc. In our system only 

 such information is sent to the central office as is there needed 

 to keep them posted as to the cost and progress of the work and 

 the men's time ; while in the department office is kept much 

 fuller information about the work; in fact, everything which the 

 foreman may find it useful to know. 



Mr. W. F. Durfee. I think this subject is one of the most 

 important that has ever been brought to the notice of this 

 Society, and while I fully concur in the opinion of Mr. Towne, 

 that it is in the highest degree deserving of our consideration, 

 I am somewhat in doubt as to the advisability of organizing a 

 separate section for that purpose, being fully persuaded that 

 every engineer here who is interested in the management of 

 works, or ever expects to be, will be a member of that section, 

 and we should simply resolve ourselves into a " committee of 

 the whole " to consider that subject. I think it is perfectly 

 proper to bring it before the Society as a body, and that this 

 discussion will demonstrate that it will have an interest for all 

 of us. 



As an illustration of the importance of this subject, I will 

 state some facts in my own experience. Some years ago I was 



